Atlanta to Lima: This is Really Happening! (July 16, 2010)

    I have to pinch myself every now and then to make sure I am not dreaming (and, if it turns out I am dreaming, and then wake up to find it is day after we delivered David to the MTC in Provo, I will be really mad - ha).  I picked up international phone service from AT&T . . . just in case.  I do not really plan on using my i-Phone at all, other than to take some pictures, perhaps, possibly to get online where I find free wi-fi, but wanted access in case it is needed.  At $2.30/min., which includes listening to voice messages, I figured I could just live with a little less technology for a couple weeks.  We sent out a few last text messages from Atlanta (i.e. Last Will and Testament), had a brief chat with Kelli as we got onto the plane, and said goodbye to AT&T for a while.  (Well, I did pay $25.00 for an i-Phone application that is supposed to record phrases you speak in English and then play them back in Spanish, and vice versa.  Nice idea, but . . . well, let’s just say it does not work on my phone like it does on the instructional video.  That was not my smartest purchase in the world, considering I could have just spoken in David’s ear and had him interpret for free.  What was I thinking?)

David as we last saw him in person, at the Provo MTC, July 16, 2008

    About ninety minutes north of Peru, we examined the flight map showing our present location.  We were just north of the Equador/Peru border, soon to be flying over Piura, then Chiclayo en route to Lima.  We waved to David from our seats on the east side of the plane (yes, Maralea had the window seat - she has permanent dibs on that).  We got a little box lunch on the plane about an hour out of Lima and Maralea tucked her’s away in her backpack while I scarfed, even though I wasn’t all that hungry.  We packed a bunch of Power Bars in our backpacks to get us through until we reunite with David (because we are wary of getting sick by eating the wrong foods).  I complained to Maralea that I don’t like Power Bars, and she responded: “We are going to be up for about thirty-six hours straight and will need lots of power.”  I cannot begin to argue with that logic, so . . . I ate one.

    Things I learned on our flight to Peru:

    1.    Nirvana sang a song entitled: “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For a Sunbeam.”  (I actually listened to it as one of the songs provided for passenger listening.  Don’t waste your time.)  (For the non-LDS, a well known children’s song in the LDS Church is called: “Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam.”)
    2.    The Glee soundtrack is pretty darn awesome.  (Yes, you read me right.  THAT JUST HAPPENED!)
    3.    Invictus is a pretty good movie, lots of amazing crowd scenes, wonderful message.  (“I am the master of my fate.  I am the captain of my soul.”)
    4.    Those horseshoe shaped neck thingies designed to help you sleep do not really help.  At the end of the day, sleep you just cannot really sleep in an upright position unless you happen to be a horse (or perhaps a statue).