We arrived in Chile around 7ish this morning, and proceeded through the three step entry process which went smoother than expected. We were required to pay our $131 entry fee in brand new untarnished bills, and then shuttled over to wait in the line to hand in our health forms. We were then taken to pick up and get our luggage scanned to make sure we were not bringing in anything prohibited. I threw out my bagel and jelly as a precaution and protection from a hefty fine. Never in my life had I wished I spoke spanish more than today!!
We all napped a bit on the bus ride to the hotel but unpacked quickly and hit the streets to explore. We walked along the beach and began to get our bearings around Vina del Mar. We settled on pizza (an albeit not very adventurous choice) which ended up pretty tasty and loaded with toppings. After a brief stop back at the hotel we trekked to the mall which was about 20 minutes from where we were staying. We walked through the more residential part of Vina which had some lovely properties. Upon exploring the mall we found multiple McDonalds and the store Zara that I had heard about, upon closer inspection it looked like comparable to a H&M. I have to say we stood out a as a group of fourteen Americans, and although the differences were subtle our English was a bit of a tip-off.
We walked back along the beach and past some craft vendors as well as sand sculptors. I was sure to dip my toes into the Pacific. All quite tired from our long day we retreated to our rooms for naps before our group dinner at Margarita, a Mexican restaurant at 7. After a long but tasty dinner we grabbed our computers, bought some snacks at a gas station, and planted ourselves at McDonalds to write home and post some of our recollections on our blogs.
Tomorrow we will have an early morning heading off to the university for some lectures on culture and business in Chile! Looking forward to day two of my first international experience. Will write soon!
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