Sunday, October 9, 2011

The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind! Friday night, Zack took me out for a nice going away dinner at Deveraux's in Greenville. That restaurant is a big splurge for us, but oh so worth it for a special occasion. Saturday morning was crazy finishing packing and actually traveling to Chile. So many people have asked me how you pack for an 8 week trip. It's really quite simple - bring as much as you possibly can! I was able to bring two suitcases and they were both packed full. It is springtime in Chile right now, and by the time I leave it will be early summer, so I didn't have to worry about sweaters or heavy jackets. Sadie was a faithful packing companion as you can see....

We were able to keep my suitcases under 50 lbs each, however when I arrived at GSP airport I found out that the limit for Chile is actually 70 lbs each. Success!


Me and Sadie before I left - not the easiest thing leaving my sweet pup :)


Zack took this cool picture with his phone - he dropped me off at the airport and stuck around to watch my plane take off! When the plane was taxiing, I could actually see him from my window!


Sorry these are a bit out of order - Zack and I before I had to go to the gate


I had a 5+ hour layover in Atlanta, which actually turned into about 7 hours due to my flight to Santiago getting delayed. The flights to Chile are red-eyes, and mine was originally scheduled to leave ATL at 10PM. We left after 11 and arrived in Santiago around 8:30 I think. The picture above was taken from my seat in the Delta Sky Club. I was so thankful to be flying business class which gave me access to the luxuries of the lounge (among other perks). It also gave me "elite" status so that my luggage came out first when we arrived in Santiago.


Despite my roomie business class seat, I did not sleep as well as I had hoped on the plane. I was so tired when I finally got through customs and immigration. My company arranged for a driver to pick me up (it wasn't as fancy as it sounds), and that was my first true cultural experience here. My driver spoke ZERO English. NONE. And Chilean Spanish is really, really fast and they tend to not enunciate their words which makes it hard for a gringo like me to understand. I am definitely going to be working hard on my Spanish though while I'm here. I've had several opportunities already to use it.


It's about time for me to start thinking about dinner, so I think I'll end this entry for now. I'll post pictures of my room tomorrow. It's been a good day and I'm happy to be in Santiago. The city is really neat and the Andes mountains are so cool! More to come soon.


Ciao!


p.s. forgive my grammar and/or spelling - I'm quite sleep-deprived!

















































































































2 comments:

  1. Kristen,

    I can so relate to missing your dog and husband while away! But you'll be so busy, and having so much fun, it won't be as tough as you think. Nights are the hardest, but after the first week you'll be a pro!

    I'm so excited to follow along at home. And I absolutely adore the Twain quote you used on the home page. Awesome!

    Be safe and have fun,

    Love,

    Katie

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  2. So glad you made it there safely and that you are happy! Love you!

    ReplyDelete