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.