Arrival in Santiago, Chile

Well, it took me almost a week to do this blog post, but here I am!  Our flight left Sunday night and we arrived Monday morning. Really, even though it was a long flight, it was a pleasant flight for me.  I slept most of the night and during the brief bouts of wakefulness, I made it partway through Frozen and Across the Universe (I might have a thing for musicals...).  During our arrival, we found out that we were on the inaugural United flight from Houston to Santiago.  What does that mean?  A water salute! Cool.

After making it through immigration, we took a transfer (ride-share van) from the airport to the apartment.  The drive was very cool.  I knew the mountains here were big, but I really did not have a grasp of how big.  Views of palm trees with snow capped mountains in the background really drove it home! Our apartment is small, but in a great location with very nice city and mountain views.  Will and Amelia welcomed us to the apartment and then after we rested for a bit, they walked us to the large mall that is near by.  Getting out and walking around a bit, picking up some home goods, and even some groceries (there's something similar to a super Walmart in the mall) was about the extent of our productivity.  We came home and both napped (oops!). 

On Tuesday we went to the PDI for part of the process to get our ID cards.  I am doing my best to forget about the experience (tears were very nearly shed), but you can read about it in George's post.  Wednesday was a continuation of the ID card process (George's other post).  Finally though, by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, I could relax and George could get to work (yeah, I think he's got the short end of the deal, but he was excited!).  During the rest of the week, I have visited the grocery stores several times, wandered about the mall, checked out the river park that is near by, and I managed to acquaint myself with Netflix Latin America (insert sheepish grin here).

From the apartment balcony

Another

It so happens that today is my Dad's birthday.  I miss him tons, and I can't help but wonder what he would have thought of all of the traveling his kids have done! I don't think he could have imagined that in such a short span, one would be in living in Bahrain, one would be living in South Korea, and one would be living in Chile. Very surreal.  I sincerely doubt I will be able to find an Old Style here, but I will certainly be having a glass of Chilean wine in my Dad's memory tonight. Salud!

Miss you dad!