Dr. Darrell Watts
and his wife Lois (both on the far left), gathered with other faculty and
students in front of the fountain at the Presidential Palace in Santiago
for this group photo. The purpose of the trip was to learn about the
people, culture, history, economy, agriculture, environment, and university
life— a tall order for the two-week "winterim."
I
had never been out of the country and to see how other people farm,
blew me away. Going from bamboo to volcanos in one afternoon was incredible. - Donee
Experiencing
a totally different culture and seeing the conservation issues facing
the Chilean people was very educational. - Craig
The
cross-cultural experiences made this trip more adventurous than Europe
or Australia would have been for me. - Krista
Nine excited students, four faculty and staff members, and two faculty
spouses left from Omaha on the afternoon of December 30, 2001, for a 12,000
mile trip to Chile. The travelers included Biological Systems Engineering students Sarah Anderson, Krista Evans, Donee Hawley, Liz Hostetter, Stacy
Munger and Lisa Stahr, and Mechanizaed Systems Management students Scott
Eisenmenger, Craig Rolfes, and Rodney Rohrer. Faculty, staff, and spouses
included Chris Henry, David and Cheryl Jones, Bill Kranz, and Darrell
and Lois Watts. They were joined in Chile by faculty member Curt Weller.
The trip
would not have been possible without the very strong support and cooperation
of our sister department of Agricultural Engineering of the University
of Concepción. (The department is located on the university's
"East Campus" in Chillán, about 240 miles south of the
capitol city, Santiago, and 60 miles east of the "City Campus,"
in the port city of Concepción.) The department provided a bus
and drivers for the entire trip and one or more faculty members were with
us almost all of the time.
Upon arrival in Santiago on the morning of the 31st, we boarded a university
bus that took us an hour and a half west for two days of "R&R" at
the Pacific Ocean city of Viña del Mar. Celebrating the arrival
of the new year on the beach with thousands of Chileans was a great experience.
The warm summer night (remember the seasons are reversed in the southern
hemisphere) and the massive fireworks display seen across the bay in the
port city of Valparaiso reminded everyone of July 4th in Nebraska.
The beach at
Viña del Mar.
After the harbor
tour, we became part of the national television news with several
impromptu interviews. Dr. Watts spoke the best Spanish, so he became
the main spokesman for the group.
On January
2, a morning tour of the Valparaiso harbor, led by Dr. José Arumi
(Ph.D., UNL), provided an impressive view of Chile's second most
important port. In the afternoon we were back in Santiago, where Dr. Arumi
led a walking tour of the city's historical center, providing insights
to major events of the past and the chance to see buildings constructed
long before Nebraska statehood.
The following days were long and filled with intense learning experiences,
as we saw how large-scale, high-tech agriculture manages the production
and shipment of citrus, grapes, kiwi, avocado, stone fruits, and Chile's
famous wine for in-country sale and export.
An ideal location
for an asado, the home of Dr. Merino.
Aging the vino at the Concha y Toro winery.
Visits included a tour of
one plant of Concha y Toro, the largest wine producer in Chile, and one
of the largest of Unifrutti's packing plants, where fruit is boxed
for export to all parts of the globe. We greatly enjoyed a stop for refreshments
in the home of one of the fruit producers.
In contrast
to the "big agriculture" of the central valley, we also visited
a government project led by Dr. Claudio Peres (Ph.D., UNL), which was
designed to develop improved farming techniques for the small farmers
of the coast range at the edge of the valley. For the most part they remain
desperately poor, as the lack of resources and the perceived risk of making
changes cause them to cling to traditional practices. The project is focused
on increasing crop yields and reducing the massive erosion that is robbing
the land of its remaining productivity.
