May 20, 2011: Departure

Today started late, around noon.  Probably a good thing after our last late night in Chile.  We headed out as a group around 1 to get lunch, our last meal together.  Lots of us got lomo a lo pobre, a common dish in Chile.  It's steak with a sunny side up egg, fries, and sauteed onions.  Definitely a filling meal full of carbs.  Soon it was time to get on the bus and head to the airport.  I don't think any of us were ready to go.  I slept through basically all of the hour and a half or so bus ride to the airport, so it seemed like we were there in no time.  We all checked our bags and made our way through security, then heading to the gate to wait for our plane.  Soon enough we were on the ten hour flight back to the states.  Luckily, I managed to trade seats with another passenger and was able to sit next to Briana for the trip home.  The flight is much more bearable when you're able to sit next to someone you know.  I tried to sleep, but ended up basically being half asleep all night.  Around 6 AM we landed in Atlanta.  Now came the fun of getting through customs.  Waiting in line took long enough, got to love U.S. security.  We got our bags back, rechecked them, and headed through another layer of security once more.  Then it was time to go our separate ways.  I have to say it was a pretty heart-wrenching moment.  I really hated to see everyone go.  I'm really hoping we all stay in touch and that we don't become strangers next year.  A few hours later I was on my plane back to Pittsburgh.  It was a beautiful day, and the flight was great.  In what seemed like no time at all we were on the ground back in PA.  I made my way off my plane and to the baggage check to find my parents waiting for me.  What a bittersweet moment.  It's good to be home, but man am I going to miss Chile.

Day 12, May 19, 2011: Last Full Day in Chile

Today started off nice and late, when all of us headed to catch the city bus to the university at 12:00 PM.  We started off with a bit of an info session on what kind of classes the university offers and how they would be able to fit into a study abroad program for us.  Then an exchange student from Belgium spoke to us about her experience studying there: things she liked, things she found different, etc.  She was very informative.  After that we headed to lunch, again at the university cafeteria.  I suppose it wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either.  Then we went off to go play some soccer with some of the Chilean students.  It was quite an entertaining game, mostly Chileans versus mostly Americans.  The Chileans are without a doubt good, but I think that we Americans held our own quite well.  Yet, the Chileans did end up beating us as they really picked it up toward the end of the game.  Afterwards, some of the students stay to play basketball, while the rest of us returned back to the hotel.  I took the time to begin packing up all of my stuff, it was rather bitter sweet.  I don't want to leave but at the same time I miss everyone back home.  Around 8 we are going to head out for pizza with the Chileans before we break into the plans for our last night in Chile.  The trip is coming to close, and I hate to go, I've definitely been having the time of my life.

Day 11, May 18, 2011: Bolsa de Comercio and Santiago

Today started off very, very early, at about 8:00.  We hopped on the bus to head to Santiago, which is about an hour and a half bus ride.  Our first stop in Santiago was the Bolsa de Comercio, which is the biggest stock exchange in Chile.  Sadly, we didn't get much of a tour, as the trading floor was closed for construction.  Instead we just got to watch a video and a presentation.  Then there was time for questions.  To be completely honest, I was kind of disappointed, the part I was looking forward to most was seeing the trading floor.  After leaving the bolsa, we walked around Santiago a bit.  We first stopped at La Moneda, which is like Chile's white house.  It was pretty impressive.  Oddly enough, there was a large number of younger Chilean students there, and they kept wanting to take pictures with several of us.  After leaving La Moneda, we stopped at a local cathedral.  The cathedral was beautiful, and reminiscent of many European cathedrals I have visited in the past.  We then made a short stop at the Chilean National Museum.  At this point, all of us were starving, so we soon headed for lunch.  We had lunch at a restaurant inside the large fish market in Santiago.  The food was pretty good, and the market itself was a sight to see.  All of the seafood setting out, fresh and local.  After lunch we went to the top of a small mountain in the middle of Santiago.  There we found a pretty spectacular view of the city, and were able to see how massive it really was.  In my opinion, it was great way to end the day.  After that stop, we headed back to the hotel.

Day 10, May 17, 2011: SPA Day

Today we spent the day at a place called SPA.  It was a resort of types, with lots of pools, and various other outdoor activities.  The first thing we did when we got there was play a game of soccer.  Some of the Chilean students played with us and we divided into two teams.  We all had a good time, and I think a lot of us realized why we don't play soccer.  Sadly my team lost, but I had fun playing nonetheless.  After we just hung out for a bit until it was time for lunch.  Lunch was buffet style with tons of food.  There was plenty to choose from, and a lot of it was quite good.  Although, some of it was a little out of the ordinary.  For example, they had blood sausage, which in my opinion is gross, but I guess some people like it.  I didn't dare to try it, as just the idea of it freaked me out.  After lunch we spent the afternoon just lounging in the sun, as the day was actually quite nice, and warm compared to most of the days we've had so far.  I think I managed to get a little bit of sun, so hopefully I won't look oddly pale when I return back home.  After we left the SPA, we headed back to the hotel for a bit of downtime before going to a barbecue we were invited to at Werner's, one of the professors, house.  There were nearly all of the Chilean students we had met at the barbecue, and the food was absolutely delicious.  We had a fun and easy going time, chatting and hanging out, and even did a little bit of dancing.  All in all, a great evening.

Day 9, May 16, 2011: Horseback Riding

Today we went to Ritoque Expediciones for a day of horseback riding.  The ranch or farm, or whatever you want to call it was beautiful.  The house was quaint and the yard had a rustic feel to it.  There pigs, cows, chickens, cats, and of course horses all around.  After getting introduced and all last minute things sorted out, we mounted our horses.  After everyone was on and getting acquainted with there horse, we headed off.  The scenery was beautiful.  We did some riding along the beach, through a bit of a pine forest, and then into the sand dunes.  We took a break halfway to have some water and pineapple.  It was probably the best pineapple I have ever tasted.  After our short break we took off again, this time heading to the beach where we would be able to gallop.  Every once in awhile the horses would take off as a group in full gallop, and it was pretty fun and impressive.  I had never ridden a horse that fast before, so it was a new experience to me.  After making our way back to the ranch, they had a barbecue prepared and waiting for us.  The spread was amazing, there was beef, chicken, pork, and various sides.  It was definitely the best meal I've had so far, everything was so delicious.  After our meal, we headed back to the hotel and a group of us went to get gelato.  We took our gelato down to the shore to sit and enjoy the view.  It was a beautiful today, and without a doubt perfect for the activities of the day.

Day 8, May 15, 2011: Free Sunday

Today was very, very easy going.  I didn't roll out of bed until 11:30 or so, and took my time getting ready for the day.  At around 1:30, a few others and I decided to go up to the mall.  Not many places are open on Sunday, but the mall is, and it was packed.  Getting there was a bit of an adventure, since none of us really knew exactly where it was.  Oddly enough, we randomly ran into Camilo, one of the Chilean students we know, and he was able to point us the right way.  It was a pretty cool mall, four stories with a cinema on the fourth floor.  But when it came right down to it, it was still just another mall.  After that we took a stroll down the boardwalk area, where there were a bunch of vendors selling various things, souvenirs, etc.  There were also some sand artists sculpting on the beach, their work was pretty impressive and I could tell it took them a lot of time to make these simple yet amazing masterpieces.  We then stopped for some pizza before heading back to the hotel.  Awhile later it was time to head off to dinner.  We went to an upperscale restaurant called Tierra de Fuego.  The food was really, really good, and we enjoyed a nice, slow, relaxing dinner.  I think we all had a good time chatting and that we all enjoyed the food even more.  After, we made our way back to the hotel for a nice quiet night in.

Day 7, May 15, 2011: Free day.

Today was our first free day of the free weekend.  I was fairly tired after the late night at the discoteca, so I ended up sleeping in until around 11:00.  After getting out of bed and showering, I had a fairly low key afternoon.  A lot of us just hung out at the hotel, I posted some pictures on Facebook and tagged the people in the photos. Although I was fairly hungry, I waited to get lunch with some of the others from the group.  Finally around 2:30 or so, we headed off to lunch.  We got lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and it was surprisingly good, probably one of the best meals I have had so far.  The best part was it wasn't too expensive either.  After lunch we again relaxed for a few hours before heading to the local soccer game.  The game wasn't bad, but I feel it could have been a bit more fast paced.  It ended in a tie of two to two, so that was a bit of a disappointment, anti-climactic in a way.  On top of that, it was a bit cold, and sitting on the concrete stands in the weather was pretty much freezing.  After the game we returned to the hotel, and made some plans for the night.  A bunch of us decided to head to get some drinks, and a smaller bunch of us went to another discoteca after.  The night wasn't lacking the least in fun and memorable moments.  I'm glad I've met and gotten to know everyone here, and I hope that we all stay in touch after returning to the states.

Day 6 May 13, 2011: Isla Negra. . . Adventure

Today was the day we were supposed to go to Isla Negra.  We all had to be ready to go by 9:45, and we were soon off.  The bus ride to where Isla Negra was about an hour and a half, but when we arrived at about 11:15, we found out that we weren't going to tour the house until 4:00.  So this is when our adventures began.  The first thing we did was go to visit a tomb of one of Chile's famous poets.  The tomb seemed nearly in the middle of nowhere, up a hillside.  It was definitely an interesting sight to see.  After that, we headed off to get some lunch.  The food wasn't bad at all, and we definitely burned some time there.  We then headed to see the largest pool in the world, but sadly it was drained since it is currently wintertime in Chile.  The pool is more than 1,000 yards long and covers 20 acres.  It has a 115-foot deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water.  Finally, we made it to Pablo Nerudo's house.  He was a very interesting man, and greatly loved the sea and sailing in general.  He collected the figures off the bows of ships, among some other odd things.  He even designed his house to seem like a boat on the inside.  The best part was the amazing views, as his house was right on the shore.  I'm glad I got to see his home, it's something I recommend everyone go to see if they're in Chile.  After returning back to the University, we had another reggaeton dancing class.  This one was a bit more chill, and we had some fun competition between the girls and guys to create a dance.  All of us boys got together and came up with some pretty sweet choreography, we deemed ourselves the Chilebros, and I have to say we were pretty awesome.  Now we're back at the hotel and preparing for the night and our free weekend.

Day 5 May 12, 2011: The Winery and LAN

Today started with a visit to Vina Indomita, a winery.  The tour guide told us all about the vineyard surrounding the winery, and where each of the different grapes were grown as well as what wine they’re used to make.  The vineyard surrounding the winery as actually used for growing the white grapes, as the climate is more suitable for white grapes to be grown.  They have another vineyard in Maipo Valley where they grow all of their red grapes.  After learning about the cultivation of the grapes, we headed inside to see the workings of the winery.  We got to see everything from the large steel tanks used in the initial production to the cellar where the barrels of reserve wines are stored.  At the end of the tour we got to participate in a wine tasting.  We sampled one white and two red wines.  We were instructed how to properly taste the wine in three stages.  Examining the color, smelling the aromas of the wine, and then tasting it.  My favorite was actually the white wine, to me it had the perfect amount of acidity and sweetness.  After the winery we made a stop for lunch at a restaurant that served typical Chilean food.  It was a good experience.  Then we headed to tour LAN, a major Latin American airline.  It was really cool to see the behind the scenes of an airline company, where they do all their repairs and inspections of the aircraft.  The hangars for the jets were absolutely massive.  We even got to go inside of one of their newest jets.  It was weird to be in an airplane when I wasn’t actually flying anywhere, but I got to have my picture taken in the cockpit and spend some time in business class.  The tour overall was a lot of fun.

Day Four, May 11: First Company Visits and More Salsa (¡Pero más picante!)

Today we had our first company visits.  We started off visiting the Bosque del Mausco, a mushroom factory.  They use natural composts, so the smell wasn't exactly the most pleasant thing in the world.  Luckily, that was problem once we moved inside where the mushrooms were actually cultivated.  It was fascinating to see the whole process, because I've never really thought about where consumer mushrooms come from.  We got to see how the mushrooms started from just the layer of peat moss and compost, to the full grown mushroom.  They also package the mushrooms there, and it was interesting to see this process as well.  A lot of the work still involves human labor, so all in all, it is a hands on process.  After the mushroom factory, we visited Conservas Centauro.  It is a company that cans fruits, vegetables, and prepared meals.  But their specialty is tomatoes, and they told us that they are number ONE for tomato products in Chile.  Most of their production is done between the months of January and April, so there really wasn't much going on at the factory right now.  Still, we got a tour of the facility and we got to see all of the production equipment and what role it has in the production process.  We even got a few free samples, of a couple different types of jellies and also a can of whole pealed tomatoes.  The tour guide was very nice, probably the friendliest Chilean I've met so far.  A bit after our tour of Conservas Centauro, we had another salsa dancing class.  It was lots of fun, but the dancing as a whole was a lot more difficult this time.  I'm starting to grow quite fond of Chilean dance, it's very intense and very entertaining.  Two more company tours tomorrow, and hopefully a laid back day.

The Third Day, May 10, 2011: Chilean Business, Presentations, and Reggaeton

Today started a little later, taking off around 10:15 AM.  We had lectures about Chilean Business, and it actually covered a good portion of Latin America.  It was interesting to see the comparison of Chile versus other Latin American countries, and then how they all compared to United States.  Jaime, the professor lecturing to us, was very laid back, and open to any questions we had.  His English was nearly perfect, and the greater portion of the lecture was more like a conversation than a lecture.  We asked him his opinion on various things from politics in Latin American countries to different economic conditions and business ideas.  He was very knowledgeable about such a wide array of topics, he definitely helped to enlighten us to many different things.  Between the two sections of the lecture we had about an hour to burn, so we all headed to the computer lab to relax for a bit.  It was funny, because all of us Americans sitting in the computer lab must have been quite a sight, some Chilean students walking by stopped to take a picture!  I can't say that all of us don't stand out among the locals though.  After finishing with the lectures, we had another dancing class, this time it was Reggaeton.  I have to say that the Chilean dancing is quite different to what we're used to in the United States.  But we all had a good time, and had a good laugh at ourselves and the moves we were trying to doing.  Although it is cold, dancing is definitely a great way to warm up.  When we returned to the hotel, a small group of us headed to the taco bar for dinner.  The food was good, and the service was friendly.  Then a few of us headed out with the Chileans to a pub.  The drinks were cheap, and we all had lots of fun.  I feel like the Chileans enjoy showing us around and just letting us have a good time.  Have to wake up early tomorrow for our first company tours, it should be a good day!

The Second Day In Chile : City Tour and Salsa.

On our second day in Chile, we started off with some lectures on Chilean culture.  We learned about the various regions and their climates, and various characteristics of the culture from politics to literature.  After finishing all the lecture, we took a city tour of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar.  Some of the views in Valparaiso were absolutely amazing.  The shoreline and old buildings are gorgeous.  I can definitely see the European influence in Chile, mainly in the architecture and layouts of the city.  It was interesting to learn a bit about the history of both cities, and what kind of changes they've gone through over the years.  Valparaiso is a major port city, and just seeing the port was insane.  The boxes on top of boxes, stacked right off the shore, and the ships being unloaded so systemically was simply mind blowing.  After the city tour we stopped at a place for what were supposed to be the BEST empanadas.  I have to agree, they were delicious.  I had a steak and cheese empanada and then bought a cheese and caramel empanada.  I can't remember the last time I've had food that was simply so fantastic.  After our snack of empanadas, we headed to our salsa dance class.  The dancing was quite comical, seeing each other make mistakes and just cracking up about how ridiculous we knew we looked.  All in all, it was lots of fun, although I still don't think I'll be fitting in at any discotecs.  Then after returning to our hotel, some of the Chilean students took us out to share and drink and break the ice.  They were very hospitable, and we had a lot of fun joking around and singing, as it was a karaoke bar.  I don't think I've ever met people so kind and welcoming to people they barely knew.  I can tell this trip is going to be a lot of fun.

First Day in Chile

Well we've made it to Chile just fine and safely made our way to our hotel at Viña del Mar.  It's so much colder here than I ever would have expected.  I don't think any of us packed enough warm weather clothing, and I myself am freezing half the time.  During the afternoons when the sun is out, it's quite comfortable, but the mornings and evenings are nearly unbearable.  I wish I would have packed at least one heavier jacket!  Oh well, live and learn.  After making our way to Viña del Mar, we had lunch at a restaurant called Guantón, apparently meaning more or less "big belly."  The food was pretty good, and the portions were very generous.  It gave us all the opportunity to joke around and relax a bit after our long flight.  After lunch we spent some time walking around the area around the hotel, spending a fair amount of time along the shore.  The ocean breeze and sunny skies were a nice change from the western Pennsylvania weather to which I've grown accustomed.  After our bout of adventuring, we returned to the hotel for some down time before dinner.  We went to a tex-mex restaurant nearby the hotel and enjoyed a nice long, laid-back dinner.  After dinner we got our boots that we will need later this week when visiting the mushroom factory and LAN, and after several people tried on several different pairs of shoes, we got that matter all worked out.  For a bit of dessert, a large number of us made our way to a gelato shop just up the street.  The gelato was delicious even if it was freezing to eat.  All in all our first day in Chile was pretty easy going and relaxing.  Tomorrow we will spend basically the whole day at the University, and start in on the true substance of our program here.