Atlantis Project 2014: Three Kings Day

I landed at the North airport of Santa Cruz de Tenefie Saturday morning. While the flight to the island was by far the worst experience ever, things are starting to feel right and worthwhile.

Backtrack a little to the beginning of the journey, I flew out Thursday night at 10pm to Frankfurt, Germany. It was a 7-hour flight that was delayed because of some snow. The flight wasn't bad but the layover felt... endless. I had a 9-hour layover in Germany and my phone died. I had to buy an adapter for the charger, which costs 14.99 euros (Tip #1- do not buy adapters at the airport, as I found out from Allen- another fellow- on my first day on the island that an adapter at the store near here costs 1 euro). Such an expensive charger that ended up not working when I got the Madrid, Spain. And Tenerife does not use the same type of outlet... so, that worked out well, haha. The 7-hour layover in Madrid, Spain was hands down the WORST. The airport in Madrid at that time was closed and empty. The whole entire flight just felt completely lonely. I was starting to tell myself that this is not worth it...

Once I arrived, I was greeted by Joao and David, who are the AP director and coordinator, respectively. Joao looks different from what I had imagined him to be from the Skype "orientation" conversation we had a few weeks back. David is a local here, and he seems really nice and friendly. I got to meet Katie today, who is Joao's wife, and she's just a completely lovely person. Allen, Alyia, and Bess are the other fellows for this Winter Program. And while I've formed some sort of pre-conceptions of who they are from the Skype conversation, they are nowhere close to whom I've thought of them to be. Allen is this guy who loves to discuss politics; Alyia is someone who is allergic to virtually everything; and Bess is this cute, tiny little girl. I can't even begin to describe these wonderful people I've met.

So Saturday night, after a long nap to make-up for my jetlag, the group (Joao, David, Allen, Alyia, and I- for Bess and Katie haven't yet arrived) went out the dinner at a family restaurant. We had omelette, octopus (?!?!?), ,calamari, stuffed peppers ... such good food! The scenery downtown was just breathtaking. The architecture, the lights, the culture... just the feel of it caught me by surprised. It was like the Viet Nam I used to know with a twist.

Today (Sunday), we ventured out into Puertos de Santa Cruz and the El Orotava for a bit of sightseeing. It's near impossible to describe how beautiful this place is. The weather wasn't too hot or too cold. It was pretty sunny in the morning, but it can get chilly, so a light jacket would have been nice to have. But the hike around the city was simply amazing. David later told us that this time can get a little crowded because it's Kings Day on Monday. That's sort of like the equivalent to Christmas in the US, where on the 6th of January, the kids open presents that are from the Three Kings who visited Jesus when He was born in the manger. It's funny that in the US, we barely even know what Kings Day is... Another cultural thing I thought was pretty cool is that dinner time actually is from 8-11pm here, where in the US, dinner is typically 5-8pm. It's only been a couple of days, and I'm already learning so much! I love it. I LOVE IT.

The fellows haven't talked too much to each other, since we are still getting to know one another. There's this silence between the four of us, which I wouldn't necessary say it's awkward, but I hope we can all soon become closer and more comfortable around each other.

Another big day tomorrow, as Joao put it, "intense hiking," compared to today. I can't wait for what tomorrow has in store for us :)