So, that Futbol Mondial thing that is still going on has been keeping the Chileno's fairly occupied!
Friday 25 June was last game of the round-robin games of the group phase (or whatever it is called). Chile, having won their first two games, was pretty buoyant and feeling confident about their prospects against Spain.
The relationship between Spain and Chile seems to be a like a slightly fonder version of the Australia-England thing, although Chile has been independent for longer, being about to celebrate 200 years since independence. This added a low level of spice to the game, however for the most part, every one was looking forward to a good game.
A group of us got together at Lizette (the Mariana office manager, if you remember) and Mauricio's house for the obligatory "charring of mammal flesh" ritual that goes along with people getting together in this part of the world. I brought along my vego kebabs, which Mauricio kindly cooked, apparently taking care to turn them every now and again. I'd also brought along some guacamole, hommus and baba ganoush that I'd made (see previous posts). There was some polite trying of the hommus and baba ganoush, and to be fair, I haven't got them quite right, so not much of that disappeared. The guacamole on the other hand, disappeared reasonably quickly. An unfair observer might think that I ate most of it, however I definitely had a fair bit of help!
At the start of the game, the Chilean national anthem produced a minor local spectacle, with everyone standing, hand on their heart, and audibly (but not loudly) singing. They all seem to know the words too, with no second verse "... da da da da ..." type of stuff that I produce when singing the Australian anthem (in my head)! Their a proud bunch, which is nice to see. I can't recall an AFL grand final get together (for example) where everyone has stood and sung along with the anthem.
Friends of Lizette and Mauricio, Claudio and Sonja, had brought along their kids. They were delighted to discover that all of the trumpets that the adults had brought along were equally effective when they tried to use them. So, at least three trumpets going off relatively continuously meant that there was quite a cacophany in the yard, lots of shouting at the TV, the usual ooohing and aaahing at missed opportunities and good bits of play.
The first goal was scored by Spain, and the disappointment felt by the gang was intense, with much concern about how they'd get back into the game. It seemed that Spain had the skill to counter most of Chile's enthusiasm. Don't get me wrong, Chile appear to be a pretty skillful side as well, just not quite as good as the Spaniards. The second Spanish goal was deflating to everyone and dampened the mood for lunch more than if it had been close.
Kids, as is their wont, lifted the mood a bit. Like most kids, the girls seemed to enjoy having for photo's taken and certainly weren't going to let the fact that they were still eating get in the way of striking a few poses!
Lunch was devoured, the second half of the game started and it wasn't too long before some enthusiasm returned, with Chile scoring a well constructed goal. Hmmm, perhaps there was some hope? Their attacking play was still, to me, the better to watch, although with not quite enough polish to take their chances. Ah well, they will still progress to the knockout games, which is a huge achievement for the team, given their past history. Vamos Chilenos!
After the game finished, Alexis and his daughter Pabla treated us (me) to a demonstration of Chilean dancing, which looks to be good fun. I'll have to try to find somewhere locally that teaches it and see how I go with it. Given my past experiences at learning to dance, it might be fortunate that I have a few years here to learn. I might have it sussed by the time I come back!
We then retired indoors to drink a bit more vino. It gets cool/cold very quickly once the sun goes down and inside was definitely the place to be. Before too long, a little roulette wheel came out. I'd heard from Lizette about late nights around the roulette wheel at her house, so seeing what it was all about was going to be interesting, given that I knew nothing about it other than the wheel spins, the ball goes in, and it falls into a numbered slot.
We then retired indoors to drink a bit more vino. It gets cool/cold very quickly once the sun goes down and inside was definitely the place to be. Before too long, a little roulette wheel came out. I'd heard from Lizette about late nights around the roulette wheel at her house, so seeing what it was all about was going to be interesting, given that I knew nothing about it other than the wheel spins, the ball goes in, and it falls into a numbered slot.
Very small wagers (to begin with) are made using 10 peso pieces, about 20c Australian. I had a pocket full of the things, so joined in the with expectation of losing all of them in short time, which I managed to do while I learnt the rules and strategies from the veterans around me.
I managed to fulfill my destiny rather quicker than planned and had to cough up another 1,000 peso's to stay in the game and with a slightly more cautious approach, managed to stay in the game for a bit longer. Fortunes ebbed and flowed around the table for the rest of the night, but ultimately, as was expected, the "banker/casino" (Mauricio) ended up with everyone's cash!
So, another entertaining day and a reminder of why casino's and gambling (generally) just aren't my thing!
Chao!
A
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