Day 13: Departure!

After saying “chao” to all of our new Chilean friends, we are almost ready to depart. It is Friday May 20 2011 and these are our final moments in Chile. My day started out by waking up at 10:30 a.m. to get everything in order. At one in the afternoon, our group went out to eat for the last time. As we have been going to restaurants in Chile, I have been noticing a recurring pattern of food coming to the table at different times. I think many of us have not known what to do in this situation because we have been taught to wait until everyone has a meal, but then at the same time, your meal is getting cold. Additionally, this is probably the first restaurant in Chile that I have seen pepper placed on the table. After a filling meal, we gathered our belongings at the hotel and boarded the bus for the Santiago airport. At this airport, when we went through security they seemed more lenient than in the U.S. For example, shoes did not need to be removed and laptops did not need to be placed in a separate bin. I must have looked exactly like a tourist from the United States removing my shoes and going through security in such an unnecessary rush. Once through security, we relaxed and filled out our surveys. When we began to board the plane, they would not allow you to take your seat until you went through another bag check location where they looked by hand through your bags for any liquids. Some people found this to be annoying because we could not buy drinks inside the airport and then have them for the ten hour flight. Fortunately, the flight attendants seemed to bring water around quite a bit more than on other flights I have been on. On the plane, I was waiting for the movies to begin because I was having trouble falling asleep. It was such a long and boring flight that I just could not wait to get off and be in Atlanta. Unfortunately, my second flight did not board until nine hours after we landed in Atlanta. Jon and I were in the airport together after everyone left at 10:30 in the morning. My second flight was on an extremely little plane with only 13 rows, but it was a smooth ride and only lasted two hours. I arrived home and I am ready to go to the Pirates of the Caribbean movie that came out yesterday. This has been an overview of my departure day. I am very pleased to have gone on this trip to gain an amazing study abroad experience. I truly feel that we learned a lot about Chile through lectures and practice. I had a wonderful time and would like to thank everyone who helped make this trip possible.

Day 12 in Chile: Our Last Day!

Today is Thursday May 19 2011 and unfortunately it is our last day in Chile. This morning, I started my day off with shopping at nearby stores and souvenir shops. I wanted to get some last minute gifts for people, but I did not end up buying anything but some cute postcards. We went to the pasteleria, which is a bakery close to these shops in Vina del Mar. I ordered a QueQue Individual, which was a muffin. It was very good, but I have no clue what kind of muffin it was. After the bakery, we went in search of a soccer store that was no longer open. At about this time, our small group had to return to the hotel so we could take a bus to the University. When we arrived at the University, we learned more about the majors offered at the University and becoming an exchange student. When we were walking to the cafeteria for lunch, we saw some dancers performing outside. They were doing certain traditional dances like the cueca. After some lunch, we went to the soccer and basketball courts where we had teams of Gringos versus Chileans. The teams were slightly mixed then afterwards with some Chileans and some Gringos on either team. A few others and I went back to the hotel early to pack and go to some shops before we eat dinner. I found a way to pack my steel-toed boots in my suitcase with all of my clothes and everything else. At around eight o’clock, everyone headed to a really nice pizza place to eat dinner for the last time with our Chilean friends. These individuals have really made our stay in Chile wonderful and we thanked them for showing us around and teaching us so much about their country and customs. It has been a wonderful experience and truly amazing opportunity. I cannot believe our two weeks has come to an end, but I loved every moment I spent here in Chile. Thank you to all of our Chilean amigos! Now, the only problem is the extremely long flight back home tomorrow.

Day 11 in Chile: Santiago!

It is Wednesday May 18^th 2011 and we went to Santiago to visit Bolso de Comercio. This company was not as I had hoped it would be because its trade room for stock exchanges was under construction and we were not allowed to see inside it. I learned a lot about stock exchanges, banks, and brokers though. After this company visit, we walked around the city and saw where the president lives. This building was surrounded by many guards including the ones who cannot move or talk. We took a picture next to them and they did not look too pleased. Additionally, we stood out as gringos and many school kids were visiting this area and wanted to take pictures with us. I avoided the photographs, but some other people decided to join them in their photos. Next, we went to the Central Plaza in Santiago where many people were selling paintings. At this point, we went inside one of the nearby Catholic Churches. It was absolutely gorgeous with beautiful decorations on the inside. It reminded me of the churches in the movies with the very high ceilings and a large main aisle. After seeing the Catholic Church, we went to a museum that contained many different artifacts such as war related pictures and old pesos. At this time, it was close to 1:30 p.m. and we were all getting hungry, so we went to Mercado Central, which had a fish market inside and many restaurants. We ate here and I had chicken and mashed potatoes again because it has become my favorite meal here. Afterwards, we went to the hill where we could sightsee and buy some souvenirs. It was a really great view of Santiago, but it was slightly difficult to see with some of the fog. It took a few hours to drive back to the hotel, so most of us slept on the way back. My day ended with getting McDonalds for dinner and then going to a pub with just our group.

Day 10 in Chile: Spa Day!

It is Tuesday May 17 2011 and we went to the spa, which was actually like a resort and day spa. When we arrived, we had no clue what to expect. There were a bunch of little houses everywhere and we did not know what this “spa” was going to consist of, but tucked in between these houses was a resort, which was absolutely beautiful. There were palm trees and outside pools all over. We had a free bar and ice cream for the day. When we arrived, I had an empanada with meat, olives, onions, and eggs and it was pretty good, but definitely not the best one I have had so far. After settling in at the resort, a game of soccer started and a couple of us decided to watch. I was taking pictures most of the time. The soccer field was on concrete and surrounded by a large fence. After watching some of the soccer game, some of us went to get towels and changed into our bathing suits to tan because it was such a gorgeous day. We needed to buy swimming caps to go into some of the pools and I did not want to get my suit wet, so I decided not to get in. No one else really went into the water besides Jon, who ended up jumping in and then screaming because the water was cold. They had separate pools and a jacuzzi inside that were heated. We went to lunch around 1:30 p.m. and it was a delicious buffet. I had white wine and an assortment of foods like empanadas, mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, and salad. After lunch, we went back to tanning. A little later, some people played beer pong and we got ready to leave since it became colder. We had two hours at the hotel and then left to have a barbeque. The girls drove in cars, while the boys took a bus. I had two sausages, which were really good. Later, there were shiscobobs with steak and onions. We danced most of the night at the barbeque. It was pretty entertaining. At one point, we started dancing to popular songs that we know the dances to. Tomorrow, we have to leave by 7:45 a.m. so I am calling it a night.

Day 9 in Chile: Horseback Riding!

Today is Monday, May 16 2011 and we went to Ritoque Expediciones. To be honest, this was the best day I have had so far in Chile! The weather was perfect for horseback riding because it was humid, but not too hot. My horse’s name was Galguay and he was absolutely beautiful! I ended up with one of the larger horses and right when I got on him, he would not cooperate. He was biting other horses in the butt before we even left for our long journey. At one point, he decided that he wanted to get some water and not listen to me, so we walked over to get a drink, which I wasn’t supposed to let him do. When I pulled on the reins, he just flew his head around and decided to ignore me. After a little, we bonded and I let him do what he wanted, which happened to be getting in front of the horses that were behind us. If horses behind us ran to try to get ahead of us, he would run and push to stay in front of them. We traveled for a long time through completely different regions of land. We ran on the beach, through water, in a dessert area with sand dunes, and through an area like the plains. This experience was amazing and in most areas it was not along a specific path. When we were traveling on the sand dunes, my horse charged up and down the hills. The first time we went up the hill, he scared me because I did not expect him to just run up it. At another point, my horse and Chris’s horse charged down a hill and up another one at the same time and we were in pain from bouncing up and down. Sometime in the middle of our journey, we stopped for a snack of freshly cut pineapple and some water. The pineapple was so delicious and sweet. When I was off my horse, I was petting him and he bowed his head down. It was so cute. On our way back, we were traveling along the beach and my horse wanted to be closer to the front when everyone else started trotting, so he tore off a little quicker than I expected. I loved when he ran along the beach. After our horse ride, we came back to an amazing and huge barbeque of chicken, sausage, steak, and pork. I had sausage and chicken with salad and rice. It was one of the best lunches I have had here in Chile. After barbeque, we came back to the hotel and took showers. Sarah and I went outside and ended up watching an amazing sunset on the beach. Afterwards, I added all my horse pictures to Facebook and then we went to check out the supermarket. Once a few hours passed, we went to a pub. The horseback riding seems to have everyone sore already, so we will see how we all feel tomorrow.  

Day 8 in Chile: Shopping!

Today is Sunday May 15 2011 and it is another free day. I woke up around 11 o’clock and got ready to walk around town. At about one o’clock, we left in search of the mall. We walked alongside the ocean to find the mall, which was supposedly down a little ways. On our walk, we came across two gentlemen making really cool art in the sand. Once we walked past the small boardwalk, we came across a bunch of souvenir shops that someone mentioned before. The small souvenirs were similar at each table, but varied by carrying either jewelry or souvenirs pertaining to Chile. I find it very strange that I have not come across any t-shirts that say Chile because, on most of my other travels, t-shirts seem to be the most popular souvenir. I am almost done buying souvenirs for people, but I am still looking around in case something jumps out at me. After we stopped by these tables, we went to the mall, which I must say was huge! It was three stories high and seemed to have several McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. We just looked around in the mall and were not there for too long. The stores contained the same types of items we could get in any store in the United States, so we I did not want to shop around as much. For this reason, we left the mall and went back to the small tables along the shore. During our second round of these stands, I was looking for some something inexpensive for myself, but I did not come across anything that really stood out to me. After shopping, we had some time to get ready and dress up for dinner. We had a reservation at a fancy restaurant near the shore and the food was amazing. The restaurant was empty when we arrived around 6:30 p.m. and I am guessing the reason is because Sunday is the day of rest for most Catholics. We were seated on the second floor of the restaurant and had a great view of the waves cracking below us. Dinner was really fun and enjoyable. I ordered steak and mashed potatoes and it was delicious. We spent about three hours at the restaurant and then came back to the hotel. Since it is a Sunday, nothing has been really open, so right now I am working on making my blog prettier and more detailed. Horseback riding is tomorrow and I cannot wait!

Day 7 in Chile: Exploring!

It is Saturday, May 14^th 2011 and today was pretty much our free day. Most people decided to sleep in today and get some rest. I woke up around 11 o’clock and got ready to walk around town. I was working on my blog and adding pictures until about 2 o’clock when a group of us decided to find shops nearby. We walked in the area where we were on the first day in Chile. This time, our visit to this area of town was much more alive. We went into little shops that sold a variety of items. On our little stroll, we also saw little puppies up for adoption. They were adorable and I wanted to bring one back with us, but unfortunately I would have a problem getting it on the plane. Today, I bought some souvenirs for the family, which I will not give away on here because they are probably reading this. After shopping, we got a late lunch at a quaint little restaurant. I got pollo y papas pure again and it was delicious. We came back to the hotel to get ready for the soccer game. At around 6 p.m. we headed for the soccer game, which took about an hour to walk to. We routed for the team Everton, which is a soccer team in Vina del Mar. The game was awesome, even though it ended in a tie. The fans were so supportive and singing the entire game, which made the game even more interesting to watch. Once the soccer game ended we went back to the hotel and made plans to go to a nearby pub before a discoteca. Tomorrow is another free day and we are hoping the mall is open, so I will let you know in my next post.

Day 6 in Chile: Isla Negra!

 

On Friday, May 13 2011, we left on the bus around 9:30 am to visit Isla Negra. The bus ride took about an hour or so until we reached our destination. Here in Isla Negra we were planning on visiting Pablo Neruda’s house. Pablo Neruda is a famous painter and his home is located in Isla Negra, which makes this area of Chile a tourist location. Unfortunately, for some reason, we were not able to visit his house until 4 o’clock, which meant we had four hours to find something to do in this deserted area. Some of the Chilean students that went on this trip with us asked locals for more interesting places to see. After doing several circles with the bus, we traveled to a poet’s grave where he was positioned straight up and looking toward the sea in the grave. There was a nice little area on top of a hill where he had been buried. After seeing this poet’s grave, we traveled to find something to eat. At this point, we drove where many fish markets were on the street. We ate at a lovely restaurant where the waiters were dressed up and CNN Chile was supposedly interviewing the owner. As far as I know CNN Chile was talking about how good the restaurant was and then they filmed us. I ate some chicken and mashed potatoes and it was made very well. We still had about two hours after lunch until we could visit the house, so we somehow found out that the world’s largest pool was nearby and asked locals how to find it. After a long journey, I must say we did find the world’s largest pool and it was awesome, even though it was not filled with water because of the cold season. Finally, we were able to see Pablo Neruda’s house by the ocean and it was very decorative on the inside. He had collections of many strange objects from around the world, such as figureheads, insects, instruments, and small boats in bottles. In addition, he had one of largest conch shells with a horn of a narwhal in the center. Once our tour was finished, we had to go to the university for our last reggaeton class. At this class, the girls made up a dance and so did the boys. It was very interesting to see what we could make up in five minutes using the basic steps of reggaeton. After this class, I got McDonalds for dinner and got ready to go out. We went to the Hollywood pub and then went to the casino to dance. Tomorrow is a free day for the most part and then we are all going to see a soccer game later in the day, so I am looking forward to it.

Day 5 in Chile: Wine and Planes!

It is Thursday, May 12^th 2011 and today I woke up around 8:30 am (which was supposed to be 7:40 am). This morning I got ready extremely quick so we could leave around 9:00 am. After some breakfast, we boarded the bus and drove about an hour until we reached Vina Indomita, a winery in Chile. The décor was very modern and the winery looked and smelled beautifully. On this visit, we learned about the process of making wine and started out looking at the fields of grapes surrounding their building. We went in and saw the large machines used to make the different types of wine and the barrels they are stored in for flavor. After touring the winery, we had a wine tasting of three different types of wine. The first was a white wine that made your mouth water and was suggested for appetizers or before dinner. The second was a red wine that was sweet and similar to a chocolate type of smell. The third was also a red wine, but it tasted of a strange tobacco mixture and I did not find it to be very appealing. The white wine was probably my favorite because it was sweeter than the others and did not have a bitter taste. After the wine tasting, we stopped for lunch at a Chilean restaurant, which was very old fashioned. I had chicken with mashed potatoes and it was made very well. The second company we visited was LAN Airlines. At LAN, we learned about their different types of planes, the growth in their company, and the places they fly to. It was very interesting to hear about the company’s success in gaining more planes from joining together with other airlines. We also were able to see their planes being inspected and went inside a large plane that was being cleaned out for their next flight. The seats in first class were amazing and could be leaned back and expanded as you pleased. After this company visit, we traveled about an hour and a half back to the hotel and went in search of a nearby restaurant for dinner. On our way, we saw a Captain Jack Sparrow lookalike, who I tried to get a picture of. The best part is he looked almost exactly like Johnny Depp in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Shortly after dinner, we went with a few Chilean students to a karaoke bar. We have been told, many people here in Chile party until five or six in the morning. To me, this seems impossible, but evidently it is common. Good night for now.

Day 4 in Chile: Mushrooms and Tomatoes!

It is Wednesday, May 11^th 2011 and today was the first day of visiting companies. We left the hotel around 8 o’clock in the morning and headed for Bosque del Mauco, which is a mushroom company. At this company, we learned about the environmental processes of making mushrooms, such as fermentation. To be honest, I loved this company because it made me realize I truly want to become an environmental engineer. In the beginning of this visit, we saw all of the manure compost giving off nitrogen gas and the smell did not bother me at all. I actually thought it was one of the most interesting steps of the whole mushroom growing process. Also, during this company visit, we saw the different stages of a mushroom’s growth and the final product. Workers that hand-pick the mushrooms get paid based on the weight of their pick. In addition, we were able to see the packaging process where some mushrooms are wrapped whole and others are canned. After this company visit, we drove to Conservas Centauro, which is a canning company my group researched previously. Since there was not a lot of information provided online about this canning company, we asked many questions regarding their farms, where they grow their own fruit and vegetables. They are especially known for their tomatoes considering they originally came from Italy. They also work with peaches and other fruits and now make some common recipes. Since they specialize in canned goods, it is very interesting to find them packaging in more bags that they make with three layers, one of the layers being aluminum foil. These bags are becoming more common since they are inexpensive and still keep food fresh. At Centauro, we received free bags of jam and a can of tomatoes. This company was also very interesting and enjoyable. After this visit, we stopped at a well-known place for empanadas where I had one with meat and one with cheese. They were even better than the place we went the other day. We drove back to the University where we learned more about Chilean culture, earthquakes, and music. After these lectures, we had our final salsa lesson, which was not very complicated until we came to the spinning part of the dance. Fortunately, my dance partner did not seem to mind that I continued to mess up and go the wrong direction. At this point, we took a bus back to the hotel and got McDonalds for dinner before we went to a party. At the party, I really enjoyed talking to the people here and learning about their customs and enjoyable activities. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s companies and hope they are as interesting as todays.

Day 3 in Chile: Customs and Traditions!

Today is Tuesday, May 10^th 2011 and we spent a lot of time at the University. We left the hotel at around 10 o’clock to go to the University for lectures on Chilean business. When we arrived at the University, we saw a gentleman, who was preparing for graduation. As previously mentioned in my last blog post, the tradition at this University is to throw the graduate into the pool with their clothes on immediately after they graduate. We watched some of his friends make his congratulation poster outside when he was not around. Unfortunately, we missed his graduation and did not get to see him thrown in the pool, but when we were walking through the University later in the day, we saw his poster with a large piece of his tie and the ponytail that he used to have. Today, we learned a lot about business in South America. Our lecture was very detailed on each country located in South America. We discussed the many interesting details about South American countries, such as the economies, laws, imports, and exports. After the lecture, we asked many questions we had concerning Chile and South America. Later, we ate lunch at the University and presented our power points on our companies to get feedback before we begin visiting them tomorrow. After our presentations, we learned reggaeton, which was extremely fun! I enjoyed reggaeton much more than salsa because it is easier to move with the flow and most of it is in your hips. Salsa, on the other hand, requires a lot of specific steps and movements, which is more difficult for me to do. Once we finished dancing for the day, we got McDonalds and then went to the supermarket for some snacks. I am planning on going to bed early tonight since tomorrow will be an early morning.

Day 2 in Chile: Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria!

On Monday, May 9^th 2011, we began our day with breakfast at the hotel and shortly after met some students from the Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria. We took the bus to the University and were given a tour of the campus. It is extremely beautiful, but since the buildings are mostly all open it was rather chilly inside as well as outside. On this tour, we learned some interesting traditions of the University. One of these traditions was to throw someone in the pool located outside if it is their birthday or if they are graduating. When the students are graduating, they supposedly give them their diploma then cut the boy’s tie or cut the girl’s stockings before throwing them in the pool with all their clothes on… suit jackets and all. The tie or stocking is then posted on a poster where they congratulate the student. After this tour, we participated in lectures about Chile’s culture and history. These lectures were very intuitive and thought-provoking. It helped me gain a better understanding of the country and what I can learn from this experience. Later, we took a tour of the cities Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. The cities were similar, but definitely had their differences. Valparaiso is more of a city and tourist area, although I did not notice any other tourists. Vina del Mar is not as populated, but it still looks similar with the houses up the sides of the hills. We stopped in several locations to take pictures and walked to a spot with great view of Valparaiso. Additionally, we stopped in a Roman Catholic Church, which was beautiful, but the outside looked nothing like a church. It was a yellow colored round building with a statue of a man in the front. There were also beautiful praying areas near the church. We walked to get fried empanadas and they were very good. I had one with ham and cheese, but they also had dessert ones that looked delicious. We traveled back to the University after this tour of the area to learn how to salsa. We learned the steps and danced to some salsa music, which was fun. Later, we joined some students from the University and went to a pub. It was a very exciting day, but now I am going to bed.

Day 1 in Chile: Arrival and Exploration!

Santiago's fog

Today is May 8^th 2011. We landed in Chile this morning around 7:00 and did not leave the plane until around 7:30. The plane ride was long, but movies were playing on the television screens in the aisles, so I was entertained. I found it rather difficult to get comfortable on the plane and did not get much sleep. After leaving the plane, we set foot in the city of Santiago and it was much colder than I had expected. Additionally, I always heard that Santiago had high levels of smog and air pollution, but I did not expect the fog to be so thick in the morning that you could only see 20-30 feet in front of you. We traveled about an hour by bus to the hotel where we were assigned our rooms and then took a look around the city of Viña del Mar. While we were walking in our group, I noticed a bunch of heads turning, so we must have really stuck out to the locals. After walking around some of the area, we found a nice, quaint place to eat lunch. I ordered a hamburgesa con queso, and it was truly the largest burger I have ever encountered. If you can imagine the size of a soft shell taco when it is rolled out, I would say this burger would surely compare. After a large delicious lunch, we decided to explore some more of the area. This time, we walked the opposite direction (toward the casino) and enjoyed the scenery of the large playground and the Pacific Ocean next to the casino. The waves were beautiful and the weather became comfortable. There are many dogs in this area of the city and one continued to follow our group around. It was very cute, but I did not want to pet it in fear that it might have fleas. Later, we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant where we tried barbeque meats and typical Mexican food. After dinner, a group of us went to get ice cream even though it is freezing outside. So far, Chile has been interesting. I hope within these next few days we will get to see more of the country.

Preparing for our Travels

It is May 6^th 2011, the day before I leave for Chile, and my mother and I have been shopping and getting ready for my trip. I have already started packing and just need to get some other stuff in order before I am completely ready to leave. My flight tomorrow leaves around 5:30 pm. I will hopefully arrive in Chile at around 7:30 am after our Plus3 group meets up in Georgia. I am looking forward to this experience and hope I get to see most of the area before we leave.