Paintball and Horsetracks

Now these two past activities aren't really inherently Chilean at all. Horses were from Europe right?

Anywho, I went to the local horse tracks here with my friend, her host dad, and his friend who he constantly called "el viejo" (old). It was a pretty nuts place, got some pictures i'll put up, but really reflected the german influence here. Completely german architecture. So, here's how it works for those who don't know(which was me right up to this point):

You go in, entrance is free, and buy this booklet(costs 1 mil pesos, 1.50 american) which has a listing off all the races that are to go on that day. There are somewhere around 13 per wednesday and monday, each with 8-13 horses. There is a TON of information in these little boxes. My friends dad taught me all sorts of things to look for. Good things: race times, weights(of rider and horse), history, age, usual race lengths and so on. From there, the odds are shown on a tv screen, with the favorites being the lowest(for 1.7-3ish) generally. And man! There are so many different kinds of bets! I had thought you just chose who won, but no no there were a bunch of different kinds. Unfortunately, I have no idea what they mean in english, just the spanish names(ganador, quinella, trifecta, a tercera, a segundo, and so on) Pretty nuts. The minimum bet for a horse is 200 pesos, which is about 30 cents. I placed my first bet on "Need for Speed" which had 5.7 odds, at 200 pesos. And you know it, I won! Got back a mil and change; it was pretty fun, and a pretty awesome display of beginner's luck. From there I tried different bets, won some, lost more, and ended the day about 200 pesos on top. All around, it was a pretty fun time, and was like a big puzzle game, analyzing statistics in a mildly crazy environment. And pretty cheap as well. Next gambling experiance to be had- the casino!

Paintball was pretty darn fun as well- we met at 2:30 yesterday and got picked up in a truck. Literally, they put 30 of us in the back of a closed truck, drove us up some hill or something(couldn't see, it was a truck) and were dropped off in a field. Our teams were about 13-12 people each per team, our team was all semester students, and the other teams were mostly the month long summer semester students who just arrived. No I hadn't played paintball since early in high school, and even then I didn't play more than once or twice. But this was darn fun. A short chronical of the games:

First game: Me, and four of my buddies moved down the right side of the woods, with no interference from other teams, we made a rush for the flag, I shot some girl defending it, grabbed the flag, and ran back! We won(cause I'm so fast!) and I have no idea where the other team even was.

Second game: Much more intense, me and four of my friends got into an intense close combat battle around a bush, which ended in only me surviving with no ammo. Obviously, when this happens, I got up, and sprinting towards the other flag. Intense! Shots flying all around, I made it the flag, got it my hand, and got shot twice in the chest. Triumphant failure!

Third game: Overly boring, not too much happened, ran out of ammo, and then time ended the game.

So that was a good time.

Plans for this upcoming week. I am going to the Chile vs. Bolivia game on wednesday in Santiago. It should be quite intense, its a qualifier for the world cup. So I'm excited.

Nos vemos! -Brian