www.thegilmours.co.uk

Although still very busy!

Doug here. This is the first week when i’m actually facing the prospect of boredom unless i find work!

Rachel’s sister, Kim and her boyfriend, Chris, left last week as Rachel and myself were recovering from a cold and a dose of typhoid, respectively! Rachel left to Paranal on saturday morning. We enjoyed our last evening together by taking a trip to the Irish Bar and the cinema (to see a film called Millions, 2004).

This week, i’m applying for jobs and have more spanish lessons with a teacher from church, called Noemi. She is great- she works so hard and prepares so much for each class! I’m feeling quite confident about my spanish now- I can see that it has improved a lot recently and that I am able to use a lot more tenses. But I still need to use more verbs (I think i just forget at the time). So tonight i’m hoping to go to spanish-english conversation practice in a local cafe, called, ironically, the English Reader.

I’ve also found some temporary unpaid work to keep me occupied- the church needs a new webmaster and a gringo friend has introduced me to an english teaching institute that requires gringos for conversation classes rather than teaching. I don’t want to teach english at all, but I realise that lots of people are keen to learn, so this seems like a good half-way house, especially since it is with intermediate/advanced students who require business english.

Well today I started my job hunt once again…. by going paragliding.

It was the first time in 3 weeks and I was nervous on the journey to the landing site (which, incidentally, took almost 2 hours! Argghh). But I wasn’t given time to worry or fear on my arrival. Within 15mins of arriving I was ready to run off the mountain again!

It turned out to be the best flight I’ve had since flying solo. 45 mins without interruption, on a very warm, clear evening and a smooth landing to finish. When paragliding, you can use the way birds fly as an indication of the air conditions. Where a bird can soar, a paraglider can too.

Having seen so many beautiful birds of prey last week on holiday, I actually got to fly with one of them today. It was literally curious- flying 10 metres away from me! Beautiful. It was like a falcon, only one that had experienced a head-on collision (short head and nose). I’ll try to identify it and post a pic sometime.

Anyway, what a difference a day makes. Having been fed up with painting the flat and not having the confidence to even start hunting for a job, let alone run off mountains, I’m delighted I finally made it back to Las Vizcachas to fly. And i’ve returned to write a covering letter for a job. Honest!

I’ve lost all self-control
Been living like a mole
Now going down, excavation
I and I in the sky
You make me feel like I can fly
So high, elevation

The classic words of U2… have come true in the last two weeks. Rather than live in our flat like a mole while Rachel was away-without furniture, the flat did resemble a hole- I investigated and negotiated my way to getting paragliding lessons!

Me, running off a mountain in a jumpsuit? With my reputation?!
Not wishing to scare anyone, in particular, my mother or, perhaps more importantly, my mother-in-law, I’ve kept it quiet until now. But after an hour long solo flight today, i can’t help but spill the beans… I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my little adventures into the sky. My teacher, Juan has taught myself and another chilean to fly in just over 8 days, using a unique form of “spanglish”… or, as I like to call it, chilengish!

The benefit of learning here, is that it is cheaper and the chilean solo licence (awarded by the ministry of aviation) is exchangable with International standards and the UK licence. I’ve also had lot of flying practice- more than you would get at schools elsewhere- because the conditions are consistently perfect for learning. I’m learning at Vizcachas, south-east from Santiago. A south-westerly wind blows every afternoon from 2pm till 5pm, after which novice pilots can launch easily and have smooth flights.

Today I flew solo for over an hour, experiencing a range of conditions, from light to turbulent winds, catching and soaring on thermals and ridge soaring. The difficult bits- landing and take-off- are becoming easier. So far my landings have been very smooth- no more than a 4ft bounce! No broken legs yet.

The runway… dry and, errrr, very hard
Anyway… its been fascinating to learn about the wing, aerodynamics, controls and emergency procedures. Paragliding also challenges and improves your decision-making skills and spatial awareness. I feel it has boosted my levels of self-assurance, forcing me to better judge and accept risks. Every move in the sky requires a commitment to move the body and to focus the mind. Sounds like a form of meditation.. I suppose it is… alone, drifting on nothing but air!

If I can pursuade Rachel to part with a huge sum of her hard-earned money, I may consider buying some equipment in order to pursue this sport on a regular basis during the summer, or even during the summer in Europe. I’d really like to gain either a tandem licence or an instructor licence, so I can teach others to fly. I can see a new job on the horizon… although it would be seasonal!

Elevation! I recommend it to anyone! If you plan to visit Chile, come and have a go.
Play spot the paraglider

Thats the plan…. and thats about it really.

I’m raring to go and started today by team building (getting Rachel out of bed), improving my fitness levels (hiking up a hill), learning and practicing communication skills (on Rachel, climbing same hill, i mean mountain obviously) and enhancing my levels of endurance (”Are we there yet?!!” YES!!).

So Happy New Year everyone and here’s to getting a job in 2006! My first appointment is after the 15th January. So no rush then….

I’ve finally found a contact for a Regional Trade consultancy here in Santiago, run by a Scotsman. Looks interesting.

I’ve discovered an office of Adecco here in Chile. And this reminded me that some years ago i received a copy of an advert they used to promote their company. Thanks to John E, who received it and passed it on while working in a deadly serious job in the European Commission!

Adecco Advert.mpe

(2Mb- so only view if you have a broadband connection!)

I’ll start my job search for real in the New Year i guess…