Last Day in Chile

Today was our last day in Chile.  We're currently sitting in the Santiago Airport waiting to board our flight to Dallas, TX.  This morning I packed up my suitcase to come home.  I hate packing, but it wasn't too bad this time since most of my clothes were already in my suitcase.  When we were done packing the whole group went to Tiki Taco for our final group meal together.  We went to Tiki Taco as a group our first day in Chile so we thought it would be fitting to go there on our last day too.  After lunch we headed back to the hotel and took one last walk around the rooms and halls to reminisce on our time there.  We then got on our bus that was waiting to take us to the airport.  I think we all slept on the bus so the drive wasn't too bad.  We are going to board our flight to Dallas in about ten minutes.  Once we get to Dallas, we will take a connecting flight to Pittsburgh and then I will take a flight back home to Philadelphia.  The beginning of this trip went by so slow and it felt like we would be here forever.  Now that it is over, I realize how quickly the trip was.  It went by like a blur, but it was so much fun I wish I could do it again.

Horseback Riding in Chile

Today is our last full day in Chile.  I can't believe the trip is almost over already.  This morning we packed on the bus and were taken to a ranch for horseback riding and a Chilean barbecue.  I have never been horseback riding, or even on a horse so I was excited but nervous at the same time to do this.  Before we got our horses, we spent time looking at chickens, boars, cows, and pigs.  They had both adult and baby animals of all of these so it was really cool to see them interacting together.  We then got our horses; mine was named Vavaro (or something like that), which means The Muddy One.  I don't know how my horse got that name because he wasn't muddy at all.  We went on a three hour-long adventure starting off at the beach.  From there we rode through a small river and into a forest area.  We eventually came upon sand dunes and then made our way back to the beach before returning to the ranch.  The scenery that we saw today was amazing.  When we got back to the ranch we had another Chilean barbecue and after I ate I took a nap on a hammock.  When I woke up I went over to the campfire to roast some marshmallows.  Then our day at the ranch was done.  We're now at the hotel getting ready for dinner.  We're going out to get pizza and this will be our final group dinner together.  Again, I can't believe this is over already.

Craziness in Chile

This morning was a free morning so Evan, Alyssa, and I went to a pastry shop a few blocks away for breakfast.  After our stop at the pastry shop we went to a street market to look for things to buy.  We didn’t see anything too interesting so we didn’t buy anything.  After this we headed back to the hotel to see where everyone else was.  We met up with Sarah in the hotel and went to the beach to rent a beach cruiser.  The thing barely worked so it took all of our leg strength to get it to move.  Every single person that we passed stared at us and a lot of them laughed at us also.  We almost lost control of the cruiser into traffic and we crashed into a concrete wall at one time.  After all of the adventures of driving on the streets we took the cruiser back to the stand.  We headed back to the hotel again and met up with our whole group to go paintballing.  I’ve only been paintballing once before in my life so I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  When we got to the paintball field we spilt into teams and played capture the flag.  We played three rounds and my team lost all three times.  We had a very limited amount of paintballs so we ran out of ammo very quickly each round.  I got shot twice but I also shot three people so I didn’t feel too bad about myself.  It was more fun than I expected it to be but I wish the company was able to give us more ammo so we could’ve played longer.  Tomorrow is our last day in Chile; I can’t believe our trip is almost already over.

Last Company Visits

On Wednesday we had our last two company visits of the trip.  Our first visit was to Hela, a hardware producer.  The company specializes in producing and distributing hardware supplies.  We were taken around the factory and were shown how they produce their various brushes, such as paintbrushes.  Inside the factory it was very noisy, so we had to wear earplugs.  There was a lot of machinery being operated so we also had to wear protective goggles while we were inside the factory.  Our second company visit of the day and final one of the trip was to Centauro, a canned food manufacturer.  The owner of the company took us around the manufacturing plant and gave us samples of canned peaches, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and pumpkin paste.  The peaches were the best peaches I have ever had in my life; I wish I could've had more.  I don't really like tomatoes at all but I even thought they didn't taste too bad.  The pumpkin paste was interesting and it tasted pretty good too.  After this visit we went to get empanadas from a different restaurant than we usually go to.  I like the empanadas at the first restaurant better.  After empanadas, we went back to the University for Cueca dance lessons.  In my opinion, this dance was the hardest of the three we learned.  Even though I was really bad at it, I still had a fun time learning and trying the dance.  After the Cueca lessons, we headed back to the hotel and watched some movies to relax a little bit.  Some of us headed to Subway for a snack and just like McDonald's, Subway in Chile tastes just like Subway in the United States.

Company Presentations

This morning we woke up and made our last trip to University of Santa Maria to present our company presentations.  We presented our projects to Professor Jamie and answered his questions about our companies.  We still haven't visited two companies so two of the groups were at a little bit of a disadvantage because they didn't have a lot of information about the companies.  They still did a great job though and Professor Jamie liked all of the presentations.  After the presentations, we had lunch in the cafeteria for the final time.  We then went back to the hotel, but my friend Aaron and I were still hungry so we went to get pizza down the street.  We order one pizza, but they gave us two, we were surprised to find out that they had a two for one deal.  After the pizza our whole group went to play soccer again with the Chilean students.  We played on a very small turf field so the game was very fast paced.  We played for about maybe two hours then headed down to the mall with Camilo, one of the Chilean students.  With his help I was finally able to buy a new lock for my suitcase.  I thought the mall would be somewhat different than the malls in the United States, but it was basically the same as the malls in the United States.  Once we finished at the mall we headed back to the hotel to get ready for tonight.  We're heading out to the karaoke bar again tonight to do an encore for our fans.  I'm sure everyone there will be glad to hear our amazing singing voices.

Surfing Sunday

This morning my friends Aaron, Mike, Nick, Nik, and Allison and I had plans to get surfing lessons from a friend of one of the Chilean students.  She met us at our hotel at 11:30AM like planned and walked us a few blocks to her friend's pick-up truck.  We thought we were going to take the city bus to the beach so this was good since we didn't have to pay anything.  We got to the beach were the surfing lessons were being held and the two people who brought us said goodbye and left.  So we were on our own at a beach however many miles away from our hotel.  We went to the front desk at the beach and managed to tell them that we wanted surfing lessons.  We got in our wetsuits and they gave us our surfboards.  After a few warmup stretches we were out in the water learning how to surf.  I thought it was going to be very difficult and that I wouldn't be able to do it, but it was a lot easier than I thought.  It was an awesome feeling when I was able to catch my first wave.  We probably surfed for about three hours before we had to give our gear back to the store.  We walked to the closest bus stop since we were on our own and we had to find the right bus to get back to our hotel.  We got on the first bus that came to the stop and it dropped us off near the hotel.  After walking around the town we eventually found our way back to the hotel.  We felt so accomplished.  We then we to get empanadas since we were so hungry from surfing.  After the empanadas we went back to the hotel to relax a little and to get cleaned up.  Later on we went to Tierra del Fuego for a gourmet dinner.  The restaurant was right on the edge of the ocean so we had a great view out of the windows.  The food and dessert were great.  Once that was over we headed back to the hotel and have been just relaxing since we got back.  Tomorrow we have to present our company projects to the Chilean professors and students.  I hope they enjoy our presentation.

Spa Day

Today we had an amazing day.  We went to a spa and resort with the Chilean students.  When we got there we had empanadas as a snack and then we started playing soccer against the Chilean students.  We played four on four with a goalie.  I used to play soccer when I was younger so it was a lot of fun to be able to play again.  We played a few games against them and my team lost every time, but it was still an awesome experience.  After soccer we had a big buffet for lunch.  The food was great and the dessert was even better.  After lunch we went back down to relax by the pool.  Some people went swimming, but the water was freezing so I didn't.  The people at the resort started playing a game for us where they would play a song from a movie and we would have to guess the movie.  If we got three questions right, we would win I prize.  I came close, but I only got two questions right.  We played foosball also by the pool. This was definitely the most fun day we've had Chile.  After the resort, we went to a Chilean professor's house for a Chilean barbecue.  We had sausage on a roll at the barbecue and they were delicious.  After the barbecue we headed back to the hotel.  We all rested for a little while and then a few of us went to McDonald's for a late night snack.  A few of my friends and I about to leave right now for surfing lessons.  I have never been surfing so I don't expect to be very good.  It'll still definitely be a lot of fun though.

Viña Indomita

This morning we all woke up early as usual to get ready for our day.  Unfortunately, none of us were able to take a shower as we discovered the water to the hotel had been shut off.  We had to use our water bottles to wash our faces and brush our teeth.  Hopefully the water gets turned back on soon.  After we makeshift got ready we took our third company visit to Viña Indomita, a vineyard.  A worker at the vineyard gave us a tour of the wine cellar and told us about the process of how the wine is produced.  After the tour, we gathered on the front patio for wine tasting.  We tasted one white wine and two red wines.  One of the red wines was kept in a barrel with smoked wood chips so the wine had a smokey taste to it; this wine was my favorite one that we tasted.  We then went for lunch at a restaurant with an oceanfront view.  We ate outside in the nice weather and then had a dessert called pico cotta, which was kind of like a pudding, it was very delicious.  After lunch we walked down to the beach and relaxed for about an hour just watching the waves.  We climbed and sat on these huge rocks that were jutting out into the ocean, the waves were big and one of my friends got soaked so that made up for the water not working at the hotel.  Once we were done relaxing we went to Pablo Neruda’s house, which is now a museum.  Pablo Neruda was an important Chilean poet and diplomat.  The house had a lot of cool things in it that belonged to Neruda.  His bedroom faced the ocean and it had a great view.  I would love to wake up every morning to a view like that one.  We saw Neruda’s grave, which was not far from the house.  Today was the shortest day of the trip so far, meaning we finished the day the earliest and also had the least amount of activities.  It was nice to have a slow day for once and we have some time to catch up on sleep.  Tomorrow is our day at the spa and we get to play the Chilean students in soccer so that should be very entertaining.  We’re most likely going to lose so I just hope we can actually compete with them.

Bosques del Mauco

Thursday morning was the most tired I have been on the trip.  We stayed out until 4AM with the Chilean students on Thursday morning and had to leave from our hotel at 8:30AM for a lecture at the University.  This time the lecture was about more Chilean culture including their TV commercials and music.  We watched Chilean TV commercials and listened to Chilean music.  It was interesting to observe similarities and differences between these and the media from the United States.  Although the information was very interesting, I had a hard time staying awake because I was so tired.  After the lecture we had lunch again at the University, but my friend Nik and I did not like the food so we bought some empanadas at another dining hall on campus.  After lunch we had our second company visit of the trip at Bosques del Mauco, a mushroom farm.  The smell at this place was probably the worst thing I have ever smelt, but the visit was still very informative and interesting.  The owner of the company told us about the history of the company and then took us on a tour of the entire factory.  We got too see how the fertilizer for the mushrooms is prepared and how the mushrooms grow in different stages.  We then saw how the mushrooms are prepared and packaged so they can be sold.  It was very cool to see the whole operation line of the company.  After the company visit we headed back to the University for our second Reggaeton lesson.  This lesson was faster paced than the first one, but I actually had more fun this time, maybe because we all got a little better.  I think we can possibly keep up with the Chileans out on the dance floor now, probably not, but we can try.  At the end of the lesson, Sarah, one of our trip advisors, chose me to give one of the Chilean students with us a gift from our group.  I'm glad I was chosen to do this because it is a great culture experience to interact with the Chilean students.  Tonight the Chilean students are taking us to a discotheque; it should be another long, interesting, and fun night!

LAN Airlines

On Wednesday morning we had to wake up very early to attend a lecture at the University.  The lecture was about Chilean culture, literature, and natural disasters, most specifically the major earthquakes that have affected Chile over the years, including the most recent one in 2010.  We watched live videos of the earthquake, which showed how destructive the earthquake was.  After our lecture we had lunch in the university cafeteria again.  This time they served empanadas so it was an enjoyable lunch.  Once we all ate we took a two-hour bus ride to the LAN headquarters in Santiago.  This long bus ride allowed us all to catch up on some much needed sleep.  LAN is the largest and number one rated airline company in South America so it was nice to have an opportunity to visit a company with such great business operations.  An executive from LAN gave us a presentation about the company’s different airplanes such as the cargo and passenger planes.  They just bought new planes that will be more efficient for the environment and the company.  After this visit we went back to the University for our second round of Salsa lessons.  This lesson was more advanced than the first one, but I think we all danced pretty well, especially for beginners.  Hopefully we can impress some people with our dance moves.  We were hungry once again after a lot of dancing and we had our first taste of Chilean McDonald’s.  The food was a little different than food at McDonald’s back home.  After we ate we went back to the hotel and got ready for a night out with the Chilean students.  Nights out in Chile last much longer than nights out in the United States.

Santiago

This morning we took our first visit to the capital city of Santiago.  We attended a presentation at the Santiago Stock Exchange and then had a tour of the trading floor inside the building.  It was interesting to see all of the different Chilean markets and companies up on the screen.  After our tour at the Stock Exchange, we walked around the city and got to see La Moneda, which is the Chilean White House.  It was amazing how close were able to get to the building since the Chilean president was working inside.  There were plenty of guards surrounding the building to keep the president safe.  We continued our tour of the city by going inside the Cathedral of Santiago.  The altar, stained glass windows, and painted ceilings were spectacular to look at.  This cathedral was much different than the Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh.  After walking through the Cathedral we continued our day by visiting the Museum of National History.  It was fun to see some of the important artifacts of Chilean history.  After the museum we went for lunch at a Chilean seafood market.  I had Chilean salmon con papas fritas and we also ordered calamari as an appetizer.  Once lunch was over we ended our visit in Santiago by going on another incline.  This incline was up the side a huge mountain and the views at the top were indescribable.  At the top of the incline there was a church and a giant statue of Mary overlooking the city.  These have great meaning to the large Catholic population in Chile and they were very cool to see.  We rode the incline back down to the bottom and then took a two hour bus ride back to the University for our Reggaeton dance class.  Reggaeton was very different than Salsa and I think it was even a little bit harder to dance.  Salsa is a more structured dance while Reggaeton is basically dancing crazy and having fun.  I was definitely more tired after dancing Reggaeton than I was after dancing Salsa.  Tomorrow we have our first company visit and I'm looking forward to being in a Chilean business environment.  We also have two lectures at the university so it's going to be a very long day.  I need sleep so I'm off for now.  Hasta luego!

First Day of Class

Today we had breakfast at 7:30AM and we left from our hotel at 8:30AM.  We took a city bus to the Universidad Téchnica Federico Santa María for a guided tour of the university.  After the tour, we attended a lecture about the Chilean economy and government.  I was chosen to give our professor a thank you gift for taking time out of his schedule to talk to us.  After our lecture we got lunch in the university cafeteria.  It was a very different experience than having lunch at Pitt.  It felt like I was a freshman in high school on the first day of school because I didn't know where to sit.  I eventually ended up sitting with a friend from my group and a bunch of Chilean students.  It was interesting to observe how all of the Chilean students interacted with each other at lunch.  After lunch, we went on a city tour of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.  The highlights of the tour were an incline that we took to the top of the city and a runner from Australia that has been running 33 miles each day for a month and he will continue to do this for another month for cancer awareness.  It was incredible that we were able to meet this runner by chance.  After our city tour we went for a snack and got empanadas.  I had two chicken and cheese empanadas and they were awesome.  I will probably be eating mostly empanadas the rest of the time on our stay.  After this snack we went back to the university for salsa lessons.  At first I was a little timid about the salsa because I have never danced like that before.  Our instructor was very good though and I feel like all of us picked up the basics very quickly.  At the end of out lesson we were all dancing the basics of the salsa pretty well.  Next week we will have our second salsa lesson and that one will be more advanced.  I'm looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.  We will be visiting the stock exchange and taking a tour of Santiago.  Talk to you all tomorrow!

Arrival Day

We arrived this morning in Santiago at 7:30AM.  When we got into the airport the first thing we had to do was go through immigration.  We had to pay $140 to enter Chile.  $60 of my dollars was not accepted at the immigration desk so I had to call Sarah, our trip advisor, over to give me different bills.  Finally all of my money was accepted and then I went to baggage to pick up my suitcase.  As I was waiting for my fellow travelers I noticed a few security dogs wandering around the airport.  Once we met up with everyone in our group, we went through customs where we got our bags checked.  Then we got on a bus waiting for us and took a 1.5 hour drive to Viña del Mar.  When we got to the hotel I noticed that the lock I had on my suitcase was missing, so I guess the security at either the Miami airport or the Chilean airport took my lock off and forgot to put it back on.  I was a little upset about this because now I will have to buy a new lock.  An obstacle we faced at the hotel was the lock on our door was very difficult to open with our key.  Eventually, we bent the key almost completely around in the keyhole and then we were finally able to unlock the door.  Once we got settled in, we all went out for lunch at Tiki Taco.  After lunch we went to a soccer game between Everton and San Marco.  This was the highlight of the day.  The game was very exciting as there were six yellow cards and four red cards given throughout the game.  Actually, the last red card came after the game was over.  Everton, which was the home team, was down 2-0 early in the game but they eventually came back to win 3-2.  The atmosphere of the crowd was unlike any game I have been to in the United States.  After the game we went to a grocery store and spent our first Chilean pesos.  We then headed back to the hotel and relaxed a little before we went out for a small dinner.  After dinner we came back to the hotel and I am now writing this blog.  One thing that is noticeable different between Chile and the United States is the amount of stray dogs in Chile.  They are on almost every street and they follow us everywhere we go.  Tomorrow we are going to Santa María University in Valparaíso for our first class.  Keep reading tomorrow for updates.

May 5th Travel Day

Yesterday, May 5th was our travel day.  We all packed onto the 28x around 1:00PM and took it to the Pittsburgh International Airport.  We had to wait a few hours to board our flight to Miami so we got lunch to waste some time.  We flew to Miami and had to wait even longer for our next flight than we did in Pittsburgh.  We got dinner and then boarded our flight to Chile at 10:15PM but it took us over an hour for us to take off.  The flight wasn't too bad as I was asleep for most of it.  It definitely wasn't the most comfortable position to sleep in.

May 4th

This is my post for yesterday, Friday May 4th.  I wasn't able to make a post yesterday because I couldn't connect to the internet in my room in Towers.  When I arrived at Towers I got my room number and went up to the room.  Unfortunately, my keycard didn't work in the door so I had to call a mechanic to let me in.  After I settled in the room, I met up with my friends and we all went to lunch and then the final pre-departure meeting.  At the meeting every country except Vietnam spilt up into two groups and we performed skits about how business in our respective countries work.  It was interesting to see how different business in Chile is from business in Germany.  After the meeting we all got dinner together and then hung out for the night.

Welcome!

Hello everyone!  This is my blog for Chile Plus3.  The journey begins tomorrow as I will fly from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and meet with my fellow travelers for our final pre-departure meeting.  I will be posting here everyday about my study abroad experience in Chile.  Check back everyday for updates!