Professional Development Topics

Ethical Issues in my Profession:

I was actually surprised at just how similar Chile was to the United States in a lot of ways. All the companies that we visited were set up very professionally and seemingly with the proper safely regulations. I never found myself saying “That would not be allowed in America.” However, I’m sure there are a lot of differences that could be pointed out upon closer observation, but for the most part everyone looked safe and happy. There are a lot of things that you do not see on the surface as far as government regulation of workers, environmental regulations etc. Chile does, from what I saw, embrace gender, race, religion, and lifestyle choices. There were women working in the factories and Universities. Although not the most diverse country, the people of Chile were very friendly and accepting towards us as Americans. As Chile grows into a more global country it will undoubtedly shift and develop more than it already has. It will be interesting to see how we take after other countries as they begin to grow and even surpass us in industry and technology gain and other countries such as Chile take a bigger part in the global economy.

Educational Breadth as Professional Development:

The disciplines of Business and Engineering go hand in hand when talking about the development of a country as a whole. Engineering is crucial to helping the country grow physically and develop itself into one that can function in a global marketplace. Strong business is important in establishing external trade outlets to expand the countries market, thus opening up more profit opportunities for them. It was interesting to visit somewhere like Chile because they are a country that is developed, but not quite as developed as the United States. It is interesting to see the world from a different countries perspective and discuss the issues of business and engineering as it pertains to that. I think the divergence in economy is great enough that you can get a good experience as a student when visiting. The world is becoming more and more globalized each day so there is not an astounding difference between the cultures, but there is enough of one to make you think professionally about how a student’s major can apply in a more in depth, worldly sense. As far as classes to take to prepare a student for a global economy, language classes are vital to not only facilitating business in the country, but also to understanding the basics of getting around within the country. Also, a foreign business class similar to the lecture we had on South American business might be helpful when understanding the most important aspects of a countries business.

Lifelong Learning, Continuing Education as Professional Development:

It seems that in an increasing number of aspects the world is changing faster than it ever has. I think that a lot of this is due to ever expanding technology and more applications of technology into everyday life. This is why it is important to become a lifelong learner, be flexible with your job, and be able to adapt to change. My major, computer engineering, is a direct example of this. The principles will always be the same, but there is always new, faster technology being developed and implemented. If you do not stay current with the industry, you will be left behind. An example where this was also true that we saw in Chile was in the company Bolsa de Comercio. Technology has vastly changed the way the brokers do business within the stock market. Everything is done electronically in real time mostly in other locations but the trading floor. The amount of informational wealth the new technology provided was immense, but the industry had to shift to accommodate this change and stay current. This trend is not going to die down either. To be a competitive, productive, valuable worker, one must embrace lifelong learning.

The Social Environment of Professional Life:

Like I said earlier, my experience in Chile was not as far off the United States as I thought it would be. A lot of their culture comes from United States culture. I was talking to a few of the students about television shows that are popular in the States and we were able to have a full conversation about them because they watched almost every one of them. A few of us went to the local mall in Viña del Mar and were slightly disappointed to find all the stores were stores we could easily find in the United States. It also seemed to me that a lot of the students at least knew what was going on with the politics of the US and the bigger current events. This may not seem like a great feat but it is actually a lot considering I did not know who the president of Chile was before the trip. It is and should be important to be aware of what is going on in the world, especially when working in the fields of business and engineering, so that you can relate to the people you are working with and have knowledge of where they are coming from. Having good relations with another person is key to having future successful business transactions with them. The US influences more than we think we do and this is an important thing to be aware of.

Functioning on Multi-Disciplinary Teams:

With an increasingly more globalized world, there are going to be more interactions between people of different backgrounds and cultures. How these people function collectively and communicate will dictate the success they can create together. The Plus 3 program has elements of this incorporated in different ways. We must work and communicate with students from the University of Santa Maria who are from a completely different background and culture all together. I really enjoyed talking with them and seeing their perspective on things. You learn a lot just by communicating with someone. We also had to work and communicate within ourselves as business and engineering students as well. The two majors are very different and we rarely get to work together when at the university. The major challenges in working with each other will be distributing the work as best as possible to the different members of the team and communicating together how we want the finished product to come out. Exchanging information in a group is ultimately a challenge in itself and even more so when different groups are involved. Effective communication is important to achieving a common goal within a team of people which is true whether it be in just writing a Plus 3 paper or something like doing global business within a company.

May 16, 2008

Just like all good things in life, Chile Plus 3 has come to an end. Today was our last day here in the country, filled with emotion and reflection. Our only goal for the day was to get up and be packed and ready to leave on time. Judging by the sprawling mess of clothes on my side of the room, I thought there was no chance it was all going back into that small blue zippered case again, but sure enough after some negotiating I got it to fit. Even though the Hotel las Americas was not my favorite living arrangement (cubicle bathroom, obstacle course-like bedroom), I was sad to leave it. Some of the Chilean students came to see us off before we got on our Verschae bus that one last time to go to the airport. We presented them with some bottled parting gifts and said our goodbyes. The weather that morning was cloudy and foggy which was exactly the same weather that we were greeted with when we arrived. I couldn't have asked for more from weather when we were there, though. It was beautiful and sunny almost every day we were there and never rained once during the day. The flights going back were surprisingly smooth. The only real (minor) complication was some students buying too much and exceeding the weight limit for their suitcase. I've had non-international flights that were full of problems so when the international flight goes perfectly it's a nice thing. We did not even really have to wait that long in the airports for layovers or complications with flights. When we were waiting it started to sink in that I was sincerely going to miss this group of kids this summer and how many new and exciting people I've met. Plus 3 has been a pretty incredible experience and I'm very happy that I took the effort to become a part of it. I'm going to recommend it to each and every kid that I teach as a peer advisor next semester and every freshman I talk to about it. My thanks goes out to Jo and Krysta for making the Chile trip possible and making sure everything was safe while we were there. I wish there was a trip like this for every year of college because I would undoubtedly do it again. I learned a lot in Chile, developed a lot of valuable friendships, and formed great memories to take with me the rest of my life.

May 15, 2008

So today was the last of a lot of things. It was the last full day we would spend in Chile. It was the last company visit we had to attend. It was the last meal we would eat and go out at night together as a group. It was a sad thing to think about but also a really happy day together. In the morning was our last company visit to a company called Multiplant that grows and distributes different flora to various companies and consumers in South America. The air was crisp and clear and the dew was just beginning to disappear as the tour bus full of chipper Pittsburgh students arrived. We were led through the different grid networks of mesh netting and plastic sheets making up the nurseries for the different plants as the owner explained to us a little about Multiplant and its plans for the future. He says he is expanding more into the retail industry because just selling plants is not cutting it anymore. I found it interesting that he was changing his entire business to stay competitive even if that meant selling something completely different from what he was used to selling. I guess he gets more tourists coming through than he gets actual buyers. After the conclusion of the Multiplant tour, our next stop was the "farm" which was not actually a farm at all, but a resort. They had a lot of things we could have done if it were a tad warmer out, but the day was really nice and relaxing. We played ping pong, cards, lounged by the pool, and ate probably more than we should have. We even were able to teach the Chilean students an important American card game they were not familiar with, "Asshole." If they took nothing else out of our visit with them, at least they have a nifty card game to show their friends. When we returned to Viña del Mar, I barely had time to change before it was time for our farewell dinner at Diego Pizza about 4 blocks from the hotel. The pizzas were loaded with toppings ranging from ham and pineapple to corn and ground beef. In my opinion it was one of the most satisfying meals of the trip. During dinner, Jo presented the Chilean students with some University of Pittsburgh apparel and they returned the favor with embroidered polo shirts for everyone on the trip that read "Plus 3 Chile." We all said our thank you's, took some pictures, and then began to prepare for our last night out together back at Scratch night club. It was another late (or early) night but one of the best of the trip.

May 14, 2008

Today we weren't required to leave until 2 in the afternoon which meant that everyone was sleeping in. The game plan for today was rather ambiguous when it was pitched to us - go to the park to play games. In my mind that just meant soccer probably but it was much more than just that. We took a public bus a good distance to a botanical garden/park area. The first game we played was a kind of "break the ice" type game where we all sang something in Spanish in a circle while holding the person in front of us by the hips. The second time we sang it we had to hold the persons hips that was in front of the person in front of us. The next round we moved up a person etc until it became impossible to move anymore. The next game we played was called "Barachito," or "a little drunk." Basically, we had to line up in 2 teams and run to a point in front of us where we span around our hands 10 times, then ran back to the line. Everyone expected it to be a fairly easy task but it was far from it. Just 10 revolutions made it near impossible to even stay up when running. So many people couldn’t even stay on their feet. Another classic team game we played was the 3 foot race, only with everyone on the team's (probably 12 people) feet taped together. My team had a solid system on moving in theory, but like Pamela predicted, it did not work at all. We failed miserably and eventually collapsed into a big pile of defeat and had to be cut from our bonds with car keys. We ended our day at the park with a game of football with the Chileans. The game was a lot of fun and pretty even. We were tied 2-2 and were looking for an excuse to end the game when Kayla kicked a line drive right towards Kevin who was in front of me. Lucky for him, he moved out of the way just in time to let the ball scream by him and straight into my unmentionables. It did give an excuse to end the game however; it's hard to play soccer with a kid collapsed on the field in front of his own goal. Dinner was nothing special tonight, we just ate locally. After that, we went out to a bar that’s very popular with the university students. This was the first time we went to a bar that was strictly a bar with tables and chairs, no real dance floor. This made us stick out a little more than usual because everyone was sitting watching the Americans. I kind of felt uncomfortable for the first time this trip with being looked at which is something I don't think I've ever experienced in my life to date. It really gives you insight into the perspective of being a minority.

May 13, 2008

No company visits today, strictly fun. There was an early get up though, around 9 in the morning. We were to travel to "Isla Negro," a place on the coast where the famous Chilean writer Pablo Neruda once lived. While we waited for the tour to begin, we had a chance to view some of the artwork of the time of the Chilean coup. A lot of it was war oriented with Chilean flags and images of armed forces and destruction. Many people were disturbed by the artwork, but I rather liked that it was different and controversial. It made you think about things and really gave you a feel for what the people of that time period felt and were going through. Luckily for me, there was one tour guide available that spoke English and also luckily for me, I got in that group. She grew up in the United States and married a Chilean man who wanted to move back to Chile. She was always interested in Pablo Neruda so she took a shot at becoming a tour guide and got the job. The house itself was pretty remarkable. The man knew what he wanted and liked and designed his house that way. Every room was full of different collectables and pieces from all over the world. I found it particularly interesting that he collected the figure heads off the front of ships. They were dispersed all throughout his house. The layout of the house was also very interesting. It was built over his lifetime, so every time he got some money or a reason to build a room he would add on to the side of another room. This created a linear layout to the house making it necessary to visit every room on your way to another. Mr. Neruda seems like he was a genuinely unique person and someone who would be very interesting to talk to. After the conclusion of the tour, we went out to lunch close to Isla Negro at a restaurant I didn't get the name of. This was the first time on this trip that I ordered something because I thought it sounded good from the name. I ordered Salmon Salsa Margarita thinking it sounded like salmon with a nice tangy sauce or something, something light which was good because I was not very hungry. Turns out it was a slab of salmon covered in a thick creamy sauce with all the different kinds of shellfish you could ever desire on top. I ate it regardless, but learned my lesson about not clarifying things on menus in foreign countries. The rest of our day was ours and we took advantage by staying in the hotel.

May 12, 2008

Today is Monday which means it’s no longer our weekend off and also the start of more company visits. Today the group visited a company called "Codelco Ventanas," a copper ore refinery. This was not originally a company that we were supposed to visit, but the workers of the mine we were supposed to visit were on strike disabling us from visiting. Much like Gerdau Aza we were not permitted to take a real tour of the plant because of safety regulations, so we attended a lecture instead. This was the first time that the person giving the presentation spoke no English at all. The whole thing had to be translated on the spot by our helpful student guides and Jo. As you might imagine this made it extremely difficult to stay involved in what the man was saying, especially with a technical topic like copper refinement. This also goes to show you how valuable a business person or engineer with foreign language skills can be to a workforce. Unlike Gerdau Aza however, we did get a small bus tour of the plant and got to see a decent amount of the finished product and what the workers were doing. For lunch, we went out near Codelco to a small empanada shop in the town we were in. You really can never go wrong with empanadas (especially not financially). We then returned to the hotel and proceeded to try to catch up on some sleep for a while. The rest of the afternoon was ours to do what we wished with so some of us decided to go down to Valparaiso to take a boat tour of the port as recommended by Monica Kunstmann. This was the first time any of us went out in the city on our own without a Chilean student or Jo or Krysta and I wasn't optimistic about finding where we needed to go. Surprisingly though, the ride went very smoothly and we got there successfully. It was also nice that when we stepped on the port we were immediately offered the boat tour that we were seeking without having to ask anyone. I thought to myself that this was all going too smoothly and that something was bound to go wrong on the way back. The tour was actually better than I anticipated and was very informative. I'm glad we came and did it rather than stay in the hotel. Again, the trip back was flawless and quick. For dinner we ventured out into Viña and found a really good, cheap pizza place. In the evening none of the Chilean students could take us out so if we wanted, we had to do it on our own. Well, of course everyone wanted to go out so we decided to go to Rufino, a karaoke bar that we went to our first night in Chile. Turns out that the crowd was older than what we anticipated. We took it in stride and stayed for a little anyway. I ended up going back a little early to sleep for tomorrow.

May 11, 2008

I ended up sleeping until about 1:30 in the afternoon until I was woken up by the girls of room 107. We went out to lunch at a small place called "Enjoy Cafe" near the ocean. We sat outside and had some reasonably priced sandwiches and ice cream. After eating, we continued down the beach and explored the shops and attractions near the water. I stepped in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life which doesn't really seem like a big deal, but was sort of an important mental visualization to really imagine how far from home we were. At one point we noticed a dog following us, so we stopped and threw a stick with it for a good 25 minutes. I found it funny that this stray dog was more obedient and better behaved than most family dogs are in the states. Other than the wastes they produce, I guess the dogs aren't that much of a nuisance to the people of Chile, thus why nothing is really done to get rid of them. I was a little disappointed in the vendors near the beach. It seemed like every one of them were offering the same products. That is not to say that there were also many homemade vendors selling near them too, though. At this point the day was coming to a close and the sun was beginning to set. Chile's only coastline is facing the west which conveniently is also the direction that the sun sets. The view of the sun setting over the open water of the port is indescribable. Now that we are a good way through our trip I'm beginning to realize that I really have enjoyed getting to know the group of people that I hang out with the majority of the time. Unfortunately they are all engineers, but not necessarily engineers that all hung out before this trip. Chile would have been amazing regardless of whom I went with, but this particular group accentuates the experience for me. Shortly after the sunset it began to get immediately colder, so we returned to the hotel for a night of hanging out, not going out. Every one of us needed the extra sleep. Traveling takes a lot out of you.

May 10, 2008

Today was probably the highlight of the trip. We went to a horse ranch near the beach to do a little riding. Personally I had not been horseback riding before, so I was not sure what to expect. I got a brown and white beauty named Lluvia, Spanish for rain. We got along very well together. She was extremely responsive to my directions and knew how to run when I wanted her to. Horseback riding is a surreal experience. Usually when I think about going horseback riding, I think about a slow trot on a path on the beach or something. This is not what we had on this trip. We went over so many different landscapes from the open beaches and mountainous sand dunes, to the needle-carpeted forests and the labyrinth of marshlands. We really had a lot of freedom with what we did with our horses with the only guideline being to stay behind our guide. At one point Ian and I were galloping full speed on the beach with me chasing him. I tried vigorously to get my horse to push it harder and catch up to him, but it never happened. Next thing I know Brad's crazy horse comes rocketing by me with Brad holding on for dear life. I felt like it was out of movie or something. After riding for a few hours, we ventured into the forest and were greeted by a white tablecloth dinner equipped with wine and barbequed meat. We parked our horses on some trees and feasted. Overall the experience was really, really good however, horseback riding really takes a lot out of you physically. When we got back to the hotel I think everyone crashed for a solid two hours at least. It was good too because that night we were going to a club called "Huevo, a 4 floor dance club in Valparaiso. It was a crazy experience but an extreme amount of fun. We didn't end up coming home until about 5 in the morning which was fine because we didn't have to get up the next day. Sunday was our day off and I think everyone needed sleep to recharge for more company visits and Chile sight-seeing.

May 9, 2008

Today was the day of my company visit to Bolsa de Comercio, a Chilean stock exchange in Santiago. The ride to the city is about an hour and a half, but I slept the whole way so it might as well have been five minutes. When we got into the city we were dropped off at a big open square with a large gathering of people in it. There was a sort of "changing of the guards" ceremony going on. We watched it for a few minutes and then continued on to the exchange. It was in an older, interesting looking building with lots of marble and artwork decorations. We were presented with an informative video on the exchange (in English) and a short PowerPoint on the finer details of Bolsa de Comercio. With the boom in technology nowadays it has almost made trading on the stock floor obsolete. Only 2 or 3 people are usually found on it at a time which is crazy when compared to the hectic shuffling of people that the market once had on the floor trying to do business without computers. Overall the visit was very good, especially for our group. The company presented us with a wealth of information in the presentation as well as a folder with a business card and a booklet about the stock exchange. From there we moved on to our next stop atop a large mountain bordering the city and took a cable car even further up to a mountain top church. On the peak of this mountain was a very large statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking the city. The view would have been astounding if there had not been so much smog clouding our sight. Since we had only one company visit we had a lot of time to do other things and see the city of Santiago. For lunch we went to this open marketplace full of restaurants and retail. We ate at a seafood restaurant family style with everyone sharing the different plates of food. There was a myriad of different fish with highlights being the Chilean sea bass and a local fish called "Loco." We also had some indigenous shellfish to Chile which did not at all look appetizing, but were in fact very good. I think if you have an open mind when visiting a different place, often times you will be pleasantly surprised. We ended our Santiago tour at an outdoor market selling various knickknacks, jewelry, and clothing items. Overall it was a really nice, laid-back day.

May 8, 2008

Today was our second day of company visits. First thing in the morning we boarded the bus and took it to LAN airlines, an airline company catering to both passengers and cargo carrying to South America, the United States, and Spain. The owner of the company was an industrial engineer which I found kind of interesting. Most of the student guides that accompany us are industrial engineers. Apparently in Chile however, and industrial engineer does much more than what one would do at Pitt. They also have influences of civil and mechanical engineering as well. We got a chance to tour the different hangers and see the fleet the company owned. We were going to get a chance to go inside one of the larger airplanes but the cabin was locked. The weather was beautiful and the people were very nice making for a very good visit overall. For lunch we went to a small restaurant where I had a pretty basic piece of beef and a salad. Our next company stop was a vineyard called Viña Indomita. It was located on top of a hill overlooking the grape fields and the country side of Chile. We toured the distilleries and bottling facilities of the company and then were provided with a tasting of 3 different kinds of wines. The first was a Sauvignon Blanc white wine and probably my favorite out of the three wines. The next was a Merlot and the last was a Cabernet Sauvignon red wine. The architecture of the building itself was very interesting with its highlights being the outside face with its giant white pillars and mirrored glass. After the tasting, we took some pictures outside the building with the sun setting in the back ground. I had a really good time at the visit and especially enjoyed the scenery. When we got back to Viña del Mar, a few of us decided to walk a few blocks to the local mall. I was expecting a much different experience from a mall in the States, but unfortunately that isn't what I got. The mall was very American with mostly the same companies and products you would find in a mall in the States. The set up and amount of people was about the same as well. I guess because of globalization different regions are not as different as I thought they would really be.

May 7, 2008

May 7, 2008

Today we had our first company visits to Centauro Cannery and Gerdau Aza Steel Recycling plant. We got up and had breakfast provided by the hotel, and then loaded up on our Mercedes Benz tour bus to go to Centauro Cannery. The factory deals mostly with tomato products, but also bags and cans other fruits and vegetables. It is number one in Chile in production of diced tomatoes and exports mostly to Japan and the United States. Because we arrived in the colder season of Chile (our summers and winters are reversed) they did not have many tomatoes actually there. The company gave us a can of "Porotos Granados," a sort of bean chili, as a thank you for visiting their company. We loaded up the bus again and continued on to eat lunch at Pura Carne. I ordered a dish called "Biffe a lo Pobre," which is translated to "beef to the poor." It was essentially a piece of steak with fries and fried eggs on top. It was delicious and satisfying, no other way to describe it. After lunch we had our second company visit to Gerdau Aza near Santiago. I was kind of disappointed with the visit because we didn’t actually see much of the plant. All we did was observe a presentation put together by one of the employees. The presentation itself was very well put together and informative, but I just expected more from the visit. They even gave us yellow Gerdau Aza shirts to wear making me think that we would get to see the processes. After the visit, we returned home to the hotel and ate some food and got ready for some quality Chilean night life. The students were going to take us to some different bars and clubs. The first place we went was called "Cafe Journal." I actually really liked the set up and had a lot of fun there. After a good 2 hours or so we decided to check out another place called the "Tutix Club" closer to our hotel. This was also a pretty fun place, but it turned out that we had to come home early because one of the girls was not feeling too well at the hotel. It was getting late though, and I needed some quality sleep to prepare for tomorrows events.

May 6, 2008

Today we had some more lectures to attend, mostly on doing business in Chile. The speaker was an industrial engineer who spoke surprisingly good English. They provided a lot of good information, not only on Chilean culture and business, but for all countries of South America. The information was really valuable background information for someone looking to do business in Chile. After the lectures we got on our tour bus and took a driving tour of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. The weather was beautiful and a lot of good information was provided to us by a professor at the university, Monica Kuntsmann. We were taken to a lot of striking lookouts over the city and the ocean. Chile’s geography is rather unordinary, but provides a great variety of landscapes and country sides to see. The tour ended with an overlook point on the ocean with the sun setting in the background. In the afternoon we attended a barbeque provided by Werner and his students at his apartment complex. A few students came to teach us the fundamentals of "reggaeton" dance. For dinner we ate mini sausage hotdogs and meat skewers cooked over an open flame. It felt good to just relax and get to know the Chilean students better one on one as opposed to in a classroom setting. We came home fairly early to prepare for what we had to do the next day - our first company visits to a produce packaging company and the steel recycling plant.

May 5, 2008

It was our first day in Chile actually doing things and it was an interesting one. The day started off with us going to the University of Santa Maria to attend some lectures on Chilean culture and geography. The campus itself was actually very nice. I imagine in the warmer seasons it’s probably stunning with the gardening. It is definitely much different from Pitt. It turns out the students on campus are kind of in a feud with the local bus transit over rising prices in student fares. There was a large congregation of students at the university to discuss their next move on the issue but I’ll have more on this later. Later on after the lectures, the students provided us with a Salsa lesson which was a lot of fun. While we were salsa-ing away in a far away classroom, the students of Viña del Mar took the streets in a riot to protest the rising bus fares. It may not seem like a huge deal, but the bus companies are only raising the fares for students who depend on the service to get to class each day. The university does not use dormitories like the ones in the United States. Apparently the situation was not safe at all for us to be in and the police were not letting anyone in our out of the area. When we eventually did get clearance out of the area we had to literally run through to the exit and pass through a barricade of police fully dressed in riot gear. The air was thick with the smell of pepper spray and your nose was actually burned from it. The students leading our trip were very good in making it clear that this was not a normal thing for the police to come into the university and that Chilean people would not normally act this way, but this was an extreme situation. Everyone understood however, and it did not bring down our group morale in the least bit. When we got back to the hotel, our Chilean student hosts showed us a delicious sandwich place that is extremely popular with the locals. I will admit, the sandwich was pretty awesome, especially for 5 dollars. After that we went to our first bar in Chile. They kindly bought us all a drink and we generally had a fun time together. I'm really pleased with the students that are 'hosting' us here at Chile. They are extremely down to earth and easy to talk to. I'm learning a lot from them and hope they learn a little from me as well.