So despite the fact that I am hearing some unintelligible Spanish music and the movements of a lovely Chilean women named Olga just outside of of my room, and despite the fact that I am still chilly while wearing long underwear, jeans, socks, boots, a cashmere turtleneck and my terry robe, I still find it hard to believe I am in Santiago, Chile.
I think perhaps it is because my journey was so long and drawn out or maybe because I am completely off any planned expectations of Chile that I feel this way. I have been told multiple times in my life about the idea of Spanish fatalism and the Catholic idea of uncontrollable time. I also have been told that in Chilean culture, I will actually feel the phenomena in the people. But I didn't think the idea of uncontrollable time and uncontrollable life would occur in my life as well, and I was surprised at how unexpectedly it showed up in my journey to Chile.
One of the rules I like to live my life by is to plan everything out as far as you can. For me, this applies to my schedule for the day and the week, for classes and for semester. Also included in this plan was my schedule for my arrival in Chile.
My planned schedule was:
On July 13th
1) leave Philadelphia at 5:59 pm, arrive in Atlanta at 8:40 pm
2) get pesos at the airport
3) leave Atlanta at 10 pm and arrive at Santiago, Chile at 7:20 am
4) get on my program (CIEE)'s bus
5) Be in Chile.
My reality was:
On July 13th
1) have the 5:59 pm Philadelphia flight delayed to 6:25pm, then delayed to 6:50pm, then realize that it was 7:30pm and that I still hadn't left the airport
2) leave Philly at 8pm and arrive at Atlanta at 10:50 pm, 50 minutes after my connection plane left
3) get a new flight ticket for 10pm on July 14th at 11:30 pm
4) call my lovely RayBay to pick me up at Atlanta at midnight
5) realize that I am now in Atlanta instead of Santiago at 8am on the 14th
6) wonder how I ended up taking a tour of CNN at Atlanta at 1:30 pm
7) coo over Stuffed Diseases with Ray Bay at Junkman's Daughter and utter the phrase "Scum is so cute!" at 5pm
8) Wonder if they have candied apples in Chile while eating a "Fuji Apple" at Atlanta's restaurant Silk
9) Board my plane at 9:30 pm and think I am finally going somewhere, then take 2 Nyquil pills to sleep though the 9 hour flight
10) Am forced off my plane back into the airport so that the plane mechanics can check a hydraulic problem at 10:30
11) Am drugged out of my mind and so, so, so drowsy at the airport where I stay for 3 hours until we get on a new airplane at 1 am
12) Land in Santiago Chile at 10:30 am
13) Arrive at the Rent A Home hotel at 11:30 am where I was supposed to be a whole 28 hours before then
14) Get a cell phone, eat lunch, talk about host families, meet host family, go to host family home, try to talk to host family while tired out of my mind, go to welcome dinner, drink Pisco Sour (official Chilean drink), drink wine (supposedly amazing in Chile), go back to host family home, sleep
15) Wake up at 8 am on Friday the 16th and wonder, How am I in Chile?
It is half sinking in now. Maybe I will get used to it soon. Or maybe it is simply the cold sinking into my fingers and my toes...
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