Homework still stinks in Chile.

Yeah this is going to be a boring blog. (Ha! What a great way to keep you reading). Anyway, school has started getting busy and I once had too much free time. Now I am back to that old feeling of always running out of time thanks to homework. All the homework is in Spanish too, therefore it takes me twice as long as it normally would to write, read, and prepare. I have an oral presentation tomorrow about Los Deportes en Chile (Sports in Chile), so I thought I would blog about it so that I know my layout. It counts as practice...even though it's not in Spanish... it still counts in my mind.

When I went to talk to my host mom about this topic the first thing she told me was that Chile is not an athletic nation. I would have to agree with her on that! Especially compared to Colorado, Chile is a very lazy country when it comes to exercise. I think it's because everyone walks everywhere and there is less need for it than the U.S. where we sit on our butts for 80% of the day. I also think because it's not seen as such a big deal. There's not a huge obese population here so there's less attention on health in regard to weight and diet. Even so, this is South America, so there are definitely sports and there are definitely some cultural differences that are fun to learn about.

Palín or Chueca was the first sport in Chile, and it was practiced by los indígenas (natives who were called "Mapuche") before the Spanish conquistadores came to Latin America. It was named Chueca by the Spanish when they arrived. Chueca is a sport that consists of two team of 5-15 people on each team. They line up in a linear fashion with their wiños, which is basically a wooden shaft (it looks similar to a hockey stick) and they try to hit the ball to the other side of the field toward a goal. Simple. It's basically hockey. The interesting thing about this sport is that it played a larger role than just entertainment. If two Mapuche communities had a conflict, they would play a game of Chueca so solve the issue. The team that won would also win the argument or conflict for their community. Chueca was a way to physically train the young for war (uh, like I said... hockey) and was often a social event as well. It could also be a religious event. Before a game the players and community would have ceremonies where they prepared the bodies of the players and their wiños for the game. I didn't find much on the ceremonies, but they sure sound interesting. Chueca is still practiced today, and there are teams in Santiago, Los Ángeles, and Osorno.

Don't worry, the teams that play now wear T-shirts and shorts. 

The most popular sport in the Chile is also the most popular sport in the world AND therefore the best sport in the world. Socc...NO! Fútbol :) Fútbol is the most popular to watch and play. Chileans are obviously good, but actually not as good as you would picture a Latin American country to be. In 1962, Chile hosted the World Cup and won third place. That's about as good as it has ever gotten for them. Third place is great, but since then their team hasn't really gotten anywhere. When I play with the girls on the UVM (Universidad de Viña del Mar) I notice that their foot skills are pretty good... and that's it. They just have some years of practice on me and beyond that I can outrun, outsprint, and be more aggressive than them. You'd have better luck finding fútbol fanatics in Brazil.

The most successful sport in Chile is Tennis. I know nothing about tennis... so...

The National Sport of Chile is the Chilean Rodeo. When I found this out I was pumped! Then I saw what it was and it was a bit of a let down. Rodeos in the States are entertaining, exciting, intense, and just awesome. In Chile the main event is the only event, and that is simply this: pin the calf. No, it's not even a cow or a steer or a bull... it's a calf. So there are two huesos (Chilean version of a cowboy) and their caballos (horses), and the goal is to pin the novillo (calf) against one of the walls in the medialuna (literally "half-moon" - it's the stadium). The riders corner the calf and the horses squish the little guy against the wall with their chests. You get certain amounts of points depending on where you squish him. The head is worth zero, and their butt is worth 4. It's just... different... but we can put it in the "It's a Culture Thing" box and call it a day. Just google "Rodeo Chileno" and you can see what I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong, I am sure it takes skills to do this, but I prefer the good ole' American Rodeo.

Yep, that's my presentation. Ha don't worry, I'm going to talk about tennis a little. I am super pumped today because we (3 classmates and I) just bought the bus tickets for our trips during fall break in September. We are returning to Pucón to tackle Volcan Villarica, then on to Valdivia (brewery town!), then La Serena (beach town!). It's going to be a great week, and it's Chile's Independence week, which means lots of wine and empanadas! Best day ever! I'm going to do a blog on empanadas one of these days.
Ciao!