Friday, May 29: First day at Santiago College

Today is Friday and we finally got to sleep in!  Today was the big day where we would travel to Santiago College and meet our exchange students for the first time. We left the hotel at 11am and some how we were all on time! As we drove to Santiago College all of us were very nervous. When we arrived at the school we were amazed how cool the buildings and surroundings of the school where. Our exchange students were waiting for us at the gate and were very happy to see us. After dropping off our luggage we took a tour led by the students around the campus. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all thought the campus was awesome! We had lunch in their cafeteria and played soccer when we were done. Then we all went to a class with our exchange students, which was interesting. Soon after that the school day was over and we headed home with our students. Many of us went out to dinner or got ice cream with groups of friends. This was nice because we got to hang out with our exchange students and at the same time be with our group. This made it much more comfortable. It was a great first day being with the exchange students and we all are having a great time and working on our Spanish.  (Matthew L.)

On the bus to Santiago College
Main entrance to Santiago College
Santiago College
Welcome from Upper School Head
Meeting our hosts
Meeting our hosts
Meeting our hosts
Meeting our hosts
Meeting our hosts
Ice cream!

Thursday, May 28: Santiago City Tour

It’s no longer chilly in Chile!   With the addition of some extra layers due to the arrival of our luggage (yes!) we were able to stay much warmer and more prepared.  We started the day early to travel to Santiago (most of us fell asleep on the bus), which is the most populated city in Chile with over 6 million people.   To get a better feel for the city we rode a funicular to the top of a mountain called Cerro San Cristobal. Later, we walked around the city, making sure to see the Sanhattan (tallest building in Latin America), the Chilean stock exchange, the judicial building, the “triplets” (three glass office towers), the American embassy, and the presidential palace, where Divya took a selfie with the guards. And of course you can’t visit Santiago without trying a Chilean hotdog at El Rapido (complete with avocado, tomato, and mayo)!   After a tour through the Pre-Columbian art museum we walked around a few markets and got some rest in the hotel before seeing the dinner show at Bali Hai (shoutout to Divya, Matthew, Grace, Rachel, and Kiran for being brave enough to dance on stage!).   (Emily L.)

Gran Torre Santiago, the tallest building in Latin America
Another funicular ride to the top of Cerro San Cristobal
View from the funicular
Cerro San Cristobal
Cerro San Cristobal with the Statue of the Virgin
Statue of the Virgin
Statue of the Virgin
Mercado Central
Inside the Mercado Central
Inside the Mercado Central
Alpaca sweaters!
central Santiago
Plaza de Armas
Catedral Metropolitano
Plaza de Armas
Plaza de Armas
Pre-Columbian Museum
Pre-Columbian Museum
Pre-Columbian Museum
La Moneda (presidential palace)
La Moneda guards
La Moneda
Enjoying some churros

Wednesday, May 27: Valparaíso

The day started with an early breakfast at the hotel. For some reason, my hotel room believed that breakfast ended at 8, and although the call for the group to be ready was at 9, we all woke up at 7 to have breakfast. Upon having food in an empty room, we realized we were mistaken. All the same, the breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage, and typical American eats.

Once we got on the bus at 9, the tour guide announced that we were headed to the late Pablo Neruda’s house in the beachside town of Valparaiso, where we were touring. Pablo Neruda is was one of the most well known poets from Latin America, and his works are known worldwide (some of us on the trip even recognized it)!  His house was well decorated with paintings and artifacts from all over the world, and although we unfortunately were unable to take pictures, I managed to snap a few of the outside.  Also, there were some awesome views from the house!

After Neruda’s house, we journeyed around Valparaiso. The tour guide explained that unlike many cities, the paving of Valparaiso was still very ancient, and the cobbled stones of the streets were more suited towards walking rather than a bus. On the way, we spotted a tree covered in notes, which turned out to be a wish tree, where you can leave wishes on a note and leave them on the tree, which would help those wishes come true.

Further along, we got to a long set of steps, which had been referred to as the “rainbow steps”, for how they were all painted a different color. The walls surrounding the alley were decorated in murals, creating a bright, artistic atmosphere.

Afterwards, we took a boat trip around the city. Despite some minor mishaps before we got on the boat (fishermen fight, it got bloody), the view was gorgeous, including some cameos from some SEALS!!

Finally, this brought us to the much awaited lunch time, where we had lovely dishes of seafood and fish, some of Chile’s staple foods. This brought us back to the bus where we got ready for dinner, which we’re patiently awaiting now.

Overall, day 2 has already brought exciting, new sights that even a practiced traveler like me can appreciate. I can’t wait for the rest!!   (Grace J.)

Flower clock in Viña del Mar
Chilean poet Pablo Neruda
Neruda’s house “La Sebastiana”
Gardens of “La Sebastiana”
A new friend at “La Sebastiana”
the “Wishing Tree”
Reading the wishes
Posting our own wishes
Posting our own wishes
Colorful Valparaíso
Rainbow steps
Rainbow steps
Colorful Valparaíso
Murals in Valparaíso
Victorian home in Valparaíso
Colorful Valparaíso
Riding an ascensor (funicular)
Down hill with the ascensor
Plaza Sotomayor
Plaza Sotomayor
Our dog poop sentry
Harbor cruise
Harbor cruise
Harbor cruise
Harbor cruise
Harbor cruise
Sea lions
Sea lions
Harbor cruise
Harbor cruise
Hurray! Our luggage arrived!

Tuesday, May 26: Viña del Mar

Our journey to Chile started at RDU with all of us passing through the endless lines and the tired TSA agents. We had our dinner at the various restaurants at RDU including Five Guys. Our boarding was also successful and productive. It seemed that we were going to arrive in Chile in good spirits and fascination until we got some bad news: thunderstorms were growing over Atlanta resulting in a one hour delay.   After the dreadful hour had passed, we were dead set on leaving Raleigh until we got yet another delay.   The delays continued  until our stressed and obviously disgruntled captain announced that we would be taking off at nine o’clock. We were relieved but also very annoyed over this long wait, because we needed to arrive in Atlanta 15 minutes before the 10pm flight to Santiago was originally set to leave or otherwise we would miss it.   After landing in Atlanta 10 minutes after the deadline, we raced to our gate only to see our plane just detaching from the gate.  The gate attendants told us that we were too late and that we had been rebooked on the next day’s flight.  With sad and unrelenting eyes we watched through the airport windows as the confused pilots looked back at us. We were about to set up our beds at the gate for the night when we heard a door hiss, and the gate attendants announced that we would be able to board the plane after all.  Unfortunately, our luggage did not make it on board.

After this entire ordeal and the sleepless hours on the plane, we finally landed in Santiago.   We reported our delayed baggage, then met our cheerful and delightful tour guide Senora Patrica and headed on our way to Vina del Mar and its beautiful restaurants and beaches. We stopped for a bit of espresso on the way and experienced the chilly weather of Santiago. Senora Patrica entertained us with her stories of Valparaiso, Vina del Mar and the interesting history of Chile. Eating in the various restaurants and enjoying the amazing views on the beach was our highlight of the day and as I lie here on my bed, I look forward to experiencing more of Chile and its highlights.      (Danny H.)

New friends in Chile
Feeding the llamas
Feeding the llamas
More food for the llamas
Getting ready to use our Spanish
What to buy??
Coffee and sweets for some
Coca-cola for others
Definitely not Starbucks
Vineyards en route to the coast
The Fonck Museum
Lunch
Lunch
Beach time
Beach time
Beach time
Beach time
Enjoying the rocks
Enjoying the rocks
Enjoying the rocks
Enjoying the rocks
Happy group
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