My alarm is set for 4:15 am, Friday morning, June 5th. My two suitcases are packed and my backpack is only missing my lunch and my laptop. I'm set to fly Delta from Portland to New York Kennedy, where I'll have a 5.5 hour layover before catching my nearly 11 hour flight on LAN Airlines. In total, I'll cover 7,551 miles. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like my upgrade will clear to JFK (I'm a DL frequent flyer thanks to all my trips between Duke and Portland and other travels).
I'm anxious, nervous, and excited. I hope I haven't forgotten anything, but Santiago should have anything I need. I know the nervous and anxiety will dissipate once I get checked in. I love flying and trips; it's just a tad stressful leading up to the trip. I'm still not sure what exactly I'll be doing for the next two months, nor how I'll be able to comprehend the Chilean Spanish. I hear it's like another language. I feel similar to how I did before I left for Spain, although I feel a bit more prepared. I remember getting to my gate in Amsterdam and hearing all the Spanish around me after a year of taking Arabic instead. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into, yet I managed just fine during my four months in Spain.
This experience will prove to be a greater challenge. I hope to better integrate into Chilean life by making Chilean friends and actually speaking Spanish. My service will be purposeful. As I said in my application, this experience really will be the capstone to my Spanish through the past nine years and my coursework at Duke.
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