The rest of Rio was quite glorious. We had wonderful visits with O Globo and Petrobras. We went to the O Globo printing facility. It was amazing to see the process a newspaper takes to become a newspaper. Petrobras is one of the leading oil companies in Brazil and in the world.
We finally found a semi-affordable laundry. Hooray! After picking it up we found the thing that I have been waiting for. Besides the sandy beach and amazing views, the thing I remember most about Rio from 4 years ago was...stuffed churros! The stand cooks the churros and then the vendor fills them with chocolate or dulche de leche. Can you spell yummy? So good!
After a morning at the Corcovado and the beach, many of us then went to a Samba Club called Rio Scenarium Saturday night. What an experience. It was a club filled with movie props and eclectic furniture. The music was fabulous and it was a great opportunity to have fun together.
Sunday morning was so nice to catch up on some much needed sleep and then one more walk on the beach.
Our flight to Sao Paulo was short and sweet. I love domestic airports...much less hectic and crowded. Sao Paulo is a crazy busy city. There are skyscrapers and cars everywhere! The next few days are filled with amazing visits! Love it!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Rainy Rio
So we have arrived in Rio but it has been a rainy start. We had an early morning start at PUC-Rio. The private Catholic University here in Rio. After a wonderful lunch with the faculty and the Dean, we went up to Sugarloaf. Altough it was foggy, windy and begain to rain a bit, it was breathtaking. I promise pictures will come :)
After we returned to the Hotel the rain came down in sheets. Hopefully it will clear up over the weekend in time for our opportunity to enjoy the beach right outside our windows.
It was another "just keep swimming" day. But I know I am being refined by the challenges and rewarded with the joys.
After we returned to the Hotel the rain came down in sheets. Hopefully it will clear up over the weekend in time for our opportunity to enjoy the beach right outside our windows.
It was another "just keep swimming" day. But I know I am being refined by the challenges and rewarded with the joys.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Chilly Chile
It has been a wonderful 6 days in Chile. I will have to wait to post pictures until we get to a hotel with a little faster internet access.
We were hosted by Univdersidad Catolica in Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. On Friday we took a bus to Quillota to the Agricultural College. Universities in Chile are different than how most American Universities are structured. They do not have a central campus. Each college (business, agriculture, art etc) are located in different locations around the 2 cities.
A bit of a curve ball happened when our amazing hosts told us that the students had gone on strike and they had taken over the central offices and other buildings. It was very interensting because they did not seem like this was too nerve racking or out of the ordinary. I guess it is because they are used to this type of thing in Chile. It did put a slight kink in our plans, but we tried to take it in stride. We had a wonderful hosted lunch and the evening free.
On Saturday we were met by 3 students (who graciously did not go on strike...yet) took us on a walking tour of Valparaiso. This is always a highlight and the students were very happy to talk to the students and see the colorful city of Valparaiso.
It was fun to remember being here 4 years ago. Some things have changed, but much is exactly the same.
Most of the group went together to church on Sunday. It was fun to see the members and missionaries looks of suprise as a group of 20+ Americans walk into Sacrament Meeting. One of the students went up and bore his testimony. He served in southern Chile. It was a nice and relaxing day. The beach is rocky but beautiful. I know the students fell in love with this beautiful area. The rains came late Sunday afternoon. It was quite a down pour and made me grateful for an umbrella.
Monday we were originally going to travel to the university, but because of the strike we had the lecture in the hotel. After a lovely lunch we loaded the bus and visited CSAV shipping company. I am always so impressed by the hospitality and generosity of the companies we visit. We then travelded the hour and a half to Santiago.
Our guide informed me that the hotel we originally had booked had some issues with flooding from the rain. They had not had rain like this in over a year. Discovering leaks the hard way :) It is times like this that I am so grateful for wonderful travel agents that can fix these problems for us. We ended up in a nice hotel perfectly situated in downtown Santiago.
Paul and I took a small group of students to the offices of Banco Santander for an informal question & answer session Tuesday morning. We all walked around the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral. It was interesting to get a flashback to March and the many Cathedrals of Italy I was blessed to visit. There have been some interesting coorelations between trips. Common threads weave their way throug all the trips I have been a part of.
We traveled to Weir Minerals and had a wonderful visit and tour. This company manufactures pumps and equipment needed in the mining industry. They were kind enough to answer all the questions and served us unexpected but welcome refreshments.
There have been quite a few little bumps in the road but all-in-all we are doing well. Off to Rio tomorrow. A day of flying and changing planes is ahead. Sometimes I feel like I am herding sheep...but I feel very blessed to be learning the ropes and associating with these people.
Pictures and more stories to come! Loves from the last night in Chile!
We were hosted by Univdersidad Catolica in Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. On Friday we took a bus to Quillota to the Agricultural College. Universities in Chile are different than how most American Universities are structured. They do not have a central campus. Each college (business, agriculture, art etc) are located in different locations around the 2 cities.
A bit of a curve ball happened when our amazing hosts told us that the students had gone on strike and they had taken over the central offices and other buildings. It was very interensting because they did not seem like this was too nerve racking or out of the ordinary. I guess it is because they are used to this type of thing in Chile. It did put a slight kink in our plans, but we tried to take it in stride. We had a wonderful hosted lunch and the evening free.
On Saturday we were met by 3 students (who graciously did not go on strike...yet) took us on a walking tour of Valparaiso. This is always a highlight and the students were very happy to talk to the students and see the colorful city of Valparaiso.
It was fun to remember being here 4 years ago. Some things have changed, but much is exactly the same.
Most of the group went together to church on Sunday. It was fun to see the members and missionaries looks of suprise as a group of 20+ Americans walk into Sacrament Meeting. One of the students went up and bore his testimony. He served in southern Chile. It was a nice and relaxing day. The beach is rocky but beautiful. I know the students fell in love with this beautiful area. The rains came late Sunday afternoon. It was quite a down pour and made me grateful for an umbrella.
Monday we were originally going to travel to the university, but because of the strike we had the lecture in the hotel. After a lovely lunch we loaded the bus and visited CSAV shipping company. I am always so impressed by the hospitality and generosity of the companies we visit. We then travelded the hour and a half to Santiago.
Our guide informed me that the hotel we originally had booked had some issues with flooding from the rain. They had not had rain like this in over a year. Discovering leaks the hard way :) It is times like this that I am so grateful for wonderful travel agents that can fix these problems for us. We ended up in a nice hotel perfectly situated in downtown Santiago.
Paul and I took a small group of students to the offices of Banco Santander for an informal question & answer session Tuesday morning. We all walked around the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral. It was interesting to get a flashback to March and the many Cathedrals of Italy I was blessed to visit. There have been some interesting coorelations between trips. Common threads weave their way throug all the trips I have been a part of.
We traveled to Weir Minerals and had a wonderful visit and tour. This company manufactures pumps and equipment needed in the mining industry. They were kind enough to answer all the questions and served us unexpected but welcome refreshments.
There have been quite a few little bumps in the road but all-in-all we are doing well. Off to Rio tomorrow. A day of flying and changing planes is ahead. Sometimes I feel like I am herding sheep...but I feel very blessed to be learning the ropes and associating with these people.
Pictures and more stories to come! Loves from the last night in Chile!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
South America At Last
Finally arrived in Chile! It has been a long and stressful 5 months in preparation for this trip, but we are finally here! Vina del Mar and Valparaiso Chile are first up.
For those of you who don't know, I am the Program Coordinator for Global Enrichment at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. I facilitate and manage the logistics for the Summer programs. Specifically the South America Program this year.
We left Logan at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. June 1, 2011. It has been a whirlwind day of travel with some unexpected bumps, but after 24 hours of travel and 14 hours in the air...overall it was a relatively smooth and successful journey.
We are all happy to be out of the airplane on on solid ground! After a much needed nap we all went out and explored a bit of the city. It is always an adventure making sure everyone can access their money, buy lunch, get bottled water etc. All the universal hurddles of group travel. We walked along the beach in Vina. It was a beautiful day.
It is definitely chilly in Chile! They are entering winter in a couple of weeks. I often wonder why I am trading my Logan summers for South American winter, but then I see a view like this and it makes it all worth it!
After cleaning 2 stores out of bottled water... we walked to the Reloj de Flores. It is a famous flower clock in Vina that was given to the city by the Swiss.
Looking forward to the beginning of the company and university visits tomorrow.
Today was great, life is good!
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