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.