Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

This Friday we took an hour long bus ride out to the country to go to a resort and hung out there for most of the day. We played soccer and the Chileans were pretty good. It was a very relaxing day which was good after our hectic week. That night we went out to a club called Stingray and it was really fun.

We had this weekend free to do whatever we wanted. Saturday morning we went to the markets to do some shopping. For lunch we met our friend Mimo and we all had terremotos, or earthquakes. It is a mixture of sweet wine and pineapple ice cream, and after you drink it, your legs are shaky like in an earthquake. I also ate chorillanas which is french fries, hot dog, beef, fried eggs, and onions. It was a good meal. Later that day, we went to the beach. In Chile it is the fall right now, so the water is very cold. The Chileans told us that nobody goes in the water now, but that didn't stop us. Some of the braver students ran in, and we had a good time. That night we went to our student guide Camilo's apartment building. We hung out on his roof and it was really cool.

On Sunday we went to a bar to watch the Chile vs. Mexico soccer game. We all got dressed up in the jerseys we had bought earlier in the week. Unfortunately, Chile lost 1-0, but it was still really fun. Tomorrow we are going to Santiago to see the stock market and explore the city. We are also going horseback riding and learning reggaeton dancing this week.

2nd-5th day

We have been really busy the last few days. On Monday we went to the Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria. It is a college a few minutes away in Valparaiso that focuses mostly on business and engineering. We took a tour of the campus and it is beautiful. It is up on a cliff and it looks out over the ocean. After, one of the students, Mimo, gave us a lecture on Chilean culture. We ate a pretty good lunch on campus and then went on a tour of Vina del Mar, the town we are staying in, and Valparaiso. Valparaiso is the biggest port in Chile and is also a world heritage site. We took a train up and incline to a hill overlooking the city for some cool pictures. We went back through Vina to another town where we had some authentic, Chilean empanandas. Later in the day we had our first salsa class. It didn't go so great. That night we went to a karaoke bar which was very exciting.

On Tuesday we spent the whole day at the universidad. We had lectures for most of the day on Chilean business and what to expect when working there. Some students ordered completos, or hotdogs and were kind of surprised. Chilean hotdogs come with chopped tomatoes and they are smothered in guacomole and then topped with mayonnaise. Later we had more salsa class and I made some improvements. That night we ended up at a hamburger place. They were huge hamburguesas that were cut into fourths, and they were really good.

On Wednesday we woke up early to start our company visits. First we went to Codelco Ventanas, a copper smelting factory. It was pretty cool to see all the processes that turn copper ore into almost pure copper sheets. After that, we visited Centauro, a canning factory. We went on a tour of the facility and saw all of the machines and processes they use to make tomato sauce, soup, and other products. At the end of the tour we received a packet of tomato sauce and a can of soup. When we got back to the hotel we hadn't eaten in hours so we just ate the soup right out of the can. Then we went back to the universidad for more Chilean culture lectures from Mimo. They were really interesting because we learned about all of the major differences in the behaviors and attitudes of Chileans. Then we had our last salsa class, and I think it went pretty well. Maybe I'll start taking lessons when I get home.

Today we had our company visits to a winery and LAN airlines. Vina Indomita was really cool. It is up on a hill and it overlooks the valley where they grow all their grapes. We had a wine tasting with a sauvignon blanc, a carmenere, and a cabernet sauuvignon. The picture is me and my roommate john being wine connoisseurs. After the winery we stopped at a restaurant on the way to LAN. Huasas, Chilean cowboys, served us and it was really good. LAN is right next to the airport in Santiago. We saw them servicing some planes and making repairs. Tonight we are going to a Chilean professor's house for a barbecue and then we are going to Huevos. It is a 5 story club and each floor has a different music theme so it should be cool. We have heard some pretty crazy things about it.

1st day

All of our travel arrangements worked out and we got to Chile at 7:30 this morning. We took an hour bus ride to Valparaiso where our hotel, Hotel Las Americas, is. We went to a nearby restaurant and had some burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. I was able to use my great Spanish to ask where the bathroom was. I got a Chilean beer for my first alcoholic experience in Chile. After lunch we took a walk around town and saw the beach and about ten stray dogs. One student was given an unwanted palm reading and then charged for it. Later we will have a group dinner.