Bodas y Aviones

Versiculo de la Semana
"Pero los que confian en el Senor renovaran sus fuerzas, volveran como las aguilas, correran y no se fatigaran, caminaran y no se cansaran."Isaias 40:31

To those of you who can understand Spanish (without accents... I haven't figured out how to type accents into the blog) can see that this is the verse which states that those who trust in the Lord will soar on wings like eagles, will run and not grow weary, will walk and not grow faint. Our time here in Santiago has certainly had moments that are soaring- discovering hot springs at the end of mountain roads, sipping wine and enjoying fine cuisine late into the evening, singing songs of praise with children in the streets, and welcoming a new plane into the LAN fleet. And there are other moments where we feel we are running from place to place, trying to get work done, seeing the sights, and spending time with the friends we have met here. But much of our time (at least these past weeks) has also been more of a "walking" sort of journey, where we go about our daily routines: work, volunteering, taking bags of laundry to the lavanderia, trying to cook in the hotel kitchen, and wandering the streets looking for places of interest. And the walking can be tricky, because if you have soared, as we have, well, that type of living is very appealing and one could wish to be soaring always. And of course the running around is thrilling as well. The challenge lies is the ability to walk, through all the routine and simplicity of daily life, and see that the journey is the same. We can learn to see the beauty, pratice gratitude, and truly listen to one another when we are walking. The image of course is meant to illustrate our spiritual lives- how at times we feel so close to God that we are soaring, filled with His presence. Other times we are running and trying to keep the pace with all that is in our path, and much of life is a walk. Not always very glorious in the eyes of the world, but our Companion remains the same.

All that to say, Chris and I have had more relaxed weekends since the last post. We have enjoyed lazy Saturday mornings, LONG (three hours plus) church services followed by barbeques, and game after game of cribbage, of course. And I think our married life will look like as well, as much as I would love to dream of a life of international travel and adventure :) So as I have learned to walk in my Faith, I am learning what it means to walk in marriage as well.

La Boda
One of the employees at LAN Chile invited Chris to his wedding this past weekend. I really appreciated the invitation, it was designed to look like an airplane ticket! Very clever and Pinterest worthy. Anyway, we were told that the wedding would take place about an hour outside of the city and that a shuttle would be arranged to drive guests to and from the wedding. Great! Chris asked what time the shuttle would run, and he was told they would pick guests up in the city at 5:30pm and return them at 4:30AM!!! We were shocked that a wedding would go that late, and when I mentioned that to some locals, they looked at me as if I were crazy and said, "Well of course it will go until at LEAST 4am, it's a wedding! Don't your weddings last all night in the states?" It is normal, and expected for a wedding to last until sunrise. While we wanted to embrace the cultural experience, we did end up driving ourselves (seeing as how we start to fall asleep around 1am at other dinners and gatherings we have attended).

Well, the wedding was beautiful! At first, I knew it was going to be a classy affair when I saw the white tent with burlap table runners. Such good taste.

Thankfully the wedding was on Latino time, because Chris and I didn't realize quite how far away the location was and arrived 30 minutes late. We had a few minutes to spare before the bride walked down the aisle (or rather down the grassy hill to where the altar was). The wedding was an evangelical service, so the vows were very similar to what are spoken at weddings in the states.

After the wedding, there was a cocktail hour (a true hour, at least. I was beginning to see how the weddings could last so long, and a part of me was jealous that the pace is so slow and relaxed compared to the beautiful blurr of activity that was our wedding day). Since the plane flew on Saturday, Chris had to step away and get on the blackberry to send off some quick stats. What a good Boeing engineer! And rather handsome in the cowboy boots I would say!

The wedding had assigned seating, however the bride and groom never learned my name, so it was funny to see me as "La Senora."

After the cocktail hour, we were invited to find our seats and pray for dinner. Wine was flowing, there was a live band, and the food was typical Chilean bbq and delicious. Our table was filled with life-long friends of the groom who all happened to be high school teachers or mathematicians, which made for great conversation. After dinner, the emcee introduced two guests who arrived very late to the wedding (it was 10:30pm by this point) and who needed to say a joke or perform because they were late. It was all part of a master plan, and the "guests" were actually opera singers who roamed the tables and sang all sorts of beautiful opera songs! After that, the cake was cut and dessert was served, along with coffee (which I needed, if I was going to keep up with the late night partiers!). Here you can see the cake carried with the theme of traveling. So fun!

After the cake and dessert, the band came out and the dancing began! (After a coordinated dance routine by the bride and groom featuring all the Chilean classic songs like "All the Single Ladies" and "You're the One that I Want" from Grease. I think Backstreet boys may have been in the mash-up as well.) Once the cumbia music hit the speakers, the guests hit the dance floor. Chris and I didn't really master the true latino rhythum, but we certainly had fun. Later in the night, the band even played some songs we were more familiar with like, "Play that Funky Music White Boy" and "I Will Surivive." The floor cleared a little for those songs and we were able to take the spotlight with our awesome gringo dance moves.

Just as we were yawning and noticing it was already 2am, the bride and groom ran into the reception area with funny hats, boas, masks, and other crazy costumes. All the guests dressed up and took pictures and the dancing was re-energized. Here you can see our sweet swag:

Though the groom, Sergio, informed us that there would be a lamb roast at 3am, we could not be inticed to stay much longer. The hour drive back into Santiago, and the fact that I had agreed to teach Sunday school the next morning at the church, made a later night less than feasible. So, we said goodbye to the guests. From our table at least, and judging by the parking lot, we were the first to leave. Some may say that was shameful, but it was 2:30am! We had been dancing for a few hours already, and had enjoyed very much the Chilean wedding of Maria Jose and Sergio. They are now in Spain (benefit of working for an airline = cheap tickets to Europe) and we are thankful to have been included in their day!

Take Your Wife to Work Day!

Today (Friday), our friends Mike and Carolyn were scheduled to arrive in Santiago around 9am. Since Chris works at the airport, I thought I would go with him to work for a few hours and then meet Mike and Carolyn at the airport and go into the city together for the day. Chris and I checked out of our hotel because the four of us will be going to Valparaiso for the weekend, and all our things were packed. Then we found out that unfortunately Mike and Carolyn's flight was delayed TEN HOURS! Instead of leaving last night at 9pm from Dallas, they had to wait until this morning at 7am. So I was all packed up, on my way to work with Chris, and with a whole day before me, and no hotel to check back into. We decided to make the best of it, and it was take your wife to work day! I met his co-workers, saw the hangar, hung out in his work area, ate lunch (free ice cream Friday! Bonus!) and then the best part was I got to go on the newly arrived 787! LAN already had one plane, and today they received their second. I was able to watch it perform a fly-by and then land and have a ceremonial fire-hosing. Here are some pictures of our time on and around the plane.

The hat I am wearing may look like a fun hat, but really it was a helmet-hat that was regulation to wear, along with some steel toed boots that were much too big (loaned by a friendly LAN worker). The panels in the picture above were heavily engineered by your very own Chris Wheaton! He explained all the wiring and components that went into them, and the complications that arose. All in a panel! How much more in all the other components... It is a daunting task to imagine and I am very proud of Chris and all the Boeing employees who work to make safe, comfortable, and inovative airplanes that help us connect to other cultures and peoples and open our world.

In the picture of the windows, you can see the fancy feature of dimming in action. Otherwise, LAN did create a configuration of rather tight seating, so I am not sure a ride (at least in the back of the plane) would be especially more enjoyable. But the business class, Chris was happy to point out, was very comfortable. He also reminded me of the amazing experience of being able to lie all the way down. Hmmm.

So I have survived a whole day at LAN Chile (well, I may still have another hour of time left, we'll see) and then Chris and I will bide our time until Mike and Carolyn arrive and head over to Valparaiso! I am thankful to have had this peek into the daily work life of Chris, and I am looking forward to a weekend of new explorations ahead!