Lectures Galore!

Today was a lovely lecture day, as it was so nice to take a break from hiking up mountains and through cities.  It was hard waking up in the morning as usual, but we hopped on the bus for another pleasant ride to the university.  Our lecturer, Jose Luis, was extremely nice, and gave a very interesting presentation.  The people working at the university never fail to impress me with the knowledge they possess.  Their English is very good, and they answer all our questions with detail.  The presentation covered a wide range of subjects, my favorite being Chilean music.  I really enjoyed Francisca Valenuela’s cover of Violeta Parra’s song “Run Run,” and I loved watching Claudio Arrau play piano since I play piano myself.  The natural disaster section of the presentation was also extremely interesting, and it was crazy to hear where Jose was when the earthquake in 2010 occurred.  We learned what to do if there was an earthquake, and watched several videos of previous ones.  In addition to these topics, we also covered Chilean history, literature, geography, tourism, art and culture.  Jose also asked us for our input, and we discussed the differences between the United States and Chile.   If I ever forget that I am in Chile, I am easily reminded upon seeing another stray dog roaming the streets.  After the lecture concluded, we headed back to Hotel America.  The Chilean students will be picking us up soon to take us out for the night!

Jeff enjoying some delicious chips during our lecture break

Can't get enough of that cafeteria food

Santiago Livin'

This morning we had to get moving even earlier than usual, as we traveled to the capitol, Santiago.  Our first stop was the stock exchange, and we first went upstairs to watch a little movie on how the Chilean stock market works.  Following this video, we went back downstairs and were able to see the big board of stocks.  This was a relatively short visit, as we then went and toured the streets of Santiago.  We saw a couple more street performers, and a surprisingly less amount of stray dogs along the way.  There was a gigantic church we visited that was filled with many interesting statues and monuments, as well as a history museum filled with all sorts of different artifacts.  We were absolutely starving by the time we were done these tours, so we got lunch at some sort of fish market.  I honestly question if there is any bad Chilean food, because once again I had a delicious meal, which this time consisted of sea bass covered with a seafood sauce.  Once we were full, we headed to the Presidential Place.  It was interesting comparing it to the White House, and we had soldiers following us everywhere through the tour.  We then left the Presidential Palace and changed from our nice clothes on the bus, and went to another incline.  This incline was much larger, and we went to the top of a mountain.  At the top of the mountain, it was possible to see all of Santiago.  Gorgeous mountains once again surrounded us.  Another two-hour bus ride ensued, which I surprisingly, although I am running on little sleep, did not sleep through.  Getting back to the hotel, we were free for the night, so a group of us decided to run errands.  We got dinner together, which this time was my first Chile quesadilla.  We are all tired beyond belief now, but there are so many sights in Chile to see it is more than worth it.  

At the stock exchange

Roomies!

Candles on the top of the mountain

Santiago

Va Va Valparaiso!

Chile is fantastico!  Today we went to the University for the first time, bonded with the Chilean students, and toured the beautiful Valparaiso.  Breakfast was early as usual, but after finishing breakfast we took the public transportation for the first time.  Chile’s transportation was proven to be quite a thriller, as we constantly fell on top of each other on the overcrowded bus.  Upon arriving at the University, we took (more) group shots, and we were given a tour of the campus.  There were various differences between Pittsburgh’s campus and this one, such as the beautiful outdoor pool and their lack of Market, but all of us were truly stunned by the scenery.  We then went to lecture, and we learned more about Chile compared to other countries.  After lecture, we went upstairs for some lunch, which was overwhelming due to its crowdedness.  I was excited to finally try the grapes, which were absolutely ginormous, and they turned out to be delicious as well.  From lunch, we headed to a bus tour, and we were dropped off at various tourist locations.  The Sky Museum was definitely the highlight of my day, as all the buildings were beautiful, and I once again took as many pictures as possible.  We had a friend, a stray dog, follow us the entire hike as well.  After the hike, we went to little shops by the water, and browsed through all the various trinkets they had.  Back up the mountain we went after the shops, except this time we took the incline.  Now experts of Valparaiso, we finally went to get food, getting the beloved empanadas.  They were everything we expected and more, and as a bonus we went to the bakery next door.  Karen and I unfortunately had to carry the cake that we bought for hours, as we immediately went to dance lessons.  Although I am not exactly the best dancer, I thoroughly enjoyed these dance lessons, as the teacher is a real ball of energy.  It was only after dance lessons that we were finally free for the night, and Karen and I got to enjoy our cake with our Chilean friends.  

Brice and I overlooking Valparaiso

Some of the houses in Valparaiso

Karen and I, waiting to eat our cake

We're in Chile!

We have arrived in Chile!  It was a quite a long plane ride, but I managed to sleep through most of it.  We were served two meals on the plane, and even the food there was good.  When we were out of the clouds and able to see Chile, it was absolutely stunning.  I couldn't help but to stare at the mountains in awe, and whip my camera out to take fifty million pictures of them.  We paid the fee to get into the country, went through the passport check, and finally went through customs.  Taxi drivers warmly welcomed us to Chile, and we were so excited to be reunited with Jorge and meet the Chilean students. After all this, we still were not out of the airport, as each of us had to withdraw cash.  While we were waiting, we chatted with the Chilean students.  At last we left the airport, slept through another bus ride, and made it to our hotel.

Dinner was absolutely fantastic; the Chileans were so nice, and the food was absolutely delicious.  I am trying to be very open minded for this trip, because I am not the biggest fan of Mexican food, but we decided on a place called Taco Bar.  I got what was in English the "pretty pan," which was chicken, bacon, mushrooms, and cheese on a tortilla.  When we left, we didn't go back home like I expected.  We took a sightseeing trip to the park and beach, which was gorgeous.  It was interesting to see all the vendors, and there were clowns that were stopping cars and pestering people.

Today was a great start to our Chile trip, and I can't wait for all our activities tomorrow!

One of my first pictures of Chile!

Our lovely little room

Airport Anticipation

Here we are in the Dallas airport, struggling to find entertainment, but extremely excited to arrive in Chile.  Although I went to bed late last night, I still managed to wake up at 7 to repack and get ready.  By 9:30 we were on our way to the airport, stuffed on a bus filled with luggage galore.  I found the Pittsburgh airport to be so much nicer than the Philadelphia one, as we were through security and the like very quickly.  This led to extra down time, but it was filled with card games and food.  Our flight from Pittsburgh to Dallas was nice, particularly because I slept through most of it.  So here we are now, wandering the airport, waiting until 8:40 Texas time to board the plane.  Tomorrow should be very busy, but nevertheless I am so excited to finally arrive!

Flying somewhere over the States!

So close, yet so far.

Welcome to my Chile blog! The trip to Chile is fast approaching, and I still can't believe I'm finally going out of the country.  I can't wait to see how much Spanish I remember from high school and to experience the different culture.