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!