5/17/13

Yesterday was a bittersweet day in Chile; today is an all-bitter day. Lots of sadness to go around. It is officially the last day here in Chile. We did get to sleep in, so I guess that was one of the positives of the day. I got up at about eleven, showered and packed for a awhile, and then a few of us went out to lunch. Nothing special, just to the food court at the mall. I got chicken, some sides, an avocado, and of course “agua con gas.” I get avocados almost every time I see them anywhere, which is a little bit of a problem because they are kind of expensive. Anyway we got back kind of late and had to frantically pack in order to catch the bus. Which ended up not being a big deal anyway because the bus had trouble finding a spot to park in those tiny little streets by Hotel America. After many heartfelt goodbyes exchanged with the Chilean students, we got on the bus for one last time and headed to the Santiago airport. At the airport, the lines were crazy long and we waited for hours to check in, go through security (which is much less strict than US security) and head to our gate. We then split up and went to dinner. I went to a restaurant in the airport were I got a loin and guacamole sandwich with my last pisco sour (and last legal alcoholic beverage for two more years). The meal was very overpriced, but what can one expect from an airport. At about 9 PM we all boarded the flight from Santiago to Dallas. It was a sad moment, both for the small reason of suffering through a ten-hour flight and for the larger reason of leaving Chile. Overall, however, this trip was one of the greatest two-week spans of my life yet. We packed a lot into those weeks and everything was amazing. I know everyone probably was this, but I am so thankful that I picked Chile for my Plus3 destination. I saw amazing sights, learned all kids of things, and met some awesome people. So, if you are reading my blog, thank you for keeping up with what is happening with the life of Jeffrey Carr. I hope words helped you enjoy Chile as much as I did. For one last time, until next time…

5/16/13

It is kind of a bittersweet day here in Chile. The last full day in Chile is sure to invoke some sadness, but it was a very fun and exciting day otherwise. Today was supposed to be the highlight of the trip: horseback riding. We woke up relatively early and took a half hour bus ride to Cabalgata. We arrived on the ranch and saw lots of horses, chickens, pigs, dogs, and a baby cow that we later found out was only five days old. After some instructions and a lot of waiting around, we were each assigned a horse. I got a small brown horse that I named Mantequilla because I like that word. Anyway, my horse and I started out in the back of the pack. Once we got to the beach, I was quick to find out mantequilla liked to run fast and often, which I thought was a lot of fun. We were soon at the front of pack running along the edge of the water. That was a very thrilling experience, horseback riding along the Pacific Ocean. We then made it to the woods and dunes area, where mantequilla liked to wander off often. The views from those places were spectacular. The whole experience was amazing. We took a break somewhere in the sand dunes, got off the horses, and had a snack of fresh pineapples from one of the guides. Back on the horses, the second stretch of the journey was much more painful. Apparently horseback riding uses some muscles that I had never used before because just getting back on the horse was painful. Added to that was the fact that the second half of the trip consisted of a lot of trotting and galloping. This meant a lot of bouncing up-and-down on the saddle, which did not help the pain. The journey was very enjoyable overall, however, was very much enjoyable. Upon our return to the ranch, we were greeted with a feast of barbequed meat, all kinds of salads, wine, and pisco sour. It was delicious! While we were eating, the calf tried to wander into the house, which was pretty amusing. After the meal, they gave us marshmallows to roast over the fire, along with coffee and tea. Overall, today was one of the most fun experiences of my life even though my entire body was sore afterwards. We took the bus back and I took a nice nap until we left for dinner. We all went out to dinner at a local pizza place with of the Chilean students and professor. They had some interesting kinds of pizza; I got something with guacamole on it. We then headed home. I would today was a successful last day in Chile. So, (I say this much sadness) until tomorrow…

5/15/13

Buenos Días! Today is Wednesday, marking the second-to-last day here in Chile. Very sad, this was one of the two-week periods I have yet to experience.  Anyway, our plans for the day were to go a spa/country club about an hour away. I had gotten a lot of sleep last night (compared to the other nights of two to three hours, nine hours was amazing). I got up pretty early, got a nice hot shower, eaten a non-rushed breakfast, and boarded the bus at about 10. Even with all that sleep, however, what else was there to do on an hour-long bus ride but take a nice nap. We got there and were greeted with empanadas and beer. How nice of them. The empanadas weren’t my favorite kind with beef, onions, egg, and an olive, but it wasn’t too bad. The spa had a restaurant area, two pools, and a tennis court (there might have more, but that was far as I explored). I laid/napped by the pool for a few hours and the weather was very nice so I was even able to change into shorts and a tee shirt. My face got a nice bit of sun by the end of the day. After that, we all went inside to the restaurant area for lunch. There were a lot of courses! First we had steak and an egg on a bed of fries. That wasn’t my favorite, however, because the egg was undercooked and the fries were not very hot. The steak was good, though. I ordered a pisco sour with my meal, a classic Chilean drink. Next course was a plate of vegetables and I ate more than my share of avocadoes. Dessert was some sort of pudding with raspberry glaze that was delicious. After eating, I laid out in the sun again. Some other people played soccer on the tennis courts. After another few hours of that, we walked to one of the Chilean professor’s country house for a barbeque. It was another delicious meal and there was even a professional chef hired. We had a few beers and hung out with the Chilean students that were there. Lots of fun! We left sometime after nine, if I remember correctly, and took the hour-long bus ride back to Hotel America. Overall, it was a very relaxing day. Until tomorrow….

5/14/13

This Tuesday morning was pretty early because we had to visit 3 companies today. The bus left at about 8, but I got up at 6:30 because I would rather get less sleep and get a warm shower than the other way around. Today I did not feel very well and had some sort of stomach flu all day, which really put a damper on things. But anyway, our first company visit was to Hela, a tool making company. We toured how they made different brushes. I was surprised how much manual labor was involved in the entire process, including people loading the machines and folding the boxes. We learned how the make industrial style brushes for concrete, paint rollers, and traditional paintbrushes. The next company was Centauros, a produce canning company. Their biggest product and the one that the tour focuses on was tomatoes, but they do work with other things like peaches and onions. Like the first company, I thought it was curious how much of the work wasn’t automated. We first learned how the tomatoes are washed, filtered, and dehydrated into a thick tomato paste. There it can be made into ketchup (which we sampled and I thought tasted similar but sweeter than Heinz ketchup), tomato sauce, or other tomato-based products. At the end of the tour, we were each given a can of beans to take home and sample. After this tour, we went out to eat empanadas. Because of my upset stomach, I stayed away from the cheese (which is in a sustainable amount of them) and got a tomato, basil, and cheese empanada with mint tea. The place we ate at was right by the beach and had a great view of the ocean. After the meal, we drove 10 minutes to the final company Bosques, a mushroom farm. The smell was overwhelming and was evident as soon as we walked off the bus. During the tour, the first thing we learned was how the compost for the mushrooms to grow in was made (manure, hay, and water). After a number of processes, the mushroom fungi are added allowed to grow into full-grown mushrooms. They are then harvested by hand in three waves. So, after a long day of company visits and surviving a stomach flu, we finally went back to the hotel for dinner and long awaited sleep. Until tomorrow…

5/13/13

Another Monday, another early start. We headed out today at 8:30 to catch the city bus to the University. There, we listened to the lectures that each of the groups had prepared for the five companies. It was very interesting as well as informative. Although everyone else had already seen the presentations, it was my first time seeing all of them because I had been gone on the day that we presented them back in Pittsburgh. The five companies were Lan, Indomita, Centauros, Bosques, and Hela. Lan is a regionally airline company, that is expanding to more international business.  Indomita, which was the company my group was assigned, is a winery that does mostly domestic wines, but has some exporting business as well. Centauros is a canning company focused mostly on tomato-based products, but expanding into other things such as peaches and onions. Bosques is one of the two mushroom farms located in all of Chile. Hela is a tool making plant that focuses a lot on brushes. Because our group had already been to the first two, but not the last three, it was interesting to learn about what the companies had in store. After our presentations, along with a good discussion about the differences between Chilean and American culture, we took the bus back to the hotel. We all got changed for the soccer match we were to have with the Chilean students and then departed to the mall for a quick lunch.  I also got ice cream at the mall, which I would come to find out after about an hour of soccer, was not very smart. Anyway, we split up into four teams and rotated teams based on whoever won. Our team did pretty well, but it was easy to tell that everyone lost his or her motivation by the end of everything. After that, we went back to the mall for dinner and finally made it back to the hotel for the night. Tomorrow we are going to have an early morning and visit the final three companies. So, until tomorrow…