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.