I finally got on the internet here. It is very spotty. We really take that for granted in the states, but here at the school it is kind of a luxury. I discovered it today for myself. It has been a real pain because I want to keep this blog as current as possible. Sorry for not being around the last several days. I am going to try to catch you up to speed on our adventure now! :)
Let’s see... We left
on Tuesday morning, May 27, about 4 days ago.
Since then, we have been on three airplanes through four airports to
three countries, including a major world capital, a 13-hour overnight bus ride,
and a Friday and Sabbath at an Adventist campus, and I have just now gotten
wifi! I don’t know how our group does
it, but they find wifi and connect before I even knew it exists! By the time I show up, there is none to be had...
Day 1
We headed out from SVA close to 7:00 a.m. and did fine until we got close to Manassas. There was a traffic jam that delayed us an hour. At the same time, Autumn Mott, joining us from North Orange, Massachusetts (my old town) texted us that her baggage had gone missing on JetBlue! Well, we got there, met her, checked in, and went through security. TSA made James Matthews dump two full containers of shampoo, too. That was painful for him to watch. It was his first ever airplane trip.
Anyway, we got to the international departure terminal just in time to board! Edgardo Ullrich, our driver, texted me that the SVA minibus had broken down on the way back. We were aboard Avianca for our first leg of the journey, Washington to San Salvador, El Salvador. The young people enjoyed the personal entertainment system at each seat while Valentina and I entertained little Sofia. That was a good little flight, and we even flew directly over Cuba. When we got to San Salvador, it was very hot. We tried wifi (I didn't connect) and got a few snacks and soon were on board again for Lima, Peru.
I had hoped we would fly over the Andes, and I guess we did at some point, but by the time we got to Lima it was dark. South America is having shorter days than North America now. This was the roughest flight for Valentina, Sofia, and I. Somehow, we managed the first couple of hours, but in the end she was crying a lot. By the way, our seating assignments were all messed up, so we had to "reconfigure" ourselves each time. Not fun. Lima has what was voted as the best airport in South America. I believe that is true, but the layover was so short, we were unable to enjoy it. At this point, I knew the baby would sleep most of the way, but none of us were looking forward to this flight, other than it would take us to our destination. I announced to the gate personnel that since we were traveling with a baby, we would board first - all eleven of us!
That flight was long, but quiet. The baby slept like most of us. Some were watching movies through the night. There were no complaints all day long. It is a great group. The students had fun with and looked after my kids (see Day 3). Finally, we arrived in Argentina!!!
Day 1 Becomes Day 2
We arrived and all went smoothly until we found no one waiting for us. Found out later that the company that had been contracted by ISAM to get us thought we were arriving Thursday, not Wednesday. Arturo had set up a Plan B, though. (You would love this guy.) So, I contacted a coach company he recommended and got 3 separate vans to take us to the hotel. This is how I split everyone up: Car 1 - Reiss, River, Sarah, and Autumn; Car 2 - Valentina, Sofia, James Matthews, and Nicholas; Car 3 - Diego, Julia, and I. It was no problem. Praise God!
Once we got to the Tribeca Buenos Aires Apart Hotel at 1265 Bartolome Mitre, Arturo joined us. He had taken an all night bus from Misiones to meet us in Buenos Aires. He was a sight for sore eyes and picked up some tasty breakfast snacks and got us right into the middle of B.A.
Some of the places we visited that morning include: Avenida 9 de julio, Plaza de mayo, La casa rosada, La Catedral de Buenos Aires (Pope Francis' most recent parish), El Cabildo, La Boca, and El Caminito.
We got back to the hotel about 1 p.m. hungry and absolutely exhausted. We finally got into our spacious rooms and slept it all off for about 3 hours before going back out to eat and see Buenos Aires at night. It is my second favorite city now, after Paris.
Getting tired now, so I will sign off by saying that our kids are doing great. They are spreading themselves out and sitting with the Argentinians. They are serious about getting this language. Please pray for them and for all of us as we work towards this goal. We are in a very good, welcoming place!!!! More to come tomorrow...
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| James at Sabbath lunch with locals. River doing the same in blue sweater in background right. |
