i made it

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I have made it to Chile safely. After 26 hours of travel, I am exhausted. On my first leg of the journey, I sat across from a man, Jorge, who has been in the states for 25 years but is going to be in Chile for three weeks visiting family in friends. It is a small world. He grew up two blocks away from the hostel I am staying at. He has offered to help me get better aquainted with the area. Tomorrow he is going to give me a tour of his childhood neighborhood. Pretty neat.

I also learned something about south americans I was not well aware of, they are very touchy feely and have a personal space much smaller than I am used to. On the plane ride many times people would grab my arm if they wanted to get by. I had this one stewardess that made me her pet project as I was the only one on the plane who didn´t speak spanish. She would always make sure that I was well aware. When it was time to put my seat up, she put her hand behind my back and pushed me forward as she pushed the button to raise the back with her other hand. All the while, her shoulder was on my head.

And my final thought is that the Andes mountain range goes forever. We were flying over it four at least four hours and there is plenty of mountain range left. It is quite gorgeous. Anyways, I will submit pictures when I am about to move and have a better feel for the town.

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Comments

[Brian Merrill]

Personal Space...
I can only imagine how you would have taken that given your aversion to people crowding you. Hopefully the flight attendant was at least somewhat attractive and had a pleasant smell. HA.

[Ram & Garblaster]

lucky guy
Guess you're a lucky guy on several accounts.... friendly guides to help you learn quickly about the culture and the new community you've chosen as your entre' to Chile. I suppose you're going to find that your perceived need for personal space will be challenged often as you travel around the world. Glad to know you've arrived at your first destination.

[Grenade]

Hey
Hey man, couldn't remember if I already made a comment but congrats on making it out there. 26 hours of travel doesn't sound all that fun. Hope the weather is treating you well, things are crap here. Alright man, keep the blogs up. ttyl chris

[Anna]

Yay!!!
Hey Braden, sorry...finally got the time to look at your blog for the first time. Hope you are having an awesome time in S. America. South Americans can be very affectionate, even more so than the Texans :P And I'm 110% in agreement with you!! Haha.... But sounds like your trip started off with nice people, which is always a good thing. Keep up with the blog and pictures!!! Take care~ Anna