Well, here I go. I have started a blog. Perhaps now I can sit at home in my pajamas and both influence national politics and infuriate those with whom I tend to to agree so much. See, already a slightly inside joke and I'm only a few sentences into this.
We have officially started our adventures in Chile.
Actually, the past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity during which, many things have happened that made this move both possible and real. As I sit here and type, we are in Santiago.
I thought I would start with a few numbers that tell our story for the past couple of days.
7+2+21. We arrived, wit
h much help from dear friends, at the San Antonio International Airport (that makes it sound much bigger than it actually is) with the seven of us, one cat and one dog, and twenty-one pieces of luggage. We were authorized one extra bag each and nothing could weigh more than 50 pounds. With some expert packing and a borrowed scale, I'm pretty sure at least 19 of the 21 bags weighed in at somewhere between 46 and 49 pounds. It was quite a spectacle as can be seen in the pictures (as soon as I figure out how to add them.)21:48:58. The time, Dallas local, that we left United States soil (that's when the airplane took off.)
07:05:04. The time, Dallas local, (10:05:04) the next morning that we touched down at the Santiago International Airport.
6. This was an interesting number. It represents the number of at-least-partial meltdowns we have had since arriving. Carley was extremely tearful on the phone (thanks Skype!) with Nanny. However, 6 also represents the approximate number of glasses full of drinkable vanilla yogurt that seemed to make everything quite bearable for a while.
4. The number of hours we spent getting a place arranged for the cat and dog. Sadie, the little maltese-shitzu mix who just had her first birthday a few days ago, did quite well on the flight. Pepper, the Bombay cat, was rather apprehensive about everything after our arrival. They still have a few weeks of living in transient housing, but a wonderful lady from church has them in her home. We hope they adjust well.
600. The number of Pesos that one dollar will buy today. It sounds like so much until you realize you just spent about 77 dollars at the little convenience store getting some snacks and easy meal-type stuff to last a few days.
Okay, that's it for numbers. Our flight was long. Here are a couple of quotes.
Peter, upon landing in Santiago and preparing to disembark the aircraft, "Well . . . that was painful."
Luke, on the other hand, fell aslee
p in Dallas waiting on the taxiway. We tried to awaken him to have dinner on the plane about an hour later, but he wasn't interested. He awoke shortly thereafter complaining of feeling a bit sick, so I gave him half of a Dramamine. He flipped around a bit throughout the night, but slept rather well. We tried to get him to eat breakfast about an hour before landing, but he took a couple of forced bites and said, "Dad, I don't think I got enough sleep." He then proceeded to curl back up and sleep until after we had landed. Best thing about it was that meant extra yogurt for me! If only the rest of us in coach were small enough to curl up on the seat and sleep the entire time. If only.
p in Dallas waiting on the taxiway. We tried to awaken him to have dinner on the plane about an hour later, but he wasn't interested. He awoke shortly thereafter complaining of feeling a bit sick, so I gave him half of a Dramamine. He flipped around a bit throughout the night, but slept rather well. We tried to get him to eat breakfast about an hour before landing, but he took a couple of forced bites and said, "Dad, I don't think I got enough sleep." He then proceeded to curl back up and sleep until after we had landed. Best thing about it was that meant extra yogurt for me! If only the rest of us in coach were small enough to curl up on the seat and sleep the entire time. If only.