The first part of my trip was to Miami. The lady who sat next to me is a lawyer working for a security company-something to do a security device against drug trafficking. Very interesting. I slept most of the way to Miami. Then once I got there I had a six hour layover. I ate and found a place to hang out and thought that it was going to be forever that I'd be waiting but it wasn't b/c this lady from Atlanta sat down in front of me and we started talking. And talking and talking. And then the couple sitting next to us who are from LA joined in. And before I knew it, it was time to go to the gate.
The flight from Miami to La Paz was long but I was able to sleep most of the time. Before I went to sleep though, the people next to me Jimena and her mother-I forget her name. Jimena was about my age. They were returning to La Paz from Arlington, VA where they were visiting her brother. Jimena's mother didn't speak English so when she found out I was going to be spending a year in Iquique she insisted that I speak Spanish to practice. They were so nice, Jimena reminded me of my Brazilian friend, Aline. They gave me their phone numbers and told me that I should go to La Paz and visit them for a weekend. I just might do that!
The only part of the traveling that was not good, was my time in La Paz airport. I had about a five hour layover, and I had altitude sickness. I couldn't breathe, my lungs actually hurt, I was light-headed and I felt like I had the flu. I wanted to sleep and I kept dozing off and almost falling out of my chair, but when I tried to walk around to wake myself up, I felt like I was going to pass out. When I tried to take deeper breaths of air, I started seeing black spots as if I were hyperventilating. I remembered hearing that coca leaves help with altitude sickness and wished I had some. So I got an espresso and ate some lemon cookies from the plane instead. The espresso was only $1! And it was three times the amount of the usual size from Starbucks. After that, I felt a little better, but still horrible. So finally it was time to go to the boarding area. I looked around and saw lots of Australians and Germans as well as Chileans. Two Australians that I talked to were on there way back to Australia from Bolivia and Peru and gave me a good company to go through if I go to Machu Pichu. It was a little easier to stay awake in this area because there were kids running around me making lots of noise. We finally boarded and I slept most of the way to Iquique. When I woke up, my altitude sickness was mostly gone.
When I arrived at Iquique, I panicked b/c I realized I had left Becky's address at home. But the immigration dude didn't seem to care that I had left the address blank and I got through with no problem. I didn't have to pay anything, not even an entrance fee. I had finally arrived in Iquique! The Atacama desert was the first thing I saw and it was amazing! It's like mountains, but it's sand. I'll post pics eventually. Becky met me after I went through security and took me to where I'll be staying until I get my own apartment. So I'm currently staying at British Methodist missionaries' apartment while they are out of the country. On the way, we drove by the ocean and once we got into Iquique (the airport is out a little), she showed me where her apartment is and pointed out a few other places that I will probably have to learn again.
After a quick bath, Becky took me to the mall and the grocery store. The grocery store is within walking distance but also as a taxi service if you have to much groceries to carry and don't have a car. It's like a Super Walmart, but it's not Walmart thank goodness. They sell all kinds of things. The mall has a food court and we had lunch there. It was yummy Chilean food. They had my favorite salad that my Chilean friend Victor used to always make!
Today, my second day in Iquique, I slept in pretty late b/c I was so exhausted from traveling. Then, Becky picked me up and took me to the EMANA office and to a market near the center of town. Then we drove to Zofri, a duty-free trade zone where there is a big mall. We ate lunch and she picked up a few things. She also told me about the taxis and buses and other things. Tomorrow, I think I'm going to be venturing out on my own to explore and pick up a few things that I need. Here's a few pictures of the view from my apartment:
The Atacama Desert:
1 comment:
AHhhhhhh I'm so HAPPY for you!!!!!
All I recommend is getting to know LOTS of people.....totally immerse yourself......try new things....pray-read the word-spend time with God......take LOTS of pics...........blah blah blah.....I'm SURE do all of the above....just don't be a "gringa typica"...me entiendes? Get OUT of that gringo bubble.... ;)
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