LAN Airlines

Today we visited LAN Airlines! We had an hour and a half bus ride, so naturally we all refreshed with a Verschae nap. I was really excited about going around all of the company and seeing so many planes. We got to go inside their newest model of planes. It was called Dreamliner, 787 plane. It was huuuge! Their first class was ridiculously nice. The windows could tint, the seat go into a bed, personal TVs. Also, we got to go inside the cockpit. Which I’m pretty sure we’re not allowed to do that in the US unless you have a pilots’ license. There were so many gadgets and high-tech stuff. The tour guide let me touch the steering wheel thing. The tour was very short but it was interesting.

We then went to a cute little Chilean restaurant near Santiago. The waiters were dressed like cowboys. I just got something really simple, a ham and cheese sandwich. Apparently a very authentic Chilean dish is meat and sunny side up egg on top of fries. It’s actually really good! Then we went back to the hotel, and quick got ready for dance classes. We were all so tired from the whole trip, so it wasn’t as fun as the previous classes but it was fun. It was more like Zumba than learning to dance. Finally, since we got back late, we all got dinner at the OK Market down the street and hanging out with the Chileans tonight! 

Valparaiso

We had a free morning today! It was our first free morning on a weekday. It was glorious. We all slept in until like 11:30 and then we woke up and just walked along the beach. Then we went to the mall and got food, I noticed how they have a lot of chain restaurants that we also have in the USA. I thought that was pretty interesting. Even Dunkin Donuts had the same motto, America Runs on Dunkin with a photo of the US. I thought that was peculiar since their business was in Chile.

Afterwards, we had a scheduled tour of the Port of Valparaiso. It was a shipping dock and we got to take a bus tour and have a brief lecture before. It was really interesting how everything worked together and all the machinery to lift the heavy containers. We saw shipping trucks as well as a giant German shipping boat. After the tour we had two hours to kill. Daniella and Ignacio were our students today so we hung out with them and they showed us around a little bit. We ended up taking a boat tour for $6! It was only 30 minutes but it was really cool and we saw seals! We then all went to Werner’s house for a BBQ. We had Chilean hot dog things as well as meat kabobs. All the Chilean students were there and it was so fun hanging out with everyone. People started leaving but the Chileans and a bunch of us stayed in the room and hung out for the rest of the night. They’re all so fun! I’m going to miss them so much once we go back home. 

Last day at the University

Today started off pretty hectic. Olivia, Jillian and I all woke up late. I set my alarm for the wrong time on accident, Jill’s didn’t go off and Olivia accidentally turned the alarm off after the snooze. We woke up at 8:23 and we were supposed to leave for the University at 8:30. We all just brought our contacts and toothbrushes to the University and got ready there, since we didn’t want to risk being late. After the chaos, we had class. Our professor was the same from the first day, Jami. We learned about Latin America and their economy. It was pretty interesting to see all of their economy’s compared to the USA. We only had one lecture for about an hour and a half, afterwards we did some company presentations. Latam Airlines and Vina Indomita Vineyards went today. We learned about how their companies function as well as their industry. We had some free time after class and it was so beautiful so a couple of us took some photos around the University. There was no fog in the sky and everything could be seen so clearly!

After that, about half of us went to a little café right next to the Hotel. The special was lasagna with soup, a drink, and desert for only like eight American dollars. It was soooo good, we all got it! We were so full so all of us pretty much took a nap afterwards and then went to play soccer with the Chilean students. They rented out this field for all of us. We played on four teams of 6. At first, I was pretty bad. But after about two games I felt more comfortable and actually started trying to play. I wasn’t that good…but I had a lot of fun! All the Chileans were so good! Soccer is a popular sport in Latin American countries, specifically Chile. So it wasn’t surprising that they all were amazing. We played soccer for about two and a half hours, which was exhausting.

At the end of the night, we went out to an authentic Chilean restaurant. I don’t remember the name but about ¾ of us went out for Jenny’s birthday. It was really fun! We split up the checks into one of 4 and two of 5 people. We each split like 3 entrees. They were huge!!! We couldn’t finish ours, not even close. We got leftovers though so hopefully those will come in handy whenever I don’t feel like leaving the hotel to eat. Tonight we are going to karaoke night for her birthday, which should be a blast! Talk to you tomorrow guys! 

Gone Surfin

Today was awesome!! We planned on going surfing since the beginning of the week but since we didn’t get much sleep last night everyone was sort of debating on going. But we ended up still going thankfully. There were 5 of us, Olivia, Jaclyn, Alex, Kelly and me. We left at around noon and made our way to the surfing place. Javier made arrangements for us to go surfing at a place but there were literally 15 surf shops along this strip and we couldn’t find the place we made arrangements for. Eventually we found this one where they spoke English and we actually got a better deal with this place. We warmed up at first by running and stretching – boy am I out of shape! Then after we learned the correct surfing techniques then we went in the water. It’s technically winter in Chile so we were a little nervous about how cold the water was going to be, but it wasn’t that bad! Kelly and Alex were really good at surfing while the rest of us weren’t that good. But it was still a blast! It was just really cool to say we went surfing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile at Playa Boca. The most I stood up on the board was probably for like 10 seconds but I was still happy with myself!

After surfing we hungout in Concón for a bit. We stayed at the surf shop and talked to the guys for a bit and then we went for empanadas and pizza at a shop right next to the surfing place. It was a cute little place, I got a ham and cheese empanada and I ate almost an entire chicken pizza by myself. Safe to say I was a little bit hungry. After, we got back at around 5 and had a group dinner at around 6:30 at this really cute Italian place down the street. Tonight a couple of us are going to the casino because it’s legal to gamble here at 18. And when in Chile, do as the Chileans do – right? Well, hopefully I don’t lose all my money. Adios amigos! 

Free Day 1

Today wasn’t very eventful. We started off a little late at around noon and planned to go to Valparaiso for the day but we all decided that it was too far and we were all tired. So we just went and walked around. We went to the mall first to eat, I had a completo. It’s like a hotdog with everything on it. I got guacamole, mayo, and queso. It really wasn’t as good as I thought it’d be – so I fed the ¼ that I didn’t eat to stray dogs. After that, we went back to the hotel quickly to regroup since we were all so tired and sore from horseback riding. We then just walked to the beach and shopped for souvenirs. There was a lot of cute homemade stuff that the vendors were selling. I really didn’t buy anything because I could not find something that I really wanted to get. A bunch of other people got stuff though, like alpaca socks (to match the alpaca sweaters) and jewelry, and mugs.

We then walked around Viña del Mar for a little bit and made our way back to the mall. This time we shopped around a bit. None of us found anything that we wanted, there was a lot of expensive stores which I didn’t expect. For example, there was a Polo Ralph Lauren Store, Lacoste, and others which I didn’t expect to find in Chile. Alright, well it’s nap time, hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting! 

The most beautiful day

Where do I even begin about today? Well we got to sleep in a bit and woke up at 9, and then made our way to go horseback riding with Javier, Paula and Andres. We all took our Versache nap (the name of the bus company that we always ride) and then we finally arrived at this quaint little house. The backyard was filled with animals, everything from new born puppies, to kittens, to chickens, to (obviously horses). There was this one kitten who was so playful and always jumped on your shoulders and rested on your head. It was the most adorable thing ever. There were so many animals that were all so friendly it was fun to play with all of them and not be scared how they will react, like strays.

We finally went horseback riding then, I got a cute little white horse which didn’t listen very well but we got along. We went all through the forest, amazing sand dunes, and of course the beaches. It was one of the most beautiful sites that I have ever seen. At one point in the sand dunes you could see over all of Viña del Mar. Everything from the mountains, the beaches to all of the sand dunes. I couldn’t believe how amazing this trip was. It was my favorite day so far, I am so happy that Jo and Dianne took us on that trip. Towards the end of the trip we did one final walk on the beach and this is where everyone could fully gallop with their horses. Throughout the entire trip we could periodically gallop but for this, we could gallop the entire beach. IT WAS AWESOME! I am so sore because of it but it was so worth it. My horse went to fast and I felt so free. It was honestly just amazing.

After the trip, we had a BBQ at the house that took us horseback riding. There was a sort of Chilean hotdog, pork, beef, potato salad, rice, salad, and tomato salad. Naturally, I ate all of it. Olivia and I would get extra food and feed it to the animals. It was so cute they were all surrounding us. We stayed a while after and roasted marshmallows and put them in cookies, unlike the typical US smore. We played with the animals until it was time to leave. Now I’m going to take a nap and then we’re hanging out with the Chilean students tonight! I have a free day tomorrow so I’ll let you know what I do tomorrow then!

Company Visits

Today started very early, we met in the lobby at 7:30am for breakfast. We’ve been having complimentary breakfast every morning. It’s actually charming, there’s always pound cake, apple butter, a biscuit, Jell-O, yogurt, with cheese and meat. It’s actually really good! We left for our first company which was Hela Tools, which is the company I researched. It was very interesting to see how much actually goes into the process of making something as simple as a paint brush. The tour was done completely in Spanish, but luckily Paula and Francisco (two Chilean students) and Werner (the director of the Plus 3 program at Santa Maria) translated everything for us. They helped me ask all of my questions and I got a really good look inside the industry as a whole as well the individual company. This company mainly focuses in producing all sorts of brushes and exports them directly to retailers domestically.

After Hela, we had an hour bus ride to the second company. The whole bus ride Jillian and I were talking to Francisco and we were teaching each other customs from our cultures. It was pretty interesting and funny most of the time. The Chilean students are really nice and I love to hear about how their life is here compared to ours at home. The second company was Conservas Centauro, which is a canning company. The tour was also done in Spanish and it was difficult to hear the translations because the factory was so loud. We toured their vegetable canning plant so we saw tomatoes and a variety of vegetables and how they were produced. We had to wear hair nets and face masks so we didn’t contaminate the food.

We had lunch after that, we stopped at a little empanada place which was sort of like a hut. It sounds weird but it was actually really cute and had its own character to it. I had a chicken and cheese as well as shrimp and cheese empanada. After that, we went to a mushroom factory called Nature’s Farm. I expected it to be a lot smellier but it wasn’t that unbearable. It was actually not that bad, it was pretty interesting how the mushrooms were grown and sold. Tonight we’re all getting pizza and then exploring again. I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow! 

Santiago

Hey guys! Today we toured Santiago, which is the capital of Chile. I really enjoyed it! It wasn’t what I expected though, I thought it would be like New York being super busy and crowded but it wasn’t. It was just a huge city with such character. Everything from the people to the art on the walls of the buildings just brought the city to life. First we went on an incline up a mountain which overlooked much of Santiago. There was a bit of fog, which only truly interfered with my pictures – in person it was breathtaking. There was also a statue called The Virgin at the very top of the mountain. On the way up to the statue there were a bunch of steps with benches on them, I think they were for praying. I like how in Chile they don’t always have to be so “politically correct” as we have to be aware of in America. They can express their religion and no one thinks twice about it. When we were at the incline I bought an alpaca sweater, a lot Chileans wear them so my plan is to bring back some Chilean culture to the US.

After the incline we went to Mercado Central de Santiago which is basically a market of fish, gifts, and a few little restaurants. We went to a nice restaurant called El Galeon Restaurante, the workers were so nice! They offered everyone free sodas on the house and spoke English which made ordering easy. I just got chicken with a side of mixed foods such as rice, potatoes, salad, and carrots. It was so good! The Chileans certainly know how to use their spices. After the market, we walked around Santiago and saw la Moneda where the president works. After walking around we made our way to the Santiago Stock Exchange. We saw a brief video about stocks and what they do at the exchange. I was most surprised about how small it was. The building was big but there weren’t many brokers or stocks being exchanged. There were only 31 brokerage houses which surprised me. We went into the trading room which was awesome! I felt so professional and they even let us walk around near the stock monitor. I had a really good day today, I liked Santiago a lot and hopefully we’ll get a chance to come back again before our trip is over.

Day at the University

Well, today was a busy day. We woke up pretty early to have a full day at the University. We had four classes today, the professor’s name was Memo. It was an interesting day, I didn’t realize how similar Chile is to the United States. There is more of a culture associated with Chile, while in the US I feel as there is no one significant culture that defines everyone. Granted there are variations of Chilean culture considering the length of the country and the different climates but generally I feel they are united. We learned about everything Chile today. Everything from their history, music, art, natural disasters, Chilean social issues, government and much more. I didn’t realize how diverse the terrain was in Chile, which causes many of the natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Another thing that interested me was the dances throughout Chile. The north, middle, south, Easter Island, and indigenous people all have different dances and music. Personally, my favorite was the dance of Easter Island. It reminded me of hula dancing except the men danced also – it was very unique.

We also ate lunch at the University today. I learned that lunch is only served between 1 and 2 so that’s why the lunchroom is so crowded and hectic. I liked the food today, it was a meat and salad with a soup on the side. I wasn’t a fan of the soup but it still enjoyed my meal. I learned that if the students don’t finish their food they leave their extra uneaten food on the tables for people who don’t have money to pay for lunch to eat. I thought that was really nice and I think it’s a good way to give back to others easily.

At the end of the day we walked around the University. The sun was setting over the ocean and it was absolutely beautiful. I would love to study here but I feel I would always get so distracted by the amazing views. We had a cueca class at night also, Cueca is the national dance of Chile. I’ve never seen a dance like it before, it’s sort of like a man and a woman dancing around each other but rarely making direct contact. The group learned it as a whole and it was fun! The instructor was very fun and entertaining so it made the class go well. Now we’re back in the hotel and tonight we’re adventuring around Viña del Mar and the beach! Adios mis amiosJ! 

Te amo Chile!

Hola! Sorry about the late blog, I thought I posted this yesterday but my internet went down apparently. But anyway, my blog for May 5th:

Today was our first actual planned day in Chile. It was awesome! It was super busy and lots of fun. First, we went to the University de Santa Maria for a tour around campus. It was gorgeous, it was a little foggy so you couldn’t see the view as well but it was still very pretty. The campus was made up of different buildings and courtyards and even a swimming pool in the middle of one which was unique. The students who gave us our tour were extremely nice and willing to answer any questions we had.

After our tour, we had a Chilean economics class. The professor was so intelligent! I was surprised at how well he spoke English and knew so much about everything it seemed like. Any question we asked he seemed to know the answer to. After class we presented our companies projects to the professor. It was nerve-racking at first but he was not intimidating and was eager to hear our presentations. After class, we went and ate at the University. I heard some pretty bad things about the food, but it was actually good! It was cafeteria style which was different than at Pitt.

After our visit to the University, we went on a tour around Valparaiso. There was recently just a big fire in the city so I was nervous about that. First we stopped at a place on top of the mountain of the city which was an amazing view and they had cute little vendors on the street which all of us shopped at and purchased some Chilean things for keepsake. Next we got dropped off in the middle of the city and just explored with our Chilean students. We saw so many things that we wouldn’t have seen if we just went on a guided tour – we got the inside look! It was awesome we went up the incline and explored streets with beautiful graffiti. There were more cats in Valparaiso I noticed, instead of dogs. We wandered for about two hours probably and then the tour bus took us to a popular beach. The waves were huge!! At the beach, we went to an empanada place and I ordered my first! Andres (one of the students) helped me decide what to order and how to order. It was interesting hear about his life and their culture. We showed each other our IDs and compared them also.

Following our tour, we took salsa lessons at the University! It was awesome! There were basic steps but it was hard to get the hang of it. Once I got in my groove it just came naturally. So, basically I’m a professional salsa dancer now. Okay guys, I have a busy day tomorrow, I’ll tell you all about it then! 

Hola Chile!

After a long ten hour flight, we finally arrived in Chile!  The plane ride wasn’t bad at all, we were served dinner and breakfast (since it was an overnight flight). I slept almost the entire time luckily. We landed in Santiago, which is about an hour and a half bus ride to Viña del Mar. Right after landing, naturally the whole Plus 3 group took a Chile selfie:). Once on the bus, after finally reaching our destination there was a breath taking view over all of Viña del Mar, no picture could capture its beauty.

Once we were all settled in, a few girls and I went for a walk around Viña del Mar and went to the beach. It is gorgeous, the water is still cold but of course we still dipped our feet in. We went to the local market just to get some water and change for the buses tomorrow, our Spanish is so terrible we had to get a dictionary out to determine which water we needed. It was actually pretty comical.

We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, it was called Margarita. I had my first Chimichanga, let’s just say I was not disappointed. I am definitely going to be getting one again in the future. After dinner, a bunch of people and I went for a walk on the beach. We walked on this boardwalk of sorts which overlooked the ocean and basically all of Viña del Mar. It is absolutely beautiful here. There were stray dogs EVERYWHERE. One time we counted and there were like ten following us because we bought churros, which again is a food I first tried here and was delicious. I am excited to see the University tomorrow! I need to get a good night’s sleep and make sure I am prepared for my group’s presentation of Hela Tools. 

Travel Day

Well, today is travel day! I woke up at 8am, to get ready for today and it turned out I forgot a few things, so I had to stop at RiteAid before the group was meeting at 9:30. It was a pain, but I’m glad I found out when I was still in Pittsburgh because the airport would've been crazy expensive. Right now we’re in Dallas, Texas and we have a five hour layover. Jillian and Olivia and I are waiting patiently and charging our electronics before Chile. Our next flight is around 9, which happens to be an 8 hour and 40 minute flight. Hopefully I’ll sleep through the whole thing since we’re flying over night and we have a Chilean filled day ahead of us on Sunday! I forgot movies and there’s no wifi on the plane so I had to buy books in case I couldn't sleep. The first flight went well, I slept the entire time – I even missed the complimentary drinks! I sat in the aisle seat, which at first I was disappointed about because, I mean, who doesn't want to sit window seat. But, it didn’t really matter in the end considering I just slept. Last night, we ended up watching Frozen, which I’ve never watched. It ended up being a really good movie, surprisingly one of the boys had the movie with them. A couple girls from the trip and I are getting TGI Friday’s for dinner and to kill some time before the flight. We get a complementary meal during this flight but it’ll be pretty late so I probably won’t even be hungry by then. Alright, well I’m going to watch some Netflix to pass the time at the airport. Next time I talk to you guys I’ll be in Chile!

Chile Pre-departure

Today is the day before we leave for Chile! I feel like I have been looking forward to this trip since the beginning of my freshman year. I can’t believe it’s finally here. I arrived at Pittsburgh at around 2 o’clock and I got some lunch with my family as a farewell before I leave. Then I hung out in Tower C with others on my Plus 3 program and figured out how to print out our boarding passes and everything about our flights. I am nervous about the long plane ride but I know it will be well worth it once we arrive. We had our final Chile pre-departure meeting today at 5, which only lasted a half an hour. So two of my friends Jillian and Olivia and I tried to ride the carousel but it turns out it wasn’t free – the pathfinders lied to us! At 6 the whole group went to The Porch for our dinner, which was delicious! I just got a pizza, and I ate the entire thing. I could still eat now too! Right now a bunch of girls are just hanging out in the longue and practicing our Spanish, which is terrible.  I need to make sure I get a good nights sleep tonight to prepare for the adventurous day of travel ahead of me tomorrow, goodnight guys!