Day 14: Last Day in Chile and Traveling Home

Today was our final day in Chile. I woke up early to pack then went for a walk around Viña and by the beach. Of course, on one of our last days here, the weather was beautiful. It was sunny and there was not a single cloud in the sky. Chile was making it very hard to leave. 

We walked by the beach and through the town. Then, we wandered around and looked for a cafe to have lunch at. We relaxed and at lunch while discussing our trip. 

I really can't believe how much we did in just two weeks and how quickly it passed. I want to keep traveling around the world; I am not ready to go home yet! 

After lunch, we all got ready to take the bus to the Santiago airport. After checking in, we had some time since I was on the flight to Dallas which left a little bit later. We said bye to those going to Miami, had a small dinner, and then it was our turn to board the plane. 

I am so glad I had the opportunity to go on this trip. My two weeks in Chile opened my eyes to business and culture in Latin America. The company visits also made me more open minded about possible career paths.

Thank you to all the Chilean students and everyone at Santa Maria that helped us. We couldn't have been treated any better! 

Hopefully I will see you soon, Chile. 

Day 13: Viña Idomita and Isla Negra

Today was our last company visit, and it was a perfect way to end the trip. 

We all headed to Viña Idomita in the morning. My first impression was surprise at how beautiful the vineyard was. The sun was shining brightly and there was no humidity, unlike how it is close to the shore. It was so nice to be in the sun for a little while! 

We took a tour of the vineyard, and then we moved on to the area where the wine is processed. I was amazed at how new and technologically advanced the plant was. Wine making is always thought of as an ancient art, but this area looked anything but old. 

 Since Viña Idomita is relatively new as a company, it's technology is very up to date. After seeing the processing, we saw the underground cellar where the wine is aged. We learned that most wines here are not aged for too long, but that the aging process is very important in developing the complexity of a wine. 

Finally, we ended the visit with a shirt wine tasting. I was surprised at how much I liked the wine I tasted. It was very light and fruity. 

After our visit, we drove to Isla Negra, the location of one of Pablo Neruda's homes. We had lunch there, which was very good. Especially dessert which we finished quickly...

After this, we went on a tour of Pablo Nerdua's home. We weren't able to take pictures inside, but even from the outside it is evident that this home is very special. 

It is modeled after a ship and a train. It is long and thin, like Chile itself, and houses many of his favorite collectables and childhood items. It is right by the ocean, his favorite place. 

After our tour, we went back to Viña for a farewell pizza dinner with the students. We exchanged gifts and talked. I hope these will not be the last conversations I have with them since they have been so welcoming and kind to us. 

Tomorrow we leave for the airport. I have enjoyed myself so much on this trip, and I am so glad every day was busy so that we made the most of our time. 

¡Viva Chile! 

Day 12: Visit to LAN

Today we had our company visit to LAN airlines. 

We were up early for the drive to Santiago since LAN is near the airport. The first thing we had to do was go through security. Then we met our tour guide Luis who has been working for LAN for twenty years. He first took us to the hanger where planes are repaired and inspected. 

Here we learned more about LAN's fleet. We learned that the older planes like the 767 have to come in for repairs more frequently than say a 787. The reason for this is that a 787 is made of composite material, so it does not suffer from corrosion, which is the number one reason for repairs. These newer planes are far more expensive to purchase, but since their maintence costs are lower, they are more cost effective in the long run.

After this, we all got to take a tour of a 787. We got to see the huge, luxurious first class as well as the cockpit of the plane. It was really cool to see this new plane, which will soon be the new standard of flying. 

Throughout the whole company visit, it was easy to see why LAN has been rated one of the best companies to work for. The facilities were very nice and everyone seemed happy to be there.

After our visit, we stopped for lunch at a typical Chilean restaurant. The food was very filling, which is exactly what we all needed. Then we were back on the road. We had a quick stop at the hotel before heading to the university for reggaetone classes. We were all a bit worn out from the day, but we made the class fun. It was cool to learn a less formal style of dance. 

For dinner, a group of us decided to splurge on dinner and try Peruvian food. The meal was absolutely delicious and worth every peso! Dessert was also very good. 

I can't believe this was the last meal that we are paying for ourselves. 

Tomorrow we have our last company visit to Viña Idomita and a trip to Pablo Nerdua's house. Our two weeks have flown by! 

Day 11: Tour of the Port

Today we had a tour of the port and a barbecue at professor Werner's house. 

We had a free morning, which I used to walk around by the beach and relax. It is nice to have a flexible schedule and be able to chose what we want to do. We got some food and then came back to the hotel for the tour of the port. 

We took the bus to the port and first had a quick presentation by Camillo who used to help with the plus 3 program when he was a student at Santa Maria. He told us about the history about the port and how it runs on a daily basis. I was so surprised to learn about how intricate the workings of the port were. It was also interesting to learn about how this port interacts with others in the world and how it contributes to the city. This port employees many people from the hills of Valparaiso, so it is really integrating into the city. 

After our presentation, we went on a bus tour of the port. It was so cool to see all the technical machinery in action. The port obviously runs on a very tight system, and it was interesting to observe it in action. 

After our tour, we had some free time before dinner by the port. I did some shopping and then we were on our way. 

For dinner, we had more choripan and kebabs. It was all delicious and so filling! After dinner, we walked back down the hill to the hotel.

Tomorrow we have our company visit to LAN, which I am very excited about. We also have reggae ton lessons which will be an interesting experience... 

Day 10: Last Day at the University

Today was our last day at the university. We all woke up and traveled to Santa Maria. Once again, the school looked beautiful. Unlike our first visit, the skies were clear, so we could see the ocean. 

It was nice to be back on campus again. I was just starting to figure out where everything was! I also was able to get an USM t-shirt to remember the university by. 

Today we had more lectures about economics. We learned about Latin America and how the counties interact with each other and with the rest of the world. I was surprised to see how homogeneous Latin America is. I thought there would be more differences between the countries. 

After the lecture, my group did its presentation on LAN airlines. I learned more from Professor Jaime about what kinds of questions we should ask, and I got more excited for our visit on Wednesday. I have a feeling I will like this company visit the most. 

After classes, we got a quick lunch and then went back to the hotel. I took a nap before we went out for dinner. 

Tomorrow we have a tour of the port and then a barbecue. I am looking forward to having home cooked food. 

Day 9: Day in Viña del Mar

Today we had another free day, which I was happy about. My feet hurt a little bit from walking so much on Saturday, but not enough to deter me from wanting to explore more. 

We spent our Mother's Day walking around Viña. We walked toward the bridges, which was an area that we hadn't been yet. Even though we had more of a plan than yesterday, we still didn't stick to too much of a schedule. We first went to the Palacio Vergara, which was in a big park. The palace used to be the home of a rich family, but after the 2010 earthquake, it still has not recovered. Even with the damage though, it is still a beautiful building 

After seeing the palace, we walked around the grounds. The park had a lot of different trees and flowers. We could tell that the area was very old. 

After walking around for a little bit, we went to lunch. The place that we went reminded me of a diner. It was crowded with families, but I was not sure if it was because of Mother's Day or just because. I decided to just get dessert because they had so many options. 

After lunch we went back to the park area to check out the Museo Artequin. It is a children's art museum in the park. We were only there for a little while before we moved on to visit a castle. We visited the Castillo Wulff. The castle was built by a German business man. It is along the coast and has really nice views of the city. 

After this, we went back to the hotel and then had dinner with the whole group at an Italian restaurant. Dinner was really good, and by the time we got back to the hotel I was sleepy. 

I can't believe our only weekend here is already done! Time is passing so fast. 

Tomorrow we have classes in the morning and then we are playing sports with the students. 

Day 8: Day in Valparaiso

Today I spent the day in Valparaiso. First, I woke up after getting to sleep in a little bit, but I was very sore from the horseback riding. 

We ate breakfast then took the bus to the port of Valparaiso. From there, we took a cab up to La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Neruda's homes. I was surprised at how his home was just a part of the neighborhood, if you weren't looking you wouldn't even notice anything different. His backyard did have a great view of the city, though.  The visit to his home made me excited about visiting Isla Negra, one of his other homes. 

After this, we decided to wander around and walk down the hill. This was one of the best decisions we made today. Not only did we get to see some new neighborhoods that we hadn't seen before, we also got to see some amazing street art. Unlike in America, street apart is very common here, most buildings, no matter how nice, have some spray paint on them. As we were walking around we saw so many interesting and beautiful walls. These are just a few of them.  

It was cool to walk around the city without an exact plan or end location. I really enjoyed having some flexibility with our time. After we walked around for a little bit, we stopped for lunch. I didn't realize how much walking we did and how tired I was until I sat down! Soon enough though, we were back on our feet. We then walked down to the port of Valparaiso where we did some souviner shopping. I got an alpaca sweater, finally! 

We took the bus back toward Viña, but stopped at the flower clock to take some pictures. 

We then walked all the way back to the hotel for a small break before dinner. 

For dinner we decided to go to a Chilean restaurant. We ordered a roast, a type of pork, and tortilla, which is a potato pie, sort of, with ham and chorizo. Everything was delicious, and between five of us, we managed to eat pretty much everything. It was a great way to end a long day! By the time we got back to the hotel I was so tired and achy. We quickly planned out what we wanted to do the next day then all went to bed. 

Day 7: Horseback Riding Tour

Today was definitely my favorite day of the trip so far! We woke up late(ish) and left around 9:30 for our day if horseback riding. Our drive took us past Concón and up a hill to a ranch. The farm had many horses, dogs, cats, roosters, and I can only imagine even more animals than we saw. The owners of the farm were very nice and welcoming to us.

First, we each got a horse and then we got a basic lesson on stopping and steering. After that we were off! We treked down the hill and toward the beach. 

We went down the beach and then up toward the dunes and marsh area. I was so surprised at all the different ecosystems that we traveled through. I knew that Chile had many different geographies, but it felt like this horse ride took us through many different ones as well. 

My horse was calm, but he didn't listen to me much when I asked to speed up. He was content to go at a slow walk for most of the ride. We then traveled through a forest type area and then back to the sand dunes. The horses traveled up and down hills so nicely. 

After we went up and down the dunes, we went back to the ocean and had a nice slow ride back to the farm. It was so relaxing to ride the horses by the ocean. This was a fun and exciting way to see more of Chile's landscape. It was also fun to do this with everyone else since we were laughing most of the time. 

After our ride, we went back to the farm and were welcome by lots of delicious food. We had choripan, which is chorizo in bread. It was served with a salsa, which made it taste even better. 

We also had many side dishes and really nice steak and ribs. The food was perfect since we were so hungry, and it was especially nice to have food that tasted homemade. After dinner, we roasted marshmallows by the fire and had coffee. 

Today's adventure was the best excursion we have been on yet because it really felt like we were experiencing Chilean culture rather than just observing it. I will always remember the ride we went on today and now much fun I had with the people on this trip. It took a lot of convincing to get me back on the bus to the hotel rather than just staying at the farm forever! 

Tomorrow we have a free day which I plan to use on exploring Valparaiso. I am excited to have some flexibility and see more of what this beautiful city has to offer. 

Day 6: A Marathon of Company Visits

Today was our huge day of company visits, and it was a lot to take in! We all woke up extra early for our big day. Best of all, we got to wear these steel toed safety shoes for the day.

First, had a bus ride to Hela Tools, our first company visit. The factory was about 45 minutes away from Viña and was relatively isolated. The factory was one large building where the tools are created, packed, and shipped.

We split up into two groups two tour groups. First we saw where industrial brushes were made; these brushes are used to strip paint and rust off various materials.

The brushes are made from steel and go through many steps of production. 

This machine was used to spin the steel wire that created the brush into the shape that it needed to be in. Once the brushes were completed, they are put into screws and then packaged.

After seeing how these steel brushes are made, we also got a look at how paint brushes are made. Hela imports pig hair from China for their brushes.

The hair is packed together, then stuffed into the metal handle of the paint brush. Then, a seal is added over the hair. Finally a wooden handle is added.

The brushes are combed to remove extra hair and then packed and sealed for delivery. I found it interesting how many workers were on the factory floor. We were told that about 100 people work at this plant. So even though Hela has a lot of machinery, they still have a lot of on hand labor for quality checks and packaging. 

After Hela, we took a drive to Centauro. The canning plant was in a very remote location. The first thing we had to do upon entering the plant was wear a hair net and a mask. The hair net was for cleanliness, of course, and the mask was because the plant was producing chillis which could irritate our noses and mouths. 

Centauro was producing tomatoes on our visit. First, the tomatoes are brought in and peeled. Then the tomatoes are sorted based on if they are nice enough to be canned whole or if they should be diced and used for other purposes. 

We were then walked through the process of creating the tomato paste which is used for different sauces for different companies. Centauro makes one base product and then adds to it based on the company's requests. For example, this section of tomato paste was used for pizza sauce. 

I found this interesting because I didn't realize there were so many intermediate steps for such products and that products could be so similar. We also got a little look at jalapeño peppers being cut, the reason for our masks.

Again, I was surprised at the amount of labor that went on in such factories. 

Centauro also has a shipping and packing section of the factory for the products they ship directly to retailers and for those shipped to other food companies. 

We stopped for lunch in Concón where we had empanadas by the beach.

I had a chorizo, pepper and cheese one and also an apple one which reminded me of apple pie from America. It was very good. After lunch we went to our final company visit, Nature's Farm. 

Nature's Farm is a mushroom farm, and it smelled like nothing I have ever smelled before. Because mushrooms are grown in a mix of hay and chicken manure, the whole area had a distinct smell. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the process of mushroom farming. He explained how the compost is created for the mushrooms to grow in and showed us the steps that are taken. 

We also got to see the rooms that the mushrooms are grown in. They are kept at optimal temperature and oxygen level.

I found it interesting that in Chile, mushrooms are not marketed based on type. As our tour guide said, Chilean consumers will eat mushrooms as long as they are white and clean. In comparison, American consumers pay based on the type of mushrooms.

Overall, today was a very busy but informative day. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the factory visits, especially Hela. I really enjoyed seeing the technology in action and it was evident that the factory layouts were well thought out. Also, all our your guides were kind and eager to answer questions. I felt very welcomed, which made the day even better.

Tomorrow we have a more laid back day of horse riding, which I am excited for since students from previous years have said it was a highlight. 

Day 5: A Day in Santiago

 Today was a great day since we traveled into the city of Santiago. We all woke up, and after eating breakfast we got on our favorite bus for the two hour ride to Santiago. We all enjoyed the lovely morning nap that we got on this ride in. Our first stop in Santiago was another incline that showed off the whole city. We took anther tram to the top of this hill, but this tram went up much higher than the one in Valparaiso. 

See, the top is hidden in the clouds! The view was beautiful from the tram, and as it climbed higher, we were able to see more and more of Santiago. 

When we finally arrived at the top of the hill, we were all amazed at the beautiful view. The whole city of Santiago was in front of us as well as the mountains that surround it. I really loved this location because it was like an oasis in the fast-moving city. From up here, Santiago looked calm and peaceful. 

The hill that we visited also had a religious statue and a church. We stopped by this area as well. 

We wandered around the area taking pictures until it was time to go back down to the main city for lunch. 

For lunch we went to the Mercado Central and had a delicious and filling lunch. 

The market is full of small goods and lots and lots of fish. I was surprised to see a market like this in Santiago since the city is landlocked. Seeing this made me wonder how big such a market is in Viña or Valpariso since they are right by the water. 

After lunch, we walked to the Santiago stock exchange. I really enjoyed the walk there because we walked along a Main Street with many vendors and shops. I liked seeing the crowds of people and the excitement. I know this is only just a small segment of the huge metropolis that is Santiago. 

Many of the buildings near the stock exchange were also government buildings. We saw the building where the president works, for example. Unlike America though, the president does not work and live at the same location 

We then got to the stock exchange where we had a lecture about the histor7 of the buildings and it's purpose as well as a tour of the stock exchange floor. I was surprised at how pretty the building was and how much has remained the same with it even though the activities that go on inside it have completely transformed over time. 

After the stock exchange, we got back on the bus for the ride back to Valpariso. I stayed awake long enough to get a nice picture of the sunset and the mountains before I took a much needed nap. 

We then had dinner in Viña at a small cafe and went to bed early for tomorrow. 

Tomorrow we have our huge day of company visits to Nature's Farm, Centauro, and Hela tools. It will be another busy day, but I am excited to learn more about Chilean industry.