Sunday, May 18

I hope everyone got home safely. The Pittsburgh Nine got to Pittsburgh airport about 10:30 last night after too many hours sitting in JFK. I hope you all get rested up and over those colds so that you can enjoy the rest of the summer. I heard from Pamela. She was very sorry to miss everyone. I forgot to tell her I changed the time of the departure and she got there right after we left. Sorry for my compulsive need to be places early. Have a great summer. I look forward to getting the journals on June 2.

Friday, May 16

This is our last day in Chile. We are leaving in about an hour (3 PM) for the airport for our 8:40 PM flight to Atlanta. I am afraid I am sending home a lot of tired kids with colds, but I think they had a good time. It is a cold, damp, foggy day and so we are all looking forward to better weather in the US. It is depressing to think that this trip home will be more than 24 hours for most of us (and I am already exhasuted). Please remember to check the Delta 146 flight from Santiago to make sure it is on time or not too late. I have really enjoyed this visit with 29 great Pitt students.

Thursday, May 15

Today was our last full day in Chile. In the morning we went to visit the nursery Multiplant and learned a lot about the nursery business. This company sells plants to supermarkets and also to landscapers. They are trying to develop a tourist business as well. After that we went to a resort called San Augustin but it is listed as "farm" on the schedule. We spent a relaxing day playing games, sitting in the sun (it was a beautiful day for a change) and eating a wonderful buffet. This evening we had a farewell dinner at Diego Pizza. We gave the Chileans Pitt caps and lanyards and they gave us really nice shirts with emblems of Pitt and Santa Maria. We leave tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM for the airport. Please check the flight from Santiago to Atlanta to make certain it is on time. It is Delta flight 146 from Santiago to Atlanta. It is due to arrive in Atlanta at 6:30 AM. If it is late, we could miss our connection to JFK. Once we are in Atlanta, everyone's cell phone should work but if you are meeting your son or daughter at JFK, you might be on the way to the airport before he or she can call you.

Wednesday, May 14

PLEASE CHECK FLIGHTS BEFORE GOING TO THE AIRPORT. THERE HAVE BEEN DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS IN SANTIAGO BECAUSE OF FOG. OUR FLIGHT FROM SANTIAGO IS DELTA 146 DEPARTING AT 8:40 PM MAY 16 AND ARRIVING IN ATLANTA MAY 17 AT 6:30 AM. WE ONLY HAVE A TWO HOUR LAYOVER IN ATLANTA.
Today was a day to relax. We had the morning off. In the afternoon most of the students went with Chilean students to the Botanical Gardens where they played some games and then soccer. A few students chose to go sightseeing around Vina instead. We saw a lot of Americans walking around last night as an aircraft carrier docked in Valparaiso.

Tuesday, May 12

Today we went to see one of the homes of Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet. His home is at Isla Negra, not really an island but right on the coast. After the tour we went to the port of San Antonio and had lunch at a typical Chilean restaurant, Restaurante Juanita. This had become a tradition with the Chile Plus3. Every year we go there and have a meal after Isla Negra. The portions are huge. This time I insisted that everyone have the half portions, which are still huge by normal standards. The trip took all day.
There was a mistake on the website about our flight from Altanta to JFK. It has been corrected, but if you are picking up your student at JFK, we are taking Delta flight 5070 from Altanta scheduled to arrive at JFK Saturday morning at 11:05 AM.

Monday, May 12

Today we visited the Ventanas Division of Codelco, the national copper company. Originally we were scheduled to visit the Andina mine but there was a strike; the strike is over but the company is not allowing visitors yet. This seems to be the Olson curse; whenever I lead a trip to Chile, we cannot visit the mine. When Luis Chaparro led trips, they were always able to visit the mine. Ventanas is where they take the concentrate and convert it to 99.99% pure copper. They also produce gold, silver and other high value metals. We heard a lecture and then took a bus tour of the plant. We could not actually go into the plant because we lacked safety boots. The experience was rather frustrating for most of the students. The lecture was in Spanish. The two Santa Maria people and I tried to translate but because of the technical language it was difficult. Eventually I hope more of my photos will be posted, including those of this visit, but there are problems with the business school servers (they are doing a conversion) and this has delayed the posting of the pictures. After the visit, we stopped at Con Con and had empanadas. The rest of the day was free. I think the students are still really tired from the horseback riding and all the walking around they did yesterday. I keep forgetting to mention that everyone is getting lots of opportunity to use Spanish (whether they studied it or not). In the restaurants and stores almost no one speaks any English.

Sunday, May 11

This was the first day when we had no scheduled activities. Most students took advantage of it to sleep late and then go shopping and sightseeing. Most of the students were too tired to go out on Saturday night. However, some went to a multi-level nightclub called Huevo in Valparaiso. Unfortunately, one student had her camera stolen as she was getting on the bus. She was not hurt but felt violated. Safe as Chile is, this sort of thing happens almost every year.

Saturday, May 10

Today we all went horseback riding north of Vina del Mar. We rode for about three hours through marshes and dunes and then along the beach. After the ride we had a barbecue in the woods. We were served at tables with tablecloths, real dishes, glasses and flatware. The food, especially the pork, was delicious. Two students got rather wet but otherwise we all survived.

Friday, May 9

Today we went to Santiago. Getting off the bus we were fortunate enough to see the changing of the guard at la Moneda (something like the White House though the president doesn't actually live there). Our first stop was the Bolsa de Comercio or the stock exchange. Actually it handles stocks, bonds, money market instruments and derivatives. It is the largest exchange in Chile and the third largest in Latin America. We saw a video and then a power point presentation about the exchange. Then we had a tour of the trading room, though it is pretty empty now given that most trading in electronic. After the Bolsa de Comercio, we walked around a bit and visited a new museum that is associated with la Moneda. Our next stop was for Pescados and Mariscos (fish and shell fish) at the Mercado Central. This lunch was arranged by a former Santa Maria student who also spent a semester at Pitt. In the afternoon we went to one of the parks on a hill. Most of the students rode a cable car to see a statute of the Virgin. We were so high we could see much of Santiago but so smoggy we could not see even a trace of the Andes. After that we went shopping and then came back to the hotel. It was a long (12 hours) day but interesting I think. Pictures from a few days ago are now posted and there should be more on Monday.

Thursday, May 8

It is actually Friday because I was too exhausted to post a blog last night. Thursday we went on our second day of company visits. In the morning we went to Lan Airlines where we had a presentation and then went to the hanger to see how they maintain planes. The Lan manager was very impressed with the questions asked by our students. After a quick group lunch, we went to Vina Indomita to see how they make wine. After the tour we had a wine taste. Last night was relatively quiet as I think the students have realized they can't party every night until 2 or 3. A couple of students have or had colds and stomach problems, but I hope this will not become widespread. Friday (today) we are off to the Santiago stock exchange and then a tour of Santiago. I have not been able to add pictures for a couple of days because of server problems at Pitt but I hope that will be fixed soon.

Wednesday, May 7

Today we started our company visits with trips to Centauro Conservas and Gerdau Aza. Centauro produces canned tomato paste, tomato sauce, canned fruits and other canned products. We visited the factory where they produce tomato products and were given a tour by Mario Bozzolo, great grandson of the founder. After that tour we had a nice group lunch at a restaurant called Pura Carne (pure meat), though some people had fish or pasta. In the afternoon we went to Gerdau Aza, another company that has been in business for 100 years but has been owned by a Brazilian firm since 1992. They make various steel products from scrap. We had a great lecture but they were not able to arrange a plant visit (perhaps there were just too many of us). On the way back into Vina I commented on the huge amount of traffic considering that it was after 8 PM. One of the Chilean students told me the heavy traffic was because most of the bus drivers were on strike today. Between student strikes and bus driver strikes I think we might be in France rather than Chile.

Tuesday, May 6

Another late posting because we were busy all day and evening. The problems of last night led to the main campus of Santa Maria being closed for two days. Therefore, we went to the Vina del Mar campus of the college for our lecture this morning. Those students are also on strike but the campus was not closed because there were not blockades near that campus. We heard some lectures on doing business in Chile and then had lunch on the campus. In the afternoon we took a tour of Valparaiso, Vina del Mar and some rocks on the beach. In the evening we went to a barbecue at the home of Werner Kristjanpoller. Tomorrow and Thursday we have four of our company visits.

Monday, May 5

Sorry this is such a late posting but we spent all day at the University of Santa Maria. We are happy to report that all students and all suitcases are now in Hotel Americas. At the University we had lectures on Chilean culture, Latin American economics and the Salsa. We all ate a filling lunch in the student cafeteria. Perhaps the most interesting part of the day involved a student strike. The students, all of whom are commuters, have been on strike for several weeks because the student bus fares were raised about 60%. (The strike means that they are not attending classes but they are still on campus.) During the day we witnessed a big meeting of the students and I will post photos later. Unfortunately, some of the students decided to block the main road to make their point and the police did not like that. We had to cut our salsa class short and leave the campus before the police moved in. It reminded me of the bad old days of the late 60s and 70s, but it was a shock for everyone else including our Chilean student guides. I was very impressed with how quickly our Santa Maria student guides got us off campus and took us back to the hotel via the train. Never a dull moment.

Greetings from Chile

Most of us arrived in Santiago this morning. We are missing one student and six Pittsburgh suitcases but all of them should arrive tomorrow morning. One student was detained in customs for trying to smuggle in carrots and trail mix, but they finally released her without a fine. We are now settling into the hotel but at 2:30 we leave for a soccer game. It is rather cold and cloudy but not raining. If you heard about a volcano erupting and earthquakes, they were far in the south, not near us.

See you Saturday

See you all at JFK on Saturday at the gate for Delta Flight 243 departing for Atlanta at 4:30 PM. If you have any problems call Jo at 412-916-4349 or Krysta at 612-718-8049.

Strike at Andina

I hope you all survived finals and are home getting rested up for our trip to Chile. See you all on Saturday. According to Werner, the "Olson Copper Mine" curse seems to be hitting again. I just received this message from him on April 28.

The divisions of Codelco (Including Andina) had problems with their workers. Now, Andina is on strike. I hope that two weeks more the strike is finished. If you want, you can access tohttp://www.economiaynegocios.cl/noticias/noticias.asp?id=46130.

Let's hope the strike is over before we are scheduled to go.

Last Plus3 Chile Workshop

The last Plus3 Chile workshop before our trip will be Sunday, April 13. Each team will do a 10 minute powerpoint presentation on Chile and their company. Pretend that you are talking to a group of business people and engineers who are going to Chile for the first time to visit your company. Give them information you think they will need on Chile and more importantly on the company. After the presentation, we will discuss more information that you will find useful for the trip. Please bring your green notebook to the workshop. Please email your presentation to Jo at least an hour before the workshop and bring backup on a USB drive. Jo and Doreen will be gone from Wednesday to the end of the week (Jo gets back Saturday night). If you haven't set up your blog yet, get the information to Doreen by Monday, April 7.

Workshop on Sunday, April 6

The next Plus3 Chile workshop will be Sunday, April 6 from 3 to about 6 PM in 117 Mervis Hall. We will see a video on doing business in Chile, talk about assignments, and do a Spanish exercise. I hope that I will have more information on the specifics of the trip by Sunday, including the one company visit that is still tentative. If you have not set up your blog and answered the pre-departure essay questions, please get started.

Next Workshop

Hi Plus3 Chile Participants:
Our next workshop will be Sunday, March 30 from 2:30 to 6:30 in 1700 Posvar Hall. See you then. I hope you are working on the answers to the pre-departure questions in the syllabus. We are developing a blog so that you can post your essays, and later your journals and photos.
We also hope to have company assignments to distribute to you.
Jo and Krysta

Felicidades 2008 Plus3 Chile Group!

Many congrats to all the Pitt students on their way to Chile! Enjoy this incredible opportunity and keep chasing your dreams!

Happy travels,

Staff at the International Business Center