Algarrobo

The biggest pool in the world in Algarrobo, Chile.  Some people were braver than I was and actually jumped in!
(above): the biggest pool in the world in Algarrobo, Chile

This past week I went to Algarrobo, Chile, for an orientation for my program.  The program is for all UC campuses, so there are about 53 of us here.  We stayed at a little hotel on the beach.  At first I was a little hesitant... we are in the middle of winter right now, so why would we be going to the beach?  It was SO nice at the beach, though... it felt about 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  It was also a good opportunity to meet everyone from my program.  Most of the students are from UCSB, but all of the UC campuses are represented.  

We had a lot of free time in Algarrobo, so we went walking along the beach a lot since it was so nice out.  It was so beautiful, and there was this giant hotel (above) along the beach... it looked familiar, but I didn't know why.  Then, as my friend was talking to some random Chilean woman for directions, she asked him if he'd seen "la piscina mas grande del mundo."  Yup... Algarrobo is home to the biggest pool in the world.  We walked down to the pool several times, and the last time we climbed over the fence to take pictures of the pool.  I can't even describe how huge it is!  You can rent kayaks and paddle boats, and the security guard had to take a boat over to us to tell us to leave haha (and when we saw him get in the boat, we knew we still had a few minutes because it would take so long to get to the other side!).  Some people jumped in, but I didn't bring my swimsuit... and the pool isn't heated in the winter time.  

We stayed in Algarrobo for 2 nights, and on the last day we watched the Chile-Spain soccer game.  Chile lost 2-1, but there was still a lot of celebration that night because Chile will still move on to play Brazil on Monday.  Our program director told us that if Chile HAD won, though, there would be riots in the streets, because so many people would be celebrating... also, I've heard many times that tear gas is used pretty regularly here, so it would've definitely been used.  I'm definitely looking forward to that! (not really, but it will be interesting to tell people once I'm back in the US).

Today I went out and bought myself a prepaid phone for local calls.  Tomorrow I'm off to Valparaiso with some people from my program, and then Monday is a holiday and the Chile-Brazil game.  Apparently Brazil is one of the best teams, so Chile isn't expected to win, but my host brother promised that he would run up and down our street naked if Chile won.  As apathetic as I usually am about sports, I am cheering for Chile now!

CHI CHI CHI, LE LE LE... VIVA CHILE! :)