It’s so bizarre to be in a country where some people don’t speak any of the languages you know. I had a 5-hour wait in Lima, Peru before I boarded my flight to Santiago, and I was really confused about where to get my boarding pass. This airport definitely was not built for foreigners. There is no information desk anywhere and hardly any airport officials expect at the gates to ask for help. Nevertheless, I managed to convey to a Spanish-speaking attendant to help me find my way. This entailed a lot of emphasis on certain words and a ton of gesturing! I know he asked me if I spoke Spanish, and when I said no he asked me what language I did speak. He seemed kind of disappointed when I said “Ingles”!
I could see a change in attitude as soon as the plane reached Lima. If anyone else has noticed, when a flight lands in the U.S., people wait patiently until they are told they can start leaving the aircraft. Peruvians seemed a lot more like Indians in that aspect- as soon as the seatbelt sign went off, everyone rushed to gather their things and attempt to be the first to leave the aircraft! I felt right at home J
The flight to Santiago was beautiful. I got the window seat, and enroute the only thing I could see for miles around were brown mountain ranges below us with tufts of cloud splattered around. Santiago as a city is an interesting mix. It has some beautiful buildings and right off the bat it’s obvious that it represents a country fast moving towards being a developed nation. But at the same time I could see litter strewn everywhere and lots of stray dogs around. Hmm, maybe it’s more like New York than I realized! It even has a street that I swear looks like Wall Street and I-banking type business folks lounging around!
Khalia and I walked around till we were starving and then just walked into a random little restaurant that had some lovely outdoor seating so we could enjoy the perfect weather (just the right amount of balmy humidity with a slight cool breeze in the evening). It’s lucky that I knew a little español, because we had to use it to explain to our non-english speaking server exactly what we wanted. The pictures on the menu definitely helped though! It was just a sandwich with cheese, tomatoes and avocado but it was deliciously simple and surprisingly filling!
We walked back to our hotel with a small bottle of Chilean wine and lots of high spirits – pun intended – and are just about to relax and enjoy it, so until tomorrow, folks!
¡Buenas noches, mis amores!
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