Santiago Capoeira!

I'm getting scared. I just had a really good weekend away in Santiago with some capoeira friends. We went up for a capoeira event and had such a good time. As we were travelling with friends that we'd never really hung out with outside of classes before, we saw them in a different way. It was really nice and I had a great time. People are very different in real life than in classes. It feels like we have been really accepted into the lives of these people and that they're really friends. This scares me because in about seven weeks I'll be returning to the UK, and I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to return. I'll be leaving behind a big group of friends and a smaller (but still significant) group of really good friends. It was bad enough leaving behind people for a year knowing I'd return.

I try not to think about the time we have left too much, because it makes me sad. I guess it is a good thing in a way,
because if I were to leave without feeling sad would I really have achieved anything?


I'll fill you in on the event.

We caught a night bus on Thursday evening and as usual we didn't really sleep very well. Bus travel is not the best way to get your eight hours sleep. Arrived early on Friday morning and were picked up by Instructor Ricardo in Santiago. We had breakfast and lay around for most of the morning. It was cold when we arrived but when I ventured outside at midday it was really sunny and warm. It's strange how much the weather changes with just a nine hour drive.

We had our first class that evening. We spent the afternoon wandering around Santiago. The funny thing is we didn't go to any tourist spots or anything. In fact we walked around streets lined with shops and stalls. We had once in a little stall/restaurant and then passed through the plaza de armas on the way to the sala. The lesson was really nice. All the Santiago people were really friendly and had buena onda (good vibes). We spent the night in a karate dojo. I was so glad I had taken my sleeping bag. I love my sleeping bag. It's so cosy. As we were in a dojo with a padded floor, with a load of capoeristas we did some late night training, eventually heading to bed at about 2am.

Having once of completos

Outside the church in the plaza de armas

Saturday, our first class was at midday. Santiago is so huge. It's like a country. We used the metro to get around and the usual journey took 30-40 minutes. Being with the guys, me and Amina become completely unconcerned with where we're going or how to get there. We just follow the guys and trust that everything will turn out alright. We feel very safe with them and they take very good care of us so we don't really have anything to worry about. The class was held in a big gymnasium that must have had some sort of accessibility to the outside world, because we had to keep avoiding bird poo dropping down from above. After this class we changed location to a library and had another class. A lot more people came to this one. We had about five short lessons with different teachers and then a really long roda. The good thing was that the first roda they said that the more experienced players had to play with a less experienced player. I liked this cause it gave me more of a chance to play. When loads of good players play it can be hard to enter and a bit intimidating to try. Saw some amazing capoeria. The good players are good for a reason. They have so much control over their bodies and so much force. Sometimes you just feel like standing there with your jaw hanging because it's so amazing.

Instructor Richie giving a speech

Afterwards we went back to Richie's house for dinner. Watched a really weird game show where people had to do weird tasks like make 30 churrascos in 1 and a half minutes, for the chance of a cash prize. Very strange. We returned to the dojo in the evening for an asado. The fact that we'd just had dinner didn't really seem to matter. Chileans. It was a really nice evening.

A late night cuddle

Sunday was the last day. We had a class in the afternoon with a really chilled teacher. He was really nice and didn't seem to mind taking the time to explain something to me when I was confused. After we went to the plaza and had a big roda outside. The good thing about going to the event is that we had so many different teachers, some from different groups. Everyone has a slightly different style of capoeira and it's nice to see the different styles.

The roda in the plaza (it was freezing)

training in the dojo

We caught the bus home at nine that evening. It was much less rushed than the first time we caught a bus from Santiago to Lautaro back in August. Strange how much things have changed since then. I slept better that bus journey because I was soooo sleepy.

We arrived this morning at 5am. We were dropped off on the highway by Lautaro and walked very quickly home as it was freezing. I had underestimated the temperature difference. It felt like my fingers were going to drop off. Arrived home and made hot chocolates before heading to bed and sleeping until 12. On Thursday we asked to have today off from school when both Ruty and Pamela suggested it. I'm glad we did. We've both got colds now so we enjoying the day in bed even more. Had a really good weekend. It's so nice to know the guys better.