Santiago

            Today was our last activity-packed day. We headed off to Santiago this morning to see Bolsa, the Santiago Stock Exchange. Upon entering Santiago I could tell right away that it had a different feel than Viña. It seemed much busier and crowded; things in Viña are more relaxed. On top of that it was dirtier and there were much more homeless people. In my entire time in Viña I have only seen one, and they were sleeping in a park. Surprisingly though it appeared as though there were a lot less stray dogs. I was glad to see however that Santiago had normal buses. This made me very happy. The Valparaiso buses bother me for some reason.

            Our first stop in Santiago was Bolsa. I was surprised to learn that they only have 233 listed companies. This is very small compared to the U.S. It also surprised me to learn that there are also two other stock exchanges in Chile in addition to the Santiago Stock Exchange, one being the Valparaiso Stock Exchange. The ISPA is composed of the top 40 most heavily traded stocks while the IGPA can be used as a general measure of how Chile’s economy is doing in general. This is a company where one can see the effects technology has had on companys’ processes. For instance, we learned that their floor is not really used for trading anymore. Brokers mainly do their work from computers in their offices. Most of the people who work at Bolsa, approximately half, are part of their IT department. It is their job to improve the software and systems that are used for trading. I have to admit that I was quite disappointed that we were unable to see the trading floor due to construction. I feel as though that would have been really neat to see.

            After Bolsa we headed to a market for lunch. I must admit it was an interesting experience. I wasn’t the biggest fan of walking in and seeing all of the dead fished piled up on stands. It was a good experience though. After lunch we headed up a mountain by bus to see the city from above. I was shocked at how large and expansive it is. I definitely think that it is comparable to Philadelphia. It was so nice up there and the view was amazing. Tomorrow is our last full day which is really sad. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here and am not quite ready to leave just yet.