Devil Incarnate

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Yesterday Brenda and I met the devil in the form of Dutch train-inspector.

We were minding our own business on the train heading to Rotterdam for the Australia vs. Netherlands pre-World Cup soccer match. The train-inspector (the devil incarnate) walked past & mumbled some obscenities about being Aussie. I am not too sure how he knew we were Aussie or honorary Aussies (Brenda) - the Aussie hats, the Aussie flag that was draped around me, the inflatable kangaroo & my Green & Gold outfit might’ve tipped him off but I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, we arrived at Dordrecht (the station just before Rotterdam) & he casually walked up to us & told us that if we wanted to go to the game we needed to get off. Although I was confused (as the game was undeniably in Rotterdam) I thought arguing with a train inspector about his own country was a waste of time so we happily alighted the train & accepted his directions. After walking through a forest, over a few bridges & finally finding ourselves on a wide open-field of barren land we realized that he had maliciously put us on a wild goose chase. We were lost & stranded & had the irresistible urge to kill anything Dutch. I’m still in disbelief about the whole episode. Anyway we walked all the way back to the station, got back on a train & finally arrived to the game 30 minutes late. We missed the Dutch goal against Australia. Brenda & I were plotting revenge against the Dutch train-inspectors the whole train ride into Rotterdam but settled with the reasoning that ‘karma’s a b*tch’ & that by missing 30 minutes of the game we were “taking one for the Aussie team” & would be rewarded with a win or maybe even a 1-1 draw. So in conclusion, it was not sheer luck that made the Socceroos draw with the Netherlands it was the karma of the Dutch train inspectator coming back to him!

The atmosphere at the Stadium was nuts- in essence it was a Sea of Orange. The Dutch seem to wear, drag, hold or attach anything that’s orange to their bodies for sporting events. In fact, it’s not just orange it’s a fluorescent-orange so I couldn’t look at the crowd for more than 10 seconds before the brightness of the fluorescent-orange started to take its toll on my eyes. Needless to say, all the Dutch love Soccer & love Australia- except for the fact that we were putting most of their players in hospital just before the World Cup. The Dutch fans that surrounded us were welcoming, fun & energetic & we’re happy to talk soccer, argue soccer & laugh about soccer. We had so much fun bantering with them about the game especially over some of the referee’s calls & the various penalties. I nearly taped the penalty goal that Australia scored but was so excited that they scored that I began jumping & screaming & lost control of the camera.

All the Aussies met before & after the game at O’Shea’s Pub- an Irish pub in Rotterdam. It was the Home of the Green & Gold Army for the day. We got together sang typically Aussie Songs, Soccer Songs (about Viduka, Kewell & our “Keeper being the best in the world”- I wonder what Dida would think of that?) drink beer, watch the Brazil vs. New Zealand Soccer match & then the Sri Lanka vs. England Cricket match. I met so many Australians who have travelled to Europe for the World Cup. Who work in London & who all hail from Down Under- notably Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth & Melbourne. I even met a guy who goes to my university & who lives 5 minutes away from me in Baulkham Hills- small world! If there’s anything I realized yesterday- it’s that Aussie’s are the friendliest people in the world & that I miss the Aussie humour & the Aussie accent. O’Shea’s Pub felt like home. I am officially homesick. I’ll see them all in Munich for the Brazil vs. Australia game. I can’t wait to catch up with my fellow Aussies.

Cheers, Natalia.

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