Chile: Summary of What I've Been Up To, or World Cup 2010: How My Predictions Turned Out

So yeah, been a while since I posted. Around three weeks, in fact. Perhaps later I'll post some entries from my journal or something, but for now I'll keep it simple and just give a summary.

Chile's been pretty daggone awesome. I can honestly see myself living in Santiago if ever I move out of the country. The city moves at a great pace, yet time doesn't seem to pass so quickly here. The people are really friendly for the most part, rather atypical for a city of around six million. There's plenty to do and see here. The people who call themselves Christians here actually try to be remotely like Christ, and one can feel God's presence in church (the one's I've been to, anyway). And the passion for football (the real football) is unparalleled, making Kentucky basketball fans look like small children stuck with Dad in Home Depot (I know this from personal experience, lol).

We've made some great new friends in the students at the Church of God seminary we study at. They've been very cordial and open with us, desiring to be friendly themselves and being understanding of our handicaps with Spanish. They've become great conversation partners and even better friends.

We've visited a bunch of cool historical and cultural locales. Plaza de Armas at the center of town, El Palacio de Moneda where the president works, the village at Los Dominicos at the foot of the Andes, the house of Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda, the fort and series of small shops at Santa Lucía, and more have all gotten our attention and have provided us with fun times, good interactions, and some better perspectives about where we are here.

We're going to be doing some service really soon as well. Tonight, we leave for a day long excursion in Concepción, where there was a lot of damage from the earthquake. We'll be getting ten hours of service in with Lee U.'s Leonard Center when we return. It'll be a good chance to see the results of what happened firsthand (cuz we all know the news barely said a thing about it).

And of course, there's the World Cup. Like I said, the passion for it here is insane and almost literally tangible. Everywhere we go the day of a game we see people flying flags and shouting the popular cheer of "CHI CHI CHI! LE LE LE! VIVA CHILE!!!" And after the game, everyone is out on the streets waving their flags and blowing their horns, united as a nation despite their creeds in those moments of athletic enthusiasm. It's been great sharing the experience with the Chileans, especially since now their national team is going to the second round of the Cup against Brazil.

You may remember my earlier post of predictions for the group stage (if not, scroll down two posts; you can't miss it). I did these for the heck of it in my inexperience. Let's see how I did, now that the group stage officially ended today:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, and France
Prediction: France, with South Africa as the runner-up
Actual result: Uruguay, with Mexico as the runner-up
Analysis: This was probably the fail of all epic fails in sports predictions. The teams I picked for first and second literally got last and second to last. The French loss was especially shocking, as the defending runner-up never won and got only one tie. Can't help but feel sorry for South Africa as well, since it IS only their home field! Oh well. At least I like Mexico!

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, and Greece
Prediction: South Korea, with Nigeria as the runner-up
Actual result: Argentina, with South Korea as the runner-up
Analysis: I was an idiot not to take Argentina into account. Yeah, hadn't heard that much about them recently, but then again, Europe didn't hear much about Genghis Khan until the Mongols were right on their doorstep ready to pwn the heck out of them. Speaking of pwnage, Maradona's squad was one of only two perfect records in the stage.At least South Korea went to the next round, though they were just in second. I feel kind of sorry for my Nigerian friends though.

Group C: England, United States, Algeria, and Slovenia
Prediction: England, with the United States as the runner-up
Actual result: United States, with England as the runner-up
Analysis: Yeah, so I did well getting both teams correctly. What shocked me and the rest of the world almost as much as France and Italy failing was the Yanks edging out the Brits for group leader by one goal (well, that and that Brit goalie's EPIC FAIL of a save). True, we merely tied with the British, but the rest of our goals paid off.

Group D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, and Serbia
Prediction: Germany, with Ghana as the runner-up
Actual result: Germany, with Ghana as the runner-up
Analysis: Sweet, my first perfect prediction! Germany played their usual awesomeness to take the lead, although their only loss was handed to them by the last place Serbia (so my Serb volleyballer friends have something to take pride in this cup!). While I didn't watch Ghana's games, they edged out Australia by 3 fewer goals against them for second place.

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, and Cameroon
Prediction: Netherlands, with Japan as the runner-up
Actual result: Netherlands, with Japan as the runner-up
Analysis: And another one comes out perfectly. The Dutch were the only other team besides Argentina to have three wins this stage and played quite well, allowing only one goal. Japan apparently played well themselves, with two victories to their credit. Cameroon... meh, not so hot. Fortunately, they weren't the worst, as you'll later see.

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, and Slovakia
Prediction: Italy, with Slovakia as the runner-up
Actual result: Paraguay, with Slovakia as the runner-up
Analysis: Nobody expected Italy to fall the first round, as they were the defending champion from 2006 (and the victim of the greatest red-carded foul of all time in any sport thanks to the French Zidane). However, they hovered in second place behind Paraguay barely ahead of the rest until the incredible final match with Slovakia. Champions die hard; but in spite of two failed attempts to tie in the final minutes, Slovakia pulled off the win and second in the group 3-2, putting Italy in dead last. Paraguay played well enough to claim first, but this was one of the groups with no crazy awesome standout like Argentina, as only two teams had a win, and only one each at that.

Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Côte d'Ivoire, and Portugal
Prediction: Brazil, with Portugal as the runner-up
Actual result: Brazil, with Portugal as the runner-up
Analysis: My third prediction that came out perfectly. Brazil played well, with two wins and a tie. Portugal only had one win, and two ties; however, these ties were 0-0, indicating a great defensive game. However, curiously, their stats point out they scored seven total points. All seven were scored in one single game against North Korea, who made probably the worst showing of the cup. The Commies put up a good fight in the first half, only allowing one goal and making the Portuguese goalie sweat a bit. However, they fell apart in the second half, and the Portuguese looked like varsity soccer players against sixth graders as they scored six goals to close it out. North Korea ultimately made only one goal over the stage (against Côte d'Ivoire), and allowed five more goals in the other two matches for a total of 12 goals allowed. As a couple of my friends from my dorm last year would say, North Korea got raped.

Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, and Chile
Prediction: Spain, with Chile as the runner-up
Actual result: Spain, with Chile as the runner-up
Analysis: This was my fourth and final perfect prediction, but honestly I wish it were not. But I'll explain in a sec. This was probably one of the best performing groups as a whole; had Switzerland won their final match with Honduras, three teams would have been 2-1 and it would be decided by goals (with the same result). Spain lost early to the Swiss but defeated Honduras, who put up a great fight to no avail and surprised many in their fall. Chile was the biggest surprise, getting two consecutive wins after over forty years of going winless in the Cup. The second win was a nailbiter over the Swiss, with the first goal or two nullified by offsides calls before the strong Swiss defense was finally overcome by a header bouncing high into the goal. However, Spain was a different story. The reason I wish my prediction weren't perfect is because I wish Spain hadn't won the way they did: through some of the worst officiating I have seen in any sport outside the NAIA. An obvious bias was present, with four yellows given in the first half for similar fouls to what Spain was dishing out. The worst overall was the redcarding of Estrada, who had previously received a yellow. As he was running behind a Spanish forward off the ball, the toe of his shoe happened to graze the cleat of the forward, who then fell either by the brief contact or from tripping on his own feet. Either way, Estrada continued without breaking pace, indicating that any contact at all was very little. It shouldn't have even been a foul, but the referee gave him a red. Spain on the other hand got nothing, save two goals. Chile got one near the end of the half, and the ref did better the second half, but the damage had been done. The Chileans, a man short, had to play defensively the rest of the match. Spain edged them out by one goal over the stage to take first in group. Granted, Chile's gone to the next round, but they'll have to play against Brazil without three of their starters: Estrada for the red card, and two others because they each got their fifth yellow. Overall, however, it was a very good stage for this group.

Results of predictions vs. actual results:

Teams going to next round: 12/16 teams
Placement of said teams: 9/32 possible placements

Closing comments: Good first stage. Some stood out like they should. Others... well, let's just say North Korea hasn't made a fan out of me. It was especially interesting watching the Chileans play while I was in Chile... I got to see sports really bring a nation together firsthand, and it truly was a beautiful experience. And it was fun doing this prediction bit. Will I do one of subsequent rounds? Not sure. But if I do, it'll be for another post...

Peace y'all.

Say Chi! - CHI!
El le! - LE!
CHI CHI CHI!
LE LE LE!
VIVA CHILE!!!

Chile: The Journey Begins

Here I sit at my computer, about to go to bed early as I will leave for Cleveland, TN in the morning. On Saturday afternoon, I will embark on my first international trip, a trip to Chile. My stuff is packed into a suitcase, a smaller bag, and my backpack. My dues are paid, my forms notarized and faxed in, and all that is left is to get up and go.

I'm having a mix of feelings at the moment. There's the typical nervousness about traveling thousands of miles away on only my second flight (and what if the infinitesimal chance of the plane crashing comes to be? lol). There's the strange mix of disbelief and nonchalance, as I wonder how this moment is already so close. But then there's the excitement, the anticipation of finally being immersed completely in a culture that is not my own and furthering my knowledge of a language that is not mine, trying different foods, and getting to know things from different perspectives.

I know I'll be in good hands. The CoG seminary students in Santiago are supposed to be awesome and very understanding of our newness to their culture. They'll be helping us along in our quest for knowledge, cultural appreciation, and avoidance of more unwholesome folk. The professors guiding the trip will always be there to help with anything we need.

I know that this trip, while a month long, will seem WAY too short. With all the things to do and learn, time will seem to fly by faster than the jet we'll travel in.

However, I also know that this trip will be very worthwhile. So as I check my camera pouch, making sure that I have all six gigabytes of memory and all the power I need to fill it up, I know that I'll lay my head down tonight ready to embark on an adventure of new proportions.

Ahora, voy a dormirme. En la mañana, Cleveland. En el sábado, ¡Chile!

The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can.

Pursuing it with eager feet
Until it finds some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

- Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring