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Published: August 12th 2011
As I mentioned in my previous post, I started to feel a little.... suffocated in Salamanca. (Okay, that's harsh, but I can't think of a nicer word that describes it right.) It's a great city; no hate on my side! I just needed a break, damn you. A break from classes and the monotony of life there. And before you think that I'm saying Sevilla is better than Salamanca, we did do the Granada excursion so, I did have a Sevilla break, as well.
Okay, back on topic: I was ready to get away and considered the different excursions that the school offered. There was one to Pamplona for San Fermin (the running of the bulls), but after talking to Nuria, one of my professors, I decided to save my money for something that I would really, really like to do. Thus, I found myself online looking at Villarreal CF's training schedule. O-ho, yes! Villarreal CF, who are located in Vila-real, which is in Eastern Spain and very, very far from Salamanca, which is in Western Spain.
At first, it was just a thought; a ridiculous idea that I wouldn't go through with because I'm not a devil-may-care, spontaneous
person. I'm too responsible to skip a class that I'd paid for and run off to another city/region. But as luck would have it (okay, not luck...), we'd had a rough class one day and that was the straw that broke the camel's back! (Also, I'd seen an article on the team's website saying that the International players would be returning to train on Wednesday, July 13th.) In one night, I bought my bus tickets, booked a hotel in Valencia, and contacted Juan, a guy that works with the team, about meeting up at the training grounds.
Now, let's break this down so you can see how absolutely insane I am:
Tuesday, July 15th I went to class to minimize my guilt about skipping Wednesday, but also to tell my professors that I would miss and why. In conversation class, my professor Felisa turned it into a class topic. She made me explain where I was going and why. Lord Jesus, she even wrote "Marchena" on the chalkboard! It was funny, though, and I love her for always giving me the opportunity to say crazy
shit. haha. (It was kinda like with Profe Guapo. After a while, he seemed to expect/look forward to the random things I'd throw at him. Although, I once said something insightful and he looked genuinely surprised, haha.)
Class ended at about 1 pm so, I rushed back to the apartment to finish packing my bag. It was only a 1 1/2 day trip, but I still ended up stuffing my backpack like I was running away from home. I walked to the bus stop, which was really close by, and got on the 3:30 pm bus to Madrid. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the trip because my teachers gave me loads of homework and I spent as much time as I could working on it. Or rather, I worked until my brain just shut down. (Repetition is good for practice, but after a while, one just hits a wall and can't do it anymore.)
Four hours later, I arrived in Madrid at 6:30 pm. I was on such a tight schedule that I could only give myself an hour between buses so, that gave me just enough time to grab a bite to eat and stretch
my legs a bit. The bus left Madrid at about 7:30 pm and I used the time to finish my homework for one class, as well as nap. (What else could one do?) We stopped at a gas station for dinner at some point and then, got back on the road to Valencia. ...For a minute, anyway. The bus driver stopped on the side of the road to talk to someone at the back of the bus. Everyone turned around and was whispering because it was like Dad was getting on to someone. From what I could understand, some girl was changing into her pajamas so, he went to stop her. On his way back to the front, I heard him mutter, "Esto no es un vestuario. (This is not a changing room.)" hahaha.
After this, I took a nap until the obnoxious American kid sitting in front of me gasped really loudly. I woke up, but wasn't bothered because he was gasping at VALENCIA. Oh, how I love this city! Maybe it's because I lived there for 5 weeks, but I definitely got that "coming home" feeling. I am happy that I decided to study in different parts
of Spain this time, but part of me still wishes I'd studied in Valencia, too. Oh, I love it there so much.
So, we arrived in Valencia at about 11:35 pm and I took a cab to my hostel. The taxi driver was a bit grumpy/rude until I started talking about how I needed a break from Salamanca. He got a little animated/way nicer; asking what street I lived on and if I knew of this cafe & that one. By this time we were at the hostel and I just wanted to go to bed, but he wouldn't stop! Yeah, that's when I realized he's from Salamanca (ha, oops!), which he confirmed when I asked him. So, I said that I really like Salamanca, but just needed a break from classes. Satisfied with this answer, he finally let me go. Whew.
Oof, as tired as I was, I think that it was past 2 am by the time I went to sleep. I set my alarms and turned off my Spanish mobile before going to bed; forgetting that I can't turn it back on without the PIN number, which I'd left in Salamanca. :/
Wednesday, July 16th
As usual, I woke up later than intended and didn't leave the hostel until after 8 am. I rushed to the train station, which was only about 10 minutes away, and took the next train out to Vila-real. The trip is about an hour long, and I probably didn't get to Vila-real until just before 9:30. The team's website said that this is when training starts and I SHOULD have just gone straight to the training grounds, but I hadn't had breakfast and needed coffee. I ate a little in the station cafe, where the workers told me that training doesn't begin until 10:30. Hmm...
Nonetheless, I didn't want to take my time and possibly miss all of practice. I finished pretty quickly and as I was waiting to pay, an older man started asking questions about why I was there. I couldn't understand him very well so, the waitress had to act as a translator. He seemed pleased that I was there to see the team, but still asked if I knew any of the players (not personally, of course). It felt like quiz time so, I started naming some and he seemed pleased/impressed. So, yeah.
Training
Marcos Senna!Making peoples' days: that's what I do.
Right afterwards, I left and took a cab to Cuidad Deportiva, the team's training grounds. The taxi guy was grumpy, but I harassed him with questions a bit and he got super friendly. (Soy la amiga de los taxistas.) I don't remember much of what we talked about. A bit about the team, but also, I think about me being American and what I was doing in Spain. I begin to think that whole "Europeans hate Americans" thing is a lie. I've yet to meet a European here (Spanish or otherwise) that is anti-American.
I was late to training (no surprise there), but it was exciting! Is this even possible in the States? I mean, I was behind a 4+ foot wall, but still! There they were training right in front of me! These are guys that before I had only seen on tv &/or a shoddy stream from my laptop. I wish I had more photos of this, but most of the guys were on the other side and I wasn't sure if the other side of the pitch was restricted or not.
As I was watching the guys,
it occurred to me that Rossi, Marchena, Santi, Capdevila... none of the International players were there. Guh. At this time, I received a text from Juan on my home phone saying that he was looking for me. I wrote him back and went to the other side of the grounds, where I waited. While waiting I asked a girl where Santi and the others were. She said that they wouldn't train until the afternoon and that was just too much. Afternoon training starts at 7 pm and I had to be on the bus back to Madrid at 5:30 pm. Close but no cigar!
But, you know, not all was lost. I met up with Juan and he showed me around the grounds: where the B & C teams train, as well as where they play. Inside the building, he showed me around the facilities and I got to meet a number of people. Two of them, for instance, were Hernán Sanz and David Calderón, who are press officers with the team. Actually, I recognized Hernán as soon as I saw him because he's pretty well known amongst Villarreal fans for being one of the presenters on
Villarreal TV. I
was, actually, a little too excited by this, I think. It's that I expected to see/meet players, but meeting Hernán Sanz & the daughter of the Club president were total surprises. And on top of that, everyone was so nice and unpretentious; very down-to-earth. (Hello, I would be a little snotty if my dad had owned a football club. ha.)
We milled around a bit and I got to take a photo with Gonzalo, who is the team's captain. Incredible! I, also, took a photo with Marco Ruben and then, got to see a bit of a press conference that he did. I couldn't really understand everything, BUT I go to sit in at a press conference! I felt all sorts of important that day. We were going to sit in for Angel's interview, but left to see if we could catch more of the players. (Cesar Sanchez had recently transferred to Villarreal from Valencia and I had wanted to see him.) We waited outside and watched Gonzalo taking photos for some interview that he did. He kept looking over so, I think that maybe we made him nervous.
We ended up moving, though, because the players were
coming out from another exit. Here, I got to take a photo with Nilmar, Marcos Senna, & Cani; all important players to the team. I didn't speak to any of the players I met, unfortunately, because I'm still so self-conscious about my Spanish. Speaking with taxi drivers and bartenders/waiters is a lot less stressful, haha. Ah, but I wish I had said something so that this could be more interesting. "¡Que guapo eres!" even would have been something, haha.
We waited around more for more players to come out, but I don't know... Lunch must have been particularly good that day. In the end, we had to leave so, I will just have to go back another day to see Cesar. You know, when I move there.
Since he was going back to Valencia, anyway, Juan offered to drive me back there after showing me a bit of Vila-real. I agreed, despite the fact that I knew my family would have a fit once I told them that I got into a car with a man only a few hours after meeting him. (Sorry, mom.) He took me to both of the official team shops and I left
The greatest people you will ever meet
Hernán Sanz, me, David Calderón, & Juan. with a mug and team poster, which Juan bought for me. All of this, everything that happened on this day, really did kinda make up for missing Marchena. ♥
The drive back to Valencia was amazing. This part of the country is so beautiful and driving alongside the ocean was really remarkable. He probably does this everyday and didn't even take note of it, but I was amazed. I really do love it there; so much.
After we said our goodbyes, I wandered a bit around Valencia until I had to be at the bus station. I took the 5:30 pm bus from Valencia and arrived in Madrid at about 9:30. From there I took the 10:00 pm bus from Madrid and arrived in Salamanca at about 12:30 am. Oof. I don't have many photos of this trip, either because I took advantage of the daylight to do the last bit of my homework and then, slept the rest of the way.
The next day, I went to class and had to explain to all the bright, shining faces that I did NOT see Carlos. I tried to explain how great the trip still was, but Felisa
was not impressed, haha. I guess you have to love the team to really understand. This really was one of the best days of my trip and I still think on how lucky I was to get the opportunity.
Courtney
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