Thursday, January 15, 2009

The flight to Los Angeles was not too bad. It was only an hour but had to entertain Nate the entire time. Lilia came and picked us up and it was nice to visit for a while. Nate would have loved to spend more time with Chloe but unfortunately she was sick. I’m hoping Nate did not catch anything. Later we went to dinner in Manhattan Beach and Nate was able to enjoy some time with Shayne (Chloe’s brother).

The next flight was not until 1:12 am. Nate fell asleep around 10 pm and by 10:30 we were out the door. I must say, Nate sleeping through the whole check in process was much easier and not. The only time it got really difficult was going through security. Luckily for me there were plenty of really great people offering to help. We boarded the plane and Nate slept through most of the trip. I tried to sleep but he kept kicking me and a few times actually felt like I had to peel myself off the ceiling. Two hours before we landed Nate woke up. Boy was he grumpy! I tried everything to entertain him and nothing. Very frustrating! He finally calmed down just before we landed. We got off the plane and the heat and humidity in Panama City was horrendous. No time to do anything, not even a bathroom stop. It was straight to the next gate and we boarded the final leg of this trip. We got lucky; the guy that was sitting next to us decided to find another vacant seat and left the whole row for us. Hmmm, was he really being polite or did he just dread the idea of sitting next to us for six plus hours?

Nate plugged into the itouch and he actually watched some of the movies or Backyardigans or something that Mike recorded. This gave me a moment to reflect on a familiar scent, the scent of Chile. I did not smell it on the last flight but I definitely smelled it on the flight to Santiago. You ask what does Chile smell like and honestly I cannot describe it. It’s like asking “what does an apple smell like”. The answer would be “It smells like an apple”. This scent smells wonderful to me. I smell it each time someone comes to visit from Chile. It’s in their clothes, their hair, their everything and of course I smell it in Chile. I’m usually not nostalgic but that scent gives me a warm and comfortable feeling. Chile is just a mere three hours away at this point. I’m getting excited!

On the flight, they served us lunch. Nate must have been hungry because he ate everything. He went back to his movies but I noticed he started getting grumpy. I knew he needed to sleep but when he is that tired he simply does not realize what he wants. He was screaming and crying and hitting me and all the things I feared. I managed to keep my cool and tried to talk to him but he was not listening. He did finally lay down, pulled the covers over his head, proceeded to tell me how much he does not like me and then fell asleep. I was relieved, and then I sat there cursing myself thinking what was I thinking taking him on such a long flight by myself. I was beating myself up when all of a sudden in the row diagonally behind me I heard a scream. Just as I turned I could see this two year old little girl throwing up all over her mom. Apparently, she was air sick. I immediately gave her some diaper wipes to help clean the mess. That poor women was completely covered in vomit and no clothes to change into, Ugh! Now that’s a nightmare. Then I sat there and realized how truly easy I have it with Nate. I don’t believe in coincidence and believe someone or something needed me to see that so I could really appreciate what I have.

I am exhausted with such little sleep and would love to watch a movie but don’t think I can keep my eyes open. I would like to just nap but Nate is hogging all the room! What do I do?

We landed and the first thing we had to do was pay to enter the country. $131 per person! A little pricey. Luckily I only had to pay for myself and Nate was no charge. Kicking myself as I should have gone to the Chilean embassy to get my Chilean passport and I would have not had to pay any fee. Next, another line to go through immigration. While standing there, Nate decided he needed to pee. So close and he always picks the worst time. Out of the line we went straight to the nearest restroom. We returned to a much longer line. After immigration we finally could get our luggage. We walked out and seeing my Aunt Sylvia and my Uncle Carlos was truly a beautiful sight! A sense of relief came over. I did it. Exhausted, I survived the trip. They immediately took over to help me. We drove to their beautiful apartment in Renaca, Vina Del Mar. About an hour and a half northwest of Santiago. By the time we walked in the door it was 11pm. It took Nate and I, from door to door, twenty- nine and a half hours long to get here. Sabine was there waiting up for us. Her children, Colomba, Clemente and Salvador tried to stay up waiting for us but finally fell asleep. Nate will have to wait till morning to meet them. As tired as I was, we all sat there eating watermelon and catching up. It was fun. Finally a hot shower for both Nate and I and off to bed. Tomorrow a new adventure.