Tara is a 2006 graduate of Mountain Home High School and a junior at the University of Idaho. She is spending a semester studying in Chile and will blog frequently about her experiences there.

Whirlwind week

Posted Tuesday, October 21, 2008, at 4:45 PM

My study abroad group in the Chilean National Stadium

The past week went by like a whirlwind. When I got home from La Campana, I discovered forgotten tickets to the Argentina vs. Chile soccer game in Santiago. With the pile of homework on my nightstand and the dirty laundry on my floor, I did not want to go anymore. But when the bus of exchange students pulled up on a sidewalk to park because it could no longer drive towards the stadium, squirming excitment filled my stomache.

The walk to the stadium was like a pilgrimage, the crowds and street vendors thickening as we drew closer. I bought a Chilean flag to wave during the game. When I got there I realized the tickets the study abroad agency had bought for us were front row. I saw the camera men focusing in on me continually, but I tried to pretend like a didnt notice. The crowd was full of red and blue shirts and the screams of joy merged into songs of support for the Chilean soccer team. When Chile scored its goal people set off flares and fireworks in the crowd. No one thought Chile would win, but for the first time in a long time, the time ran out and Chile was ahead. The stadium went up with screams, songs, confetti was thrown and torches were lit all around.

Im affraid if it wasnt for the row of security guards, armed police officers, and military squad with full riot gear, the sittuation might have just gotten out of hand.

Thursday night I went out and saw live Jazz music with a group of friends I hadnt seen for a couple weeks. Didnt get home untill the early morning and I still hadnt packed for my weekend trip. This resulted in me forgetting the memory chip for my camera... :( and many other things.

Well Friday morning I met up with some friends and we took of for Pichilemu, a sleepy beach town, world renowned amongst surfers for some humongous rideable waves. When we got there we took a taxi out to Punto de Lobos and hiked for about a half hour to the camp spot, an isolate beach at the bottom of a rocky ledge covered in cacti and uncountable species of wildflowers. We camped so close to the ocean on the sandy beach that when the tide came in at midnight I had to move my tent.

Saturday morning I packed up and split from my camp group to meet up with my friend Laurel in Pichilemu. We wandered around through the Saturday market place, did some shopping, had some lunch, then went to the cabana her and her boyfriend rented out. The original plan was that they would camp with us, but since they decided not to camp and I didnt want to camp another night with five rowdy boys and no other girls, they offered me the extra bed in their cabana.

I left my stuff there and then we walked through horse pastures full of pungent wildflowers to the beach. I borrowed one of the boys surf gear when he got tired and gave it a whirl. Its a lot harder than those girls in "Blue Crush" make it look, but i managed to get up on my feet twice. Those split seconds felt amazing.

That night in the cabana the neighbors (a group of guys with a surf company) invited us over for a barbeque and to watch some movies, but the party ended early because everyone needed their beauty rest to wake up early for another day of surfing. Kyle and the other guys got up early and surfed, but Laurel and I slept in and later went to the beach for a day of leisure, laying around in the sand before we headed back to Viña at about three.

This week was so much fun and went by so fast. I think I will take this coming weekend as some downtime.

Comments

View 1 comment

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

[ENG]

Ohh!, too many adventures in a short time. Impressive.

Chile-Argentina! I lived every minute of that day, of that soccer game. I wanted to go to see that match at Santiago, but finally I did not go, but I saw it with several friends in my apartment ... It was a very good moment.

"I saw the camera men focusing in on me continually, but I tried to pretend like a didn't notice." O_O Why the camera men focus on you continually?

"I'm afraid if it wasnt for the row of security guards, armed police officers, and military squad with full riot gear, the situation might have just gotten out of hand." :-)... In a chilean soccer game, there is a lot of passion Tara... I have no words to tell you the level of "heart" of "feelings" in the soccer game. I have no right words, I have no capacity to express myself, I can't describe it.

On Thursday, live jazz music ... woow, amazing, really cool. I am not a fan of Jazz music, but I think it is good music to listen and relax, there are special occasions to hear it.

"forgetting the memory chip for my camera"... bad bad. SD Card -> very important thing (or MMC or Memory stick... whatever).

Pichilemu, Punta de Lobos. I have not been there, but it is a paradise for those who practice Surf (your description is the best, "world renowned amongst surfers for some humongous rideable waves"). This sport is interesting, and I like to see it, for the people who practice, they must have a lot of skills.

It is great what you have, there are many things!. Surf, sand, sun rest day of leisure. Impressive!

I still thinking about soccer game Chile against "the other team"... what an infinite happiness!... day of glory and passion without limits. Ohhh yeah... and I can say again: "Viva Chile mierrrr!"

-----

[SPA - Approximate version, if you like spanish]

Ohhh! Son muchas aventuras en poco tiempo. Impresionante.

Chile-Argentina... yo realmente vivi cada minuto de ese dia, de ese partido. Yo queria ir a ver el partido a Santiago, pero finalmente no fui, pero lo vi con varios amigos en mi departamento... fue un momento demasiado feliz.

Impresionante que lo hayas visto en el Estadio, eso es muy bueno.

"I saw the camera men focusing in on me continually, but I tried to pretend like a didn't notice." O_O ¿Porque el hombre de la camara te enfoco continuamente?

"I'm afraid if it wasnt for the row of security guards, armed police officers, and military squad with full riot gear, the situation might have just gotten out of hand." :-)... Cuando es un partido de futbol de chile, hay mucha pasion Tara... No tengo palabras para decir el nivel de "corazon" y "sentimientos" implicados en un partido de futbol. No tengo las palabras, no tengo la capacidad, no puedo describirlo.

El jueves musica Jazz en vivo... woow, impresionante, realmente genial. No soy un fanatico de la musica Jazz, pero creo que es una buena musica para escuchar y relajarse, hay ocasiones especiales para escucharla.

"forgetting the memory chip for my camera"... mal mal. SD Card -> cosa muy importante (o MMC o Memory stick... lo que sea).

Pichilemu, Punta de Lobos. No he estado ahi, pero es el paraiso de quienes hacen Surf (tu descripcion es la mejor: "world renowned amongst surfers for some humongous rideable waves"). Ese deporte es interesante, me gusta verlo y me impresiona, hay que tener mucha habilidad.

Es genial todo lo que cuentas, ¡son muchas cosas!. Surf, arena, sol descanso, dia de ocio. ¡Impresionante!

Yo todavia pienso en el partido Chile contra "el otro equipo que no existio en la cancha"... que felicidad mas grande... que dia de gloria y pasion infinita. Ohhh si... y puedo decir nuevamente: "Viva Chile mieeeeeeerrrrr!"

-- Posted by aferreir on Wed, Oct 22, 2008, at 12:23 AM

Respond to this blog

Posting a comment requires free registration:

If you already have an account, follow this link to login
Otherwise, follow this link to register