So finally, after all the preparation I did, and all the mixed messages I´ve been given, I was off! I left on Thursday August 2 at 4:30 pm, but it was more like 5:00. Saying goodbye was sad and when I first went through Security in Edmonton and turned around for one last look at my family, I was a little overwhelmed. My flight to Toronto was uneventful and passed quickly. When I landed in the Toronto Airport, I had about 45 minutes until my plane boarded and it took me at least 25 minutes just to walk from my arrival gate to the other side of the airport and my departure gate. When I finally got there I was a little stressed out but I saw something that lifted my spirits; a red Rotary Canada blazer. I went over and introduce myself. His name is Jake and he is from a small town (literally with a population of about 100) that is about 3 hours north of Toronto. We talked about all our mishaps with preparations for our trips, and I learned that I was not the only one going through it. When we got on the plane, we were two seats apart, which was handy, but of course, the instant the plane took off, we were both fast asleep. The plane ride was long, and the sleep wasn´t that great, but I have to say that my mom was right about the neck pillow she insisted I buy; it saved me. As we were circling Santiago waiting to land, the pilot told us to look outside and get our first glimpse of Santiago, and I looked outside and saw gray. I learned that Santiago is one of the most poluted cities in the world. I got my real first at Chile when landed. Customs went surprisingly smoothly, except when they tried to make me pay a tax that I didn´t have to pay ($132 american!) and Jake and I were soon done. There was a group there to greet us, Rotarians as well as students, because we were the last to arrive. 20 out of the 30 students in districts 4320 and 4360 (northern and central Chile) are American. There is only the two of us from Canada, 3 from Denmark, 4 from Germany and 1 from Finland. Everyone is really friendly, although the Amercans do ask some pretty funny questions ("Is hockey mandatory in Canada") and no one knew what a touque (I think thats how you spell it) was. From there we went to the Orientation Center, a little resort type place called Valle Verde. That was where it really began.
