It's May 6, 2011 7:19pm PT. I'm sitting in my room watching the NBA Playoffs and preparing for my departure to the Republic of Chile in the am. I'm kind of excited to embark on this 2-week journey that will be an experience of a lifetime. I'm disappointed that my Lakers are down 2-0 to the Dallas Mavericks, but it's all good because Dallas has shown in the past that they can certainly lose such a lead. I'm also testing Skype on a couple different machines to make sure it works before I go international. Still have a bit of packing to do, but that is ok. I have all night for that. I can sleep on the 9-hr flight from ATL to Santiago. I'm looking forward to this trip and have been for a while now. We have done projects on different companies that we will be going to visit, we have questions ready to ask of professionals on the company visits. Hopefully, we get the opportunity to travel and sight-see while we are there.

There are definitely some things I have learned about Chileans that I plan to incorporate into my life style. Knowing that I am on someone else's turf, I should be mindful of their rules and regulations. It would be wise for me to not draw attention to myself as I am a foreigner that could be taken advantage of. Not only that, but also with the recent death of Bin Laden, many countries are not on good terms with Americans. So this is only further motivation to be cool. But, to stay positive, I know right from wrong and I plan on making the best of this trip while it lasts. I probably won't get this opportunity again.