W7: Quellon, Chileo Islands

Hey all. This is me and my trainer, Elder Garlick.  He is a great trainer and super cool. I made it to Chile and I made it to my area. So now we are all standing on opposite sides of the earth. I guess if the earth was flat I would officially be on the other side. I was told it was a myth that the toilets swirl the other way so that's kinda a bummer. 

Anyways I am in a town called Quellón. It is on an island and is about a 5.5 hour bus ride from Puerto Montt. It is a town full of salmon fisherman. I think it is one of the biggest salmon exporters in the world. 

So a little about my travel and how I miraculously ended up in Chile. It started on Thursday morning (more like the middle of Wednesday night). At 2:15AM I woke up and with my 2 50lbs suitcases and with all of my worldly possessions I set off for the airport. It was the only time I had driven through Mexico City with no traffic and our driver was speeding through the city. My mind might have also been playing some tricks on my because it was so early but there where definitely some sketchy moments. 

Then we got to the Mexico City Airport and let me tell you. Going through an airport that doesn't really speak English at 4am with all of your worldly possessions is a little tiny bit stressful. Plus it doesn't help that the airport looks like a prison. Like seriously it is just a huge concrete building. Low key reminded me a lot of Northgate. SHOUTOUT TO ALL THE BRONCOS!!! 

We made it through Mexico TSA and got on the plane pretty smoothly. It was 640 when we boarded the plane but it was weird because we had already been awake for 4 hours. I got on the plane and we where off to Santiago. They served us breakfast which was OK. They did give us a platter of fruit with a singular grape and that grape was no joke the best grape I have ever had. I proceeded to conk out and take a 2.5 hour power nap until lunch. Lunch was OK but then I realized that we still had 5 HOURS left on the flight. It was ok. We just talked and ate some enchilada Pringles. The flight ended up taking 8.5 hours. 

We landed in Santiago and the group of missionary's that where going to Puerto Montt had no idea how we where going to get there. We received no flight plans after Santiago or itineraries or anything. We walked through the airport which was by the way nicer than the Mexico City Airport. 

Then it came time to go through immigration. The worker didn't really speak English and I didn't really speak Spanish. He asked me where I was going and I said Puerto Montt. He then said that wasn't a good answer. I pulled up the address of the mission home and that wasn't a good answer either. At this point I didn't really know what do to so I just said I think we are staying in a a Holiday Inn tonight which my mom said other missionaries did. He started typing in the computer and once I realized that that response will get me somewhere I kept saying sí until he let me through. 

We still did not know how we were getting to Puerto Montt or if we were going to a hotel so we just walked out of the airport hoping someone was going to be there for us. Luckily there was!! There was a guy from the church who said (in spanish) that he was going to bring us to a hotel to stay the night and would pick us up the next day to go back to the airport and that he would help us print our boarding passes. He then drove us to the hotel. 

The hotel was super super nice. Like the nicest hotel I have stayed in. It was definitely not a Holiday Inn. Our driver guy told us that we had a credit on out room key and to get dinner at the hotel. We got a nice dinner at the hotel complete with a burger and even some cheesecake at the end. It was the best cheesecake I had ever eaten... it was put on the room tab too so that was nice. 

The next morning (Friday) we drove back to the airport for a 2 hour flight to Puerto Montt. Finally we were going to the mission I was assigned. We made it to Puerto Montt and our mission president was waiting for us at the airport.  People were not joking when they said it is the most beautiful place in the world. Everything is super lush and green. It looks like it us straight out of a movie. 

I met a bunch of people and had a super good dinner with my mission president. He's a really nice guy from Chile and I love him. We met up with other missionaries who went to the Brazil MTC who are from South America.  Most of them were there for a week since they already know Spanish.  I met my companion for the next 7 weeks (Elder Garlick) and I am going to "kill him" but not literally. It just means that he goes home or dies after this transfer. He's a super nice dude and a great trainer. I met him on Friday and that was when he informed me that we had a 5 hour bus ride the next day.My companion and I stayed in a hotel again although it was not as nice as the first one. 

Saturday came bright and early and it was time for a 5 hour bus ride. Me and Elder Garlick got on this huge double decker bus with super comfortable, reclining seats. We drove for about an hour before the bus drove onto a ferry!! We are on an island so we got on a ferry to cross the ocean. We where able to get off the bus and walk around the ferry. Super cool to be able to cross by ferry. 

Then after the ferry ride it was nap time. I am becoming really good at napping. It's actually pretty nice to be able to just fall asleep in the chairs. It really helps with how much we are walking everyday. We spent another 3 hours on a bus on Sunday and we are going to travel another 3 hours on Tuesday because we have some meetings we need to go to with the other missionaries on other parts of the island. My first impression of the mission is that it is a lot of traveling. 

The people drink a lot of Mate here. It's just a drink that is from Argentina with some special straws. It's ok but it's something nice and hot to drink. It is pretty cold here. Like it's windy and rains a ton. I am super grateful for all my waterproof and warm clothes I got. The weather is like totally opposite of Mexico City. Like I wear several layers everyday and a Patagonia down jacket to stay warm. 

Quick spiritual thought: 

I was reading an autobiography of Gordon B Hinckley who was a president of the Church for a time and he said that "Great buildings were never constructed on uncertain foundations" I think this applies to everything in our lives. If we want anything to be worthwhile we need to start with good fundamental principles. For swimming you foundation is going to be your core. You need to make sure you gave a strong core or else you will never be able to fully connect your arms to you legs. In math you need to understand how to do algebraic equations before you can do calculus. In the gospel you need to be able to have faith in Jesus Christ in order to continue to grow spiritually. Everything starts with fundamentals and I just think that is super cool. 

Anyways I love it here and thanks so much for the emails I love reading them. 

Love 

-Elder McMillan 

Here are some photos. 

Me at my mission presidents house. He is super cool and I love him. 

1. Our bus on the ferry

2. Quellon, the city I am in, during sunset. 

3. A boat in the ocean.

4. We went walking and found an old boat that was washed up. 

5. Me at the end of Ruta 5, aka Panamericana, the road that goes from Anchorage Alaska to my area. They have a little plaque. We saw a seal or sea lion swimming.  

All About Quellon (From Heidi)...

Quellon is a fishing town with 24,000 people on the southern part of Chiloe Island.  Norway and Chile are the largest salmon exporters. The island is accessed by ferry.  It takes 3 hours to drive from north to south on the island. Scott said a lot of branch members are fisherman or work in salmon packing plants.  Fisherman often go on a ship for 10 days and then home for 10 days so they come to church every other week. 

Winters are cool and wet but mild with temps in the 40's in July.  It has strong arctic winds, is humid and rains a lot.  Scott said it isn't as cold as he thought so far but was somewhat cold layered in a sweatshirt, sweater and lighter jacket. He is so grateful for his nice gear and hopeful he will stay warm.

The island is home to penguins.  I was going to get him and his companion a tour from a nearby city to go see the penguins on their P-day but the penguins leave by February. So sad! He did get to see a seal.  

There might not be penguins on the island now, but he said the streets are full of dogs. Most homes have a gate so instead of knocking on doors, you call from outside the gate and people come out if they are home. That way you don't get bit.  If you get bit, most missionaries monitor the dog to make sure they don't act crazy and have rabies.

Scott said the people are so nice and it is a really slow pace of life which he thinks he is really going to enjoy.  People like to talk and have time to talk. It is so different than Mexico City and Santiago. 

His trainer goes home in 6 weeks so Scott will have 2 trainers. They are trained for 2 transfers. Elder Garlick is from Utah, although his family now lives in Alaska.  They whitewashed the area which means they are both new to the area. That comes with its learning curve like lugging their luggage on the cracked streets only to arrive at the Hermana's apartment which they located on the missionary app instead of their apartment.  From there, they had to take a taxi to their home which cost 2$. 

The apartment is small, nice and humble and most importantly has a space heater which Scott is excited about.