I Knew I Liked Fridays

6.20.2015 Saturday

Guys, I slept in this morning! It was absolutely glorious. 

It actually wasn't even that late. Like 9:30! I'm such an adult. (The extra hour and a half I spent laying in my bed being a bum doesn't count.)

Yesterday was a day of laughs and unusual encounters. In the afternoon, Elizabeth and I ventured to the Estacion Central (Central Station) via subway. This was our second time there, but we had to return because it's a marketplace that right now is stocked with extremely cheap soccer fan gear for the Copa America and I needed wanted a jersey. I also found an artisan who makes hand carved key-chains for less than a buck fifty. A couple of the other girls at school had discovered him a few days earlier and recommended I visit if I wanted more personalized gifts. Obviously, I needed to buy more. Obviously. 

 Hold on. Gotta eat breakfast.

Aaaaand, after toast with veal pâté (if you don't know what it is, it looks like dog food - yay protein!), tea, and juice (which is really just powder mixed with water - think Kool Aid), I'm back. Yum...

As I was saying, $1.50 for a handmade key-chain! What is this life? What a steal. Plus, the craftsman was very friendly, nice, and talkative. Though it was a little hard to hear him because Estacion Central was crammed with people, natural being that it was game day on a Friday. There was even a Head and Shoulders station offering free haircuts to people who agreed to be filmed and take a selfie of their cut for Instagram. Which leads me to the part where the fun begins...

While being mesmerized during the key-chain making process, there was an MC with a mic trying to persuade people to get their hair cut. The Head and Shoulders station was within spitting distance of the key-chain vendor, so of course my attention was being pulled back and forth between the carving and the loud MC. The MC spotted me and asked me where I was from. Of course I did the classic point-at-yourself-shrug-your-shoulders-are-you-talking-to-me? gesture. Well, he was and what happened next was 10% embarrassing, 200% awesome. 

The MC motioned for me to step up to the station, asked me again where I was from, and then asked me to lead the Chilean soccer team chant. The chant's pretty simple. It goes like this:

Leader: C-H-I!

Everybody else: CHI!

L: L-E!

EE: LE!

Everybody together: CHI-! CHI-! CHI-! LE-! LE-! LE-! VIVA CHILE!

Well, I messed up. On a microphone. In front of hundreds of Chileans. 100 points for the Gringa. 

Basically, I started at the "CHI-! CHI-! CHI-!" part and nobody joined in. No big deal. Mr. MC cut me off before I got too far and had me try again. It went much more smoothly, thank the heavens. I definitely was giggling as I walked back to pay for my key-chain, both slightly stunned and embarrassed, but mostly exhilarated. 

Sometimes, it's funny how life puts you in the right place at the right time. The craftsman had misspelled the name I asked for on my key-chain and had to remake it. This didn't take long but it was enough time for me to lead a chant in front of a packed Estacion Central. I live for these kind of quirky instances.

However, my timing proved to be impeccable a second time. Elizabeth and I took the subway back to Providencia, picked up my laundry from the laundromat, and ran into the girl from New Ulm (see "It's A Small World After All..?" post). This wasn't entirely unusual because there have been several mornings during our walk to school when we have spotted her across the street. Still, we never had the opportunity to talk with her until yesterday. Turns out her apartment complex is right behind my apartment complex and that her work place is very close to the school. Oh, and she has a name. It's Tessa. 

For the soccer game, Elizabeth and I met some friends at a restaurant called Elfos. Our group of eight made up about half of the guests there, so we didn't really have the opportunity to enjoy the game with a lot of Chileans, but it was still a very fun time. Also, it was a good thing I had practice with the chant earlier in the day because at Elfos I was the cheerleader for the evening. Chile beat Bolivia 5-0, one of those points courtesy of a Bolivian player scoring on his own goal. We were kind enough not to chant for that point...

Good times, good friends, and good laughs. Elfos even gave us a plate of cheese empanadas on the house! 

Sometimes there are perks to being a gringa in South America. Free food, public humiliation, poorly spoken conversations, and many laughs. Maybe it's not the true Chilean life, in fact, I can promise you it isn't, but it sure is a memorable one. 

Tonight, the MLC group has a calbagata de noche (nighttime horseback ride). The weekend started with a bang. I have no doubt it will only go up from here. After all, it's my last full weekend in Chile. I've got to enjoy every minute of it. 

Ciao!

"I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up my friend." 

-John Green (The Fault in Our Stars)

Salud!