mysteryfish 5/19

Today was our last full day in Chile, and I'm really sad about it. My time here has been fantastic and eye opening. We began our day at the university, and heard a story from Stephanie about her likes and dislikes of studying at University of Santa Maria over her normal school in Belgium. Studying abroad more is definitely something I've always considered and now have no doubts about doing more of. Chile will always be a choice to come back to, it’s a beautiful country. Also because Spanish is something I’ve been including in my curriculum, a Spanish speaking country will be a pretty obvious choice. We then ate lunch at the cafeteria, and I can honestly say I will not miss that part of our time here. We had some sort of fried fish, and though I ate it fine at the time, it didn’t sit so well after. It was time for our activities outside, and as good as I am at soccer (not) I chose to sit this round out. Several other girls and I watched the people we came with hold their own against the Chileans who have been playing soccer forever. They did pretty well. After that, we returned to the hotel. We went to the market and I bought some candy only available around here to take back with me. Tonight should be fun; we’re having a pizza party dinner with everyone we’ve met and our entire group. Tomorrow is airport day, and starting at 2pm I’ll spend probably around 24 hours en route back home. I have mixed emotions. Mostly, I’d love to stay.

fishmarket.... 5/18

Today was our day to take a trip to Santiago. We left really early this morning, and didn't arrive until around 10:30 in Santiago. We first went to Bolsa de Comercio. This was my company, and essentially it is the primary stock exchange of Chile. It was definitely not what I expected, because the main trading floor was closed. I'm pretty bummed about that, I was excited to see it and talk about it in my presentation. It's okay though, because we received an extremely informative presentation and got to see the building. We then did a short walking tour in the nearby area, then went for lunch at a fish market. Their marketing strategy of walking through piles of frozen dead fish to go to the restaurant is really rather horrible. The thought of ordering fish after seeing it dead so nearby was gross to me so I ordered lomo a lo pobre. The basic idea of this meal is a steak with eggs on top served on a bed of grilled onions. It was enormous when it came out, but so good that I nearly ate the entire thing. We then continued a tour of Santiago, and took the bus up a mountain that was about 150m high. (That's around 450 feet for anyone who hasn't had to use metric for the last couple weeks) It was incredibly high in the air, and you could see how truly large Santiago is. We got an ice cream, and then we got on the bus and returned to Vina. I got pizza and went to the grocery store with a few compadres. All in all it was really an interesting day.

buffet!! (: 5/17

Today was another fantastic day in Chile. We woke up and went to the “spa.” I say spa in that way because it definitely resembled a resort that no one was staying in. We arrived and ate some empanadas. We then played a game of soccer. A lot of girls didn’t participate, but I figured I should. Our saying of the trip seems to have been “you’re only in Chile once,” and that’s so completely true.  In that moment, that saying was all I could think of. So, I played soccer, and was just as awful as I thought I would be. My team won, however I did nothing to help that. After the soccer game, we laid in the sun. It was luckily so nice out and we were all very ready to relax in the sunshine. For lunch, we had an enormous buffet. It’s very hard to describe it, because it was such a variety of foods. My favorite though was probably the potato stuffed with cheese, some type of seafood, and cream. I ate a lot, but it was okay because I honestly think everyone was really eating over their limit. After we got back, we went to Werner’s for a barbeque. Like all the barbeques I’ve had here thus far, it was extremely delicious. We began with sausages on a bun, and I had quite a few because I was unaware that we still had a meal coming. So, we had those and danced a bit of salsa. If I’m not a pro by Thursday, it’s going to be a bad thing because I’ve had so many opportunities to learn it. I’m really enjoying our relaxing days, but tomorrow is my company visit!

BBQ!! :D 5/16

Today was an excellent day! We woke up and went horseback riding. It was probably the nicest day of the whole trip as far as weather goes. It was absolutely perfect! First everyone got a horse, mine's name was Hipe. Since I've ridden a horse before, it wasn't scary for me at all, it was just a nice reminder of my childhood. So we started riding, and it was certainly an interesting trail. We began on the beach. It was absolutely incredible. The view from where we were could see the entire bay of Vina del Mar. We then went through the sand for awhile away from the beach and at one point all you could see was sandy hills around you no matter where you looked. We stopped to have some pineapple and water. The pineapple was so incredibly sweet; it didn’t even taste like fruit. We then rode back on the beach, and we even got up pretty quick in speed. Honestly, this blog post can never be an accurate portrayal of how gorgeous it was to be on the back of a horse on the beach looking at a view that goes on for miles and miles. It was certainly a once in a lifetime experience. When we arrived back at the ranch, there had been a barbeque prepared for us. It was incredible, with sausage, chicken and steak prepared fresh on a fire grill. It was delicious, and for once there was extremely good vegetables. After we returned to the hotel, we decided that it was too nice to stay indoors. A large group of us went and got gelato and sat near the ocean. It was a very relaxing, amazing day.

5/11/11 queso empanada.

Today was the first of our company visits. The first we visited was Bosques de Mauco, which was a mushroom farm. In my life, I have never seen anything like it. The smell was horrendous, and because I don’t like mushrooms, it never got better for me. The most fascinating part of the whole thing was the packaging and canning. Also they were extremely selective about the mushrooms they chose to use for things even such as canning. The products they use are only the best. After the mushrooms, we went to Centauro. Centauro is a canning company owned for three generations. Our tour was given by an actual decendant of the family who founded it, and he was clearly extremely passionate about his company. It was so adorable how he kept referring to his great grandfather and how they only use the best machinery. He gaves us a few samples, which I hope make it back into the states, considering they need refrigerated after opening and that just isn’t at our disposal. After our company visit, we went to Las Deliciosas. They serve empanadas with a million different types of seafood and cheese. As far as meal empanadas go, theirs were defintely delicious. They are receiving a close competition from the carmel and banana empanada as far as I’m concerned though. We then finished our Chilean culture lectures. The thing that sticks out most to me in retrospect was learning about the earthquakes. I admire the Chilean mindset that it happens, it will happen again, however they love this country and have no plans to leave. We then had a dance class and I honestly feel like my salsa dancing is improving. One of the students took us to her apartment at night, and it was SO nice. The view was absolutely breathtaking and it was just all around a really fun evening.

5/15 fillete!!!

As I’ve been told, Chile is prominently made up of Catholics. This was made even clearer today. Sunday is their day of rest, and it was also our day of rest. I got up later today than I have in years, and it was very nice. After we woke up, we decided to do some shopping. So we walked to the mall. We weren’t exactly sure where it was, but we figured it out, because we actually ran into a Chilean student on the way there. It was perfect timing, because we were pretty clueless at the time. The mall was an experience, very similar to malls in the United States really. It was large with three floors, and a very nice place. The food court honestly looked nearly identical to our malls, with a Subway, KFC and McDonald’s. It was clear that we wouldn’t find souvenirs here, so we decided to go to the boardwalk area to the souvenir shops. I bought nothing, which is pretty good because my money seems to be disappearing. After this, we were absolutely starving from not eating since dinner last night. We were going to go to a hot dog shop (which would’ve been an adventure) but like many places on Sunday, it was closed. We went to get pizza instead, which was very similar to our pizza. Tonight we’re dressing up and going to a nice dinner with the entire group. It kind of reminds me of a little Sunday family dinner. I’ll also finally get to wear my dress pants somewhere. Dinner was honestly FANTASTIC. We had steak, and it was so tender that we didn't even get steak knives. It was really nice to be in a more formal setting with everyone all dressed up. This evening we've all been just really relaxing.

picante! 5/14

This morning was definitely needed by the whole group of us. We got to sleep in, and many of us didn’t surface until around noon. It’s been an action packed week and we really needed some genuine rest. After we woke up, I decided it was really time to do some laundry. On the way to do laundry, we went to buy some souvenirs. I spent a lot of money in the last 24 hours. I had brought way more dress clothes than necessary, so the amount of regular clothes I had just wasn’t enough. Jen, Colleen, Christine, and I had quite the adventure trying to find a Laundromat, luckily at the dry cleaners we first went to, a woman spoke English. She gave us directions to a Laundromat. The man there spoke zero English, but as far as we know we somehow got what we wanted. We then ate at a pita shop. I decided to play it safe and ordered a chicken quesadilla. I’m disappointed with that decision, because their wraps looked extremely good. After this, we picked up our laundry and relaxed at the hotel for awhile. We then went to a “football” game which is actually soccer in the US. They take it extremely seriously. There were flares and fireworks and flags. I also thought the bleachers were interesting; they were made of solid cement. While sitting on them, I could only think of what a process it probably was to make them. Also, I had a really good/ interesting sandwich. It had really delicious guacamole and spicy picante sauce on it. Today was very relaxing, and I really think everyone needed it.

pimienta steak 5/13

Today was a relaxing day. It began with our usual hotel breakfast. The bus picked us up around 9:30. Burt and Matthew decided they needed some McDonald’s, so our departure was a bit delayed. It was completely worth it, however because I bought Matt’s coffee from him, therefore drinking my first real coffee since I arrived in Chile. It tasted incredibly good. So we were supposed to go to Isla Negra and visit Pablo Neruda’s house. Isla Negra is a relatively urban area about 90 minutes south of Vina del Mar. First, we went to the tomb of the third best poet in Chile. It was a pretty interesting area, reminding me a lot of the general housing of places like the Dominican Republic. We ate lunch at a pretty nice restaurant, and I liked my rice. The steak was actually pretty good too. Food is just so different here it seems. We also visited the largest pool in the world today. It was extremely disappointing to be honest. It was probably about 150 feet wide, and 30 feet deep. Don’t get me wrong, it was absolutely enormous, but it was empty. It’s not that I wouldn’t recommend visiting Chile in their winter; however I can only imagine how different it is in the summer. Many stores and restaurants are not open, and people seem surprised to see tourists. Just as my general opinion, I think we’ve all spent more time sleeping on a bus than actually sleeping in a bed. Tonight we’re going to the discoteca, and I think we’re all very excited to show off our recently learned reggaeton and salsa skills.

what an interesting lunch 5/12/11

Time is honestly flying in Chile. I can’t believe that Thursday is almost over already. Today we visited two companies, Vina Indomita and LAN airlines. The Vina visit was extremely interesting to me, because before the presentation I honestly knew nothing about wine making. It was the cleanest and seemingly most safe company we’ve visited thus far. All the employees seemed genuinely interested in wine and were very knowledgeable. Wine tasting was also cool, I feel like it’ll be really impressive for me to smell a wine and tell a person what kind it is in the future. I was interested to hear that they produced white and red wine only. I feel that they could really extend their product lines by branching out into the pink and sparkling wine. The second visit was also interesting for LAN airlines. They’re an extremely successful company and the way it seems is that the success they are having will continue. Climbing into the airplane was really cool, seeing the cockpit up close and personal. Also being in the hangar and seeing how the mechanics work was interesting. He mentioned however that some passenger planes are only checked out and having maintenance performed every 6 years. This is only certain planes, however it’s stil kind of eery to get on a plane with the possibility that no one has checked it out in detail for five years. I would be curious to know the way it’s done in the United States, whether it’s just a difference in safety laws or if that’s truly the status quo. Today we ate lunch on the road, and I decided to try authentic Chilean food. A mistake I won’t make again anytime soon. I ordered “Pastel de Choclo.” I’ll try not to be too gory in my description. It was a very sweet cream of corn, with an entire chicken leg/ wing thrown in and the bottom had beef in it. Also I believe there was a little extra soup, so they threw it in as well. Certainly not my favorite meal, luckily Chris had some snacks for later on. This is the first night we’ve gotten back before like 9 oclock and it seems like everyone is really liking being able to just sit for a few minutes. Tomorrow we go to Pablo Neruda’s house!

pizza day!! 5/10/11

Today was fortunately not an early day. We got up at a decent hour, and had breakfast at the hotel. All of the coffee here seems to be instant, but compared to instant coffee in the United States , the instant coffee here is honestly awesome. Also, it seems that here is fresh fruit every morning, such as apples and oranges, and I think that’s also great, because sometimes it’s so expensive in the U.S. After breakfast, we went to the university and had some lecture time. It was about Chilean business and Jaime Rubin de Celis gave the lecture. His presentation was excellent because it not only concentrated on Chile but also on all of Latin America. I found it especially interesting because when we asked questions, he gave his honest opinion on Latin American or Chilean issues. I think this really helped me learn about the culture because he gave an outside and inside opinion on Chilean issues and conflicts. For lunch, we had pizza. Pizza in Chile is nothing like pizza in the United States.  The pizza was a piece of cheese, ham, sliced tomato, and flat bread. It was certainly different than I’m used to but it was good. Also I can’t get over how absolutely delicious Chilean grapes are. They have seeds and are huge, but they are so sweet and delicious. They’re so sweet in fact, they’re considered dessert. After lunch, we finished our lecture, and gave our company presentations. I feel like I received an enormous  amount of feedback. After this, we learned a reggaetown dance. It was kinda raunchy, but it was really fun to learn how they dance and interact. I liked the lesson a lot. I ate at the taco bar and got an enchilada. It wasn’t quite as good as my mom’s, but it was probably the most “normal” meal I’ve eaten thus far in my trip. Then, a smaller group of us decided to go out with the Chileans, which was incredibly cool because I actually got some one on one time to ask them some questions about their culture and their way of life. I had a lot of fun with them and learned a lot. Tomorrow we visit our first several companies, and I’m really looking forward to it!!

carmel empanadas and pisco! 5/9

Today was our first full day in Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. We had to get up super early and head to the university. The architecture and layout of the campus was beautiful, I feel like every room had a view of the ocean. The lectures were very interesting, Jose Cortes did an excellent job of involving the students and realy making us thing and connect ideas. Then we took a city tour of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. It was very cool to see the port and all of the containers. Then I’m pretty sure we climbed a mountain, even though Jose told us it was a big hill. There were a lot of steps, worse than climbing to the Pete, but the view was much better. You could see everything from up there and it was beautiful. Then we did a little shopping for local artesan goods. I got some souvenirs for people at home, and I think I’m getting a hang of changing pesos to dollars. Celsius to Farenheit is still beyond my understanding though. During the tour we stopped near Renaca to get empanadas. I got two, one was chicken and cheese, which was pretty good, and the other was carmel and banana. SO SO GOOD. It was a complete mess to eat but well worth it because it was so good. Then we rode back to the university. While we were waiting for our dance class to start, we attempted to get coffee. The coffee here is all instant I’m pretty sure, but it’s still really good. Then we had our dance class, and our instructor was hilarious. He didn’t know much English, but it didn’t matter. That just proves how important body language and gestures are for communicating. Then we went out with some Chilean students and we tried pisco. Muy fuerte. It was nice to see everyone and talk in a different more casual atmosphere though, I learned a lot about everyone!

Sunday 5/8, Happy Mother's Day!

This morning we arrived in Chile around 7am. The bus ride back to the hotel was interesting, got to see a little bit of the land and a lot of my eyelids. Turns out sleeping on a full plane all night doesn’t work out all that well. But anyway, that at least refreshed me enough to go eat the largest cheeseburger I’ve ever seen that ended up costing thousands. The challenge of pesos versus dollars is alluding me thus far, but I’m hoping as the trip goes on I get a hang of the currency exchange rate. Never in my life have I seen the Pacific Ocean, and today that changed. It’s kind of crazy that we’re in the same time zone as Pittsburgh, however it is fall here and you can see the Pacific Ocean. Just the fact that we traveled so far, and its still the same time at home makes the world seem very big to me. Even though when we arrived this morning and walked outside you could see our breathe, as the day went on it ended up being really good weather. The major difference is the fact that they take their time. I wish the US was more like them in that aspect. I think it’s fantastic how all of the shops are closed on Sundays, and you could see people just strolling around with their families enjoying the day. Also, the architecture is something I find fascinating. Buildings are interesting inside and out, with staircases and windows that could lead to anywhere.  We’re eating dinner at 6 o’clock, and after that I think it will be a pretty early night for everyone.

TODAY!

Today is May 7th, the day I leave for Chile. I'm actually sitting in the Pittsburgh airport right now. When I first found out about the trip, it felt like it was so far away. The time since then has flown! I've been on a plane before, but never a flight longer than a couple hours. Ten hours on an airplane is definitely going to be pretty interesting. Hopefully I have no problem sleeping. Pittsburgh has been extremely rainy recently, but our weather forecast looks fantastic! I hope we all have safe travels and don't have too much trouble with all the added security!!