Back to Chile

We returned to Chile early on the morning of September 19.  When I was looking for tickets, I had initially wanted to return the 18th, but could not find one flight to Santiago on that day.  September 18 is a national holiday, and Chileans do take those pretty seriously.  I wonder if there were any flights in Chile at all that day!  Things worked out in the end, though, and it was nice to have the extra day in Mendoza.  The flight back was pretty full (all the Chileans returning to work after the long vacation), but the process was much easier this time.

www.turkishairlines.com

We got to the airport really early, nervous because of our experience coming to Argentina.  We got there so early, in fact, that the check-in counter wasn't even staffed yet!  It looked like a few other people had the same idea we did, though, because we were about the 8th group in line.  Mom held our spot while I ran to grab us some coffee to wake us up and keep us warm.  Of course, the 19th was the coldest day in Mendoza so far, and the LAN check-in counter was right next to open door.  Luckily, the coffee did the trick and lasted just long enough for the employees to arrive and get settled in.  The attendant was really friendly, and even moved our seats for us--row 3, business class!  On this particular plane, that just meant that we were closer to the exit and had a partition between "us" and "them," but we felt special nonetheless.

www.toasto.com

The check-in process went so smoothly that security for our gate still wasn't open by the time we finished.  We waited nearby for a few minutes, but it didn't look like they were going to open up any time soon.  We took the opportunity to head upstairs to the cafe for breakfast.  Unfortunately, Argentinians are apparently not into big breakfasts, and the only options available before 11:00 am were alfajores and croissants.  Disappointed but hungry nonetheless, we ordered some croissants and more coffee.  We sat for a while, eating and just observing the other people in the cafe.  It seemed that most of the people were just there to relax, or hold business meetings.  Only one other person had luggage, a sweet-looking old lady of about 70.  She ordered 6 croissants and a large coffee, gulped it all down and was on her way before our coffee even had a chance to cool down!  She obviously wasn't on the same flight as us, because we took our time and security still wasn't open by the time we got back down.  I got in the growing line while Mom went out for one last cigarette break.

inmagine.com

By the time she got back, the line had started to move.  A little in front of us was a large crowd, and we couldn't tell if they were part of the line or not.  They all did move forward whenever the line moved, but none of them seemed to have any luggage.  And they were all crying.  As they reached the checkpoint, all but two of them pulled back.  The two that stayed were a young couple in their mid- to late-twenties.  They were hugging, and the woman especially looked like she was holding on to the man for dear life.  She was sobbing uncontrollably.  Their embrace seemed as if it would last forever, until someone behind them yelled for them to hurry up.  At first, we all thought they didn't hear, because they didn't move.  Eventually, the man backed up and pushed the woman away.  He looked pained as he walked through the checkpoint, the whole while looking behind him at the large group left in the lobby.  The woman followed him until the glass window turned to concrete and they could no longer see each other.  As their final good-bye, they lovingly "touched" hands through the glass window, lingering until a security officer told them they were blocking the way.

I have no idea what the back story is, and I can't decide if it's romantic or maybe a little pathetic.  If he's going away for a long time, or maybe going to do something dangerous--totally romantic.  If it's just his first weekend away from home--come on, people!  I don't know how things are in Argentina, but in Chile, children live with their parents until marriage.  The average age of marriage is actually higher in Chile than in the U.S., meaning most people are almost 30 before they leave "the nest."  Families are typically very close-knit, and even after marriage the children still visit their parents weekly (if not more).  Maybe it's just my different cultural upbringing, but I personally find the attachment a little intimidating.  For foreigners like me, it makes it very difficult to make friends, because social groups are comprised mostly of family and family friends.  The only way in is to have a previous connection (or a romantic one).  I'm not trying to say that one model is better than the other--sometimes I think that we in the U.S. are too quick to become independent and often have trouble developing the deeper relationships that are so common in countries like Chile; It's just difficult for me to understand the feelings involved.

I mean, in the two years (and some months) of dating, Scott and I have only been physically together for about 9 months.  In fact, we've already talked about the importance of our own independence, and have agreed that it will most likely be necessary for each of us to periodically spend time alone (or at least not with one another) to maintain our relationship.  Of course, this mentality is strange even for people from the U.S.--we often get asked why on earth we'd want to marry each other if we already know that we don't want to spend 24/7/365 together!  Maybe we're just total oddballs, but we both agree that one of the most important aspects of a healthy relationship is for each partner to be comfortable with who s/he is alone.  After all, how can you be comfortable with another person if you can't even be so with yourself?  Just my two cents here, feel free to leave your own opinions!

www.shelovesmagazine.com

Anyways, once the romantic movie scene finished playing out in front of us, we got through security without a hitch.  There wasn't much on the other side--just an insanely over-priced cafe and a small duty-free shop.  I guarded our luggage while Mom grabbed a drink (a $5 Pepsi) and perused the duty-free shop.  She took the opportunity to buy a carton of cigarettes to last her the rest of her stay, because cigarette prices in Chile are through the roof!  I don't smoke so I don't know exact numbers, but I've heard enough complaints from my counterparts to know that it's even more than in the states.  Most of that is due to the 62.3% ad valorem tax implemented in 2010.  Moral of the story: don't smoke!

With our final important purchase in hand, we sat down to wait for boarding.  We didn't have to wait long, because they called us about five minutes later.  Being in business class, we got to board first (along with the babies).  We were even given caramel candies as we boarded!  We settled in and got comfortable for the short ride back to Santiago.  Unlike our first flight, this one was only about five minutes late to take off, and that didn't even affect the arrival time.  In fact, we touched down a few minutes before estimated!

www.flickriver.com

Back in Chile, we had to go through passport control and customs again.  This is one time I was glad that Santiago is such a big city, because they had about 10 lanes open, and we got through passport control in about 5 minutes.  We could have breezed through customs just as quickly, but for the fact that we had to wait for our checked luggage (my dress!).  We decided that Mom should get through customs with her carry-on while I waited for the checked luggage.  Of course, being some of the first to check in for the flight, our luggage was some of the last to come out.  It took so long that most everyone else had already been through customs, so I didn't have to wait much at that line either.  There was a small snag when they discovered Hannah's mask (made of seeds), but after a closer inspection they let it through.  They also had to pull out the dress because the view on the scanner made all the beading look like seeds.  After the minor delay, I was back out onto Chilean soil.

We arranged for a Transvip shuttle back to my apartment, but ended up having to wait almost half an hour to leave.  Apart from the Christmas holidays, September 19 is probably the busiest travel day in the country.  By the time we left the airport, our shuttle was packed full of people and luggage.  Luckily, we were the second ones dropped off.  When we arrived, Mom's friend (the cleaning lady) came out to help us with the luggage.  Juan, the friendly concierge, welcomed us back to Santiago although he expressed sincere disappointment at our lack of participation in the Chilean festivities.  He told me that there was still one fonda going on, and we could catch it if we went out at 8:00 that night. We thought about it, but decided that after our long day, 8:00 was just too late to be awake.  I guess this just means that I'll have to come back another year for the September 18 celebrations!

Back up in the apartment, we had a quick lunch (leftover curry, yum!), pushed our luggage out of the way, and got into bed for a well-needed nap.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing and inventorying all the goodies we'd acquired on the trip.  It was a cold day, but that was OK with us because once we got in, we stayed in.  That night, we could hear the shouts of party-goers giving one last hurrah for the much-anticipated independence holiday.  We celebrated our independence of choice, and went to bed.