before the chile vs. brasil game today, i visited the main cemetery here in santiago. it was not very pretty, but was interesting. like the rest of santigo, the cemetery does not seem to have much in the way of urban planning / zoning. instead, it’s a hodgepodge of structures housing the dead….from traditional underground tombs to above ground lockers featuring stacks of bodies 10 high. these lockers are sometimes walls that line the paved pathway or are sometimes built into large pale-yellow buildings (with stairs) which are vaguely reminiscent of a public middle/high school. across the street was the catholic cemetery which was cleaner, nicer and featured a more uniform architectural theme….but in the end, you were still just walking down body-lined hallways.

for the game, i joined the brazilians and a few other folks from the hostel at ‘after office’ (aka el castillo). every wednesday, this organization rents out a cool event hall on the top of cerro santa lucia and transforms it into a club. i wore my brasil shirt and even got my face painted. i missed two goals, because i would sometimes turn away for a minute…and nobody said anything when the brasilians scored — seriously, there were a few hundred people there, and i think just 5 of us supporting brasil. it was a bit awkward going into the bathroom after the game (brasil won 4-2), being semi-heckled in a crowded bathroom full of semi-drunk, disappointed chileans.