May 14, 2008

Today we weren't required to leave until 2 in the afternoon which meant that everyone was sleeping in. The game plan for today was rather ambiguous when it was pitched to us - go to the park to play games. In my mind that just meant soccer probably but it was much more than just that. We took a public bus a good distance to a botanical garden/park area. The first game we played was a kind of "break the ice" type game where we all sang something in Spanish in a circle while holding the person in front of us by the hips. The second time we sang it we had to hold the persons hips that was in front of the person in front of us. The next round we moved up a person etc until it became impossible to move anymore. The next game we played was called "Barachito," or "a little drunk." Basically, we had to line up in 2 teams and run to a point in front of us where we span around our hands 10 times, then ran back to the line. Everyone expected it to be a fairly easy task but it was far from it. Just 10 revolutions made it near impossible to even stay up when running. So many people couldn’t even stay on their feet. Another classic team game we played was the 3 foot race, only with everyone on the team's (probably 12 people) feet taped together. My team had a solid system on moving in theory, but like Pamela predicted, it did not work at all. We failed miserably and eventually collapsed into a big pile of defeat and had to be cut from our bonds with car keys. We ended our day at the park with a game of football with the Chileans. The game was a lot of fun and pretty even. We were tied 2-2 and were looking for an excuse to end the game when Kayla kicked a line drive right towards Kevin who was in front of me. Lucky for him, he moved out of the way just in time to let the ball scream by him and straight into my unmentionables. It did give an excuse to end the game however; it's hard to play soccer with a kid collapsed on the field in front of his own goal. Dinner was nothing special tonight, we just ate locally. After that, we went out to a bar that’s very popular with the university students. This was the first time we went to a bar that was strictly a bar with tables and chairs, no real dance floor. This made us stick out a little more than usual because everyone was sitting watching the Americans. I kind of felt uncomfortable for the first time this trip with being looked at which is something I don't think I've ever experienced in my life to date. It really gives you insight into the perspective of being a minority.