Horsing Around in the Andes Mountains

One of the activities at Cascadas de las Animas that we had the option to participate in was horseback riding through a section of the Andes Mountains. The eight of us that signed up were eager to begin our scenic journey. Our adventure started as we walked over a rickety bridge to meet the horses with whom we would be entrusting our lives for the next three hours. My horse's name was Tisnado, which, translated into English, means something along the lines of charcoal (although the color of his hair was nowhere near black). When we had all mounted our horses, some of our equine friends decided they wanted a snack of hay before we left, but our guides Pablo and Ceasar warned us not to let them eat. It was time for the horses to work, not eat, and we needed to make sure they knew that we were in charge of them by pulling the reigns to one side away from the hay. As we started to ascend the mountain, we realized what we got ourselves into; the paths were steep, rocky, and narrow, so there was very little room for error when handling the horse. 

One of our guides, Pablo, leading the pack

Once we got used to the feeling of being on top of our horses, we were able to trust that we were safe and in good hands (or hooves). We began to enjoy the beautiful scenery and emerging views from high above. And the higher we climbed, the more spectacular the views were! Whether we were riding under a canopy of trees or looking out over the edge of the mountain, we couldn't help but gape in awe at the nature surrounding us. Ashley, one of the faculty members on the trip said, "As we ascended that mountain with bravery, looking around, I have never seen such beautiful views in all my travels. The only country that maybe comes close is New Zealand, but the Andes mountains definitely take first prize." 

Katelynn, Marta, Ale, and Claire waiting to dismount at the top of the mountain

We arrived at the top of the mountain and dismounted our noble steeds. Looking down, we were so high up that the river that ran through the mountains looked like a small squiggly line, and in the distance were the tops of some snow-capped mountains. Everyone took this opportunity to snap some pictures and play with two dogs that had followed us up on our ride. 

After our short break, it was time to descend. All of us were terrified because the pathways on the way up were so steep, and we couldn't imagine what they would be like going down. Essentially, we just had to put our faith in the horses and trust that they would get us back safely. And although there were a few times when they slipped on the rocks, the horses did their job very well!

Reflecting on the experience, Katelynn Griffin described it as "beautifully terrifying." Ale Jaramillo commented that "the gorgeous view from the top was definitely worth the long, sometimes scary trek through the heat." I also asked Matt Raggi why he chose horseback riding over the other popular activity whitewater rafting, and he answered, "I really love horses so this opportunity to put all my trust in my horse was incredible. I think it was great to see those views and have that added experience."

Unbelievable view from the top!

Farewell Dinner: Chile

         After informative and interesting trips to Wayra and The Santiago Stock Exchange the group had one of its last four dinners at El Meson Nerudiano. It was bittersweet to be at the last dinner, but we all took the time to reminisce on our unreal experiences and be express how appreciative we were for the oppurtunity to go on this trip.

The teachers table (I was able to sneak in the picture)

The restaurant was close to our hotel, and it gave us a great selection of traditional Chilean food for one of the last times. We arrived at the restaurant at around 8:30 where we were greeted with some delicious appetizers which included beef empinadas, which were a huge hit on the trip, along with a variety of other seafood tapas.

Stephanie Skiba enjoying her appetizers

We received an option of steak and potatoes, giant crab cakes, or fish and quinoa! Steak and fish were two of the foods we saw the most during the trip, and giant crab cakes were quite a wildcard. It was nice that this dinner provided us with some foods that we saw many times on the trip, along with allowing us to try some new Chilean food.

Steak that we were served

 

Griffin enjoying his dinner

Mike Dalton said, "Dinner was delicious and fun, it let us taste the different culture for the last time. My steak was cooked perfectly, very fitting meal to formally end the trip".

Our dinner was coordinated by Francisca. She did a great job touring us around Chile, and showing us some of the most interesting and historical locations. When asked about the dinner she said, "Everything was very good, and she was happy to spend the time with us. She also really enjoyed our trip, and hoped that we loved Chile."

Srdan along with Liam, Ryan, Mike, and half of Charles at dinner

Our final dinner was filled with flavorful food, many laughs, and some interesting pictures. At the dinner it was great to see the bonds that were made during the trip, and how close all of the students and instructors had become. This bond made a trip that was very educational very enjoyable as well. Our dinner was the perfect formal conclusion to this once in a lifetime opportunity. At the conclusion of the dinner we all got a great night of sleep to prepare for water rafting, horse back riding, hiking and zip lining the next day!

Last Day In Chile!

White water rafting was indescribable. The views were amazing. The rapids were flowing. The instructors were informative. The memories will be unforgettable. 

Las Cascades en las animas was the perfect place to try new things such as hiking, zip lining, horseback riding, and rafting. It is a very eco-tourism attraction and resort. For many of us, this was our first time white water rafting and everything is a little bit scarier while in a foreign country, but also it is another reason to go out of our comfort zones. 

To start off the rafting, Simon gave us an information/ safety instruction guidelines. We went through every scenario that could possibly happen and how to deal with each in case one did happen to occur. After we learned how to deal with every situation, we went and put all of our gear on. This included a wet suit, a helmet, a life vest, special shoes, and "sexy" shorts. We all looked fantastic. We then divided into group of 6-8 and were paired with a special instructor. 

My instructors name was Carlos. He did not speak much English, but made the experience very exciting and memorable. Kevin described him as, "extremely helpful and comforting. He made me feel comfortable enough to try something new. "He brought us to our raft where we had to step into the freezing cold water and put all of our weight into Carlos' hand just to get in the boat. The walk to the boat was a little hike through rocks. Once we got on the boat, we went through all of the maneuvers that we would need to paddle down the river. We went through coordinating rowing frontwards and backwards, how to stop, and which way to go when needed. We were ready to go. 

The water/current was considered a 4.0 out of 6.0 scale which means that the rapids were very large and fast. Our group was the last raft to go since Carlos was one of the head leaders. As Senora Gomez said, it just means we're in the water longer. After being anxious to go, it was finally time. A couple minutes in, he was telling us that people in our group already went for an unexpected swim. One of the incidents that Simon explained in detail actually happened and everyone reacted very well. One of the boats hit and a couple people went into the water early. They are all okay and Charles and Chris even said they would definitely go white water rafting again even if it was a little frightening.  Besides that, the view down the river was amazing, the feeling of the cold water was refreshing, and it was a great end to an amazing trip. 

Visit to the Santiago Stock Exchange

After lunch on Thursday, we visited the Santiago Stock Exchange, known in Spanish as Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago. While we still have another day for activities in Chile, this was our final business meeting, and a great way to conclude the educational portion of the trip. Alejandra Cooper, a Financial Education Analyst for the Santiago Stock Exchange (SSE), gave a presentation on the history of the SSE and its building, as well as the ways in which the market operates. The SSE was founded on November 27, 1893, in attempt to stimulate the national economy. Construction of the current building started in 1913, and was finally completed in 1917. Up until the 1930s, a majority of the publicly traded companies were part of the mining industry. Now, the market is much more diverse, consisting of companies in the construction/real estate, retail, utility, commodity, and banking industries.

(Santiago Stock Exchange, Est. 1893)

The SSE is a multi-product stock exchange, as it offers not only stocks, but fixed income instruments and money market instruments, as well. It is accompanied in Chile by the Valparaiso Stock Exchange, founded in 1892, and the Electronic Stock Exchange, founded in 1989; the SSE is responsible for 96% of shares traded throughout the country. It operates similarly to the NYSE, in that there are issuers, investors, and intermediaries; the S.V.S. oversees and regulates the entire process. Issuers are comprised of the central bank, various private banks and financial institutions, as well as a multitude of companies. Investors are categorized either by institutional or non-institutional. Institutional investors include pension funds, mutual funds, investment funds, insurance companies, and banks; non-institutional investors include citizens and legal persons above the age of 18, as well as foreigners. In order to purchase stock, investors must go through intermediaries, such as brokers. There are 26 brokerage houses associated with the SSE, and while investors can make their own purchases online, these brokers must finalize all transactions.

(Rudy Blosio, Mike Dalton, and Dustin Brahman become brokers for the day)

Similar to the NYSE’s NASDAQ and DJI, some of the SSE’s main stocks are broken up into equity indexes, such as IPSA and IGPA; there is also the Inter-10, which consists of the NYSE’s top 10 publicly traded stocks. The SSE is a privately owned company, with 11 members making up its board of directors. Since it is privately owned, it is also listed on the market, and has stock available for purchase. The SSE is highly correlated with the U.S. stock market, so it operates during similar hours. During the summer, trade is open from 9:30am – 5pm; during the winter, it is open from 9:30am – 4pm. In order to make international trading more accessible, the SSE joined the Integrated Latin American Market, otherwise known as MILA, in 2011. MILA consists of Chile, Peru, Columbia, and Mexico, and with more than 700 titles to invest in, it has greatly stimulated the SSE and Chile’s economy.

(SSE brokers finalizing stock transactions)

After the presentation, we were lucky enough to get the chance to tour the trading floor. It consisted of a giant, real-time electronic billboard, which was implemented in 1993, as well as 26 computers, one for each brokerage house. We toured the floor while the market was still open, so we got to see some live trades taking place. The presentation and visit to the Santiago Stock Exchange was an event like no other. It was extremely relevant, as most students are studying business at Bryant, and put into perspective how large the international economy really is. Some students had some positive insights regarding the experience:

“The presentation was very informative, and it was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the Chilean and U.S. stock markets.”

-Griffin Casey

            “The volatility of the market makes me want to explore Chilean stock options.”

-Matt Lawson

“I really feel that I expanded my horizons and gained a new perspective on how economics work around the world.”

-Morgan Dickson

(Group picture on the trading floor)

Wayra Visit

"To me entrepreneurship is a lifestyle." -Wayra entrepreneur

This morning we visited Wayra Acadamy in Santiago where we listened to Claudio Barahona, the Business Manager for the Chilean Wayra academy present about the corporation's successes and the challenges.

 Wayra is a corporate business accelerator that works with entrepreneurs who specialize in the technology and telecommunication field. The corporation has 24 locations world wide in countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, and Germany. Each year thousands of hopeful entrepreneurs apply to receive assistance and funding and, more importantly, become part of the innovative and exciting world that is the Wayra.

Baharona presenting to our class

The entrepreneurs are put through an intensive interview and application process in which Wayra executives look for five key elements that the entrepreneurs must have in order to be successful in their acceleration program. One of these elements stood out in particular because of its relevance in Bryant University's curriculum model. Baharona explained that one of the most important things they look for when choosing which entrepreneurs they are going to work with is balance. For example, they are looking for someone who has both the business skills to understand the financial side of making their idea a success but they also need to have a solid understanding and background in the given field that their idea pertains to. In other words they are looking for someone who has a well rounded education, this is promising to hear given that Bryant prides itself on creating well rounded students who have experience in both the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Out of the thousands of hopefuls five to eight eager entrepreneurs are accepted into the Wayra twelve month acceleration program. The lucky few are then given anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 and in return give Wayra 5-10% equity in their business. Over the next twelve months they have the opportunity to work in Wayra's facilities with the 13,000 employees they have world wide. Barahona explained that they work with the entrepreneurs to create a sustainable product. The process that they use to do this paralleled that of the "design thinking" model that freshmen at Bryant University are immersed in during the Bryant IDEA program. Hearing this confirmed that Bryant students are well prepared with real life skills that are currently being implemented on a global scale.

Wayra believes in the motto "Success is 1% the idea and 99% execution." That being said, Wayra recognizes that not all of the entrepreneurs ideas will be successful. Still, the corporation is confident that the profits made from their successes will compensate for the losses. The Wayra Chile location has nearly a one to one success to failure ratio and has consistently made a profit in all of the five years they have been running the acceleration program.

A blackboard in one of Wayra's lounge areas that displays some inspiring words of wisdom written by the entrepreneurs currently in the 12 month program.

Barahona concluded his presentation with commercials from a few of their successful programs. Their successes ranged from applications that are used to assist musicians and engineers to programs that allow television watchers to view real time updates on social media directly on their television screen. These videos clearly interested many of the members of our group as, he followed this up with an in depth question and answer session.

John with his t-shirt

Just when it seemed as though his presentation was over he told the group that he had a present for us. The problem was his present was a single t-shirt and there were forty one students in the room. He had a creative solution, however. Barahona challenged all of us to a simultaneous game of rock, paper, scissors. After the first count of three he knocked about half of the room out of the game and it came to a final dual between Keighan and John. John emerged triumphant and proudly showed off his new Wayra t-shirt.


This visit was eye opening in that it showed us the energetic and quirky side of the business world as opposed to more dry and repetitive side that many of us have seen through either internships, job experience, or through friends and family. Additionally, we were able to see that the eduction that we are currently receiving at Bryant is truly going to prepare us well for our future careers in whatever field they may be. After the visit was concluded many students had enthusiastic reviews stating that:

"I enjoyed how they focused on helping companies start up in their own countries instead of helping them move to America." Ryan Frank

"I loved how expansive Wayra was and how it was full fledged immediately in multiple locations across the globe." Charles Papagiannopoulos
"Interesting how four guys can run an entire start up accelerator when there are so many aspects to a business and these guys have to control and improve all of them with each start up they invest in" Matt Gosselin

If you are interested in learning more about Wayra, feel free to visit their website using the link below or check out their Twitter @wayrachile and the hashtags

#wayrapower and #wayrafamily

Www.wayra.org/joinus

Our Tour Guide Through Chile

As soon as we got to Chile we had no idea how it was going to compare to being in Argentina. We walked off the plane and saw a woman holding a sign that said Bryant University. This was our tour guide Francisca! Before we started any of our adventures we got to learn a little bit about her background. She was born in Arlington, Virginia and moved to Chile when she was about eight years old. She learned a lot of her Spanish from speaking with her parents but she also went to an elementary school in a Latin neighborhood so she was able to learn a lot through going to school. She was influenced to learn about the history of different places in Chile because her mother was very into it. She has never done any classes for tourism but has been in the industry for two years and does a lot of research through taking tours herself. Her biggest reason for knowing so much was that she had a lot of pride in her country.

Francisca always kept us moving around the city. From the beginning we were doing walking and boat tours around the city. Through Viña del Mar and Santiago we did many activities that everyone enjoyed and did not have much down time to be bored. From speaking with a few of the students on the trip it was easy to tell that we would not have been able to travel and learn as easy as we did without Francisca. Dustin thought she was very enthusiastic and enjoyed learning from her and asking her questions. Michael loved that Francisca was so informative and could answer any question that she asked. Liam though she was very helpful in getting us around the city and always making sure that we were having a good time. Although we were always on the move and may have just wanted to spend the day sleeping, we were happy to have all of the experiences that we did while we were here. 

              Everyone has enjoyed their time with Francisca and we will be sad to not only leave the city but to leave our tour guide that has helped us had an amazing time while in Chile. She allowed us to learn about her country in a way that made us wanted to stay here and that made some people even think about studying abroad in Chile for a semester. We thank her for everything that she has done for us and hope she gets to continue doing what she loves in her city. 

Pueblito Los Dominicanos

Greetings from south of the equator! As we reach the final countdown for our time here in South America (cue the sad music) we had some time today to shop for friends, family, and ourselves. 

After our business meeting this morning with Wayra, an entrepreneur accelerator in Santiago, we traveled to a place on the outskirts of Santiago called, "Pueblito Los Dominicanos". This area originated as a Catholic Church where merchants would go on weekends to sell their goods. Over time, as the success of the area grew, the merchants began to work throughout the entirety of the week and it transformed into a stable marketplace. Approximately 25 years ago Pueblito Los Dominicanos became an official establishment where each seller has their own space in adobe homes in order to showcase their finest handmade products. I talked to Kevin who thought the interaction with the shop owners was the most intriguing part of the stop. "From shop to shop, they were very friendly and accommodating with the American dollar when we lacked the Chilean peso," he said. In regard to price, it varies from store to store, however the high quality of the products is often reflected in a higher price.

The entrance to Pueblito Los Dominicanos
Hola Profesora Gomez!

Upon entering Pueblito Los Dominicanos, the rich culture that comprises Chile is immediately felt.  Each shop has a unique flare, whether it be leather, woodwork, ceramic, knit, copper, paint, etc., and the talent that these craftsmen and craftswomen have is incredible and one of a kind. The attention to detail in each product is prominent, and often times, is made within the walls of their quaint shops. 

One of the ally ways in the village

After meandering around the village of shops for some time, a lunch break was long overdue. A few friends and I stopped at a cafe for a bite to eat where we enjoyed a Latin American favorite, empanadas. Holly even said that she had to have her last bite of empanada before she left for the states, so the decision was easy. Following lunch, we wasted no time, and got right back to shopping.

  

Overall, it was a very successful pit stop in the middle of our busy day. Marta worded the experience perfectly, beyond really liking it, she continued to say, "There were a lot of artisan crafts and it seemed more genuine than other shopping opportunities we have had on the whole SIE trip."  A bonus, we were able to pick up some last minute gifts for loved ones back home before our quickly approaching departure, all while further immersing ourselves in the rich Chilean culture. 

Some of the girls showing off their purchases
From left to right: Maggie, Katie, Emily, Taylor, Holly, Ale

And now off to our next stop, the Santiago Stock Exchange!

The Am Cham Visit

The Chilean – American Chamber of Commerce (Am Cham), was our groups’ first destination of the day. We had Ricardo and Pilar, a legal advisor, start off the presentation by speaking about the main functions of Am Cham.

We then had Roberto take over and speak about the progression of Chile, from an underdeveloped to a developing country on the basis of social, political and economic factors. His presentation was segregated into three sections, the reality check and challenges, Chile’s development strategies, and the final results.

The Reality Check:

Roberto began by speaking about the geographical and climatic diversity of Chile, following which he put up a few facts about the country’s economy. Currently, Chile’s total level of output is equivalent to that of just one American company like P&G, which I found astounding. Chile is also only responsible for 0.4% of world imports whereas America stands at 13%.

Development Strategy:

Roberto spoke about the different strategies implemented in the country over the years. Until 1973 Chile followed the import substitution method, in which people produced their own goods rather than trading internationally. This period had high tariffs and the result was a rise in inflation. Between 1974 and 1989, the country followed the theory put forward by the Chicago Boys. They started producing what they were good at, in order to get more efficient. As a result, tariffs were lowered during this period, and resources were allocated based on market advantage. Since the 1990s Chile has implemented free trade agreements in order to increase trade with the outside world. They currently have 24 FTAs with 63 countries around the world.

Results:

As a result of the currently implemented strategies, Chile have been seeing a continuous growth in their economy, with a GDP of $268 Billion and an unemployment rate of 6.1% as of 2014.

Thoughts about the presentation:

On the whole, the presentation was very informative and straight forward, one that the students found easy to interpret. Matt Gosselin thought of Roberto to be a very intelligent and passionate man, who did a phenomenal job presenting the matter. Griffin Casey enjoyed the comparisons made between Chile and the United States in terms of their geography and economy, since it gave a real life perspective about the topic. Vidur Relan was quite pleased with the range of topics covered by Roberto and the overall flow of the presentation.  

Leaving Our Mark on Santiago

Our initials on the lock.

Our lock on the bridge.

On January 19th, as you may have read in a previous blog, we all participated in the city games. It was a great experience getting around Santiago on our own and seeing some amazing sights. During the city games, our group was composed of Katie Griffin, Maggie Carbin, Emily Helenius and Holly Kaufman. During our excursion, we found a beautiful lock key bridge going over a river. We were all excited and wanted to participate. A vendor on the bridge was selling the locks for only about $2.00 so we could not pass it up. We decided to leave our mark on Santiago and hope that maybe, someday, someone with affiliation to Bryant may see this and feel the same happiness we did in placing it there.

Maggie Carbin putting the lock on the bridge.

Santiago, Hello!

            ¡Hola todos! We are currently residing in the beautiful Santiago, where the Andes Mountains are found at every direction you look. Our environment changed immensely from the oceans to the mountain ranges, but that just shows how much Chile has to offer.

We are now at the Hoteles Plazaelbosque, which is a fifteen-story tall building with a view that one could have always asked for. There is a park next to the hotel, where people skate, walk around, and relax in. Even more, there is the Parque Arauco near this park, too, which is the mall that provides plenty of options to dine and shop. For extra convenience, there is a large supermarket near this hotel, too, that we can purchase water and snacks for our trip without worry!        

Our Hotel

The View from the Hotel

I asked my classmate, Laura Hayes, on her thoughts about our newest destination. She is in love with Santiago because it is beautiful from the architecture and mountains, the people are very nice here, and it reminds her a lot of her trips in Europe. And she is not the only one to think that this place is stunning! We went to the mall last night for comida (food), and had a decent meal at Cocina Chile, but what made the experience at the restaurant even better there was the waiter, Martin. We were able to know him very well and he told us about some of the areas around Santiago. Many other students also went to this mall for food, and I believe that they had a good night here.         

 

El Parque Arauco

Karine Mikitarian noticed a lot more people in the area than Buenos Aires. There were plenty more street vendors who sell hand-crafted jewelries, toys, and more, perfect of souvenirs. She feels comfortable in Santiago due to the people she have talked to and the places she has seen.

Marta Gravier Trujillo-Bencomo talked about the climate of this country. Due to the intense heat wave just earlier, there was an uncontained fire that has occurred. Smoke blanketed the city, and it was difficult to see even the Andes Mountains. Thankfully the fire has seemed to die down slightly, but the smoke still remains. Many other students have been finding themselves sunburnt, too, something they did not expect to happen in a January day. Still, we are applying more sunscreen and drinking plenty of water to keep ourselves safe from the sun while still enjoying our trip.

            Overall, we are very excited to be in Santiago and wish to see even more! We hope to see you join us more on our adventures in Santiago, Chile! ¡Adios! 

Healthy Living in Chile

Being abroad, it is easy to fall off track of a healthy lifestyle. However, there is still plenty of opportunities to keep up with healthy living!

Having many students on our trip that are either athletes or just very active on their own, health is important to them. The first way there is to get in exercise is walking up the countless hills in Chile. The second day in Chile, we went to Valparaiso to go on a graffiti tour. Not only was the art incredible to see, it was a great workout going up and down the hill!

In Valparaiso there was a set of stairs and to get down a slide! (Matt G and Matt L were spotted on the slide numerous times)

During the Santiago City Game we walked up hundreds of stairs. Walking to see The Statue of the Virgin was a hike and that was only the first task!  The game continued by walking several miles to go to the different famous sites in Santiago. Today as seen in other posts we hiked on the Andes Mountains! The site was breathtaking so it didn’t even feel like a workout, but it certainly was.

Students hiking on the Andes

The second way to stay in shape is exercising on your own! Emily H. and Chelsea went on a run through the streets of Santiago, Chile one day. This was a great way to explore the hotel's surrounding area and stay active. The gym has a lot of great equipment that can help with different varieties of workouts! There are weights, cable machines, and cardio machines. Matt L. has been to the gym several times to go running on the treadmill, or lifting weights with Eric. Right next to the gym is the pool to either swim around in or do laps in depending how crowded it is. We might not have a lot of free time but if you manage your time right it is easy to get in a quick workout!

The hotel gym

Many students have been going to the pool after long days of walking.

The food is amazing in South America, another way to stay healthy is choosing good meals. It is easy to get sucked into eating a piece of cake… two but eating well balanced meals can be easy! Luckily for us, our breakfast the hotel provides is abundant with fresh fruit, eggs, whole wheat bread, and yogurt. Chile is known for their seafood, especially salmon and sea bass which are both high in protein. Along with that you can usually choose rice, veggies, or roasted potatoes. Since we are out and about all day it is very important to keep hydrated! Water is your best friend here.

This salmon and rice is from La Tasco De Altamar right near the hotel in Santiago!

This is a salad from Fauna in Valparaiso. There were many healthy options!

Most importantly is getting enough sleep. There is always time in America to get back on track with exercising and eating healthy but you can’t get back the sleep you missed. As exciting as it is to be in another country that seems to never sleep, we have to make sure we take care of ourselves first by sleeping and eating right.

Valpaíraso Graffiti Tour

Sunday was our second day in La Viña del Mar, Chile. Our first activity for the day was traveling to Valpaíraso, a neighboring city, for a walking graffiti tour. Our tour began in the Plaza Sotomayor with a brief history of the city. We learned that the beautiful blue castle-like building located in the plaza is currently Navy Headquarters of the Chilean Navy and is called El Edificio de la Comandancia Naval.

El Edificio de la Comandancia Naval

We then continued the tour by going to the top of one of the hills in Valpaíraso and then walking down through the streets and seeing and learning about the graffiti.

In Valpaíraso, we learned that although graffiti is technically illegal, it is “legal” to paint on a building with the owner’s permission. I also asked the tour guide what happens if someone paints over someone else’s artwork. He said that it is very disrespectful and even can be dangerous to do so. He also said that people who paint over other people’s art without permission are called TOYS which means “tag on your stuff”.

Emily Helenius (left) and Sarah Bondar (right)

Claire Newman said her favorite piece was the mural on Hostal Acuarela by the street artist that goes by the name of Mono Type. The story behind this mural is that a couple coming to Valpaíraso for a graffiti festival had nowhere to stay and made a deal with the owner of the hostel to paint a mural for the hostel in exchange for a place to stay.

By Mono Type

One of my favorite pieces from the tour was a painting of an elderly lady painted by Ella and Pitr, a couple from France. The couple has a European style of graffiti. The European style of graffiti is known to use mostly black and white colors and occasionally some red as can be seen in this piece.

By Ella and Pitr

After the tour we had the opportunity to walk around and explore for a little and have lunch on our own. Hannah Kirby, Matthew Lawson, Emily Jansson, Claire Newman, and I chose to have lunch at a restaurant on a balcony that was highly recommended by our tour guides called Fauna. The view from the restaurant was incredible and Hannah said the lunch was one of the best meals she had eaten throughout the whole trip.

The three images above are of Valpaíraso

Valpaíraso is not like any city I have seen before. It is so unique and colorful, with graffiti artwork on every corner. I never thought of graffiti as an art until I got to see all these amazing paintings and murals everywhere with such intricate details, each having a meaning of their own.

Chickens for Days

Today, we toured Gallina Feliz, or in English, the Happy Hen. It is one of the few organic farms located in Chile (though its organic certification has been temporarily suspended due to nonorganic ingredients in the chicken feed). A two hour bus ride up a bumpy and endlessly curving road took us through the beginnings of the Andes Mountains and into farm country. This would be an interesting visit, and our first true farm visit during this program. Being very aware of the farming conditions in the industrial farms that dominate the States, I was keen to see if Chile held higher standards for their animal producers. While this farm fell short of my expectations, they do monumentally better than farms in the US. This can start a whole conversation on societal values and an understanding as to why the US industrializes the lives of animals more than other countries, who value the quality of the animals they produce.

The farm itself is worked on manually by eight employees, and started up about ten years ago. The owner of the land came to live at the property, but realized there was a high demand for eggs. Seeing a marketable opportunity, the owner began a chicken farm from scratch. There are 10,000 hens on site, producing one egg a day, and fed a plant-based feed. While some chickens roamed around, the majority were kept in small house-cage structures. Predictably, the placed smelled of farm animal and other unmentionable fumes, natural to the nature of the farm life. Gallina Feliz sells 90% of their egg production to retail, and the others are either thrown away or sold elsewhere. They plan on growing, as we saw them building another hen house, some 15 feet by 6 feet sort of size. Hopefully there is a second house in progress so that the hens can move more freely.

The littlest of the chicks

While visiting Gallina Feliz was a new experience, it made students wonder at the conditions at farms back home. My friend Kevin commented, stating: "I hope that the States are more regulated than here. Apparently, they treat their chickens really well compared to others, but it seemed like they didn't."

Another student, Vraajesh, said: "I feel the conditions were really poor. The farm was solely for business purposes and had no regards for the lives. But then again, that's how farms function in the animal business. The only plus side was that the chickens weren't being artificially injected with anything."

Finally, my roommate, Karine, said: "The US should consider adopting some Chilean farming methods. Having more local smaller farms around the US, allowing the product to be fresh and of better quality."

This business meeting was eye-opening, and made us think a little deeper than bottom lines in the business sector. It offered us insight to the food industry, and a business that has to feed hundreds of people. It is fascinating to learn how that works, the amount of work left to improve the industry, and realizing the real work we as business students need to focus on.

Patio Bella Vista

This afternoon after our business visit to AmCham we stopped at Patio Bella Vista for lunch and shopping. The bus dropped us off and we had an hour to explore and grab a bite to eat. A group of people decided to stop at The Pizza Factory where they enjoyed different kinds of thin crust pizza. Brian Forbes decided to try Hawaiian pizza for the first time! SIE has provided a great opportunity for each of us to step out of our comfort zone and try new things.  Another group ate at Puerto Bella Vista, were they enjoyed different seafood meals. They all left with very full stomachs.

A group of friends and I ate at Openbox Restobar overlooking the Patio Bella Vista. We have been very lucky with the beautiful weather for it allows us to take in the whole outdoor environment and atmosphere that this country has to offer.  At Openbox Restobar we decided to try the different selection of sushi options. Maggie Carbin loved the salmon avocado rolls and really enjoyed the lively area. From our table we could see the different shops and other restaurants in the area.

Beautiful Buganbilias flowers and view overlooking the Patio Bella Vista. 

 

Left Chelsea Doucette and right Katie Griffin enjoying their sushi.

Another group of students decided to spend the rest of their time poking around the different shops. The stores were all unique having their own individual flare with artwork and beautiful flowers throughout the shopping area.

Above is a photo of the artwork that lined the wall on one of the corners. 

Sarah Bondar and many other girls bought different jewelry items for themselves and for gifts. Dustin Braman and Mike Dalton bought themselves fanny packs to be more efficient while walking around the city.  Now we are off to our next business visit Gallina Feliz, after taking in more of the culture and beauty that Chile has to offer.