Our trip to Chile has finally commenced!
On Friday, we did last minute preparation for the trip in a brief, final pre-departure meeting that included the Germany and Vietnam students. The presentation was basically what to expect in regards to the plane ride and what the Study Abroad Trip advisors wanted to emphasize (like not getting arrested in a foreign country!). After the presentation, the Chile students all went out to eat at the Porch. It was good Team Chile bonding time. I actually got to know everyone a little better. After dinner, we all split up to accomplish last minute tasks so we could go to bed at a reasonable hour so we weren't exhausted for the travelling we had to do the next day.
Saturday was the day I had been looking forward to for months: the day we finally departed for Chile! Everyone was up bright and early at 7:00am to prepare for the day ahead. We took the 28X PAT bus to the airport. Let's just say that will be the first and last time I ride the public transportation system all the way to Pittsburgh International Airport. An hour long, bumpy bus ride packed with 19 students and their two weeks worth of luggage is not fun. Anyway, we arrived to the airport and had our bags checked and collected our boarding passes. It was surreal to have those passes right in my very own hands. I was actually travelling to Chile! We started at Pittsburgh International Airport and landed in Dallas, Texas. I thought Pittsburgh's airport was big, but it was nothing compared to the Dallas airport! We had a five hour layover before we boarded our flight to Santiago, Chile. But we easily killed all of that time by exploring Dallas airport and with good conversation. Finally, it was 8:40pm and time for all of the passengers to board the plane. I eagerly threw my carry on into the over head compartment and buckled my seatbelt. As the plane departed for Santiago, I waved good bye and said "Adios America!"
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