Guevara's Memoirs from Mexico: Soccer Blog Four
By Noel Guevara, Women's Soccer
MEXICO CITY, Mexico - Awaiting to arrive at the airport, I sit and
reflect about this past week and my experiences. I let out a sigh
of relief and the taxi driver turns around to look at me. I
accomplished a lot this past week and I made it! I made it through
the hard sessions of straight running and physical testing. I made
it through the mountain experience and the experience of competing
with high quality players.
What really did not hit me until I got my ticket to go back home
is that I will miss Mexico. I will miss the girls that I met here,
because in the past, the girls who were training with me
disrespected me for being American. This time, the girls were
trying to learn English! There were also a lot of Americans there
to help as well. Oh and it was by far the best experience getting
the opportunity to play soccer with my little sister, feeding me
balls from left defender. The coaching was probably some of the
best coaching I have ever been offered and it was well worth the
trip. I will always have the trainer Medi in the back of my head
during sprints and running exercises saying, "Con frequencia, con
frequencia! Mas directo!"
This trip gave me a lot of respect for the Mexican culture as
well. It made me really appreciate the food, which I know I will
miss so much. The flavor and spices that they put into the food
will always tickle my tongue. I also really respect the traditional
values that Mexicans have and that they will always follow their
morals and live their life following their religion.
In all, this experience was far better than the other times. I
could not ask for anymore. I am so excited to be back home and I
know I will enjoy my last few weeks of this semester as much as I
can! Especially the last few weeks of spending it with my soccer
team and the last few training opportunities together!
-Noel
Picture courtesy of Noel Guevara (center)