Thursday, May 15

Today was our last full day in Chile and I can't believe that the trip is coming to an end. We started the day off with our last company visit, Multiplant which grows and sells ornamental plants. We all kind of thought that we wouldn't enjoy this company visit as much as the other, just because it seemed like the smallest and least interesting of all the companies. However, it was a lot more enjoyable than some of the other visits in which we only received lectures on the company. At Multiplant, the owner of the company took us through the greenhouses and showed us the different plants that they are currently growing. I found it interesting that they company is trying to make a big push for more tourism and are trying to attract more visitors. So far, they have tried to do so by adding a llama farm and a gift shop, but I think they have more plans for the future.

After Multiplant, we went to what was listed on our itinerary as 'day at the farm." Turns out that "farm" means spa. I was pretty excited because I thought it would be nice to get a massage or manicure and just spend the day relaxing. Unfortunately however, the spa was completely booked already and we could not get any appointments. Instead, we spent the entire day laying out in the sun, playing cards and ping-pong, and drinking the endless amounts of free beer. All in all, I enjoyed having a day to relax but at the same time, it would have been nice to have another visit to Santiago to do more sight-seeing. I guess I am just going to have to add more things to my list of things to do when I come back to Chile some day.

After the bus ride back to Vina Del Mar, we had our farewell dinner at Diego pizza. We gave the Chilean students Pitt hats, and they gave us really nice polos that have the logos of both the University of Santa maria and the University of Pittsburgh. Tomorrow, we leave and I am feeling that I am going to miss being in Chile a lot.