We arrived safely in Santiago two days ago without any complications or delays. We did have some bad information about LAN’s rules for luggage. Apparently they are much stricter in NY than they are in Santiago… Each of our carry-on luggage pieces was about twice as heavy than was allowed, so we ended up sprawled on the floor of JFK re-packing our luggage. I was stressed out and ready to impulsively discard things, “I can live without jewelry for two years! I don’t need T-Shirts! I’ll leave my camera with our friends!” Everything in our carry-on luggage was our most valuable possessions and the highest priority. Somehow, by stuffing my underwear in the guitar case and Carlos’ packing magic, we were able to bring every single thing we packed. No man left behind.
On the flight I watched The Great Gatsby. I was surprised that each person could watch their own movie on their own screen and had a choice among hundreds of great films. At some point during the movie I stopped to eat the delicious dinner (it was served at 10pm, so I’m pretty sure anything they gave me would seem amazing at that point). I had a moment where the realness of the situation (this is really my life and this is really happening) overwhelmed me. I had little idea of what lay before me, and while I understood the events that had brought me there, the improbability of this particular path among all the potential paths of my life seemed salient. The fact that I could not have predicted this outcome a few years ago made the unpredictability of the future especially obvious.
I didn’t have any trouble getting through customs or paying the $160 reciprocity fee. I was concerned because I had read that they only accept perfect bills and refuse entrance to the country to anyone who tries to use bill with the slightest rip or pen mark. Luckily my bills were fine and I didn’t have to stay in the airport forever like Snowden. We were soon in our rented taxi van and being driven to Carlos’ mom’s house. Along the ride we saw military personnel stationed around the city, in place for the protests.
Carlos’ mom and sister stayed home from work to greet us in the morning when we arrived. We had a lovely breakfast of marraquetas (a type of bread) and lemon pie while watching Streetfighter in Spanish. We were met with lots of hugs and warmth. It was such a relief after the 10 hour flight (and weeks moving and in-transit) to be done traveling. We didn’t sleep much on the flight, so immediately after breakfast and much-needed showers, we slept for 5 hours.
Oh and by the way, things were not nearly as small as they said they would be. Yes, they are smaller, but everything is like 75% of the size, not 25%.
Pelo de choclo 