Is a bumpy start good luck?

I arrived in Chile this morning after about 20 hours of traveling.   I was very anxious since I hadn't heard back from the Airbnb host confirming my stay.  All I had when I arrived was over 100lbs of luggage and an address.  Low and behold when I arrived to the address, the apartment was in a big building and I didn't know the number for it.  After waiting around on the side walk for a while and trying not to worry, a neighbor took pity on me, let me into the building and I stashed my stuff.  As I began to explore the city, I tried not the think the worst case scenario.  Did my host change her mind?  Had she she fled the city or disappeared?  Would I be lugging my suitcases around Santiago looking for a place to stay?

Walking the beautiful tree lined streets of Providencia, I enjoyed watching people strolling, jogging and cycling.  That and catching glimpses of the snow peaked Andes between buildings, helped me take my mind off my fears.  I guess deep down I knew it would be alright and that maybe like rain on a wedding day, a bumpy start to a new adventure is good luck.  I was (and still am a bit) nervous about my arrival to Santiago since it it has been difficult to get in touch with Fulbright appointed people to help get my project started.  I have a feeling that maybe it's ok for the waters to be muddy before things become clear.  It could be a good lesson to relinquish a little bit of control and learn that a positive result is still possible.

Although it can be stressful arriving to a new city.  There is something unique and special about the fatigue of travel mixed with unfamiliarity as you get acquainted with your surrounding. . .navigating, converting the temperature (which by the way warm and sunny is NOT what I expected for "winter"), clumsily counting coins to pay the cashier and figuring out how much money you're actually spending.

I finally connected with the Airbnb host, Camila and within minutes of my arrival she was showing my some aerial yoga stretches and her daughter, Eva was playing me songs on her keyboard.  I think it's going to be a good week!