And So Begins My Adventure In Chile

I had this great plan for my 9.5 hour, 4,600 mile direct flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Santiago, Chile. Eat the dinner they provide an hour or so into the flight, pop a Benadryl, and knock myself out for the rest of the trip. The only problem was that I left my Benadryl at home… oops. Now I had to occupy myself between the in-flight movies, the Lonely Planet guidebook for Chile, and the 70 year old woman sitting next to me. I prayed for sleep that came in fits.

One respite from the torture of monotony and purgatory between sleeping and waking was a great movie called 500 Days of Summer. It told the story of a guy’s relationship with a girl named Summer in a very unique way, jumping to different days in the relationship throughout. I thought that it accurately portrayed the mindset of a typical guy dealing with a breakup and trying to move on. At least to me, it felt very close to home. I’m still waiting on that new ‘Day 1’. See the movie to see what I’m talking about. Also, the soundtrack was filled with quality music, so check that out.

I ended up having a few brief conversations with my geriatric neighbor. As it turns out, at least half of my flight consisted of senior citizens going on a 3 week cruise from Chile, around Cape Horn and finally to Rio de Janeiro. It sounds like a cool trip, but I came to spite many of my fellow passengers. You cannot fathom the deafening snoring that I endured as I tried to find some sleep. Imagine your grandfather x 25. One man was snore-hickuping, or slowly dying, I’m not sure which. It was one of the strangest sounds I’ve ever heard.

Finally, a few hours of sleep and 4,600 miles away, I made it to Santiago. Fun fact: Santiago is actually 2 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. It's something you don't really think about until you go there. My client provided a driver to take me to the hotel for a few real hours of sleep before I went into work. I'll try to take notes of what I see and do as I live here, and so begins the month abroad. Day 1.

Check out the view from my temporary home.