BENFICA!!!

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I have had one of the most eventful weeks so far! There are so many things that I want to say, I hope I can get it all down for you 😊. First things first, I will talk about what I promised I would speak about this past week. Thursday, October 2nd, I had the amazing oppourtunity to go see a professional soccer (or "futebol") game in Lisbon, and man was it AMAZING! It took us two hours to get there, and it was so worth the trip 😊. We arrived and rushed to the one of the biggest malls in Europe to grab a small bit to eat.. I have been having troubles eating meat latley, so I have been eating more on the lighter side.. veggies, fruits, bread, soup, etc. As we were walking there, I could smell so many familiar smells of quick fast hamburgers, beer, and other things that reminded me of home (Cleveland Indians games :D!) There were so many people on the streets, laughing, chatting, and the air was filled with excitement and anxious feelings.. or maybe it was just me haha! The stadium is very large, it holds about 45,000 people (the older one held 120,000 people). Its about 5 years old now. There is no ceiling, and it was quite chilly :O. The color of the stadium is of course, red (its the main color of the Benfica team). We had really great seats (it was my host dad, me, and some of his friends... my host mom and sister went shopping). The opening ceremony was SO unique, I will never forget it. The symbol of the Benfica team is the eagle, and in the opening, a young boy called for the eagle to come, and a bald eagle did circles around the stadium and landed on the team's stand, and completed the symbol. Everyone was cheering, holding up their team scarfs, chanting their teams' songs, waving their enormous flags.. all together as one mass. It was as though they all were on the same brain wave, heart beat, and it was really cool to watch and be a part of. When their team was fouled or a bad call was made, the entire stadium roared with anger. Or if the team made a goal everyone rose from their seats, screaming and jumping up and down, hugging strangers! I was even part of a hug sandwich (me in the middle) with my host dad and a complete stranger. Everyone was everyones mate, friend etc. Well, not everyone. There are two sides of the crowded seats near the field that hold two "dog pounds" one of the left, the No Names, and the right, the Red Devils.. that do not like eachother. But they were equally cheering for their team, and most of the time began all of the chanting in the stadium. There was also a side for the visiting team... it was actually Napoli. And the game went by SO fast... at the half, there was a cheering/dance squad called the Axe girls(inspired by the USA football cheerleaders). They were.. interesting haha. They also danced before the game began. The game went into a 3 minute over time, and we WON 2-0!! It was so amazing.. I don't know how many times I have said that haha! Anyway, the next day, I had my own experience with futebol.. it was very different that I expected. I arrived at the place to meet the team, and they were there in a bus.. I was confused, but then I understood once someone explained it to me when we got to the location. There are about 20 girls that are playing, and two that I know of speak english. The coach is very kind, and he seems to like me so far haha. We are getting shoes for the team this following week, and I am excited :D. We had another mini game practice session near my home on Saturday.. it was very short. They style of soccer they play futebol is different. They play indoor and not outdoor so it was different and I ran much more ... man I am out of shape in playing soccer hah! It will get better I hope 😊. Another event that happened was on Thursday, I presented my country to my class and portuguese teacher! They seemed to like it alot, and Friday, Ball (the Thai student) is presenting his... good luck to him! I gotta go, many things to do...
I miss you and love you!
Claire

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