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Yesterday began with a free morning where most of the group slept and packed or ran out for a few more last minute presents.  After everyone was packed up we all met up as a group at noon to go get lunch.  We went to Tiki Taco because that was where we had our first lunch as a group on the first day.  We then came back to the hotel and packed all of our stuff into the bus.  Everyone was talkative during lunch but no one was really talking about the memories from the trip.  I don't think that anyone wanted to think about leaving so soon.  We then left Hotel America for the last time on the bus and went to Santiago to the airport.  In normal fashion, I think most people fell asleep on the bus ride.  We got to the airport and went through bag checks and that is when we really started talking about all of the memories from the trip especially during the survey.  We then got on the plane from Santiago to Dallas, where I fell asleep for just about the entire ride.  We arrived to Dallas, Fort Worth and continued talking about all the memories. What better way to get reacclimatized to American culture than eating Auntie Anne's soft pretzels, flushing toilet paper down the toilet and not throwing it out in the trash and actually drinking water out of the water fountain.  I am currently sitting in the Dallas airport waiting to board the flight to Pittsburgh.  I am going to miss Chile so much.  All of the things I have learned over the past two weeks are more useful than anything I could have learned in a classroom in a semester.  I am going to miss all of the new friends such as the Chilean students as well as the Pitt students.  I guess all of the new friends is just an excuse to go back.  I would do all of this again in a heartbeat, even stay at the magnificent Hotel America (if it was not going to be torn down).  Adios to all of my Chilean friends and experiences.  Hasta pronto, hopefully very soon.

Last Full Day

Reality is finally beginning to set in knowing that we are leaving Chile tomorrow.  Not too much was said about the subject between any of the students.  We started to today by meeting at 8:30 a.m. in the lobby of the magnificent Hotel America.  We then took 30 minute bus ride to go horseback riding!  We rode for 3 hours along the beach and up and down sand dunes and through water.  It was definitely one of my favorite days here.  After the 3 hours of riding, they had an awesome barbecue set up and they had a small, dusty soccer field where Aaron, Christian, Allison, and I played for a little while.  They even had marshmallows set up around a campfire.  We all hung out around the campfire for a while and then left to come back to the hotel.  We are going to a big group dinner at 8 and then the Chilean students are taking us out after.

Paintball

Today started out as a free morning, which was amazing.  We all stayed up late the night before so most of us stayed in.  I slept in until about 11, just as everyone was getting back from breakfast.  The group then decided that they wanted to go hang out on the beach so we spent like 2 hours there.  I could sit on a beach and watch the waves all day if I had the time.  We then all came back to the hotel for our paintball session.  Our team struggled pretty badly and we lost all 3 of the games.  We just got back to the hotel and now are getting ready for dinner.  I think we are going to get chinese food so I guess we will see how it goes.  It's so sad knowing tomorrow is my last full day here.

Last Company Visits

We started today by heading to Hela a company that makes tools and other things you could find in a hardware store.  We saw the process in which the brushes are assembled.  I thought it was amazing how much machines can actually do.  After the visit to Hela, we headed to Centauro for our final visit.  There we saw the process of creating some fruits and vegetables such as a pumpkin paste.  We also tried peaches that were made and canned by Centauro as well as tomatoes and a tomato paste.  After the visit to Centauro, we had empanadas for lunch (what else is new).  We then went back to the university for our final dance lesson (we did not know we actually had to dance until earlier today).  Today's lesson was about Chile's national dance the Cueca.  It was sad leaving the university for potentially the last time.  I am finally going to get a good nights sleep because of the free morning tomorrow.

Last Lecture

So today we got started bright and early like usual.  We left for our last lecture at the university around 8:15.  It was sad knowing that this was our last early, crazy, near-death bus ride to an early morning lecture.  As we were walking up the steps, I was talking to a few people about how fast this past week has gone and how no one wants to leave just yet.  We got to our lecture room and we all presented our powerpoint presentations on a company and two key Chilean figures to Professor Jaime.  He was very intelligent and his questions definitely required a lot of critical thinking but hey, what else would you expect from Katz Graduate School of Business.  After a few last questions about Chile that we asked Jaime, we at lunch at the university.  We came back to the hotel and had two hours before we had to go play soccer.  My two hours were spent using a blow dryer to dry my shoes that were still drenched from surfing yesterday.  We then played soccer with a few Chileans who of course kicked our butts.  After the soccer game, Kirsten, Kelli, Allison, and I walked around the mall.  Clothes were a lot more expensive in Chile than they are in the States (we also got yelled at for calling the U.S.A "America" and not "the States").  We then got one of our favorite meals, empanadas, and are now preparing for a night of karaoke.

First Free Day

So today was the first free day we have had here in Chile.  Mike, Aaron, Nick, Stefan, Allison, and I decided to go surfing, in late fall.  The water was not too cold but we had other problems.  First was that the person who we thought was going to give us the lesson just dropped us off and left.  Then we had surfing instructors who spoke very little english.  After that, we tried to take a public bus home.  Luckily Nick had and idea of where we were and got us back safely.  We got back and just tried to relax before our formal dinner.  The dinner was awesome!  I had this grilled salmon thing and it was really good.  It was nice to just relax for the day.

The "Spa"

So today we had a very laid back day.  We went to the Chilean "Spa."  We played soccer against some of the Chilean students and the profesor at the Chilean university.  They were really good but I like to think we held our own.  Our team was comprised or Nick, Aaron, Christian, Allison, and myself and we weren't too bad.  We won the last two out of four.  The resort we were at was amazing.  They had so many pools and other things to do.  We played foosball for awhile and then hung out with the Chilean students.  After the resort, we headed to the profesor's house and had a barbecue.  It was a lot of fun hanging out and getting to know the Chilean students more than normal as well as the profesor who is in charge of taking care of us.