The Spanish life

Hey all!

It is time to give you an update again! Of course I studied, cleaned the house etc, but I don’t think you are very much interested in that. That’s why I quickly go on with one of my favorite hobbies: football. On Monday September 19 I finally had my first futsal training. Indeed: futsal. In the Netherlands I play ‘normal’ football, but that was not possible this semester at my university. Therefore, I decided to try to be selected for the futsal team. I was very curious about how many girls would come and how well they could play. I enjoyed the training very much, because it was three weeks ago that I played soccer for the last time. The girls played well and were very nice too. After three trainings, the trainer told me I was selected! In the Netherlands, I am very used to the concept of having a drink after matches and trainings. I was wondering whether this was usual in Spain too. Well, yes, the Spanish girls know this element very well! I really enjoy having a drink with this team!

Except for playing football myself, I also enjoy watching football matches. And of course, Real Madrid’s stadium Santiago Bernabéu is one of the best places to do this. I managed to arrange tickets for the match Real Madrid – Ajax (for the Champions League)! Tuesday September 27, I went there with 4 other girls and we had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the tricks of Ronaldo and Kaká…

Well, for all people who don’t like football: I will talk about something else now. I have seen a lot again, such as the Real Jardín Botanico (The royal botanic garden), which was very relaxing in a big city like this. I also went to Segovia for one day, an old city on a rock about 90 km from Madrid. The old city center is walled and there is a real ancient Roman aqueduct, which is on the UNESCO world heritage list. Furthermore, I have relaxed in Parque del Oeste and the Retiro park. And I have eaten ice creams with my flat mates. And tapas. And I finally got my public transport card. And I organized a dinner with some girls here. Oh, and I booked a trip to Morocco!! Five cities in three days, a camel ride, bellydance show, etc.!

This time I show you a picture of the Roman aqueduct in Segovia, just because I think it is so impressive.

And the anecdote is about hilarious situations in my football team, because I am Dutch… I would like to start with my name. For most Spaniards (and other nationalities), it is simply impossible to pronounce my name in the right way. Therefore they often call me Rachel (English pronunciation). But while playing sports, it is usual that your teammates try to abbreviate your name. That’s why they call me ‘Rach’ now, what sounds like ‘reet’ (which means ‘ass’ in Dutch). When I explained this to my team, they could not stop laughing! Secondly, they were curious about what a Dutch yell sounded like. So before we started to play a match during the training, they asked me to do a Dutch yell. I started: “yell, yell, yell,…” (and then a sentence follows of course), but they thought this was it! So now they think these three words are a complete yell in Dutch!

Well, I think you are quite updated now. I hope you enjoyed this blog, because it has become a quite long one I see…

Bye!