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.