Viña Indómita and Pablo's house

Today was an exciting day in Chile that started off by us going to Viña Indómita winery. It was so beautiful and the tour was very informative. They took us around the winery and showed us where they make and store the wine. They store they wine in big, wooden barrels for two years and then immediately bottle and export them. After the tour of the winery, we went outside to taste a few of the different wines. There was one white wine and two red wines. They were all pretty good, but my favorite was the last one which has a chocolate and leather taste. Brendan and I liked it so much that we decided to buy a bottle.

After the winery, we took the bus to another one of Pablo Neruda's houses which is right on the water and has an amazing restaurant. We ate at restaurant, which overlooks the water, for lunch and had oysters, fish stew, and tiramisu. Everything was delicious and so fresh! We enjoyed our lunch in the sunshine and then made our way over to Pablo's home for a tour. His house was so adorable and had the most beautiful views. After the tour, we walked down to the beach and took pictures on the rocks. 

Later today, we went back to the university for our last dancing lesson. We learned so many fun dances and started burning up a sweat. The instructor was very sweet again and said that he saw a lot of improvement in our dancing.
Tomorrow's our free day. I'm excited to sleep in a little and explore more of Vina del Mar.

LAN

Today we went to the university to learn the traditional dance of Chile, la cueca. There were two professional instructors, along with a few students, who were there to teach us the dance steps. My partner was Brendan. We struggled at first to catch on to the moves, but picked it up quickly. Chileans are required to learn la cueca in high school and traditionally it is done with a handkerchief that both people wave in the air.
After practicing la cueca for an hour, we were treated to empanadas. They were not like the ones that we had the other night, but they were still good. Then we had lunch in the school cafeteria and then took a bus ride to Santiago to visit LAN airline company. They took us on a tour of one of the airplanes. It was huge and the business class section was very luxurious. At this site, they do a lot of maintenance on the planes. LAN is a very successful line and they are growing exponentially. 
After LAN, we were supposed to have another dance lesson but we didn't get back in time. Tonight we are going out with the Chilean students again. I'm really excited. We're going to a bar and club in Valparaiso which should be a lot of fun!

Learning about Chile

Today was a full day of lectures for us at the university. We met with our professor, Jose Luis Cortes, who started off the lecture by asking each of us what we wanted to gain from this trip. I came to Chile to learn more about the culture and the business world here because I would like to study abroad in Latin America again in the future. The lecture was split into a morning and afternoon session. In the morning we learned about the history, literature, geography, tourism, art, and culture of Chile. We learned about the controversies of Pinochet as a ruler, and the return to democracy after his ruling. After Pinochet, the four following presidents were all socialists or leftists, but the current president- Sebastian Pinera- is a rightest. The Chileans feel very secure with him as president, and he has led them through many difficult times, including the earthquake and miner's incident in 2010. We then moved on to literature and talked about two famous Chilean poets, Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral. After lunch in the cafeteria, we learned about Chilean society, gender issues, capital vs. regions, Chilean ads, and natural disasters. It was really interesting to watch some of the Chilean ads and their marketing techniques because that is what I am interested in as a business major. It was also really interesting to learn about the natural disasters, specifically earthquakes, and what to do when one comes about. Jose Luis talked about his experience during an extreme earthquake and how they had to run to the hills for safety. Overall, it was a very interesting and informative lecture and Jose Luis was a very animated and kind person who kept our attention the entire time.

Tour of Santiago

Today was another exciting day in Chile. We started off our morning by traveling two hours to Santiago with four Chilean students (Javier, Javier, Sebastian, and Paula). In Santiago our first stop was to the stock exchange where a young lady gave us a very informative presentation about the foundation and usage of the Chilean stock exchange. After the presentation she took us to the trading floor which remains pretty empty today because most of the work is done through computers at home. It is, however, open to all brokers and you can see the stocks running at all times on the ticker. After we toured the trading floor we walked through Santiago and went to a beautiful Cathedral in the middle of the city. By looking at it from the street, you wouldn't believe how expansive it is. It was truly an amazing site. After this, we were all craving lunch and went to the central market which is famous for it's seafood. I ordered one of their specialties- Chilean sea bass, and it was delicious. After lunch Morgan, Kelsey, and I met an adorable, old Chilean woman. I attempted to speak to her in Spanish and she ended up giving us four leaf clovers that you keep in your wallet for good luck. She was so kind and welcoming, just like all the Chileans that I've met so far.
We also went to the president's palace, which is in the middle of the city. It was interesting to see how little security they have to enter. There are guards that secure all of the palace, but for the most part it is open to anyone with identification.
The last part of our day was a hike to Cerro San Cristobal, which had the most amazing view I have ever seen. It overlooked all of Santiago and the Andes Mountains- it was incredible!
When we got back to the hotel, we were all pretty tired and hungry. All I wanted to do was eat, but I needed to get an adapter to charge my cell phone and computer, so a big group of us went to the mall and walked around for hours with no luck. We were all delirious and tired and went to a random place for dinner, and ended up having the best time. Tonight I am going to bed early. We are going to the university again tomorrow for lecture.

Valparaiso

Today we woke up early and got picked up by two Chilean students who took us to their university for a tour and for lecture. They came to the hotel and we took the public bus over to the university, which was quite an experience- they drive way past the speed limit and fit as many people as they can onto the bus. We got to the university and it was so gorgeous! It overlooked the ocean and had beautiful buildings and scenery. The girls took us around the university and showed us where all their classes are, and then they dropped us off at a classroom for a lecture on the Chilean economy. It was really interesting and the professor was very informative and knowledgable. He talked about the Chilean economy as a whole, the economy compared to other Latin American countries, and how the economy is growing. After the lecture, we went to lunch in the school's cafeteria. Then we went back to the bus and two new students took us on a tour of Valparaiso. It was so beautiful- the scenery and the mountains all looked over the ocean. We took a short hike up a mountain and then went and passed Pablo Neruda's house but it was closed. Then we went down to the water where there were vendors that you could shop at. After we walked around this area for a little, we went to dinner and got empanadas which were amazing! Mine had crab and cheese in it. It was so delicious. After dinner, we went back to the university and had dancing lessons. The instructor was great and we had a really good time even though most of us weren't very good dancers! After that, some students took us to karaoke and we had a blast! Tomorrow we are going to Santiago. I'm really excited to see the city; I've heard so many great things about it! Hasta luego!

First day in Chile

After today, I can officially say that I am in love with Viña del Mar. Not including the ten hour plane ride from Dallas to Chile, this day has been a great start to our trip. We were greeted in the airport by two Chilean students and Jorge and traveled by bus to Hotel America in Viña del Mar. After getting settled in, the whole group walked down by the water and went to lunch at the Taco Bar where I got an amazing meal of shrimp tacos. The weather has been amazing (a lot warmer than I expected it to be). After lunch, we walked down by the water and took in the breathtaking scenery of water, palm trees, and beautiful restaurants and hotels. The sites were amazing. It was such a great place to walk through, and I can't wait to see more of it! It's such an exciting place with a lot going on. There were street performers, people laying out on the beach, vendors that lined the water, and a lot of stray dogs. I was told we would see a lot of them, but I didn't expect there to be so many. They liked to follow us around wherever we went.Tomorrow we are going to the University for lectures and then at night we're having karaoke! Tonight, a few of us are going to walk around Viña and find something to do, and tomorrow we will go to Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria for a lecture. I'm really excited to see the school and what classes are like for the students there.

Plane ride

I'm currently sitting in the Dallas airport waiting for our plane to take us to Chile! I can't believe that we'll be there in the morning. Just yesterday I was in the car with my dad driving from New Jersey to Pittsburgh. Then I attended our very last orientation with my group along with the other Plus 3 groups traveling to China and Germany. After the meeting, the Chile group had a very nice and filling dinner at the Porch and then we headed back to Towers where we lodged for the night. 
In the morning we took a public bus to the Pittsburgh airport, where we flew into Dallas. The plane ride wasn't bad at all. The ride from Dallas to Chile, however, is ten hours and I will try to sleep the whole way.
When we arrive in Chile in the morning, a bus will take us from Santiago to Valparaíso (it's about an hour bus ride). Then we will meet up with Jorge, one of the trip advisors, and some of the Chilean students that we will be with for the rest of the week. 
Hanging out in the airport with this group of students is getting me so excited to share this experience with them. I am so thankful to have this opportunity. I can't wait to arrive in Chile, learn about the culture, improve my Spanish, and have an amazing time!
Ciao!