Journey to Santiago, Chile

Hello hello! Or hola? Hmmmm, should probably start using that. I arrived in Santiago at about 7 am Saturday morning. The confusion began at the airport right from the start. To all future travelers: going to Chile with a one-way ticket doesn't necessarily work well. The people at the check in desk for delta told me that unless I had a return trip ticket, they might not let me in the country. So I bought a refundable return ticket and headed on my way. I had two huge suitcases, plus my backpacking backpack, a very clear sign of an over packer. On the plane, I sat next to a guy who was flying for the first time. It was so crazy. He was 25 and I don't think that I would ever get on a plane if I hadn't already at that point in my life. But it gave me a drinking buddy and a good conversation for the flight as I was anxiously awaiting arrival in Atlanta and meeting up with three of the other volunteers on my flight. In Atlanta, I was supposed to meet up with the others at the starbucks in the international concourse. However, when I arrived there no one was there that looked like it could be them. As I didn't think I had anyway to get in touch with them (2 from germany with undetermined cell service, and one girl from boston who wouldn't have her phone) I wasn't sure what to do. I walked to the gate, but didn't really see anyone there either so I spent some time pacing. Finally, I got a text from one of the boys that said that he had lost his friend and would be there in a few minutes. Once I met up with him (and the girl who luckily got there at the same time as her flight was delayed and she was supposed to have been there earlier) we went to find his friend, who he had been separated from while going through security. We talked for a bit and then boarded the plane. I the plane I sat next to this really nice guy from California who I talked to for hours before sleeping. This was a first- two flights in a row with people that were interesting to talk to. But for such a long flight it was nice. Landing in Santiago is incredible. You fly over the mountains as the sun is rising and it is a gorgeous view. Once we landed, immigration and customs was pretty much a breeze. Everyone was incredibly friendly and much less intimidating than I had been made to think. However, I of course ran into an issue as I did not receive one of my bags. About 20 or so people also didn't get theres so I had to wait in an incredibly long line to speak to someone and there very quickly informed me that it was still in Atlanta and would arrive the next day. Then I had to wait in an even longer line to get through customs, and was yelled at in Spanish (which by the way, when you are tired and just found out you were missing a bag, really isn't the best way to be integrated into a spanish speaking country). I felt bad because I had all these people waiting for me outside, and I couldn't get my phone to work and it was all around a stressful morning. However, when I finally made it through and met all the fellow volunteers who had just got in I was thrilled. Everyone was so nice and it was such a relief to finally meet people whose names I had been seeing for a few months now. We squished ourselves and all of our luggage into a van and took off towards our hostel. However, a few minutes into the ride we realized that the trunk was open. Luckily, everything was packed in the bag so tightly that nothing fell out but it was a pretty bad discovery (and not the first time it has happened to me). When we arrived at the hostel, I finally felt a little settled and could take in the realization that I had finally made it to Chile!

PS. shoutout to AMY LEVIN who turns TWENTY-THREE today (today as in the day of the post, not the day of arrival). HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY! MISS YOU