Day 58
Today I'm in: Santiago, Chile
"Please fasten your seatbelts - the aircraft is about to pass over the Andes and moderate to severe turbulence is expected." The crew on my flight from Sao Paulo to Santiago weren't kidding - Santiago sits right at the foot of the Andes, so we had to come in low over the mountains and we got thrown around for a good 10-15 minutes just before landing. It was dark out, unfortunately, so I didn't get a good look at the Andes but I did see a few snow-covered peaks down below.
Yesterday was another day in transit. I started off at about 8am in Rio, where just before boarding a flight to Sao Paulo, I ran into Claudio Garcia, the Chief People & Technology Officer for AB-InBev. Claudio was my manager's manager's manager last summer, but he interviewed me when I was applying, and was never more than a few seats away from me in ABI's open-plan office. I couldn't believe that, out of 200+ million Brazilians, I ran into one of the few I actually know (although I'd been hoping I would.) I made him take a picture with me for the blog because I knew my fellow former interns wouldn't believe me otherwise. He was a good sport about it and it was good to hear about some of the things that've happened at the company in the last year.
From there it was a quick hop to Sao Paulo, a not-so-quick hop between airports in heavy city traffic, and then a four-hour flight across the Southern Cone to Chile. And now here I am, in the penultimate country of the trip.
The first and most startling difference is that it's very much the middle of winter here. Brazilian and South African winter were kind of a joke, but this is the real deal. It was five degrees Celsius (about 41 degrees) when we landed, and the high today is only supposed to be about 49. During my brief foray into the streets last night to get a snack, the residents were very bundled up - jackets, scarves, gloves, the works. Most of the trees have dropped their leaves, although there are a few palm trees around so it must get pretty nice here in the summers. Walking around last night, I felt like I was a long, long way from Brazil. Cold, dark, bare trees and fleece-encased people - it was like I'd landed in Sweden.
Interestingly, the "hotel" I booked myself into isn't a hotel at all. It's a furnished apartment, which came as a complete surprise to me. But it's actually really nice to have a kitchen, a living room and a separate bedroom - the heaters are on, the TV is on and I just made some breakfast in the microwave. After staying in a succession of hotel rooms it feels good to have a little home for myself, even if it's just for a few days.
I saw very little of the city last night - just lights through the taxicab window and the few blocks between my place and a nearby corner store - so today I'm out to take a closer look around.
Today I'm in: Santiago, Chile
"Please fasten your seatbelts - the aircraft is about to pass over the Andes and moderate to severe turbulence is expected." The crew on my flight from Sao Paulo to Santiago weren't kidding - Santiago sits right at the foot of the Andes, so we had to come in low over the mountains and we got thrown around for a good 10-15 minutes just before landing. It was dark out, unfortunately, so I didn't get a good look at the Andes but I did see a few snow-covered peaks down below.
Yesterday was another day in transit. I started off at about 8am in Rio, where just before boarding a flight to Sao Paulo, I ran into Claudio Garcia, the Chief People & Technology Officer for AB-InBev. Claudio was my manager's manager's manager last summer, but he interviewed me when I was applying, and was never more than a few seats away from me in ABI's open-plan office. I couldn't believe that, out of 200+ million Brazilians, I ran into one of the few I actually know (although I'd been hoping I would.) I made him take a picture with me for the blog because I knew my fellow former interns wouldn't believe me otherwise. He was a good sport about it and it was good to hear about some of the things that've happened at the company in the last year. 
From there it was a quick hop to Sao Paulo, a not-so-quick hop between airports in heavy city traffic, and then a four-hour flight across the Southern Cone to Chile. And now here I am, in the penultimate country of the trip. The first and most startling difference is that it's very much the middle of winter here. Brazilian and South African winter were kind of a joke, but this is the real deal. It was five degrees Celsius (about 41 degrees) when we landed, and the high today is only supposed to be about 49. During my brief foray into the streets last night to get a snack, the residents were very bundled up - jackets, scarves, gloves, the works. Most of the trees have dropped their leaves, although there are a few palm trees around so it must get pretty nice here in the summers. Walking around last night, I felt like I was a long, long way from Brazil. Cold, dark, bare trees and fleece-encased people - it was like I'd landed in Sweden.
Interestingly, the "hotel" I booked myself into isn't a hotel at all. It's a furnished apartment, which came as a complete surprise to me. But it's actually really nice to have a kitchen, a living room and a separate bedroom - the heaters are on, the TV is on and I just made some breakfast in the microwave. After staying in a succession of hotel rooms it feels good to have a little home for myself, even if it's just for a few days. I saw very little of the city last night - just lights through the taxicab window and the few blocks between my place and a nearby corner store - so today I'm out to take a closer look around.
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