First, a quick summary of last weekend. Saturday and Sunday were excursion days organized by ISA. The first, titled "Playas del Norte" took us to various beaches north of the city which were accompanied by some nice weather and breath-taking views. One highlight was the horse ride we took in Concón. Taking $6 horse ride without signing a waiver or wearing a helmet may not have been the safest decision I have ever made, but it went off without a hitch (for me at least), and we enjoyed some beautiful views of the beach before stopping for lunch in the fishing town of Horcón. Believe it or not, that is not a typo. Here in Chile, theres Horcón, Pucón, here con, there con, everywhere a Concón. Cartographer's nightmare, am I right? Bad jokes aside, the trip continued with the final destination of Zapallar, a town nestled in the green hills of the central region with a spectacular view of the ocean. It was fascinating to observe the economic differences between this area and Valparaíso. This town had the feel of a summer vacation town on Highway 1 in California. Most of the students took the twenty minute, lightpost-adorned, cobblestone-paved, ivy-covered walk to the point of the beach. Here we found a rocky outcropping which provided without a doubt one of the views of the trip so far.
View from Zapallar
Sunday began with an excursion to the ironically named Isla Negra, because it's not really an island at all. Here we took our third tour of the houses de Pablo Neruda. The man was brilliant, well-travelled, and an incredible writer. It seems my slowly improving Spanish is almost like a key unlocking a door to a different world of literature I would otherwise never know of. I am certainly looking forward to learning more about the poet, the man, the real-estate agent (chiste), Pablo Neruda. The trip continued with dinner and shopping in the town of Pomaire. The highlights here were one kilo empanadas, which translates to 2.2 pounds, enorme! I was not brave enough to try one of these delicious monsters, but those that finished them were soon rewarded with stomach aches for the rest of the day. Here I purchased my first souvenirs of the trip, some hand made ceramic cups and a bowl, perfect for the always luxurious Crowne apartments next year. Who knows, maybe I'll end up like Neruda with a house filled with a random mixture of cultural and sentimental items.
Location, Location, Location.
Next, we continue with the world's and my deporte favorito, fútbol. First, a confession: I would be lying if I said that the location of my study abroad trip wasn't at least in part influenced by the South American countries playing in the World Cup. The passion for fútbol here rivals the fall in Knoxville, TN, and that's saying something. For this reason, the topic this week is:
La Roja- the reds; A nickname given to the Chilean national team.
El Mundial. The single largest sporting event on the planet. No wonder the entire country is buzzing with excitement at the prospect of a world cup on South American soil. Evidence of this is everywhere, from the kids playing on the pitch down the street to a national team jersey on every third person downtown; the belief in la selección Chilena is something else. Despite being drawn in an extremely difficult group, the "golden generation" of Chilean football hopes to progress over defending champion Spain and finalist Holland. The build up to the world cup overall has been very positive for the Chileans. After a flying start to the qualifying campaign, they suffered six straight defeats, which led to a sacking of former manager Claudio Borghi. Under current manager, Jorge Sampaoli, La Roja have seen a turnaround in results, victories over Uruguay and England, a third-place in CONMEBOL qualifying, and a revamped high-pressure and high-scoring system.
"This is the jersey of all Chileans, symbol of the union and hope of an entire country. Let's go Chile, because believing is in our nature."
The final two warm-up matches included a 3-2 victory over Egypt and a 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland here in Valparaíso. When I heard that the send off match was in Valpo, I had to get a ticket. Wednesday night, mi padre David, Doug and I set out for the stadium in Playa Ancha for the 8pm kick-off. Chile had a somewhat impressive performance, struggling to breakdown the Irish until the introduction of star forwards Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas. It will be interesting to see how they do again the much more solid Spanish and Dutch sides in week's time. Some highlights of the night were learning the chants of the team, as well as some comical curse words shouted from the stands. It was a special experience for my Chilean father as well, as it was his first time seeing La Roja in person, and I thoroughly enjoyed discussing the match with him afterward. It is just over three days before the first match, and I can't stand the wait. Don't worry, I haven't forsaken my homeland just yet. I will definitely be cheering on the Red, White, and Blue from 5,000 miles away as well. Go, go USA!
Doug and I before the match
Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander
Viva Chile,
Blake
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