Off to Chile

Mike and I had talked about how fun it would be for me to come to Chile to pick him up, but didn't think we could afford it. We were already tight just trying to pay for his flight and tuition and so we just gave up on the fun thought. Mike had been gone about 3 weeks or so and my AMAZING parents gave me a gift that I will never forget and will probably always be in their debt for. They helped me get a plane ticket so that I could go pick up Mike! I couldn't believe it and still can't!

I really wanted to just fly down there and show up at his apartment and completely surprise him, but life is a bit more complicated than that! I don't speak enough Spanish to get by on my own and I would be flying into Santiago and Viña del Mar is about an hour or two away, and so it was not a possibility. I finally told Mike the good news and hewas thrilled. I was so excited to finally be able to see and experience what he had been involved in for the past month. I was so excited to be able to meet and personally thank his "Chilean Mom", Nelda for how good she has been to my husband. She is a whole other story. After a whole bunch of planning and scheduling, it was finally set. I WAS GOING TO CHILE! I WAS GOING TO SEE MIKE AGAIN! (As a side note, I know, I am a huge sissy! I would be a terrible military wife. I don't know how they do it. I couldn't even survive a month or so, better yet a year or more! My hat goes off to military families.)

Mike was finishing up his last week of school and was taking finals and giving reports etc. He was supposed to fly home July 10th, but we changed his ticket. I left Utah on July 7th, arrived in Chile on July 8th, and we both were scheduled to fly home on the 14th. I guess I am getting ahead of myself. I packed for cold weather, left Jack with my parents and flew about 15 hours or so and arrived in Santiago, Chile. I was lucky and slept most of the 10 hour overnight flight from Atlanta to Santiago. I arrived in the mid-morning and got through customs etc. and waited for Nelda, Mike's Chilean Mom. Mike was unable to make the hour plus trip in to get me and so sweet Nelda was kind enough to come get me. She speaks ZERO English and my Spanish is beyond neglected. She showed up with a picture of me and a sign with my name on it. It wasn't hard to find the only blonde for a mile that towered over everyone! She ran to me with open arms and instantly treated me like family. We survived the hour or so bus ride to Viña del Mar withbroken Spanish and lots of hand actions. The drive was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I could instantly see why Mike loved this place so much. Viña is on the coast and the rolling coastal hills are literally rolling with homes. We arrived at the bus station in Viña and had to walk a while to get to the apartment. I guarantee we were quite the sight. A short and speedy Chilean lady and a tall, blonde American lugging a suitcase along the little streets and occasional sidewalks of vina.... priceless! She took me to a local meat market so that she could purchase some meat and cheese for lunch (once, which is really dinner to them) and that was really fun to see. Nothing like we have here. Then she got a small taxi (colectivo) and that took us the rest of the way to the apartment. Sadly, Mike was still not done with school yet, but I had to keep reminding myself that this all was not a dream. Nelda's apartment was right on the coast a

nd Mike's bedroom window was a panorama of the coast and ocean. It was fun to be able to finally see what he had been trying to explain the past month. I got super anxious when I saw his things in his room and could even smell him when I walked in. He was so sweet and left me a little welcome note and had bought me some treats.

I had about an hour to waste until he was supposed to arrive and so I washed up a little and changed my clothes. After traveling that long way, I had to freshen up for my husband! I tried to rest and waste the rest of my wait, but mostly read and played games on my ipod. Before I knew it, he was opening the door to the room and I couldn't believe he was there! It's like he told me later, it was like we were dating all over and all of those silly feelings came rushing back. And our week in Chile began!

This is Mike's little Nelda! She is such a sweet lady. She took such good care of Mike and went far beyond her duties as a host. All of the students in Mike's program were jealous of his because he had such a great host. So not only did she treat Mike well, but she allowed Mike and I to stay at her apartment for the extra week we were there and fed us both! Yes, we had to sleep on a twin bed, but hey, we didn't complain.

This is Mike and I's favorite sign. It is on the border of Viña and Valpo.

(Sorry, it's crooked. No time for touch ups!)

This is the view of Viña from Valpo. The first row of apartments is where Mike's was. It was so beautiful!

Valpo

One of the most neat things about Valparaíso are the Asensores. They are scattered around the city and they are soooo old! Sometimes you are a little nervous about riding them. They are like a box car elevator that takes you to the top of the hill for a small fee. We rode quite a few as we explored the city.

The rest of the pictures (majority of them actually) are on Mike's hard drive. I will grab them some time and post more about our incredible trip!