Day Thirteen: Two Weeks Never Passed So Quickly

After over 24 hours of buses, planes, and layovers, I'm back home and already missing being in Chile. Our two weeks passed far too quickly and it's difficult to believe that the trip is actually over. My time in Chile has been, without a doubt, full of amazing experiences that I will forever remember.

Thursday night we had our final dinner with the Chilean students and Dr. Werner. We went to a pizza place and different kinds of pizzas, including one with ground chicken and guacamole on it. We presented the Chilean students with Pitt shirts we brought for them, and they were kind enough to give all of us with USM sweatshirts! I really enjoyed studying at the university and would love to come back to it some day.

Friday morning was spent trying to fit everything back into my suitcase and looking around Hotel America one last time. Staying at Hotel America was interesting, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. After everyone was packed, we went out to lunch and returned to the restaurant where we ate our first day in Vina, coming full circle. After lunch we hopped onto our bus and headed to the Santiago Airport for our flight back to the US.

Overall, this trip has been some of the best times of my life. I learned a lot about Chile and their culture and have sparked a desire to see more of and learn more about Latin America as a whole. Every day I was able to see something new and exciting and even though the days were long, I can't imagine cutting anything from the trip. I love how close we all became over the course of our time in Chile. We left Pittsburgh not knowing each other very well, and every adventure we went on through Chile made us a more tight knit group. After being around the other sixteen students almost 24/7 while in Chile, it will be interesting to see how we spend the rest of the summer without each other.

I am so grateful I was able to spend the past two weeks in Chile with some of the best people I know. From the Chilean students to the USM staff, from the leaders of our company visits to Sarah and Jorge, our trip advisers (the two best people you could ask for) everyone we interacted with while in Chile was amazing.

Salud to the end of Plus 3 Chile 2012; a trip we all loved and will never forget.

Day Twelve: Horseback Riding!

Today we went horseback riding and it was probably one of the best days ever. We drove out to the ranch around mid morning and had some time to look around before beginning our ride. The ranch had boars, pigs, and chickens at one end, many cats and dogs running around the grounds, and of course horses. After we were given some chaps to protect our legs, we were assigned to horses and given instructions on the proper way to sit, how to control the horse, etc. We had a few minutes to practice walking around the farm and then we began to ride down to the beach! Two young horses without riders and a pack of some of the ranch's dogs joined us on our ride, bounding all around and entertaining the group. There was a fast, two lane road separating the farm from the beach so it was quite a sight to see twenty some horses crossing the road as cars and trucks waited for us. We walked along the beach for a bit and then turned to ride through the forests and the sand dunes. The views were always beautiful and when we were only walking it was quite relaxing and peaceful. Once we reached the dunes we began riding more quickly, especially when the horses needed to go up the dunes. The dune landscape almost reminded me of being on the moon or some unexplored part of the world. After riding for two hours we took a short break to give the horses some time to rest and to have some time to snack on clementines. We hopped back on our horses and walked over a few more dunes until we reached the beach.

Riding down the beach on Sarseul! (phonetic spelling of what our guide told me his name was)

We now had a straight shot with plenty of room to ride on the last leg of our journey. We all began riding at a faster pace and then began galloping! When the horse is between walking and galloping it's pretty bumpy and shaky, but once we began to move faster it simply felt like we were flying down the beach. I could not keep the smile off my face as my horse and I traveling down the shore line. After speeding down the beach, crossing the highway again, and heading back up the hill to the ranch, we returned from our three hour adventure and were ready to eat.

There were tables and chairs and log benches set up outside around a campfire and the ranch prepared a delicious meal for us. There were grilled sausages in bread similar to what we ate at Dr. Werner's house on Saturday, grilled steak, pork and vegetables cooked in a mud oven, and a variety of salads and rice. The weather was a little chilly, but perfect around the fire, and all of the food I tried was wonderful. We continued to hang around the ranch, eating, playing with the cats, and warming ourselves around the fire. When coffee and cookies were brought out for dessert, we asked the owner of the ranch if people ever toasted marshmallows in the fire. She seemed surprised at the idea but had some marshmallows and fondue sticks, so she handed them out to see us prepare this American dessert. Eventually it was time to leave so we thanked the owners of the ranch, said goodbye to all the animals, and returned to our favorite Hotel America.

One of the cats walking along a table as we were leaving the ranch.

 Tonight we're going to get dinner with Chilean students and Dr. Werner as a final goodbye. I've loved my short time in Chile and would love to come back someday. Our horseback riding adventure was the perfect way to end a trip that could only be described as unforgettable.

Day Eleven: Paintball!

After our busy day yesterday, we had a free morning today. I took advantage of the time and went to a pasteleria with some other students to get some bread and pastries for breakfast. We found a bench outside to eat and ran into some other people from our program who had headed to a different pasteleria for breakfast! After enjoying our morning snacks, we walked around Vina a bit and found a little market tucked between buildings. We looked around for a little and then decided to head back to the beach. We split up from the students we ran into and made our way to the beach. We lounged in the sun and took in the salty air before we had to meet back at the hotel for paintball.

Some of the girls at the beach

I was nervous for our paintball adventure because I'd never been before and the idea of getting hit by exploding balls of paint did not sound too exciting. We got dressed in long overalls, chest pads, and masks before picking teams and receiving our guns. There were a couple people on my team who had going paintballing before, so I began to feel more comfortable. Once we started playing, I actually thought it was pretty fun; although this may have had a little to do with the fact that I wasn't hit extensively. We finished the day with a girls vs boys game and the girls won, of course! Once the games were over we all gave back our outfits, compared hits, and got back on the bus to head back to the hotel.

Team Azul after a successful game!

Tomorrow we're going horseback riding and I am so excited!

Day Ten: Hela, Centauros, and Cueca

Our schedule kept us busy all day today, but now we're finished with company visits and classes so we can spend our last days at a less fast-paced tempo. We started our day at nine o'clock, getting on a bus to visit Hela. At Hela we got to wear our steel-toed boots again, along with earplugs and goggles to keep us safe. Hela manufactures various paintbrushes and wire wheels that are mainly used for professional and industrial use. We got to see each step of the manufacturing process which involved complex machines for the wire products and less machines and more human involvement for the paintbrushes. There was a lot of attention to detail in each step and that must be why they produce successful products.

Once we finished touring Hela, we got back on our bus and, after driving in a few circles, arrived at Centauros, the fruit and vegetable packing company that I researched prior to coming to Chile. The owner of the company, which is family run, met us and began our visit with a description of Centauros products and a taste test of some of their tomato products. We then set out to tour the processing facilities where the tomatoes are steamed and either canned or turned into a paste and canned. Tomato canning occurs during the summer months, but we were touring while Centauros was making their first batch of canned pumpkin paste, so we were able to see the machinery in action. I really enjoyed this visit because the process was interesting to learn about and the owner was able to explain everything to us very clearly. After we learned all about Centauros, and tried some fresh pumpkin puree (yum!), we headed back to Vina to grab a quick snack of empanadas before we went to our cueca class.

Our cueca class was taught by two USM students and it was very different from the dance classes we had last week. Cueca is the traditional Chilean dance and it is supposed to imitate a rooster courting a hen. We split up so that the girls could learn the girls' steps and the boys could learn their steps and after practicing separately, we paired up to perform the cueca to music! This turned out to be more complicated than I expected because there are subtle changes in the music that tell you when to switch to a different step and my partner and I had a hard time hearing when those changes happened. We had a successful dance by the end of class and then our instructors performed a cueca for us. We left USM for the last time and saw the sun set as we walked down the steps to the bus stop. Overall, another great day in Chile.

Day Nine: More Futbol!

This morning we were back to our early morning schedule and set out to catch a public bus around 8:30.  We headed to USM to listen to our last lecture on Chilean business and to give our presentations on the companies that we researched. We've already visited most of the companies so those groups were able to incorporate more information about each company while they were speaking. We visit the company I researched, Conservas Centauro, tomorrow along with Hela, a hardware company. After all five groups presented Jaime took the floor again but instead of a lecturing, he let us ask any questions we had about Chilean business or Chile in general now that we've seen the country some more. We ended up talking about the health care system and the HidroAysen project to build a dam in the south of  Chile. We ate lunch at the university cafeteria for the last time, and then caught a bus back to the hotel so we could change before heading out to play more soccer.

We all made our way to a group of turf fields on a hill by the mall and found out that we would be playing against the Chilean girls, and the boys would be playing against the male students we've met. When we arrived at the fields, there was only one female Chilean student there, so we split ourselves into two teams and played. My complete lack of soccer skills was evident when I let in multiple goals, but everyone had a good time. On our way home we stopped at some outdoor shops and then got empanadas from a little shop a few blocks from Hotel America.

Tomorrow we are visiting our last two companies and then learning how to dance cueca, the national Chilean dance!

Day Eight: My Birthday!

Today was another great, relaxing day in Chile! We didn't have anything planned until a group dinner in the evening and the rest of the day was ours to do as we wished! Joanie, Caryn, Christian, Kelli, Kirsten and I grabbed lunch at a small coffee shop type of place and then set off to do some shopping. Our original goal was to go to the mall, but along the way we ran into a market that a lot of vendors selling mainly handmade goods. Everything was beautiful and we all picked up some gifts for ourselves and for our friends and family back home. I was glad we found the market because I finally found some nice unique presents for my little sister since her birthday is coming up soon! We eventually did get to the mall, and saw that it mainly had international stores and not many specifically Chilean things. Since we decided we didn't need anything from the mall we headed back to the hotel to drop off our purchases before going to the beach.

On our way to the beach we stopped to get ice cream from a shop close to our hotel. We see it almost every day when we walk but I hadn't been in yet. Since the weather was perfect we enjoyed our frozen treats at some outdoor tables. We then walked down to the beach and it was beautiful but the water was very cold! I was standing at the edge of the stand thinking that a small bit of water would lap at my feet, instead a big wave came and soaked me almost all the way up my legs! Just like in the rest of Vina and Valparaiso, there were dogs all over the beach. It almost feels like the dogs know we're foreigners too because they always come up to us and follow us but don't seem to get as close to the Chileans.

Joanie and I in front of the Pacific

After spending some time enjoying the beach, we returned to Hotel America to get dressed up for our fancy dinner. While we walked along the beach earlier in the day we saw a restaurant, Tierra del Fuego, right on the ocean and we talked about how nice it looked. Turns out this was where Jorge and Sarah were taking us for dinner! The dinner was absolutely amazing. We had delicious shrimp appetizers and then wonderful main courses. I had fettuccine with shrimp, clams, and abalones in a cream sauce and it was the perfect birthday dinner. With chocolate mousse for dessert and a view of the ocean, I had a great meal. We were all stuffed and content as we walked back along the beach to return to Hotel America; the end of another perfect day in Chile.

 

Day Seven: Spa Day

Today was another nice relaxing day after a week of fast paced activities. We got to sleep in and didn't leave the hotel until 10:30! Those extra hours of sleep are very much appreciated. Our itinerary said that today we were headed to a spa, but in reality it was more like an all inclusive resort by the mountains. There were multiple outdoor and indoor pools, a soccer field, ping pong tables, and a lot of places to sit and relax. Our day started with a couple of soccer games against the Chilean students. I chose to sit those out and cheer for the team instead, because my sports skills would probably hurt our team more than they would help. It was a lot of fun watching and cheering the team on, even Jorge played! After soccer we spent some time sitting in the sun and dancing by the pool. Some of the boys braved the cold and even went swimming in the non-heated outdoor pool. For lunch we went to the buffet restaurant at the resort. There were so many choices for food and all of them tasted fresh and delicious. As our stomachs were getting full and we were moving on to dessert, the dj of the lunch room announced that it was Allison and my birthdays and made everyone eating sing the us! The waiter brought out a birthday cake with candles and thankfully we were sitting next to each other so they brought the cake right to us! Later in the day I found out that Sarah, our trip adviser, organized it and brought the cake all the way from Vina on the bus! Allison and I loved it.

Allison and I with our birthday cake!

 After spending most of our day at the resort, we piled onto a public bus to go to Dr. Werner's house for a barbeque. We rode the bus around in a few circles, but once we arrived we were greeted by more of our new Chilean friends and the smell of delicious food. We played games of foosball, talked with the Chileans, and ate for hours. It was a great way to unwind and eat some home-cooked food while away from home.

Tomorrow we have a free day until our group dinner in the evening and it's my birthday! I can't wait!