Finally here!

The adventure has begun! I left Portland on Friday afternoon after saying goodbye to friends and family, and sat next to Amanda on a 4 hour flight toDallas, Texas. We had a very short (a little too short for comfort, perhaps) layover in Dallas before taking off just a few minutes past 9PM for an 11 hour flight to Santiago. The flight went very smoothly. I was seated next to a 20-something-year-old Chilean man who told me about all the best places to visit while I'm here. We arrived in Santiago around 8AM (5AM Portland time) and waiting in a long line for immigration and then customs (which all went smoothly aside from the confiscation of some beef jerky that I brought for my family). We were greeted by the Rotarians of District 4320 with hugs and kisses! We waited a few hours for the rest of the students to arrive (we were among the first few) and got a small snack (my first food in Chile: an 'ave con palta' or chicken and avocado sandwich. Eventually we left on a bu
s and drove to Viña del Mar, about 2 hours away. We arrived and after getting our room placements (I'm staying with a girl from Germany and another from Minnesota, USA) we began an orientation, which was all in English. Almost all of the students here are European, with the exception of 5 Americans. Everyone speaks English, but I am one of the few who speaks a little Spanish. There are about 25 of us, but apparently there are 10 more that will join later. We had a nice lunch and dinner and now I'm just laying in bed, extremely tired, waiting to take a shower. So far, Chile is great but I can't help but be anxious and excited for this weekend to be over so that I can go start my new life in La Serena!