The end

Well, I've tried writing this blog entry multiple times now.  It's so hard to accurately sum up my time in Chile on Plus 3 .  This trip has honestly been more than I could have ever imagined and there's just simply so much to say.  When we left for Chile I barely knew everyone's name and now I have made countless amazing memories with everyone on the trip.  No one would ever guess we only met each other two weeks ago.  It's so eerily quiet in my house without everyone here, and I can't believe I won't see everyone again until August. Saying goodbye at the airport was surreal, it was hard to comprehend that we wouldn't see each other again for three months, and it would never be in the same context as before. 
There are so many unforgettable memories from Chile, and we definitely lived by our motto, 'YOICO', which stands for you're only in Chile once.  There's not one thing I would go back and change on our trip.  Hotel America may have forced me to take cold showers every morning, had wifi in only one room, and had holes in the walls, but I wouldn't trade the memories from that hotel for anything.  I'm definitely going to miss running out to get empanadas for dinner then having everyone crowd into one little room to blog,  story time on megabed, and just the general company of everyone.
I loved everyday of this trip(with the exception of the day we left), and have no regrets.  I wish I could name a favorite day or memory, but I can't. I loved the day we went to the Vina Indomita and La Isla Negra becuase it was so relaxing, and just a nice break from the chaotic busy days we had had up to that point. But I also loved the day at the spa since we got to spend so much time together, getting to know each other and the Chilean students much better.  Then there's also horseback riding, which was something I have never done before, and I love to have new experiences.  There's also the tour of Valparaiso, which was interesting to learn about the culture of the city.  There's not one thing I would change about this trip at all.  It was such a great experience that I wouldn't trade for the world.  While our trip's saying was YOICO, I would love to go back to Chile again, focusing more on improving my Spanish. 
 Lastly, I want to thank Jorge and Sarah for such an amazing trip.  They were the best trip advisors and we all really appreciate the work they put into making the trip the best possible.  

The last full day

Once again today was absolutely amazing.  Unfortunately, its our last full day here but it was probably the best.  We went on a three hour horse back riding trip.  I have only ridden a horse once when I was little, but I wouldn't really call it riding, more of sitting on the horse while it followed the one in front of it.  Today was much different though.  The horses were much bigger and we had  more control over them. We started out our trip by riding by the beach, which was a very pretty view.  One downside however was that it was pretty cold and windy outside and not very sunny.  After traveling through the beach we went through a foresty area.  It was really nice in there, with abunch of pine trees, and it was very quiet.  We are constantly in city areas where you can hear the cars going by, but in this area the city noises were gone.  After this we reached giant sand dunes, which was absolutely gorgeous.  I have never seen anything like the view in this area. I can't really explain it well, but it was just so weird being surrounded by only sand and it was just so pretty the way the sand made the dunes.  There were some pretty scary times when a couple horses tried to go up a really steep hill and started falling down the side of it.  Luckily everyone was fine, and only one person got knocked off their horse the whole trip.  We rode for two hours then took a fifteen minute break for the horses to rest. After the break we began to ride back to the camp grounds.  This time we trotted a lot more and even galloped a lot.  This was like no other experience I have ever had.  Riding a horse while it was galloping down the beach was truly amazing.   

When we finished our horseback rides we came back to an amazing lunch.  There were a bunch of different salads and big pieces of meat cooking on the grill and in the mud oven.  It was definitely one of my favorite meals.  At the house, there were some really cute farm animals also.  The piglets were absolutely adorable, and they also ate seaweed which I found kind of odd.  But there were also boars, chickens, and cows.  They also had a puppy and a couple cats.  It was so nice to see cats and dogs that you could feel safe petting and playing with.  It made me miss my pets.  Also at the house there was a fire to keep us warm, where we also roasted some marshmallows and also hammocks to relax in.  After an exhausting day of horseback riding, sitting around the fire was just what I needed.
Now I am waiting to go to our last dinner in Chile together.  We are going to get pizza as a group with the Chilean students.  I cannot believe today is our last full day in Chile.  The time has honestly flown by and I'm really going to miss it here.  This whole trip was full of experiences I never could have gotten anywhere else.

Day ten

Today we didn't have much planned again.  We had our morning open, which was really nice.  We went out to a panderia for breakfast, we just got a bunch of fresh bread and ate it at a bench on the side of the road.  The bread was really good and the weather was amazing.  Afterwards, we went to a couple stores and did some shopping. The stores pretty much had the same things as all the others we have seen before, which was a little disappointing.  Then we walked down to the beach, which was a couple minutes walk from our hotel.  It was such a beautiful day and the beach was gorgeous.  It's been so long since I have been to the beach and it was so nice to just lay there and enjoy the view.  We took a bunch of pictures which was really fun too. 
When we came back from the beach we played paintball.  I had never played paintball before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It turned out to be pretty fun and my team won.  I wasn't very good but I still had a good time. 
After paintball we went out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Our waiter actually was from Arizona.  His mom was Chilean and his father was Argentinian, so he lived in the United States until three years ago, when he moved to Chile. He had grown up speaking both Spanish and English, so he was completely fluent in both without an accent, which is really impressive.  
I can't believe we only have one more full here though.  It will be a really good day, but I'm pretty upset it's our last day.  It doesn't feel like we have been here for so long.  I feel like there is so much more I want to do here.  

Day nine

Today was another really busy day.  We started off by going to Hela, which is a company that makes tools such as paint brushes, saws, and brushes.  We got to see the production of a lot of their different products.  Typically one person would do one step in the process of creating one of the tools.  I couldn't imagine having a job like the people who work at Hela.  They do the same simple action repeatedly all day. 
After Hela we went to Centauro, which was the company I researched before the trip.  Centauro is a company that mainly produces canned fruits and vegetables, but they also have some prepared meals that they produce also.  One of the owners of the company gave us the tour which was pretty cool.  We tasted some of the products, like the canned peaches, canned tomatoes, and tomato paste.  The peaches were really good and the tomato wasn't too bad.  It was weird tasting straight tomato paste though.  After we taste tested, we went around to see the process behind the canning.  We were lucky because they were creating squash puree when we were there.  Typically, they don't can anything during the Chilean winter, but they started canning the puree yesterday.  We also got to taste the squash puree, which was actually pretty good tasting.  The owner took us around the company and showed us a lot of the machinery necessary for the canning of fruits and vegetables.  One interesting thing that Centauro does is change its labels depending on where the product is being sent.  If it is being sold in Chile, the label will say Centauro.  However, if it is being sent to Venezuela, United States, or any other country, the label has a different name.  For pizza sauce and tomato products the brand name is called Bozzolo.  That was the last name of the founder of the company, who is also the great-grandfather of the current owner.  Since Bozzolo is an Italian last name, they thought it would be a better name. 
After Centauro, we had more empanadas and then went to another dance class. This time, we danced cueca, which is the national dance of Chile.  It was very different, but not too difficult.  The hardest part was trying to multi-task since we were supposed to be waving a handkerchief around at all times while dancing.  

Day Eight

Today was our last day at the University.  We had to present the powerpoint presentations we made during our pre-departure meetings for the trip.  There were five groups, each group researched one of the companies that we are visiting this week and last week.  My group researched Conservas-Centauro, the canned fruit and vegetable company.  We will be visiting them tomorrow, which will be interesting.  Afterwards, we had our last lecture with Professor Jaime, which was more of just a question and answer session with Professor Jaime.  One thing that Professor Jaime said that surprised me was that the fruit and produce here can be expensive or not as high quality. This is surprising since agriculture is such a huge part of Chile's economy.  The reason why the fruit here isn't as high of quality is because they tend to export all of the best crops instead of selling it at the local markets.  Luckily, this was also our last lunch at the University, but today's lunch wasn't too bad.
Afterwards, I was lucky enough to get to take an hour long nap, which was really nice.  It was really hard to get up again, but we got to play soccer again afterwards, so it was worth it.  We played soccer on turf fields again with some Chileans.  This game wasn't as intense as the last game, but it was still fun.
Afterwards, we went back to the mall again, we got some ice cream and then walked around for a little.  We went back out to the other stores on the street and I bought a couple things.  The prices at the stores inside the mall are pretty expensive, but the street stores were pretty cheap, which was nice.  Once again I got empanadas, which were still delicious.  I think the empanadas are definitely my favorite food so far this trip.  One thing that has been difficult to get used to however is the lack of unlimited water.  We always have to buy bottled water, so its weird to not to be able to just go get a glass of water whenever I want. 
I can't believe its already Monday night though.  I am not ready at all to leave on Friday morning.

Day seven

Today was another relaxing day.  I slept in really late for once, so it was nice to catch up on my sleep.  Then a group of people and I went shopping.  We found a lot of little outdoor vendors which was really cool.  There were a lot of people selling handmade things which was cool.  I bought a lot of scarves and there were a lot of really cool clothes.  There were really cute leather jackets for sale at one of the stores but they ran really small and they didn't have any in my size.  I would have loved to have gotten one of those.  There were also a lot of people knitting and even a guy making shoes right in front of us.  There was a lot of really unique stuff, and not just typical souvenirs.  Afterwards, we went to the mall.  The mall was not as cool as the outdoor markets.  The mall was essentially the exact same as the malls in America.  There were a lot of really nice stores there, and everything was pretty expensive. 
Afterwards, we went out to dinner at La Tierra de Fuego.  It was a gorgeous restaurant with a really good view of the ocean.  We ate so much food there- we had shrimp and beef as appetizers.  Then for my main course I had a steak with goat cheese on top and artichokes with a spinach puree.  For desert I had a bitter chocolate mousse, which was very rich.  All of the food was delicious, probably the best food I have had all trip.  I also had Chirimoya juice which was also really good.  Chirimoya is a type of fruit, and I’m not exactly sure how to describe it.  It doesn’t have a very strong flavor and its actually kind of creamy. 
Tonight, we are just staying in and preparing our presentations that we ahve to give at the university tomorrow.  Its been really nice to just relax these past days.  I feel I won't be exhausted this coming week now.  

Day 6

Today was another amazing day in Chile.  It may have been better than yesterday, our day at the beach and vineyard.  We got to sleep in a little and then we went to what was called a spa.  I think its more along the lines of a resort though.  We had no idea how gorgeous it was going to be there.  I was not expecting much, but there  were a lot of huge pools, foosball tables and also ping-pong tables.  There were at least four or five pools and also an area to play soccer.  So we started the day off by playing soccer with some of the  Chileans who were with us.   I luckily got to be on  the team with some of the Chilean students and a professor, who were all extremely good at soccer.  I actually scored the first goal of the day! But it was a lot of fun and it has been a long time since I've gotten to play, so it was really nice to play again and get good exercise. 
After I was exhausted from playing so much soccer, I went to the pool side and just relaxed with my feet in the water.  The water was freezing, but it was so nice just to relax for a little. I wish I had brought a bathing suit though because there was a heated pool indoors, which would have been fun to swim in.  We then had lunch, which was really good food. We also got to sing happy birthday to Allison and Abby for their birthdays, since they both turned nineteen in the past couple days. 
After lunch we just hung out and relaxed pool side for a couple hours then all left to go to a barbeque at the house of one of the professors from the university. We had sausages and kabobs which were really good.  It was a good time also just hanging out with the Chilean students. It was really nice to be able to just relax and not do much at all today.

Day Five

Today was my favorite day by far. The day started out rough though. We got to sleep
in some, leaving at nine fifteen in the morning. However, there was no running water
in our room.  No one else had water either , so it was interesting trying to wash my 

face with my bottled water. After that minor speed bump, everything else started to 

go much better.

First we went to Vina Indomita, a vineyard in Vina del Mar. The view was gorgeous and

we got a good tour of the winery. It was cool to learn about the different factors 

that go into the type of wine that is created and the different processes needed to 

make red and white wines. We then got to taste three different types of wine, a merlot,

a Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc. We got to learn the proper way to taste wine
too. We were out on a patio with the sun shining down on us while we relaxed and
sampled the wines. It was really nice. Next we went over to La Isla Negra, which is
the house of Pablo Neruda. First, we had lunch at a very nice seafood restaurant. I
had the fish soup, which was really good. There also was fresh squeezed pineapple juice

and strawberry juice, which was really good.  The view from our table was a really
pretty view of the ocean. After lunch we went down to the beach for an hour. This
was by far the prettiest beach scene I have ever seen. There were huge rocks near
the shore which made it even prettier. The pictures I took don't even do the view
justice. So we relaxed on the rocks watching the ocean for an hour before we went on
a tour of Pablo Neruda's house. It was a really interesting house  and I never knew
how eccentric Neruda was. His second bedroom was my favorite. It had huge windows
right near the foot of the bed which would give whoever slept there a beautiful view of
the ocean. I don't think I would ever get out of bed however if I lived there. After
the tour we were free for the rest of the night. This is the earliest we have ever
been done with activities- usually we have dance class or something until 830 or 9
every night. Today was just so relaxing , I can't think of a better way to spend my
day. We are also going to get a nice dinner for Allison's birthday, which will be a
good way to end the night 

Day Four

Today we started at the university again. We had lectures about culture again- this time focusing on the 

business culture and music. The business culture is pretty interesting. For instance Chileans typically 

never outright say no. They also don't like uncertainty so they like to have a very set plan that they know

will work, even if it's not the most efficient. While women in business are most common in Chile 

compared to all other South American countries, they still face a lot of challenges in the work place.  They

are often seen as less capable and make less money than  men. I was surprised that these inequalities still

existed to such an extent. 

After we had lunch at the cafeteria again we went to Nature's Farms. At Nature's Farms they grow white 

mushrooms. Once you got over the smell, it was a really good visit. We got to go much more in depth here

than we did at LAN. We saw every step of the process starting with making the mulch to grow the 

mushrooms.  We saw the spawning mushrooms and mushrooms that were growing and we even got to see 

the workers packaging the mushrooms for retail sale.  It was really cool that we got to see the whole 

process from start to end.   We also got to see the cannery, however there was no 

The growing mushrooms at Nature's Farms

canning going on. 

Day 3

               We started the day with lectures at the university, and luckily the lectures were very interesting 

today also.  We started off talking about the geography of Chile then moved into art and history.  We also 

discussed the issue of education in Chile.  There are many flaws in the education system here.  Only 

forty-five percent of schools are public schools in Chile, which is extremely low.  Those who are from 

lower income families cannot afford these private schools and typically have to go to public schools, 

which do not prepare them for college nearly as well as the private schools.  This leaves these students at 

a big disadvantage against children from private schools.  Many college students decided to protest to 

create changes in the system, and now the government is responding to the students requests by changing 

the educational system.  During the protests University of Santa Maria was even closed for a period of 

time.               

              We ate lunch once again at the university cafeteria. This was another interesting experience to say

the least. I took one bite of my empanada and bit straight into an unpitted olive. Olives happen to be one 

of my least favorite foods. Trying to be adventurous, I decided to try this bowl of what looked like flan.  

It was the weirdest texture and had a tough thick skin on the top surface. I could not even eat the bite I 

took.  Luckily, we will only be eating at the university only two more times.

                  Later today we went on our first company visit. We went back to Santiago to the airport to see 

LAN airlines.  LAN provides passenger flights and cargo flights.  I found it amazing that after their merge

with TAM that the airline essentially has no competition in South America. However, I wish we could 

have done something a little more hands on when we were there in addition to the presentation.

                 Afterwards we had out last salsa class. I can’t say I’m too mad it was our last.  Salsa just is not

my dance. I also had my first McDonald's meal last night. It tasted the exact same as American 

McDonald's, but I think I am getting more comfortable using my Spanish when ordering.  

Day two

Today, we got up very early to go to Santiago, which is about two hours from our hotel in Vina del Mar.  I slept the whole way there on the bus because I was already so exhausted.  Once we got to Santiago we went to the stock exchange.  We had a short presentation giving us the overview of the stock exchange, and then we went to the room where the exchanges occur.  Next we visited the cathedral, which was gorgeous inside.  It is a place where a lot of people go to pray and just think during the day.  I also saw a lot of students, which was weird since it was about 11 in the morning.  Afterwards we visited a museum of Chilean national history which was nice. Afterwards we went to lunch at a restaurant in the fish market.  I had scallops and calamari, both of which were very good.  At the market, there were a lot of different seafood restaurants all in the same area. A lot of the restaurants come up to you and try to convince you to come to their restaurant, which I have never experience before.  We also were serenaded at our table by a man playing the guitar and his son.  They most likely chose our table since we were obviously a large group of foreigners since once they finished playing they expected money.  Later, we explored the city more and once again took an incline to the top of a very large and steep hill.  There were more stores here and even an outdoor church.  The view of Santiago from the top was really pretty, however it became very evident how bad the smog is in the city. There was just a greyish white cloud all around the city.  You chould barely even see the outline of the Andes.  After we left Santiago, we went back to the University for our dance lessons.  Yesterday we had a salsa lesson, which was fun even though I am no good at salsa.  Today we had reggaeton lessons.   Im not sure how to describe reggaeton music-  Daddy Yankee who sings the song gasolina would fall into the category.  But the dancing is much different from salsa, and more like the way people dance in the United States.  I still was no good at this either, but it was really fun again.  After we got back from our dance lessons we went out to dinner again, and now I am here blogging again.  We have very little free time, and our days are packed.  I am very happy that we have so much to do because I would much rather be walking around and exploring the cities than be sitting in our hotel with not much to do.  

Our first full day in Chile.

Today we were extremely busy. We started the day at Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria.  First, we had lectures from Professor Jaime, who is a Chilean professor who got his doctorate at Pitt.  Our lecture focused on the economy in Chile and other South American countries.  We also ate lunch in the cafeteria at the university.  This was a very different experience.  There were no options like at Market Central, instead you just picked up all of the parts of the meal as you move through the line.  We had sausage and mashed potatoes with a salad and bread. It was extremely packed in the cafeteria, so our group had to split up to eat.  It was only me and another girl who sat at a table full of Chilean students.  I felt pretty out of place since we were speaking English and obviously not a part of the University. 

Next, we went on a tour of Valparaiso, which was really fun. There were a lot of murals on walls and the stairs which were really gorgeous.  The houses were all really pretty bright colors.  While in Valparaiso, we met an Australian man who was running to raise awareness for cancer.  He was running all throughout Chile- over 55 kilometers each day, which by my rough calculations is about 35 miles every day.  We also went on an incline up a large hill in Valparaiso.  The ride was a little scary, but once we got to the top, there were a lot of little shops.

Later on, we got empanadas, which were my favorite food I have gotten so far on the trip.  I got an empanada with goat cheese and chorizo inside, which was really good.  These were also very cheap, which was nice.  I have noticed that food tends to be pretty expensive here.  Most meals cost about 8000 Chilean pesos, which is about 16 dollars.  When I eat out in the United States I usually spend about 10 dollars on a meal.  However, I really appreciate the patience the waiters have had with us so far on the trip.  When we go out for dinner we are on our own and none of us are fluent in Spanish.  I try to use my Spanish, but a lot of the words for food are different here than I learned in high school, which complicates things.  The waiters however are very patient with our giant group of 17 gringos and they typically can speak some English, so they try to help us too.  We also went out to a karaoke bar with some of the Chilean students, which was very fun. 

Arrival day!

We finally arrived in Chile this morning after a long night on the airplane last night.  We left the Pittsburgh Airport at 5:15 P.M. for Miami.  Our plane was extremely small, but I slept for most of the trip which was nice.  The flight was about three hours long and we arrived in Miami around 8:15.  We left for Chile from Miami around 11:30 P.M. Luckily, this airplane was much bigger than the last.  Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep well at all on the ride, making the eight hour flight seem so much longer.  The view from the  plane was gorgeous in the morning.  You could see the sun rising over the Andes Mountains while the sky was orange and pink and blue.  We landed around 7:30 in the morning, but didn't get to leave the airport for another couple of hours.  When paying our reciprocity fees, many of our bills weren't accepted by employees because of small tears or markings on them.  They wanted crisp, new bills.   After this fiasco was solved, we found our luggage and met Jorge, the program director, and a student from Colegio Santa María who would help us get back to the hotel.

The ride from the airport to our hotel in Vina del Mar was about an hour and a half.  Our hotel, Hotel America, is very different than any other hotel I have been.  Its set up isn't very convenient and our triple room is very small.  We barely even have room to put our suitcases, but since I don't plan on spending much time in the hotel, this doesn't bother me.  
After settling into our hotel, we went out to eat as a group at the Tiki Taco.  I had lomo a lo pobre, which is steak with grilled onions and  two sunny side up eggs and a side of french fries.  It was pretty good, but nothing too special.  After lunch we went to a local soccer game.  We walked for about half an hour to get to the stadium, but it was well worth it.  On the way we made friends with a stray dog- he followed us all the way to the stadium.  There are so many stray dogs just roaming the streets here.  Typically, if a dog is owned by someone it is wearing a t-shirt or sweater to differentiate it from the stray.  The home team, Everton, played San Marco.  The stadium wasn't very big, but the atmosphere was great.  All of the fans had so much loyalty to their team.  All of the fans for Everton chanted in unison the whole entire time, even when they were down 2-0.  The game was pretty rough, there were three red cards and a handful of yellow cards.  However, Everton ended up winning the game 3-2 with a late goal.
We are getting dinner later and I plan on getting plenty of sleep tonight for our first day at the university and salsa lessons. 

Departure

We are finally leaving for Chile today! We have a lay over in Miami but about eight or nine hours later we will finally be in Chile! I have not traveled on airplanes a lot, so this long of a flight will be interesting. It is also very nice that there will be absolutely no time difference to get accustomed to.  But I absolutely cannot wait to land in Chile and begin exploring Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.  This will be my first time ever traveling abroad, which makes me even more excited. 
This past week we wrote a paper to help us learn more about the culture and environment we will be experiencing in Chile. With all of the information I have learned from research for the paper and our group meetings, I am ready to finally go to Chile to experience what I have learned first hand.