Tears in the streets.

Okay, so I´ve told you all the fun stuff -- I think I should give you a piece of real life, too. And, I don´t get to a computer much so I will give you a treat and do two in one day!!

So yesterday I hit exhaustion and culture shock-frustration.

Let me explain Latin America for a minute. Here, life is slower. One main reason is because everything is spread out. At home, I go to Walmart or Walgreens or a grocery store to buy an alarm clock, dinner food, an electrical adaptor and medicine. Here, you go to a panaderia for bread, a fruteria for produce, a carneceria for meat, a relojeria for a clock, a pharmacia for medicine, and you try multiple stores for an adaptor. Everything takes more time, more energy, and more new vocabulary. I like the slowness, but...

For those of you who have lived with me or have been around me behind closed doors, you know that when I hit exhaustion, I also cry. But never before. :) So yesterday I was exhausted from traveling, and from not much sleep (two nights before we were in a club until 540am... I only know 540 because when I heard it was that late/early, I was impressed with myself). All I wanted to do was make two phone calls to my family and a friend, and it was NOT working. I really needed to hear their voices BEFORE everything went wrong -- so then when it went wrong, I was a mess.

I bought a phone card for $3 for 40 minutes two nights ago. After searching the streets for a phone, I found out I can only use it at a street phone. So I tried that but it wouldn´t connect me, and it charged me without telling me for each attempt. By the time I figured it out, I had lost half my minutes and couldn´t even reach voicemail. Then the internet wouldn´t let me send emails, I couldn´t figure out how to type the arroba (@), and the little boy at the computer next to me couldn´t figure out why the gringa next to him was in tears as she furiously typed...

I still haven´t found a phone. I haven´t spoken with my family or my friend. Because we couldn´t find a clock yesterday, and because a request for a wake up call got lost in translation, we missed our bus this morning back to Chile.

Good things: God arranged a miracle so that two seats magically appeared for tomorrow´s bus while we were sitting frustrated in the terminal at 9am this morning. Seriously, a miracle. I had a good cry. I sat and drank tea and journaled today. I figured out how to type the arroba (alt 64). The hotel man gave us tonight for free, and we weren´t charged for tomorrow´s bus. I found two alarm clocks today. Katie reminded me to give myself grace -- this is our first big travel stop on our own. We´re doing a really great job figuring things our amidst a different language and culture...

I still need a phone though.