Hola,
My trip to Chile has come to an end. On Thursday we went horseback riding, which was so cool! We rode through sand dunes and on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. I'm pretty sore from riding the horse though, it hurts bouncing up and down as the horse trots. But it was a lot of fun and the scenery was beautiful.
After the ride we had a barbecue and went out for pizza that night for our farewell dinner. We also celebrated our last night in Chile by going out to a dance club at night.
Yesterday (after sleeping in), I packed while watching President Piñera's big May 21st speech on TV, although I couldn't understand it since it was in Spanish. After his speech there was a military marching band performance. We then headed to the airport for the long trip home. We left the hotel at 3 PM yesterday, and I got home this afternoon. It was a long, exhausting trip home, but it was worth it because the past two weeks have been such an incredible experience!
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog! When I sort through my photos, I may post some highlights up here. They will all be uploaded to my facebook soon as well.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Santiago, Isla Negra, la playa, y mas
Hola,
I've almost reached the end of my two weeks here, but I'm having so much fun! On Monday we went to Santiago to visit the Santiago Stock Exchange (Bolsa Comercial de Santiago) and other sites in the city. We learned about the history and services of the stock exchange, which now works entirely on an internet platform (so the historic trade room was nearly empty), and which is responsible for the growth of the strong Chilean economy.
We then visited some other sites in Santiago. The city is very crowded. We walked in an area that I assume was downtown, which had mainly pedestrian traffic, but was very crowded. We were told to watch for pickpockets as a precaution, but no one was robbed. I don't know if this was really more dangerous than a crowded U.S. city or not. There were a lot of shoe shines, which I found peculiar, and a street performer that I couldn't understand, but seemed like his act must have been very funny. He had an action figure of Goku from Dragonball Z that he got involved with his show. I've seen some Dragonball Z t-shirts for sale here too, so I guess that show got pretty popular in Chile too. Some people took pictures with a very friendly police officer and his police dog, it's good that the police are friendly here.
For lunch we went to a seafood restaurant, which brought out ridiculous amounts of appetizers. It was mostly shellfish though, which I don't like, so I didn't eat those. We were given a choice of meat or fish for an entree, and I made the mistake of ordering meat. I was given a huge piece of steak, which normally I would've thought was great (although I wasn't given a steak knife so it was hard to eat), but the people who ordered fish received platters of really good fish that they luckily shared with me. The swordfish and salmon were very tasty! We were also serenaded by three guitar players, who sang songs that I actually recognized, such as "Guantanamera," "La Bamba," and a song that I knew because the band Cake covered it in English, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps." It was a very good meal.
We then took an incline up a very large hill to get the best view in the city. This incline was similar to the ones in Pittsburgh and Valparaiso, but much larger. The view from the top was amazing! There was also a large statue of the Virgin Mary at the top. We could see the whole city, which was much larger than I had imagined! I'm not sure how it compares with a city such as New York City, but it was absolutely huge! The city, along with the rest of Chile, is located between two mountain ranges, the shorter coastal ones, and the very large, snow-covered Andes. Unfortunately Santiago has a problem with smog and its rare that you can get a view of the Andes. However, it rained a few days earlier, so the smog was not as heavy as normal. We didn't get a great view of the Andes, but we could see a few mountain peaks that rose above the smog, which were beautiful. It was unfortunate that we couldn't see the whole mountain, and smog covered the horizon in every direction. Overall, the view was truly amazing though. We then did a little bit of shopping in Santiago before returning to Vina, where I had Chinese food for dinner and returned to the karaoke bar, Rufino, to sing songs and hang out for a couple hours at night.
Yesterday (Tuesday), we went to Isla Negra, one of Pablo Neruda's three homes. Pablo Neruda was a famous Nobel Prize winning poet from Chile. This home was located by the water and was built like a ship. The doors were very small and you had to watch your head, and the house had an overall maritime theme. But Neruda built the house like a museum (which allowed it to easily become one after his death), and housed his various collections there. The man collected everything, and I mean everything. He collected a lot of figureheads, statues of women or war heroes that were placed at the front of a ship. He collected bugs, butterflies, sea shells, and even had a narwhal tusk and giant clam! His house also had a gorgeous view of the ocean, and we later spent time at the beach outside his house. He and his wife were buried in front of his house in an area built to look like the forward deck of a ship. After leaving Isla Negra, we then stopped to see the world's largest pool, located here in Chile. I tried to take pictures, but there was no way to capture what I saw on film or in words. This pool was huge! Nearly a mile long! It was right by a beautiful beach too (I guess it was dangerous to swim in the beach), and was filled with salt water. There were even boats in the pool. The pool was for a bunch of fancy apartments that apparently had their own smaller pools. It was really unnecessary, but cool to see. I then got pizza for dinner at a place called Telepizza, it was pretty much like Domino's in Chile.
Today we had a free morning which we planned to use to go see an outdoor graffiti museum in Valparaiso, but we found out this morning that we had to meet for a group lunch at 12:30, so we didn't have time to go. Instead we did some local shopping before getting lunch at Entremesas (not sure if I spelled that right) for empanadas. I ordered too much food and couldn't finish, but the three different empanadas I ordered were delicious. One was picante de pollo, a mildly spicy chicken, one had ham and corn, and one had manjar (which is kind of like a mix between caramel and peanut butter, it was in a donut I got the other day too, it's sticky and sweet, really yummy). All three were also full of cheese, and I walked out feeling like I was going to become lactose intolerant. A lot of food here is very cheesy and greasy. Mom and Dad, if you're reading this, please don't make anything with too much cheese for a while when I get home!
After lunch we went to the beach to play some games. The Chilean students introduced us to some very... interesting games. Some were normal, such as sack races and tug of war, while others involved coupling up and popping a balloon without using hands or a girl rolling a ping pong ball up a guy's leg and out the other leg... that was a weird one. I was pretty much the only person that made the mistake of wearing long pants instead of shorts, which made that game even more funny.
After playing those games some of us were taking pictures near the water. Everyone else was wearing shorts and was barefoot, but I was wearing pants, socks, and shoes. I was trying not to get wet, but then a huge wave came and I got soaked! I'm not quite sure how to dry everything yet... Tonight we're having another salsa lesson and I can wear my dress shoes, but I need my sneakers to go horseback riding tomorrow, I hope they dry by then. It's unfortunate that my shoes got soaked, but I had a lot of fun at the beach, and after taking off my shoes, got my feet in the water. Most Chileans would not go swimming at this time of the year because it's almost winter, but the water actually seemed pretty warm.
So obviously I've been having a lot of fun here! Soon we're leaving for our last Salsa lesson (out of four), and I'll have to figure out what to do for dinner after that. Tomorrow we're going horseback riding and having a farewell dinner at night. On Friday night, we fly out of Santiago, and I'll be back in the States on Saturday!
Adios.
I've almost reached the end of my two weeks here, but I'm having so much fun! On Monday we went to Santiago to visit the Santiago Stock Exchange (Bolsa Comercial de Santiago) and other sites in the city. We learned about the history and services of the stock exchange, which now works entirely on an internet platform (so the historic trade room was nearly empty), and which is responsible for the growth of the strong Chilean economy.
We then visited some other sites in Santiago. The city is very crowded. We walked in an area that I assume was downtown, which had mainly pedestrian traffic, but was very crowded. We were told to watch for pickpockets as a precaution, but no one was robbed. I don't know if this was really more dangerous than a crowded U.S. city or not. There were a lot of shoe shines, which I found peculiar, and a street performer that I couldn't understand, but seemed like his act must have been very funny. He had an action figure of Goku from Dragonball Z that he got involved with his show. I've seen some Dragonball Z t-shirts for sale here too, so I guess that show got pretty popular in Chile too. Some people took pictures with a very friendly police officer and his police dog, it's good that the police are friendly here.
For lunch we went to a seafood restaurant, which brought out ridiculous amounts of appetizers. It was mostly shellfish though, which I don't like, so I didn't eat those. We were given a choice of meat or fish for an entree, and I made the mistake of ordering meat. I was given a huge piece of steak, which normally I would've thought was great (although I wasn't given a steak knife so it was hard to eat), but the people who ordered fish received platters of really good fish that they luckily shared with me. The swordfish and salmon were very tasty! We were also serenaded by three guitar players, who sang songs that I actually recognized, such as "Guantanamera," "La Bamba," and a song that I knew because the band Cake covered it in English, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps." It was a very good meal.
We then took an incline up a very large hill to get the best view in the city. This incline was similar to the ones in Pittsburgh and Valparaiso, but much larger. The view from the top was amazing! There was also a large statue of the Virgin Mary at the top. We could see the whole city, which was much larger than I had imagined! I'm not sure how it compares with a city such as New York City, but it was absolutely huge! The city, along with the rest of Chile, is located between two mountain ranges, the shorter coastal ones, and the very large, snow-covered Andes. Unfortunately Santiago has a problem with smog and its rare that you can get a view of the Andes. However, it rained a few days earlier, so the smog was not as heavy as normal. We didn't get a great view of the Andes, but we could see a few mountain peaks that rose above the smog, which were beautiful. It was unfortunate that we couldn't see the whole mountain, and smog covered the horizon in every direction. Overall, the view was truly amazing though. We then did a little bit of shopping in Santiago before returning to Vina, where I had Chinese food for dinner and returned to the karaoke bar, Rufino, to sing songs and hang out for a couple hours at night.
Yesterday (Tuesday), we went to Isla Negra, one of Pablo Neruda's three homes. Pablo Neruda was a famous Nobel Prize winning poet from Chile. This home was located by the water and was built like a ship. The doors were very small and you had to watch your head, and the house had an overall maritime theme. But Neruda built the house like a museum (which allowed it to easily become one after his death), and housed his various collections there. The man collected everything, and I mean everything. He collected a lot of figureheads, statues of women or war heroes that were placed at the front of a ship. He collected bugs, butterflies, sea shells, and even had a narwhal tusk and giant clam! His house also had a gorgeous view of the ocean, and we later spent time at the beach outside his house. He and his wife were buried in front of his house in an area built to look like the forward deck of a ship. After leaving Isla Negra, we then stopped to see the world's largest pool, located here in Chile. I tried to take pictures, but there was no way to capture what I saw on film or in words. This pool was huge! Nearly a mile long! It was right by a beautiful beach too (I guess it was dangerous to swim in the beach), and was filled with salt water. There were even boats in the pool. The pool was for a bunch of fancy apartments that apparently had their own smaller pools. It was really unnecessary, but cool to see. I then got pizza for dinner at a place called Telepizza, it was pretty much like Domino's in Chile.
Today we had a free morning which we planned to use to go see an outdoor graffiti museum in Valparaiso, but we found out this morning that we had to meet for a group lunch at 12:30, so we didn't have time to go. Instead we did some local shopping before getting lunch at Entremesas (not sure if I spelled that right) for empanadas. I ordered too much food and couldn't finish, but the three different empanadas I ordered were delicious. One was picante de pollo, a mildly spicy chicken, one had ham and corn, and one had manjar (which is kind of like a mix between caramel and peanut butter, it was in a donut I got the other day too, it's sticky and sweet, really yummy). All three were also full of cheese, and I walked out feeling like I was going to become lactose intolerant. A lot of food here is very cheesy and greasy. Mom and Dad, if you're reading this, please don't make anything with too much cheese for a while when I get home!
After lunch we went to the beach to play some games. The Chilean students introduced us to some very... interesting games. Some were normal, such as sack races and tug of war, while others involved coupling up and popping a balloon without using hands or a girl rolling a ping pong ball up a guy's leg and out the other leg... that was a weird one. I was pretty much the only person that made the mistake of wearing long pants instead of shorts, which made that game even more funny.
After playing those games some of us were taking pictures near the water. Everyone else was wearing shorts and was barefoot, but I was wearing pants, socks, and shoes. I was trying not to get wet, but then a huge wave came and I got soaked! I'm not quite sure how to dry everything yet... Tonight we're having another salsa lesson and I can wear my dress shoes, but I need my sneakers to go horseback riding tomorrow, I hope they dry by then. It's unfortunate that my shoes got soaked, but I had a lot of fun at the beach, and after taking off my shoes, got my feet in the water. Most Chileans would not go swimming at this time of the year because it's almost winter, but the water actually seemed pretty warm.
So obviously I've been having a lot of fun here! Soon we're leaving for our last Salsa lesson (out of four), and I'll have to figure out what to do for dinner after that. Tomorrow we're going horseback riding and having a farewell dinner at night. On Friday night, we fly out of Santiago, and I'll be back in the States on Saturday!
Adios.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Mis Cumpleanos y Futbol (birthday and soccer)
Hola,
To pick up where I left off on Friday, most of us had dinner at the Chinese restaurant next to the hotel. The food was very good and was a little bit different than the typical Chinese restaurant in America. At night we went out to a bar called Stingray.
This weekend we have had an open schedule. Most of us have been resting and taking it easy, but we did a lot of fun things yesterday.
A group of us walked around exploring Vina and its shops. I had a delicious handmade donut from a bakery filled with manjar, which had a taste similar to caramel. We went to lunch with Mimo (one of our tourguides), where I ordered a beef pizza. It was pretty different than the pizza we're used to at home though, it basically bread with cheese and beef and tomatoes on top. Apparently the entire group is going out for pizza tonight, too. Mimo bought everyone a round of drinks too, and most of us tried a Chilean mixed drink called the terramoto, or earthquake. It has the name because if you drink too many you're supposed to have trouble walking, like during an earthquake. Personally, I didn't like this drink that much, which I think was made from pisco, ice cream, pineapple juice, and maybe some other ingredients.
Some of us then went to walk on the beach, and five people even ran into the water, which is of course very cold as it's late fall here in the southern hemisphere. We watched the sunset at the beach, which was very pretty. It's nice watching the sunset on the pacific ocean since the sun sets in the west, into the ocean. But of course we get to watch the sun rise over the ocean at home.
For dinner a group of us went to a Mexican restaurant place called Taco Bar (every time someone says this fast it sounds like Taco Bell). The menu was very similar to the other Mexican restaurant, Margarita, some of the pictures on the menu were even the same, I don't know if they have the same owner or are in competition, but they are pretty similar restaurants. I ordered quesadillas, which were prepared more like what I would consider to be a soft taco. They were very cheesy, and I couldn't finish my food, it was filling.
Then at night we went out to Camilo's rooftop terrace again. But this night we celebrated my birthday! Today I am 19 years old. At midnight, a few guys hoisted me up into the air 19 times, and one guy kicked my butt on the way down each time (that spot is a bit sore now, haha). It was funny. There was a live band for a while and I had fun dancing. I also had my first pisco sour, another popular way to drink pisco here. It's made with lemon (or maybe lime), so it tastes a bit like lemonade, I liked it a lot. I had a very fun birthday celebration!
Today I've been resting and taking it easy. We've been busy nonstop all week, and it's time for a break. After sleeping in, we went out to find a bar to watch the Chile vs. Mexico football (soccer) game over lunch. Unfortunately a lot of the bars are only open at night and we ended up at Taco Bar again. It wasn't a very good choice to watch a game against Mexico at a Mexican restaurant, but we had fun anyway, and I had beef empanadas for lunch. They were tasty but very greasy. Unfortunately Chile lost 0-1. After the game I've just been relaxing and took a power nap. The entire group is leaving for dinner at a pizza place in 10 minutes, and I don't have any plans after dinner. I plan to end the night early tonight though, as I need a good night sleep. We'll be getting up early tomorrow to visit the Santiago Stock Exchange (Bolsa Comercial de Santiago). I have to do a group project on this company during the summer, so I hope I learn a lot from this visit.
Adios!
To pick up where I left off on Friday, most of us had dinner at the Chinese restaurant next to the hotel. The food was very good and was a little bit different than the typical Chinese restaurant in America. At night we went out to a bar called Stingray.
This weekend we have had an open schedule. Most of us have been resting and taking it easy, but we did a lot of fun things yesterday.
A group of us walked around exploring Vina and its shops. I had a delicious handmade donut from a bakery filled with manjar, which had a taste similar to caramel. We went to lunch with Mimo (one of our tourguides), where I ordered a beef pizza. It was pretty different than the pizza we're used to at home though, it basically bread with cheese and beef and tomatoes on top. Apparently the entire group is going out for pizza tonight, too. Mimo bought everyone a round of drinks too, and most of us tried a Chilean mixed drink called the terramoto, or earthquake. It has the name because if you drink too many you're supposed to have trouble walking, like during an earthquake. Personally, I didn't like this drink that much, which I think was made from pisco, ice cream, pineapple juice, and maybe some other ingredients.
Some of us then went to walk on the beach, and five people even ran into the water, which is of course very cold as it's late fall here in the southern hemisphere. We watched the sunset at the beach, which was very pretty. It's nice watching the sunset on the pacific ocean since the sun sets in the west, into the ocean. But of course we get to watch the sun rise over the ocean at home.
For dinner a group of us went to a Mexican restaurant place called Taco Bar (every time someone says this fast it sounds like Taco Bell). The menu was very similar to the other Mexican restaurant, Margarita, some of the pictures on the menu were even the same, I don't know if they have the same owner or are in competition, but they are pretty similar restaurants. I ordered quesadillas, which were prepared more like what I would consider to be a soft taco. They were very cheesy, and I couldn't finish my food, it was filling.
Then at night we went out to Camilo's rooftop terrace again. But this night we celebrated my birthday! Today I am 19 years old. At midnight, a few guys hoisted me up into the air 19 times, and one guy kicked my butt on the way down each time (that spot is a bit sore now, haha). It was funny. There was a live band for a while and I had fun dancing. I also had my first pisco sour, another popular way to drink pisco here. It's made with lemon (or maybe lime), so it tastes a bit like lemonade, I liked it a lot. I had a very fun birthday celebration!
Today I've been resting and taking it easy. We've been busy nonstop all week, and it's time for a break. After sleeping in, we went out to find a bar to watch the Chile vs. Mexico football (soccer) game over lunch. Unfortunately a lot of the bars are only open at night and we ended up at Taco Bar again. It wasn't a very good choice to watch a game against Mexico at a Mexican restaurant, but we had fun anyway, and I had beef empanadas for lunch. They were tasty but very greasy. Unfortunately Chile lost 0-1. After the game I've just been relaxing and took a power nap. The entire group is leaving for dinner at a pizza place in 10 minutes, and I don't have any plans after dinner. I plan to end the night early tonight though, as I need a good night sleep. We'll be getting up early tomorrow to visit the Santiago Stock Exchange (Bolsa Comercial de Santiago). I have to do a group project on this company during the summer, so I hope I learn a lot from this visit.
Adios!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Companies, final lectures, dancing, and more - May 12-14
Hola,
This week has been very busy, but I have been having so much fun in Chile! On Wednesday, we visited Codelco's Ventanas Smelting Plant. This visit was very cool! We got to watch and learn about the various process used to purify copper. I got to see how all the processes were monitored and controlled, it really seemed like a big engineering feat. Codelco seems like an interesting place for chemical and industrial engineers to work.
After Codelco, we visited a Centauro factory, a company that cans and packages products such as peaches, tomato sauce and paste, soups, and various fruits and vegetables, and exports products to many countries, as well as selling in Chile. This tour was also very cool and informative. We also received free samples of tomato sauce and a Chilean soup that was similar to a beef stew. It was very delicious. Unfortunately this company has been affected by the global depression, and has lost sales to Mexico, which used to be a main importer of Centauro's products. However, the factory was preparing to expand, and the company seems to be finding new companies from new countries to do business with and seems to be thriving.
In the evening we had our final lectures at the University, taught by Mimo (one of our tour guides), regarding geography, tourism, art (primarily painting), culture, and society and business differences. We learned a lot of interesting information this night.
At night our tour guide Camilo invited the group to his apartment building's rooftop terrace, and later to a bar, which was very fun.
Yesterday (Thursday), we visited Vina Indomita (a vineyard) and LAN airline's main maintenance hangar at the airport in Santiago. Both tours were very cool and informative. At Vina Indomita we even learned how to properly taste wines and tasted three different wines they make. I learned about how difficult it is to make high quality wine, it seems like it must be harder to make than most types of alcohol. I realized why engineering is relevant to the wine industry during this tour.
For lunch we went to Los Hornitos de Curacavi, where I tried Pastel de Choclo, a Chilean dish that is very delicious. It is similar to a shepherd's pie, but is based on corn with a very sweet taste. Muy delicioso!
LAN airlines was cool because we got to watch the mechanics work on their various planes, including very large airbuses. Commercial airplanes require routine complete maintenance, that often take up to 20 days, depending on the model of plane. We also learned about how the industrial engineers at the company have been working to make this maintenance process (which is custom for every plane, depending on what problems are found in the check) very efficient was to lean out waste.
At night we had a BBQ hosted by Werner, the professor at the University in charge of the exchange student program. Some of the Chilean students taught us some popular dances (kind of like the Chilean versions of the Macarena), and we showed them some of our lame American dances like the Cha-Cha Slide. Their dances were much cooler and more fun. Chileans tend to be very good dances. I have realized that most Chileans, and probably most Latin Americans, prefer dancing to playing music. For that reason, many Chileans are very good dancers, but few play instruments.
At night we went to a large club in Valparaiso called Huevos, where we had a lot of fun. I discovered this week that I really like the popular Chilean drink called piscola, which is comprised of pisco, a local hard liquor made from grapes, and coca-cola.
Finally, since we had such a busy week, we got to relax today. While I didn't get to sleep as late as I would have liked, we then went to a resort for the rest of the day, where we had good food, played soccer, and relaxed. Unfortunately it rained most of the day, so we couldn't sit out in the sun. Now it's the weekend, and we have an open schedule. I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but hopefully I'll do some cool sight-seeing this weekend. Unfortunately rain is still in the forecast, but I won't let that stop us.
Viva Chile!
This week has been very busy, but I have been having so much fun in Chile! On Wednesday, we visited Codelco's Ventanas Smelting Plant. This visit was very cool! We got to watch and learn about the various process used to purify copper. I got to see how all the processes were monitored and controlled, it really seemed like a big engineering feat. Codelco seems like an interesting place for chemical and industrial engineers to work.
After Codelco, we visited a Centauro factory, a company that cans and packages products such as peaches, tomato sauce and paste, soups, and various fruits and vegetables, and exports products to many countries, as well as selling in Chile. This tour was also very cool and informative. We also received free samples of tomato sauce and a Chilean soup that was similar to a beef stew. It was very delicious. Unfortunately this company has been affected by the global depression, and has lost sales to Mexico, which used to be a main importer of Centauro's products. However, the factory was preparing to expand, and the company seems to be finding new companies from new countries to do business with and seems to be thriving.
In the evening we had our final lectures at the University, taught by Mimo (one of our tour guides), regarding geography, tourism, art (primarily painting), culture, and society and business differences. We learned a lot of interesting information this night.
At night our tour guide Camilo invited the group to his apartment building's rooftop terrace, and later to a bar, which was very fun.
Yesterday (Thursday), we visited Vina Indomita (a vineyard) and LAN airline's main maintenance hangar at the airport in Santiago. Both tours were very cool and informative. At Vina Indomita we even learned how to properly taste wines and tasted three different wines they make. I learned about how difficult it is to make high quality wine, it seems like it must be harder to make than most types of alcohol. I realized why engineering is relevant to the wine industry during this tour.
For lunch we went to Los Hornitos de Curacavi, where I tried Pastel de Choclo, a Chilean dish that is very delicious. It is similar to a shepherd's pie, but is based on corn with a very sweet taste. Muy delicioso!
LAN airlines was cool because we got to watch the mechanics work on their various planes, including very large airbuses. Commercial airplanes require routine complete maintenance, that often take up to 20 days, depending on the model of plane. We also learned about how the industrial engineers at the company have been working to make this maintenance process (which is custom for every plane, depending on what problems are found in the check) very efficient was to lean out waste.
At night we had a BBQ hosted by Werner, the professor at the University in charge of the exchange student program. Some of the Chilean students taught us some popular dances (kind of like the Chilean versions of the Macarena), and we showed them some of our lame American dances like the Cha-Cha Slide. Their dances were much cooler and more fun. Chileans tend to be very good dances. I have realized that most Chileans, and probably most Latin Americans, prefer dancing to playing music. For that reason, many Chileans are very good dancers, but few play instruments.
At night we went to a large club in Valparaiso called Huevos, where we had a lot of fun. I discovered this week that I really like the popular Chilean drink called piscola, which is comprised of pisco, a local hard liquor made from grapes, and coca-cola.
Finally, since we had such a busy week, we got to relax today. While I didn't get to sleep as late as I would have liked, we then went to a resort for the rest of the day, where we had good food, played soccer, and relaxed. Unfortunately it rained most of the day, so we couldn't sit out in the sun. Now it's the weekend, and we have an open schedule. I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but hopefully I'll do some cool sight-seeing this weekend. Unfortunately rain is still in the forecast, but I won't let that stop us.
Viva Chile!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Salsa, karaoke, lectures, and fun!
Hola mundo,
The past two days we spent most of our time at the Universidad de Santa Maria, a very beautiful private university with 6-year programs in business and engineering. We used the public bus, which is a bit different than buses in the States. Bus drivers here drive very fast, and open the doors before stopping. Sometimes they don't even come to a complete stop to let people off. The buses have manual transmissions, and some drivers even sort change while driving. They're also smaller than normal buses to make navigating the curvy roads easier.
Yesterday we attended lectures at the University regarding Chilean history, literature, music, and natural disasters. Today we attended lectures about international business and Latin American economy. We also took salsa dances the past two evenings at the university. The dancing is hard, and the instructor does not speak any English, but it's very fun, and I started to get the hang of some of the moves.
We also took tours (partially by bus and partially by walking) yesterday of both Valpariso and Vina del Mar. We rode an incline (like the ones in Pittsburgh), and stopped for empanadas. Most of the food I've had here has been very delicious. Although there are no choices at the college cafeteria, and the food today was a bit strange... I'm getting the hang of ordering food in Spanish though.
Last night we went out with some of our Chilean tour guides, who are all affiliated with the University, to a karaoke bar near our hotel. This was a lot of fun! The song list had mainly English songs, but the locals mainly picked from the Spanish selections. However, even non-English speaking Chileans often sing songs in English, because they are very popular. I was the first American to sing a song, David Bowie's "Life on Mars," and I later sang Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Maker." I was surprised many Chileans knew that song. I wasn't very good, but it was a lot of fun. I sang along with songs all night, even ones in Spanish I had never heard before. My voice was dead by the end of the night though.
Tomorrow we'll be visiting a Codelco smelting plant and the Centauro factory. Codelco is the government owned copper company, producing Chile's top export, and Centauro is a company that cans and packages fruits and vegetables. I have to get some sleep tonight as I've gotten very little so far... We've had late nights here, and were sleep deprived to begin with after the long flight here. But I've been having a great time and am looking forward to everything else I'll be doing here in Chile!
Buenas noches!
The past two days we spent most of our time at the Universidad de Santa Maria, a very beautiful private university with 6-year programs in business and engineering. We used the public bus, which is a bit different than buses in the States. Bus drivers here drive very fast, and open the doors before stopping. Sometimes they don't even come to a complete stop to let people off. The buses have manual transmissions, and some drivers even sort change while driving. They're also smaller than normal buses to make navigating the curvy roads easier.
Yesterday we attended lectures at the University regarding Chilean history, literature, music, and natural disasters. Today we attended lectures about international business and Latin American economy. We also took salsa dances the past two evenings at the university. The dancing is hard, and the instructor does not speak any English, but it's very fun, and I started to get the hang of some of the moves.
We also took tours (partially by bus and partially by walking) yesterday of both Valpariso and Vina del Mar. We rode an incline (like the ones in Pittsburgh), and stopped for empanadas. Most of the food I've had here has been very delicious. Although there are no choices at the college cafeteria, and the food today was a bit strange... I'm getting the hang of ordering food in Spanish though.
Last night we went out with some of our Chilean tour guides, who are all affiliated with the University, to a karaoke bar near our hotel. This was a lot of fun! The song list had mainly English songs, but the locals mainly picked from the Spanish selections. However, even non-English speaking Chileans often sing songs in English, because they are very popular. I was the first American to sing a song, David Bowie's "Life on Mars," and I later sang Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Maker." I was surprised many Chileans knew that song. I wasn't very good, but it was a lot of fun. I sang along with songs all night, even ones in Spanish I had never heard before. My voice was dead by the end of the night though.
Tomorrow we'll be visiting a Codelco smelting plant and the Centauro factory. Codelco is the government owned copper company, producing Chile's top export, and Centauro is a company that cans and packages fruits and vegetables. I have to get some sleep tonight as I've gotten very little so far... We've had late nights here, and were sleep deprived to begin with after the long flight here. But I've been having a great time and am looking forward to everything else I'll be doing here in Chile!
Buenas noches!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Exploring Vina del Mar
After lunch I took a brief nap and then took some time to explore Vina del Mar. The area is very nice, with many restaurants (several of which have mexican/tex-mex food), bars, shops, and even a park. I have found that Chile has many stray dogs, but people don't tend to pay much attention to them. I can only assume rabies and aggression is not a big problem with these dogs. These dogs seem to know when to cross streets and walk the city streets just like people.
I observed the locals to get a sense of what types of activities are popular here. I saw some skateboarders, who were pretty good. I'm not quite sure what the most popular music is here, but I have heard some American music being played in various places. One guy was listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" on a radio on the street. I also heard some American songs covered in Spanish, and on the bus I even heard some songs such as "Yellow Submarine" played on pan-pipes. I find this very interesting, and would like to talk to some locals about the type of music they prefer.
Tonight we ate dinner as a group at a Mexican restaurant called "Margarita."The food was very good. Tomorrow we're attending some lectures, taking a tour of Valparaiso, and even taking a salsa dance class. It'll be a very busy day (we have to start pretty early in the morning). I'm very excited.
I observed the locals to get a sense of what types of activities are popular here. I saw some skateboarders, who were pretty good. I'm not quite sure what the most popular music is here, but I have heard some American music being played in various places. One guy was listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" on a radio on the street. I also heard some American songs covered in Spanish, and on the bus I even heard some songs such as "Yellow Submarine" played on pan-pipes. I find this very interesting, and would like to talk to some locals about the type of music they prefer.
Tonight we ate dinner as a group at a Mexican restaurant called "Margarita."The food was very good. Tomorrow we're attending some lectures, taking a tour of Valparaiso, and even taking a salsa dance class. It'll be a very busy day (we have to start pretty early in the morning). I'm very excited.
Safe in Vina del Mar
This morning we arrived safely in vina del mar after a VERY long flight. I'm too tall to be cramped in those airplane seats for that long...
However, during the descent we had a great view of the mountains and farmland, and had a good view on the bus to Vina del Mar. Our hotel is very nice and has free wifi, so I might have many opportunities to update this blog. Unfortunately I can't seem to get the computer I brought to work, but I'm currently using my roommate's.
I'll be sure to update when something more exciting has happened... I have already learned that I should have brushed up on my Spanish skills before coming.
However, during the descent we had a great view of the mountains and farmland, and had a good view on the bus to Vina del Mar. Our hotel is very nice and has free wifi, so I might have many opportunities to update this blog. Unfortunately I can't seem to get the computer I brought to work, but I'm currently using my roommate's.
I'll be sure to update when something more exciting has happened... I have already learned that I should have brushed up on my Spanish skills before coming.
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