I had a phenomenal Saturday. I accomplished a lot for one day and had a wonderful relaxing time doing it. I woke up at a decent hour, had breakfast, and planned out my day. I decided that even though I didn’t know what time Sergio plays at Triana (the soccer stadium in Valverde) I would check it out anyways and watch whatever game was on. On the way to the stadium I took my time and window-shopped at all the boot stores because I was determined to buy a pair of Valverde boots. Realizing that my winter break will consist of cities that are notorious for feet of snow I figured my Chucks just wouldn’t cut it so I knew I needed to buy a pair of boots before my winter break trip. I see boots in the store windows all the time but I always pass the stores during siesta time so I never get the chance to ask the price or try them on. Well today I did. I decided to make my rounds to all the boot places before settling on a pair just to ensure I got the best price and wasn’t missing out on anything. I eventually made my way down to Triana around 11ish and got to the field about 3 minutes before half time. I remained at the entrance for a little in order to scope out the fans and determine if I would stick out too much if I sat by myself. Well I came to the conclusion that I just didn’t care at this point, I was tired of being stared at every time I walk by a bar full of men and peep in to check the TV for the soccer match. Even just walking down the street and passing the outdoor bars and restaurants warrants constant stares no matter how I dress. I don’t think my outfits scream “American” or foreigner for that matter but yet people are always blatantly starring at me. I’m over it. I’ve been here long enough to know that the starring should be over and done with. So once half time started and I saw other people walking over to the stands I made my way over. Before I got to the other side I look at the kids passing on the pitch and I spotted Sergio! Perfect timing, yeah!!!!!! Like any good stalker, I whipped out my camera and discreetly took pictures of him and his teammates lol. I then proceeded to makes notes in my journal about his soccer technique and form. Not to be overly critical, but I expected him to be better than what I saw. He never used his left foot and his passes were average at best. This cheered me up because I realized that I COULD actually play with his team. After watching the entire second half I had no doubt that I was better than most of the players on his team and could easily hold my own against them, that is once I get my endurance up and brush up on my touches.
Oh I also forgot to mention that on Friday in the afternoon (normally the time of day where I am planning tutor sessions or holding a session any other day of the week) I found a group of guys playing pickup soccer at the Menendez playground. It does exist!!! Oh man this and the game at Triana really inspired me to just go out with my mini soccer ball and just play around when I have some free time and see what happens. While I enjoy making money in order to travel, sometimes when I walk to my sessions I pass all the kids playing in the parks and streets and I just want to jump in and play soccer with them. Perhaps Friday’s I can finally get that chance. During the game I recognized a few of my students and they all said hi to me. A few of them came up to me during the game and asked why I was there. It was great. The only annoying part of the experience was the father I was sitting next to. Not only was he smoking, he had an obnoxious horn (the only person to have a horn) and he would not stop commentating throughout the whole game. He was a parent on the away team (which was awful) so most of the time he was screaming “vamos”, “venga”, or “falta” haha. I decided not to say hi to Sergio after the game; I’ll wait until our session on Monday to bring it up.
No comments:
Post a Comment