an exciting weekend

Hannah came from Santiago! So I woke up a few hours after arriving home saturday morning to meet her and her friend Ilana in Valparaiso. We went up to Cerros Concepción and Alegre (the touristy, picturesque ones) and walked around and drank real coffee (finally!). Then we met up with other friends back in Viña to go watch a soccer game (the article is in Spanish, but there's a picture). We went with a bunch of girls from CIE and Max(imiliano), Pablo, Alain, and some of their friends who showed up at the game.

We were rooting for O'Higgins (the away team from Rancagua) which was playing Viña's team, Everton. When we got to the field we bought tickets and had to go through security which was comparable to U.S. airport security but without the fancy machines -- no lighters, liquids, pat downs, everything. Then the fun started...soccer in Chile (and I'm pretty sure in almost all of Latin America) is so much more fun than soccer in North America. It was almost embarrassing how fome (boring) we are in comparison. We sit, drink beer, yell and stand up sometimes, and clap. But soccer fans here bring drums (snare and bass), yell, cheer, sing, clap, JUMP, dance, throw confetti, balloons, light flares (how they are allowed to have flares when they don't even let you bring in lighters, have liquids, or sell alcohol within the stadium is beyond me) etc. for the entire time...all two hours of it. There's a ten minute break at half time when some people stop for a bit to buy food or talk to friends but that's it. I heard the announcer once saying that it was "absolutely prohibited to launch projectiles" (ha!) but the rest of the time it was only O'Higgins cheers and yelling and swearing at the other fans and/or the players.

and sometimes it gets really interesting :) The game was tied for most of the time one to one but then O'Higgins started to win and the Everton fans got really mad. Like, throwing rocks at the O'Higgins fans mad and then beating back the riot police mad...beating them back...full plastic shields and helmets and billy clubs versus sticks, flags, jerseys, and rocks, and the fans managed to beat the poor poor men unlucky enough to be on duty into retreat formation behind their own little gate. Then...while the players are still playing (and I almost missed the best goal because I was watching for small boulders speeding toward my head) the O'Higgins fans started to rattle the bars in between the two sections. Then more people started doing it and the fans b r o k e d o w n t h e m e t a l b a r r i e r in between the two separate fan sections and flooded toward the Everton fans.

No one died, but the police and riot guys had to make them go back and then force almost all the Everton fans to leave the stadium (with more fighting and yelling and dogs). They fought them back all the way into the hill behind the bleachers, it was nuts... They arrested two guys and had to escort them out a different way along with one cop bleeding profusely from the head, poor guy. Then the game ended, O'Higgins won 3-1 and we waited because fans from different teams have to exit the stadium separately, which I now understand.

Apparently it doesn't always happen like that. Max explained that O'Higgins fans always go to watch the games and are super enthusiastic so the stands fill up and everyone is really excited for their team and then the home fans get more angry than usual...they actually canceled a game the next day because of what happened at the game we went to :( But I'm pretty sure that every game is two straight hours of yelling, jumping, singing, excitedness and am now a fan. Gringos are so fome (boring) when it comes to soccer...it's way more fun when everyone is amped up to watch the game!

Afterwards we met up with more friends in someone's apartment and I accompanied Hannah and Ilana to Valparaíso to check Ilana into a hostel and go dancing. Then on Sunday I made lunch for/with my host sisters and Emilio. I made tempura salmon to put inside sushi (with carrots, cucumber, green onion, avo, etc.) and they came out really really good. A perfect way to end the weekend, I must say. I miss food from back home! That's all, ta ta for now...