Editor's Note: Inspired by our very own Bigfoot Bill's
far-flung adventures, we're now starting a new series of articles
about new and exciting locations all across the globe. Do you live
outside of North America? Did you travel to an exotic location recently? Submit an article about your far-flung location and join the Times as one of our "far-flung correspondents"!
To start the series off, we present...Spazchick...
This summer, I went with my church to Puerto Rico, to help out the locals
and do some service work. My church, along with another local
church, were teaming up. I ended up learning a lot and meeting tons of
cool, new people. The place we stayed at is a Christian camp, and lots of
children were there at the same time as us.
Day One: Sunday
After meeting at the early service at my church, we made our way to the
airport!! After getting there, everyone was a little nervous, because we
didn't know exactly what was ahead of us. I also personally felt nervous
about meeting the people from the other church. Would they like me? What
if we didn't get along? Well, during the plane ride, they proved me wrong.
They were hilarious, and loved to have a good time.
First, we flew to Miami, which didn't take too long, maybe an hour and a
half. Then, we got on our plane to go to SAN JUAN!!
The plane ride wasn't
all that exciting, we watched "King of Queens" (a regularly scheduled NBC
show). We also ate airplane food, and I don't think I have to say anything
about that, even though I still survived!!
We finally arrived at the San
Juan airport, and I learned just how heavy all my stuff is!! Especially when
I don't have my dad to help me carry it!! It seemed like forever, but
everyone finally got their stuff off the baggage claim area.
Both of our
churches piled onto a bus, with our luggage pretty much taking up a quarter
of the bus. (Needless to say, it was jam-packed!) About half-way through,
we stopped at (yes!) KFC!! REAL FOOD! There was only one English-speaking
person there, lucky for us, and he was funny. We taught him a little about
our religion, then we loaded back up on the bus.
After long, mountain roads, super-skinny lanes (in the U.S., I would
consider that a one-lane road, not two!!), avalanching luggage, and an awful
banging noise coming from the bus, we made it!! Everyone was half asleep, and
we had to walk down the steepest hill I've ever seen... well, I guess you
could say felt, since it was pitch-black outside!! After me tripping on the
way to our cabin (welcome to my world), we waited for clean sheets, and
plopped down on the cushions. (By the way, the cabin was only held up by some
rotting metal and plywood). My friend set her cell phone to wake us up in
the morning, and as entertainment to fall asleep, I watched the ants on the
wall.
(FYI -- the man that took us from the airport to the church, all 3-4
hours, had volunteered, even though he had a brand new baby at home!! That
just goes to show how incredibly nice the people are there!!! His name is
Sergio, just like Whyville's taxi driver!)
There's more to come about my trip -- a whole week's worth, including pics!
-- in the next issue of the Times!
