An Added Twist

           As of right now I am sitting in the Philadelphia International Airport, which I suppose means our trip is officially over. Today at around 6:15 am we landed in Atlanta. From there we had to go straight to passport control which took over an hour. I was actually really worried about making our next flight to Philadelphia which boarded at 8:00 because we did not get through passport control until 7:15. Thankfully the rest of the process went quickly and we made it to our gate with 10 minutes to spare. At that point I thought everything was good because we were going to make our flight. However I was wrong because even though we made our flight, our bags didn’t… Always a good time. This is why I am still sitting in Philly an hour after our plane has landed. And of course my bags weren’t ever scanned into the system so of course there is no indication of where they are at. Morgan’s bags are the same as mine, but luckily Colleen’s got scanned and they are on the next plane so I am hoping. As a result, I am now sitting in baggage claim, waiting for the next flight from Atlanta to land.

            While in Atlanta it was so weird to use American money. I was not quite successful with it at first which is funny. It was also so strange to suddenly understand all the conversations around me and to not have to worry about language when purchasing an item. It was definitely exciting to hear the patriotic music playing in the Atlanta customs area and to know I was back in the United States. While it feels good to be back, I know I am definitely going to miss Chile too. 

Leaving Chile :(

Today we are leaving Chile and it is definitely bittersweet. I have had such an amazing time here and I think the hardest part about leaving is knowing that we are not going to see many of the Chilean students we got to know again. However there are some advantages in the United States that I am most looking forward to- mainly my clean bathroom, hot water, clean drinking water, the food we are used to, and my bedroom. I am also going to enjoy my clothes not smelling like smoke everyday as well. I am looking forward to being home, yet at the same time I am definitely going to miss Chile. I am so glad I have had this opportunity. I absolutely loved seeing the country and getting to know the culture. It truly has been an eye-opening experience. 

            We celebrated our last night yesterday by going to one of our favorite places, Hollywood, and then by going to a discotec right on the ocean. Its location was perfect. There’s nothing like dancing on the dance floor while simultaneously watching the waves crash on the beach. It was great. However, there were hardly any people there besides us. Connie had said to me “not many people come here, I don’t know why.” And I don’t either. It is interesting how a place with such a great view does not have much demand. On the same note, another night we had gone to another place near our hotel that I thought had a great atmosphere. Yet again, this one was empty. I wonder what it is that makes a place popular because after this place, we headed to Alcazaba, a block away, which was filled with people. As Professor Atkin told us in MCE, bars and restaurants tend to come and go, not lasting for very long. It would be interesting to explore this idea further and to figure out what it is that makes a restaurant/bar/club popular.

            Not having to meet up with our “family” for lunch till 1, my roommates and I woke up, went to Starbucks, and then packed up the rest of our belongings. As we were on our way back to the wonderful Hotel America from Starbucks, men working on the Ruby Tuesday’s shouted down to us, calling out “Gringas, Gringas.” I had noticed in the past few days that more occurrences like this had been occurring.  For my whole life I have only been in the United States, as this was my first time travelling internationally. Thus I always belonged. However, being from America, I am used to seeing people of different cultures all the time. It was definitely weird to have the roles reversed and to be the foreigner myself, the one who is unique and stands out. When we went to Santiago many of the middle school groups that were touring for field trips got really excited when they saw us because they had never seen Americans before. I actually thought this was really neat. They all wanted photos with us which I thought was cool. I really enjoyed being from the United States and having people wanting pictures with us because of that. Also, when we were playing soccer at the University they called us team Gringo. It is weird because I am sure the Chileans have a certain way in which they see Americans and certain things they think of when they hear about the United States. It is just weird for me because I have always been with Americans and it is weird to be with people who probably see us differently than we do and view us a particular way. 

            After our family lunch we headed off to the Santiago Airport. It is unreal that this trip is ending. For so long I was always saying to people “I’m going to Chile, I’m going to Chile” over and over again. I can’t believe it has now actually happened. This has been an incredible experience which I am so thankful for. I learned a lot along the way and met some amazing people. 

Our Final Day

          Today was our last full day in Chile, which is very sad. We spent the afternoon at La Universidad Santa Maria. First Werner gave us a presentation on the university itself and what it would be like if we were to study here. Although the college is lovely and has great academics, I do not think I would be able to study here just because all the classes would be in Spanish. I do not think I’d be able to follow along and learn all that well. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed spending the last two weeks at the university and getting to know the students. Everyone is so friendly and has been so welcoming. I really like the culture here as well.

            After the presentation we had one final lunch in the wonderful cafeteria. I think it is safe to say that we have all taken Market Central for advantage. We are very lucky to have many options to choose from on a daily basis rather than one prepared meal like at Santa Maria. During our time here I have come to see how large of a part dance has in their culture. Before we went into the cafeteria there were students performing different, signature Chilean dances in the courtyard. It was really neat to watch but at the same time it also made me sad. In the United States we have nothing like this. If students came to the U.S. there would be no signature dances to see or to learn. Our culture is more boring in this sense. After lunch we headed to a soccer field on campus to play with some of the Chileans. It is so interesting to see how into it they are and how much they love it. Although in the U.S. we LOVE sports, I don’t think that there is one sport that the majority of people get really excited before playing. Guys like playing a lot of sports, but I wouldn’t say they get really excited before playing. Here the Chileans get excited even if it is only a casual game. They truly love it.

            This trip has been an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see their culture. I wish I could have had a little more time to spend here just so that I could experience it a bit longer. Tomorrow we are flying home and it is going to be a very long day. We are planning on leaving Viña around 2-2:30ish and I will probably not get home until 1 on Saturday. It will be weird to  be in the U.S. again upon landing in Atlanta. 

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. 

Day at the "Farm"

           Today we lucked out with another beautiful day here in Chile. The plan for the day was to go to the “spa” which has also at the same time been referred to as “the farm.” Going into this we decided that it would be best not to have any expectations. Connie had told me that it is nothing like a farm and that she doesn’t know why they call it that. However, because of how some of the things have gone to date, I wasn’t expecting anything particularly nice either. We knew that it wasn’t an actual spa where you get massages and manicures, but a place with a pool and where we could partake in athletic activities. As we were approaching the “spa” I grew quite skeptical. We were driving through a residential area with very small houses that didn’t look the nicest. Then, as we pulled up to the spa, there was a metal gate with a small building next to it. I have to admit my first thought was “oh great, here we go.” I had no idea how such a “spa” with a pool was going to fit into this residential area with small houses lining the streets. However, once we entered the main entrance building I think we were all amazed at what we saw. It was the lobby of an actual resort. It was very nice inside. After getting our entry bracelets we walked around the grounds outside and were all very pleasantly surprised. It seemed like any area you would find outside a very nice resort. Rosa Augustina, the spa, had to have at least six pools. There was even one with a waterslide. I have no idea how they managed to fit this very nice resort into its surroundings. From the outside you would have never even known it existed, yet inside it was so nice and spacious. Although it was nice to have the place all to ourselves, I wish I could have seen it in the summer in the in-season. I think it would have been much more exciting. Today was a thoroughly enjoyable, relaxing day at the pool though.

Horseback Riding Along the Beach

            Today was the most gorgeous day in Chile thus far. The sun was out and the fog burned off the most it has to date. It was so nice to have a clearer view of the ocean and the city. After breakfast at the hotel we drove to the ranch where we were to go horseback riding. At first I wasn’t all that excited, as I have never enjoyed horseback riding in the past when I have done it. However today was completely different. The only way to describe it is amazing. We started out on the beach and it was so nice to ride along the swells with the city behind us. We then rode in dunes. I cannot believe that such a landscape existed only five minutes from the beach. At every single moment along our ride the landscape was gorgeous. All of the horses were well trained which made things easier for us. On the way back along the beach we all galloped which felt very comfortable. It was honestly just an incredible experience. Words cannot even begin to capture our ride.

            After our long ride was over we had a barbeque with a vast array of food at the lady’s house who runs the horseback riding company, called Ritoque Expediciones. She was extremely nice and very hospitable. She must run a good business because she has a lot of different packages that she offers. Not only does her company give horseback riding expeditions, but they also have kayaking ones as well. Her horses were all in really good condition too and you could tell that she loves all of her animals a lot.

            Upon returning to Viña we all went out to get gelato which was very delicious. After we had all gotten ours we went out and sat on the rocks that are right on the ocean. It was absolutely magnificent. It was such a beautiful day and it was so nice to just sit and watch the waves break. It was so peaceful, relaxing, and pretty. It felt like something I do with my family when I’m at the shore. Today truly felt like a nice, relaxing, summer day at the beach. 

Sunday

Today was another free day which was very nice. We finally had the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep which was great. After waking up we decided to head to the mall. In order to get there we needed to walk along the beach. As it turns out, on their boardwalk they have lots and lots of stalls set up in which people sell goods. It actually reminded me a lot of a flea market that is set up on Saturdays near my town. It was really neat to go around and see what everyone was selling. Plus we were right on the ocean which is always enjoyable. After browsing we continued on our way to the mall. One thing that really surprised me were how many American stores were there. For instance there was Lacoste, Timberland, Nine West, Aldo, Tommy Hilfiger, Adidas, Columbia, and many more. Oh and you can’t forget the three Dunkin Donuts and the four McDonalds of course. This was not something I expected. On top of that many of the stores names seemed English. Having American stores in a foreign country means that those companies have successfully been able to attract and appeal to foreign target markets and that there is demand for their products abroad. I am sure that this is a very good sign for a company.

While we were passing by the McDonalds on our way back to our hotel we decided that it is viewed differently here than in the U.S. They are much nicer and seem like a place that is nice to hang out in. For instance is has the McCafe attached to it along with an upstairs that is completely away from the food. Later in the evening we went to Terra de Fuego, a very nice restaurant on the beach. The view was pretty, however it was unfortunate that it was dark when we were there. When we first got here I thought it was strange that the sun set at 6. Then I realized it is because we are on the opposite side of the equator, meaning at this time of year Chile is turned away from the sun while the U.S. is turned towards it. Today was a very nice and relaxing day and it was nice to spend a lot of time near the ocean.