My
buddy Andrew from PLNU who is studying in Bilbao (Northern Spain) made the trip
down to see Chad and me! We showed him our favorite spots around Barcelona and
just as it was in Florence, it was great to hang out with people from the same
place as you and as great as my friends in that program are, there is something
special about being with people that you will be friends with for many years
down the road. Among many other fun things we went to another Barcelona match,
which was nothing short of amazing yet again.
We arrived early enough to see the teams
walk out and hear them announce the teams. Something about it the red and
yellow Catalan flags or the horns being blown throughout the stadium reminded
me of a circus. The names of the players were all read out over the stadiums loud
speaker and each Barcelona player got a whopping “AYYE” from the crowd
following their name. When Messi’s name was read the cheer was massive, always
got to show appreciation for the main act right? The fans behind the goal were
waving their flags back and forth and they paced their chants to the beat of
the bass drum which one enthusiastic fellow was drumming away on as if his life
depended on it. Well the show started with a bang, good thing we got their
early because it only took them 2 minutes to find the back of net. From there
we watched them run the game and score some absolutely beautiful goals
including a classic one from Messi as he got a through ball and at full sprint he
nonchalantly chipped it over the onrushing keeper. The stadium erupted as the
main act Messi wheeled around to give credit to his assistants. What a stage
they play on, in front of all of those fans and on some of the softest looking
grass my eyes have ever seen, but they justify it every time with their performance.
My favorite moment of the night was a classic Barcelona style goal as they lulled their opposition into a trance with all of their intricate passes in and around the box. After one seemingly impossible no-look flick from Iniesta the job was done…Fabregas slid the ball across the box and Pedro had the honor of capping off the series of passes by passing the ball into the welcoming open net. Vintage Barcelona. The stadium rose to their feet for that and for many other occasions that match, for Neymar’s return from injury, all the five goals we saw, and for Messi’s substitution and multiple goals of course. After his goals and during the substitution everyone acts like they are bowing down and chant for their King “Messi, Messi, Messi”. The atmosphere was brilliant and the fans even got the wave going around the stadium and with Camp Nou hosting up to 100,000 fans per match… it was quite a spectacle. At halftime of course we preformed a little seat hopping which landed us right behind the Barcelona goal and next to all of the die-hard fans.
We decided to leave the match a few minutes early and to my misery we had just walked out of the stadium when it erupted! Hoping that the 6th goal was “nothing special” we headed for home.
…Upon checking my highlights
website the following morning I had my face in my hands as I watched over and
over the replay of Neymar staying on his feet after nearly being knocked over
by two defenders and from 30 years out smashing into the top corner … “Nothing
Special”...It will be the last time I EVER leave a match early…
The dinner table is
constantly full of new faces and intriguing stories that come with. This wide
array comes from many places such as others who also have a room upstairs at
Josefa’s house, Josefa’s friends, her son who is living with us for a bit, and
two more study abroad students from across the street! Dustin and Tyler have
been great English speaking additions to the dinner table and I enjoy both of
their company immensely. Tyler has an extremely well articulated mind and we
have had some fun discussions as we both share many similar thoughts and
interests in teaching and education. Dustin is extremely laid back and almost
reminds me of some of my California friends although he loves nothing more than
to make fun of California lingo and in association with it of course, me. It is
nice to shoot the breeze with someone like him though, he also is a dedicated footballer
and I am pleased to find that he is often just as nerdy and follows updates as
closely as I do. All in all it is safe to say I still love it here and I think
of my friends often. The fact that I continue to learn, make mistakes, and grow
means that I am intellectually stimulated and that’s all I need, working
towards something…
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