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| Courtesy photo |
| The J460 students traveled to Santiago, Chile, to explore media and the culture. |
The trip included educational and leisure activities. Associate professor Bonnie Brownlee led the trip.
The class work, with a focus on Chile, emphasizes the media environment in Latin America, including the historical, economic, political, legal and societal aspects.
View a slideshow of the trip:
Itinerary:
May 12: TravelUpdate: Arrived safely.
May 13: Bus tour of city; dinner at Los Buenos Muchachos
Update: Viewed little earthquake damage; took advantage of much-needed Chilean coffee
May 14: Universidad Católica for Viernes de Medios and El Mercurio newspaper
Update: Rainy but productive day in which all put their Spanish skills to the test
May 15: The Andes, lunch, hiking, horseback riding, ziplining in the montañas
Update: The rain cleared for a spectacular day.
May 16: Special day planned in Santiago
Update: A treasure hunt, seafood and observations
May 17: CNN Chile, Concha y Toro vineyard tour
Update: Visiting broadcasters, sampling local food and drink
May 18: Visit to a relief organization dealing with earthquake issues and visit to Radio Cooperativa
Update: Saw shanty towns and visited the radio station
May 19: Universidad Católica visit to one of the classes
Update: Talked to students, and some of the group went out reporting with Chilean students
May 20: Viña del Mar y Valparaíso, with a walking tour that includes a visit to Pablo Neruda’s home; a walk down to the sea
Update: All went as planned for a full day of activity.
May 21: Free day
Update: Last minute shopping, already reminiscing.
May 22: Return
Update: Arrived safely!
Trip reports:
May 22: Reflections and safe arrival home
By Rachel Krasnow
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| Courtesy photo |
| From left, Rachel Krasnow, Sarah Hutchins, Meg Ely, Courtney Miller, Kim Cook and David Spreckman admire the view. |
Our final day of travel began with a nine-hour overnight flight from Santiago to Dallas, Texas. Although sleeping on planes can be difficult, we did get a final taste of Chilean cuisine on board with a caramel flan dessert served with dinner.
All of us wanted to improve our Spanish speaking skills while abroad. I sat beside a Chilean woman and continued to practice my Spanish for the duration of the flight. It will be hard returning to saying “thank you” instead of “gracias.”
After arriving at the Dallas airport, we were ready to be back home in Indiana. Although several of us had difficulty going through customs with some souvenirs, we successfully boarded our flight.
Although our trip to Santiago is over, I will never forget the things that we shared with each other and learned during this expedition. Where else in the world would we be able to drink Pisco sours, zip-line through the Andes Mountains and work with Chilean journalism students on reporting projects?
We were exposed to so many different aspects of Chile, and through each new experience, we grew and bonded as a group. As journalists, we observed first-hand how Chilean media works.
As travelers, we embedded ourselves in Santiago and absorbed every ounce of Chilean culture that we could.
Our trip was an amazing way to come full circle with our “Media in Latin America” course and as both students and journalists, it gave us a better understanding of Chile and the importance of media word-wide.
We were exposed to so many different aspects of Chile, and through each new experience, we grew and bonded as a group. As journalists, we observed first-hand how Chilean media works.
As travelers, we embedded ourselves in Santiago and absorbed every ounce of Chilean culture that we could.
Our trip was an amazing way to come full circle with our “Media in Latin America” course and as both students and journalists, it gave us a better understanding of Chile and the importance of media word-wide.
May 21: Free day to explore — and shop
By Jessica Haney
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| Photo by Jessica Haney |
| The last day provided some free time for shopping and last minute sight-seeing. |
Before that, we enjoyed our first and only “free day” in Santiago. For many of us, this morning was reserved for sleep catch-up. After that, we split up and designed our own itineraries for the day.
Because we have been so busy this week, lots of us found this to be a great day for leisurely sightseeing and souvenir shopping. Today was a national holiday in Chile, marking the anniversary of the victory over Bolivia for the northern part of the country. The dispute over that land is still alive today. If we were in Valparaiso, we would see a national parade celebrating the event.
But in Santiago, the holiday was evident because the city lost its “bustle.” Most stores were closed. I went with a group of students to the Los Dominicos market on the outskirts of town, which was quiet, but lovely. The market had a more village-y feel, with many artists and handicrafts—not to mention beautiful caged birds, like peacocks and parrots. We stockpiled gifts for our families, our friends and ourselves.
Afterwards, we hit up other various markets in the city, like Bellavista and Santa Lucia. Since practicing my Spanish for a whole week, I finally got the courage to bargain for gifts and returned to the hotel with a bag full of goodies.
We said goodbye to our new friend, Muriel, from Catolica University, and took the tour bus for the last time to the airport, where we again exchanged farewells with our tour guide, Patricia.
Since we had time to kill before boarding our flight, we sat down as a class at “The Last Pisco Sour.” Nostalgia set in as we took turns highlighting our favorite parts of the trip. The Andes and the Valparaiso trips topped the list, but for everybody, the company is truly what made our visit so spectacular.
Tomorrow we’ll be back home again in Indiana, but our new relationships and experiences from Chile will be with us forever.
Afterwards, we hit up other various markets in the city, like Bellavista and Santa Lucia. Since practicing my Spanish for a whole week, I finally got the courage to bargain for gifts and returned to the hotel with a bag full of goodies.
We said goodbye to our new friend, Muriel, from Catolica University, and took the tour bus for the last time to the airport, where we again exchanged farewells with our tour guide, Patricia.
Since we had time to kill before boarding our flight, we sat down as a class at “The Last Pisco Sour.” Nostalgia set in as we took turns highlighting our favorite parts of the trip. The Andes and the Valparaiso trips topped the list, but for everybody, the company is truly what made our visit so spectacular.
Tomorrow we’ll be back home again in Indiana, but our new relationships and experiences from Chile will be with us forever.
May 20: Valparaiso and the Pacific
By Kristen Ditsch
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| Courtesy photo |
| Students found time at the end of a day of touring to dip their toes into the Pacific Ocean. |
We’ve indulged in Chilean food, learned the history of Chile and the role of the media, immersed ourselves in Chilean culture, and have fallen in love with this city of six million.
Today we ventured out of Santiago to Valparaiso for a day of coastal living. We visited La Sebastiana, the eclectically decorated home of Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda before walking through the streets of Valparaiso to admire the colorfully decorated buildings. Our tour guide explained that the homes of Valparaiso were originally painted bright colors by the fishermen so they could identify their homes more easily but the color has since spread and there exists a rainbow of seaside hills of tightly-packed homes.
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| Photo by Kristen Ditsch |
| A few students hadn’t seen the Pacific before, and all enjoyed a stroll at its edge. |
It was the perfect final full day to our trip before we head back to the United States tomorrow evening.
May 19: Visiting (and reporting) with students
By Kimberly Cook
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| Photo by Kimberly Cook |
| Zina Kumok, left, and Lauryn Gray explored Santiago during some free time. |
Afterward, we went out to a fabulous restaurant in downtown Santiago. We spent the afternoon shopping and visiting the General Cemetery where Salvador Allende was buried. Finally, we ate at Café del Ópera, where some of the Chilean students met us for dinner.
This trip continues to be full of surprises. One of the most rewarding experiences has been talking to Chilean journalism students about the issues that they care about most.
It’s hard to believe that we have only been here for a week.
May 18: Shanty towns and Radio Cooperativa
By Sarah Brubeck
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| Photo by Courtney Miller |
| The group visited a shanty town with Un Techo Para Chile, or Roofs for Chile, a group attempting to alleviate poverty by constructing apartment complexes. |
Yesterday, we were pampered with a three-course meal in the Andes and a wine tasting at a vineyard. But today we traveled to a part of the city that many Chileans try to hide from tourists: a shanty town.
Shanty towns show the discrepancy between the rich and the poor in Chile. Many of the homes are comparable in size with our hotel rooms at the Atton, with about five people living in each home. Children’s socks hang on clotheslines, dogs with protruding ribs wander the dirt paths between houses and a two room school house for the town’s 12-house community marks the height of the children on the wall with Winnie the Pooh stickers.
The 40 people who live in these homes stayed inside while we wandered their small bit of property. The discrepancy between the rich and the poor could be seen across the street at nice two-story homes. There are about 2,000 shanty towns in Chile, but these towns can be found in cities across Latin America. Un Techo Para Chile, or Roofs for Chile, is attempting to alleviate poverty by constructing apartment complexes that will house 180 families.
The complexes take about two years to build, and families are expected to work and sustain a life that will take them out of poverty. We visited the new homes that will be ready in December and the headquarters of Un Techo Para Chile. The organization has built about 20,000 temporary homes for Chileans since the earthquake, many of them in shanty towns.
We had a more light-hearted visit when we went to Radio Cooperativa in the afternoon. The station reaches residents throughout the entire country, which can’t be said for any TV station in Chile. When the earthquake hit, many Chileans received their first news about it from Radio Cooperativa.
We watched a woman being interviewed and witnessed how the reporters edit video. Much of the editing looked very similar to what we do with Audacity in our journalism classes.
Tomorrow we’re partnering with students from Universidad Catolica to help us report in Spanish. I know I’ll need the help.
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| Photo by Joe Coleman |
| Students visited the studios of Radio Cooperative, which reaches residents throughout Chile. |
We had a more light-hearted visit when we went to Radio Cooperativa in the afternoon. The station reaches residents throughout the entire country, which can’t be said for any TV station in Chile. When the earthquake hit, many Chileans received their first news about it from Radio Cooperativa.
We watched a woman being interviewed and witnessed how the reporters edit video. Much of the editing looked very similar to what we do with Audacity in our journalism classes.
Tomorrow we’re partnering with students from Universidad Catolica to help us report in Spanish. I know I’ll need the help.
May 17: Touring CNN, Concho y Toro
By Lauryn Gray
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| Courtesy photo |
| The students visited the studios of CNN, one of only four CNN locations outside the U.S. They toured the facility and sat down with the director of communications. |
Today was an incredible day that, for journalists, could not have started out any better. We visited CNN Chile, located in Ciudad Satelital on the outskirts of Santiago. CNN Chile was established 2008, one of only four other CNN establishments outside the United States. The others are in India, Turkey, and Spain.
We went to the main studio where the crew shoots all of programs and sat down in the reporters’ conference room with the CNN Chile director of communications.
After our CNN visit, our tour bus picked us up and took us to a restaurant called Casa Bosque near the Andes Mountains. We stood outside and looked at the mountains as servers handed us the Chilean national drink, pisco sours, and appetizers.
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| Photo by Courtney Miller |
| Students sampled the wines at Concho y Toro. |
After our several-hour lunch, we went to a beautiful winery called Concha y Toro. We went on a tour and tried two different types of wine, one white and one red (both were amazing). After the tour, we strolled around the winery and bought wine and souvenirs.
Today has been (yet another) extremely successful and adventurous day in Chile.
May 16: Observing Santiago
By David Spreckman
This morning, we were fortunate to be able to sleep in a little bit later than usual. We ate a quick breakfast and enjoyed a wonderful cup of Chilean coffee. After breakfast, we were separated into groups of three, and we were given a list of things to find throughout the city of Santiago. We left the hotel, hopped on the subway, and immediately began strategizing as to how we would find something patriotic, something religious, something old, something new.
Our journey began at Santa Lucia, an old military fort that is now a public park. It is magnificent. It is a long climb to the top, but the ascent is worth it when you see the remarkable overview of Santiago and the surrounding mountains. After that, we made our way to La Plaza de Armas, where the military orchestra was performing for a large gathering of Chileans.
We ate lunch at a famous fish market and it was spectacular. We all shared Chilean sea bass, calamari and scallops. The seafood here is phenomenal.
Something that I have noticed repeatedly while roaming the streets of Santiago is that the Chileans display a great amount of affection towards the homeless. We have seen very young children approach homeless men and give them money. We have also seen people providing them with food and even helping them eat it if they are incapable. That does not happen in the U.S. and it is something that I will always remember when I think about Chile.
We ate lunch at a famous fish market and it was spectacular. We all shared Chilean sea bass, calamari and scallops. The seafood here is phenomenal.
Something that I have noticed repeatedly while roaming the streets of Santiago is that the Chileans display a great amount of affection towards the homeless. We have seen very young children approach homeless men and give them money. We have also seen people providing them with food and even helping them eat it if they are incapable. That does not happen in the U.S. and it is something that I will always remember when I think about Chile.
May 15: Zip-lining and horseback riding in the Andes
By Meg Ely
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| Photo by Courtney Miller |
| From left, Lauryn Gray, Kristen Ditsch and Kim Cook anticipate the zip-line. |
After going to sleep with high hopes the rain would hold off, we woke up this morning to partly cloudy skies. For the first time since our arrival, the Andes mountain range was visible from downtown Santiago – peak into what we would be one the most scenic trips I have ever experienced.
The bus ride to the foothills of the mountains was only 45 minutes, after which we stopped at a small town to stretch our legs. Unfortunately, our instructor Bonnie Brownlee lost her small leather coin purse, which we all searched for in vain.
The setback did not seem to dampen anyone’s spirits, however, because after loading back on to the bus and into the mountain range, nothing could keep us down.
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| Photo by Meg Ely |
| The rain cleared in time for zip-lining and horseback riding in the Andes. |
Following another meal in a surprisingly fancy and modern restaurant, each of us decided to take the plunge and zip line across the large river that flows from the top of the snow peaked mountains. With no hesitation, I volunteered to go first. We were each afraid, but it was an exhilarating and breathtaking experience.
Afterwards the group split in two for another activity. The majority of us went horseback riding. Each rancher was gracious to help us, and the views were spectacular as the horses took us higher into the mountains then we would have been able to go by foot.
Although I am not sure what could top our experience Saturday in the Andes Mountains, tomorrow I am sure we are in for another treat. Chile never ceases to amaze.
May 14: Visiting Universidad Catolica and El Mercurio
By Sarah Hutchins
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| Photo by Sarah Hutchins |
| Professor-in-Residence Joe Coleman, a student from Universidad Catolica and associate professor Bonnie Brownlee figure out the strategy for getting around Santiago. |
We spent a rainy day in Santiago attending a lecture at Universidad Católica and touring the grounds of El Mercurio, the city’s leading newspaper. Despite the bad weather, we learned a lot about how journalists and news organizations operate in Chile.
After breakfast at our hotel, we took our first trip on the subway to Católica. We wandered the university grounds before meeting up with a student who accompanied us on some of our tours.
Católica’s journalism school is the only accredited journalism program outside of the U.S. and we were lucky enough to get to listen to a journalism lecture about the future of cinema—specifically interactive movies. While Católica provided us with translator headsets, most of us just winged it and tried our best to understand the lightning-fast Spanish.
The gist of the talk (if I understood everything correctly) was that two students developed a program to make movies a more interactive experience for viewers. The Católica students found a way to produce and present films that let the audience decide minor plot points throughout the film (think "choose your own adventure" books). They even made a short film to show how this would work. While some of the details went way over my head (I don’t understand the nuances of Flash animation in English, let alone Spanish), it was interesting to see how students in Chile think about the future of media.
After Católica, we went out for lunch as a group and took a bus to El Mercurio. Our tour guide took us to meet students who, through a program at Católica, are studying journalism through a direct partnership with the newspaper.
We took a tour of the newsroom, which reminded me of other large newsrooms I’ve visited (Reuters in London and the Chicago Tribune in the U.S.). Maybe it was the Facebook and Google chat occurring throughout the newsroom, but I felt very at home in El Mercurio.
We also got to check out the offices of El Mercurio’s magazine and tour the printing press. An interesting fact I picked up: The earthquake destroyed El Mercurio’s two local paper suppliers. Now the company has to import paper from around the world to keep up production. Our guide was very disgruntled over the paper from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although, it seems that hating Argentina is common here.
Everyone is excited to explore the Andes tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, or we’re in for a rain-soaked hike.
After Católica, we went out for lunch as a group and took a bus to El Mercurio. Our tour guide took us to meet students who, through a program at Católica, are studying journalism through a direct partnership with the newspaper.
We took a tour of the newsroom, which reminded me of other large newsrooms I’ve visited (Reuters in London and the Chicago Tribune in the U.S.). Maybe it was the Facebook and Google chat occurring throughout the newsroom, but I felt very at home in El Mercurio.
We also got to check out the offices of El Mercurio’s magazine and tour the printing press. An interesting fact I picked up: The earthquake destroyed El Mercurio’s two local paper suppliers. Now the company has to import paper from around the world to keep up production. Our guide was very disgruntled over the paper from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although, it seems that hating Argentina is common here.
Everyone is excited to explore the Andes tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, or we’re in for a rain-soaked hike.
May 13: Arrival and city tour
By Elvia Malagon
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| Photo by Rachel Krasnow |
| View of Santiago, where the students hit the ground running after a nine-hour flight. |
The buildings were filled with graffiti left over from the recent presidential elections. In addition, there were a few buildings that had damage from the earthquake that happened earlier this year.
Since our hotel was not ready for us to check in, we jumped into a bus full of our luggage and headed for Santiago to see some of the most famous and historical sites.
Although I wasn’t sure if I was fully awake, I was after we saw the changing of the guards at La Moneda, where the presidential office is located. We all headed to the famous café with legs.
The café is the Chilean form of Hooters except without the wings. Our tour guide told us that the cafes have gotten so competitive that some were not appropriate for us to walk into. The smell of smoke and espresso filled the air of the café as we walked in. It was designed more like a bar. There weren’t the oversized chairs or people reading books like you would at the Starbucks in Bloomington. I was awakened by a bold cappuccino that was served by one of the women who serve the coffee in tight fitting dresses.
We also made a quick stop to one of the local markets that was filled with seafood. Although seafood is not my cup of tea, it was interesting to see fish that I had never heard of or seen before.
While on the tour, we also saw Santiago’s Wall Street, which the economy depends on, and the famous Parque Metropolitano de Santiago where we one can see some of the most beautiful views of the city.
While most of us were barely waking up and coming to the realization that we were really in Chile, our tour guide gave us a brief history of the architecture and the buildings we passed by on our tour of Santiago. We stopped at one of the oldest catholic churches in the city, and also learned from our tour guide how involved the Catholic Church was in politics.
Up until eight years ago, the church had a say in what type of movies and music Chileans were allowed to watch. That’s not all: Only in recent years has divorce been approved as a law. Today, women still can go to jail for having an abortion. Clearly, religion is not just attending Sunday mass for Chileans.
After visiting the Parque Metropolitano de Santiago, we headed to our hotel to freshen up and venture off on our own.
The day didn’t end there.
For dinner, we all met up to go to a restaurant that offered us food and renditions of traditional Chilean dances. We might have been in Chile for less than 24 hours but that didn’t stop all of us from joining in on the fun and dancing the night away.
Although we are still adjusting to the differences in American and Chilean cultures, including the Chilean’s Spanish dialect, we are still having fun and deciding to take chances on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Although I wasn’t sure if I was fully awake, I was after we saw the changing of the guards at La Moneda, where the presidential office is located. We all headed to the famous café with legs.
The café is the Chilean form of Hooters except without the wings. Our tour guide told us that the cafes have gotten so competitive that some were not appropriate for us to walk into. The smell of smoke and espresso filled the air of the café as we walked in. It was designed more like a bar. There weren’t the oversized chairs or people reading books like you would at the Starbucks in Bloomington. I was awakened by a bold cappuccino that was served by one of the women who serve the coffee in tight fitting dresses.
We also made a quick stop to one of the local markets that was filled with seafood. Although seafood is not my cup of tea, it was interesting to see fish that I had never heard of or seen before.
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| Photo by Olivia Elsner |
| Students saw the changing of the guard at Moneda on Day One of the trip. |
While most of us were barely waking up and coming to the realization that we were really in Chile, our tour guide gave us a brief history of the architecture and the buildings we passed by on our tour of Santiago. We stopped at one of the oldest catholic churches in the city, and also learned from our tour guide how involved the Catholic Church was in politics.
Up until eight years ago, the church had a say in what type of movies and music Chileans were allowed to watch. That’s not all: Only in recent years has divorce been approved as a law. Today, women still can go to jail for having an abortion. Clearly, religion is not just attending Sunday mass for Chileans.
After visiting the Parque Metropolitano de Santiago, we headed to our hotel to freshen up and venture off on our own.
The day didn’t end there.
For dinner, we all met up to go to a restaurant that offered us food and renditions of traditional Chilean dances. We might have been in Chile for less than 24 hours but that didn’t stop all of us from joining in on the fun and dancing the night away.
Although we are still adjusting to the differences in American and Chilean cultures, including the Chilean’s Spanish dialect, we are still having fun and deciding to take chances on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
May 13: Preparing for the trip
By Zina Kumok
After a semester of learning about Latin America, we were all ready to head to Chile. All the other travel courses had gone abroad during spring break so we were all anxious to do some traveling of our own.
I’ve been abroad before, but never to South America. That was the case for most of my classmates, and even though we’d spent weeks studying the culture of the country, we still didn’t know what to expect.
Incoming senior Sarah Hutchins said she was eager for a chance to use her Spanish, a skill that was required for us to have before taking the class. And even though I haven’t taken a Spanish class in more than a year, I also was excited to see how much of the language I could remember.
And because most of us haven’t been to Chile, we wanted to keep our expectations to a minimum. I didn’t want my ideas of what I thought the region should be to cloud the trip. The best way to travel is with an open mind, and we were all so excited to be going to Chile that any preconceived notions went out the window.
I’m not sure what I hope to get out of the trip. The more I travel, the more I see that the way I was brought up to do things is not the only way. We can always learn from other cultures, as long as we keep an open mind and positive attitude.
And because most of us haven’t been to Chile, we wanted to keep our expectations to a minimum. I didn’t want my ideas of what I thought the region should be to cloud the trip. The best way to travel is with an open mind, and we were all so excited to be going to Chile that any preconceived notions went out the window.
I’m not sure what I hope to get out of the trip. The more I travel, the more I see that the way I was brought up to do things is not the only way. We can always learn from other cultures, as long as we keep an open mind and positive attitude.