Que te vaya bien.

Hello all! I’m not sure I will be nearly as witty or well-spoken as I’d like for my first blog post - the first leg of my journey has stolen a lot of my sleep and focus – but it’s time to begin:

For the last few weeks, I had felt as if I were hurdling head-over-heels towards my departure. Time had been slipping through my fingers as I tried desperately to tame my monstrous to-do lists, say my goodbyes to loved ones, and pile six months worth of belongings into my suitcases. Leaving for the airport yesterday afternoon, I was certain that time’s sprint would continue at pace and I’d be landing in Santiago before I knew it whether I was ready for it or not.

My flight from Atlanta to Santiago arrived this morning at 8:10. I however, did not. Thanks to a ground stop at the Atlanta airport all of yesterday afternoon and early evening and mysterious mechanical problems, I was delayed, rebooked, delayed, rebooked, and delayed again. After a lot of generous use of the Delta app that resulted in having to stand at a charging station for an hour while my phone refueled, several desperate explanations of my situation to various Delta help desks, whose excessive height makes me feel like a little kid,  and an extra forty minutes circling in the air before being allowed to land, I arrived in Atlanta three hours late. Needless to say, I missed my flight to Chile.

So, I write from the Holiday Inn and Conference Center. My time in the airport last night included more lines (it seems as if half the world is stuck in Atlanta), tense conversations with airline representatives, and a lot of resting my head on countertops until I finally got to my room at 2:00 AM (which is honestly the latest I’ve stayed up in a while). I will instead be flying from Atlanta to Miami this afternoon at 4:00, then departing from there tonight at 11:00.

Though the view of the torch from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics is not what I was expecting and this process has been frustrating, stressful, and disappointing, I can see the good in it. I’ve learned a lot about airports and flying and gained confidence in myself as a real adult and solo traveler. Nearly everyone along the way, from my neighbor at the charging station trying to get back to his infant son, to the over-worked, mistreated ladies at the Delta counters, to the man who offered to lift my very-heavy suitcase into the overhead compartment, has been friendly, commiserating and kind. I’ve met people and had wonderful conversations that would never have occurred without the sort of instant camaraderie reliably conjured by  shared distress. Rather than spend the night in the airport food court like hundreds of others, I had a place to sleep - ie: toss and turn -  last night (Thanks M & D). My suitcase miraculously does not appear to be lost.

And most of all, this crazy delay has finally slowed time back down. In a way, I think I needed this extra day. Sitting here in this hotel room a continent away from where I need to be, I can finally say that I’m really, truly, ready to start my adventure.

(And for those of you who don’t know, my adventure is this: a semester studying at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, living with a host family, hiking, traveling around Chile, and discovering. Stay tuned for further explanation of what I’m doing, where I am, and what in the world my blog title means.)

Love to all.