Futbol!

            Tonight we all got to experience our first real futbol game.  It was really exciting and you can tell that the Chileans take it very seriously. Upon entering the stadium there were very heavy police vehicles that looked more like military vehicles along with a SWAT team that had plastic shields. Seeing this I assumed the games got really wild, however it never actually did. I am sure that specific games sometimes do get out of control depending on what teams are playing though. I found that when it came to responding to things that took place in the game that the Chileans were much more reserved than Americans. For instance, when they scored a goal everyone clapped and stood, however there was not nearly as much screaming as there is at any American sports game and for not as long. We celebrate a score much more. Also when their team screwed up there would be an “ohh” but there wasn’t crazy shouting where everyone stood up and was screaming like we do in America. Also, they clapped when their team made an attempt to score but missed the goal. I feel as though Americans would get angry and shout because we missed. On top of that, for being so passionate about the game, they hardly stood up during it. At our sporting events people are constantly standing up throughout the game, especially if it gets to an intense moment. However, there was a lot of support for their team as the stadium was filled with banners and flags. On top of that they had a whole entire section that stood the entire time that screamed and sang fight songs NON-STOP throughout the whole game. I have no idea how they were able to chant for that long. In that section there was also a group with drums who played through the entire game, not stopping once. Again I have no idea how this section kept this up for so long. Tonight was definitely a great experience as this is a very important thing to Chileans and is a major part of their culture.

            Earlier in the day we had the time to walk around Viña which was really nice because it was a Saturday. As a result there were a lot of people out and all the shops were open. It was also nice because there were only four of us walking around so we didn’t stand out nearly as much so we felt like we fit in more. This was the first time where I really felt as though I really got a real feel for what Chile is actually like. Viña is a really cute place and I liked seeing all the vendors on the street selling their products. Although in a city, it felt very personable. One interesting thing that I’ve noticed here is that outside restaurants there is always someone trying to get people on the streets to come in and eat. They have one of their menus and talk to the people who walk past. This is definitely something that you do not see in the U.S., but almost every restaurant, and many of the clubs do it here. It is interesting to see differences in small things such as this.