Final thoughts: Pines/Bangy

At first I was hesitant about going to the Philippines.  I didn’t know if it would be worth the hassle of rescheduling all my final exams and potentially jeopardizing my grades.  I mean, I didn’t even have a Philippine passport yet, so there was definitely the possibility that I wouldn’t even be able to play.  However, I decided to take a chance and trust Tito Ernie that my documents would be approved and my passport would be processed.  If something went wrong with my documents, at least I would know I tried.  All my friends told me I should take this opportunity, and my parents said the same.  So, every time I had doubts about going, I just kept telling myself that I’d rather regret going to the Philippines than regret not going. 

         If I didn’t play with the Philippines, I know 100% that I would have regretted that decision.  I am so happy that I decided to go and it truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity and an incredible experience that I will never forget.  We may not have gotten the result we wanted against Thailand, and we may not go to the World Cup, but being part of a team who got their first-ever shutout against another team ranked 27 places higher is something that I am proud of.  I got my first international ‘cap’ and I was able to play for the country that my mother was born and raised in.

My 3 roomies in the Philippines

         Off the field, I had such a fun time with all the girls and made a lot of new friendships.  Yeah, I met a lot of the girls back in November and March, but after those two camps, I only referred to the majority of the girls as teammates.  Now, I consider every single Maldita a true friend, and I know I will stay in touch with everyone.   

         So, thank you to everybody who convinced me to go.  It was definitely the right decision, and although I got homesick at times, I was surrounded by people who made it all worthwhile.  

15 things I have learned so far while being abroad:

1. you will find nice people wherever you go. stereotypes suck. they make you think that some of the nicest people might be scary just because of their outer appearance.

2. soccer really is a universal language.  

3. there is no point in showering during the day in the Philippines because the humidity is so high you will continue to sweat until you go to bed.  however, you end up showering 3 times a day anyway.

4. the lanes don't matter in the Philippines--cars will take up whichever part of the road they please.  they only partially matter in Bangladesh.  i wonder what would happen if we ignored the lanes in the states...

5. crosswalks don't exist, and neither does jay walking. multiple people get hit in the Philippines because they cross the road whenever, wherever.

6. Filipinos give you food any time you go into their house. a lot of it. and it's always delicious.

7. mango shakes = nom. mango anything = nom. fruit shakes = double nom.

8. the U.S. should add more color to our public forms of transit.  jeepneys make me happy. the more colorful, the happier. rickshaws also make me happy.

9. what is a rickshaw? well, if a carriage and a tricycle got together and had a baby, they would produce a rickshaw and they are one of the most common forms of transportation in Bangladesh.

10. language barriers suck.

11. massages are cheap and 10x better in the Philippines than in America.

12. tri-colored beards are very common in Bangladesh. they are usually a mix of grey, black, and orange.  if someone only has one beard color, orange is the most popular.

13. you can't show your legs or your shoulders in Bangladesh. even after you're all sweaty and have just played soccer in 95 degree temperatures. pants it is! always.

14. although a dirty area, Bangladesh is very colorful (ex: the clothing and the rickshaws!)

15. it's okay for little boys to pee on the side of the road. it's also okay for old men to pee on the side of the road (in Bangy)  

GAME DAY - vs. Thailand

The day was finally here.  Today was the day that we had been training for since November.  For the girls who have been playing with the Malditas for a while, today was the day they had been training for for even longer.  Thailand is ranked 29 in the world.  They're a really good team made up of quick, smart, technical players who have played together for a very long time.  

For almost a week now, we have been sharing a hotel with them: dining in the same room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; rooming on the same floor; sharing the same wifi (and we're convinced that they were using up all of it); sitting on the floor in the same hallway trying to get wifi; etc.  Now, all we wanted to do was beat them.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen... and as Monika stated, "it was one of the most heartbreaking losses I have ever experienced."  

The atmosphere in the stadium was even more intense than it was the other day.  Aside from the sounds of people putting on their gear, the locker room was filled with silence.  Tito Ernie asked if something was wrong.  Nothing was wrong; the silence was nothing but a sign of focus.  

When we walked out into the stadium for warm-up, there was a lot more noise than there was the other day.  There were more people in the stands, and there was drumming.  Thailand’s drumming.  The drumming continued throughout warm-up and the entirety of the game. Not gonna lie, I was actually pretty impressed by their ability to keep up the same beat for 90+ minutes.  Flags were waving in the stands.  When we walked past our fans, all the Filipinos were clapping and yelling out cheers.

It had been raining all morning and the field was wet and slippery.  Because of the rain, we weren’t allowed to warm up on the field.  After warm up, we went into the locker room to change into our jerseys and we entered the stadium again.  Both teams’ starting 11 followed the referees out to the center of the field. 

Our national anthem started playing.  I got chills again.  After both countries anthems, we all circled up in a huddle and prayed as we do before every game, practice, and meal.  The starting 11 took the field (not me--I didn’t get any playing time this game) and the referee blew the whistle to start the match.  Joanna tested the keeper and took a shot from half field like she did against Iran.  It took one bounce and almost went over the keeper’s head—but she tipped it over the cross bar for a corner which we were not able to capitalize on. 

The first half was pretty evenly matched, and the first and only goal of the game was scored by Thailand L.  It was offside, but the linesman was out of position and the referee didn’t call it.  Such a bummer.  I thought for sure the team would tie it up in the second half.  We outplayed Thailand and got close so many times.  However, the game ended in a  1-0 loss for us, and in my eyes Thailand definitely got lucky. 

It was such an upsetting game, and it always sucks that much more to lose because the referee made a bad call, or in this case, failed to make a call.  Tears were shed and no one could say anything to any other person to make the loss feel any better.  Tito Ernie said that he was very proud of us, and I’m very proud of the team also.  Every single player who stepped onto the field fought hard for 90 minutes and kept on pushing until the final whistle blew.  Luck just wasn’t on our side today.

In terms of making it to the world cup, we still do have a chance.  But, Iran needs to beat Thailand and that would be a miracle.  All we can do at this point is focus on our game against Bangladesh.  

The team after the game

GAME DAY- vs. Iran

Today we played Iran.  They walked onto the field wearing long pants, long shirts, and Burkas.  All you could see were their hands and half their faces.  They didn't take off their pants or undershirts before they played.  So, huge props to them for being able to play soccer dressed like that.  Definitely something I would struggle with.  

The game was so cool!  Just walking onto the field in a Philippine uniform gave me an incredible feeling.  I got chills when our national anthem started playing.  It's hard to describe all that I was feeling, but it was awesome!!  

This flag now means just as much to me as an American one.

We had the kickoff and Jesse tapped it to Joanna who took a shot from center field.  We all thought it was going in, but the goalie tipped it over for a corner kick.  Tito Ernie called for Tasha to kick it to the second post, which she executed perfectly, and Heather was there for the header.  Second minute in, Jo dribbled the ball down the side and crossed it to Megan who finished it with a one-touch shot.  Three minutes in, Jesse won the ball on top of the 18, took a few touches, and shot the ball upper 90.  3 goals in 3 minutes was a pretty great start for us this tournament.  I'm pretty sure we shocked Iran and everybody else.  They are ranked 56 in the world compared to our 83.  

Hope she doesn't get in trouble for her stomach skin showing here!

I was the first sub to go in with 25 minutes left.  I went in for Tasha at right wing and was so happy that I got a chance to play especially because my parents were there.  I played well, and the team finished the game winning 6-0. If you looked up into the stands, you could see a group of Filipinos in Malditas shirts waving Philippine flags.  That was really cool because they weren't anybody's family members--they were just straight up fans, and it was so nice to have their support in a foreign country.  After the game, they were all so excited to take pictures with us.  

Going in!

Hugging Jesse (#9) after she scored the 6th goal of the game! 

Pinoy fans in the stands!

Thanks for coming!

A great start to the tournament!  We have 1 day to train for Thailand, and then we play the 29th ranked team on Thursday!  They're staying in the same hotel as us... awkwarddddd. 

Day 13- Bangladesh

Surprisingly, I slept pretty well last night.  The beds weren't all that comfortable and I had to share a full with Marielle, but I was able to sleep through the night.  We were also afraid there were going to be bed bugs, but I woke up bite-free!  We had breakfast at 9am and toast with butter just became a delicacy.  I had that, a soft-boiled egg, watermelon, and I tried this vegetable dish for breakfast.  Toast was a favorite this morning.  There is a very strange stench when you walk into the dining room.  It's hard to describe the smell but it is definitely not pleasant.  For drinks, Tito told us to avoid the juice so we are left to drink warm bottled water for the week.  We were also instructed to brush our teeth with bottled water, and avoid any faucet water getting near our mouth.  The same rules will hold for me in Tanzania.  

Tito Ernie has been trying to get the AFC to move us into a new hotel, but I don't know if that is going to happen.  The one we're at right now is a 3-star hotel, but would probably be considered a no-star hotel in the states.  Motel 8 would earn 5 stars compared to this one.  Sarah and I were joking and wondering what it takes for a hotel to earn a star.  We decided that this one got 1 star for the nice chandelier in the dining room, 1 star for the presentation of the napkins inside of the water glasses, and 1 star because the waiters wear ties.  So it's not the nicest place, but again, I wasn't expecting much more.  I mean, we are in a very impoverished part of the world right now.  Today we were able to see the view from our hotel room for the first time since it was dark when we arrived last night.  Monika pulled back the curtain and literally just gasped.  If you look to the left, you see trash for forever.  If you look to the right, you see the same thing.  It is very dirty.  We aren't allowed to leave the hotel except for when we go to training, and when we were exiting the hotel to leave for training today, there were so many security guards surrounding us.  It's crazy.  The political scene is a bit shaky right now and apparently there has been a lot of riots and protests lately.  It's a little scary, but I wasn't planning on leaving the hotel anyway. 

view from the hotel

Some of the girls have been saying they couldn't believe we were staying in a hotel with these conditions.  I'm thankful for being well-traveled and exposed to countries with conditions equal to here...so, it is not that big of a culture shock to me, and I think that is helping me adjust a lot better than the others.  It is definitely very humbling though, and it truly does seem like a whole other world out here.  I guess from a national team standpoint, I can understand why Tito Ernie and the girls are upset that the host country didn't make nicer accommodations for us.  But Thailand is in the same hotel…I'm currently sitting less than 10 feet away from one of the Thailand players... she seems nice though. Tito Ernie just gave her a piece of chocolate lol.  And they put Iran in a hotel over an hour away from the field--so that sucks, but looks like we aren't the only team receiving poor treatment.  Apparently, Bangladesh didn't have enough money to place us in a nicer hotel... so they probably shouldn't have hosted the tournament.  Also, at training today... Iran showed up halfway through our practice.  Tito Ernie was pissed and started yelling at the organizers.  Why would you schedule two teams to overlap training times??  They didn't see the problem...

my room--actually not too bad at all! 

The dress is very different here, as expected.  You do see some men wearing regular pants and t-shirts, but a lot of them wear these white gowns (some embellished, some not) and circular white hats (which I don't really know how to describe).  The females either wear colorful pants and tops with scarves, colorful floor-length dresses with scarves and burkas, or full-length black dresses and burkas that cover the entirety of their heads, including their eyes.  Sometimes all you can see is a persons hands.  It's a custom that I am not used to and basically, clothes that we would consider to be conservative in the US are not remotely appropriate here.  When we leave the hotel, we have to wear long pants and sleeves.  We cannot change out of our pants until we get to the field.  It's 95 degrees outside, but that's just the way it is here and we obviously do not want to offend or disrespect the culture here.

When we were stuck in traffic on the way to practice, there were men who would come up to the window and make faces at us.  One guy came up to my window and started making kissy faces, so I shut my curtain.  When I opened it up again, he was still there so I just looked away.  That was a little creepy.  Others were knocking on the windows asking for money.  One was a mother with a little baby who looked ill, and two were guys missing an arm.  That was extremely sad.  It's hard to ignore and you feel like you want to help everybody, but you can't and that is super sad.  

PS: in case you didn't know, Bangladesh is a country not a city.  My sister just texted the fam group text "so, not gonna lie, I thought Bangladesh was a city in India. And then I was at my friends house yesterday and his roommate has a shower curtain of the world map so I was looking all over India to find Bangladesh and then noticed it was its own country right next to it... whoops" to which my dad responded: "double douche bag!!" so, in case you didn't know... now ya know.

Day 12- Bangladesh!

The team at the airport in Manila, ready to leave for Bangladesh

This morning I woke up at 7 to finish packing and make sure I had everything.  I had to pack all my stuff since I'm going to straight to Tanzania from Bangladesh.  We left for the airport around 9:30am and I was given my Philippines passport!  We first flew from Manila to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and had a 2-hr layover there.  I slept all three hours of that flight...I was soo tired.  It was a pretty uncomfortable flight though.  I had a middle seat in between two randos and very little leg room.  Our flight from Kuala to Dhaka was better and more spacious.  I watched 4 episodes of friends and slept a bit. This time I was sitting next to one of my teammates, Ray.  She was supposed to sit next to the lady across the aisle to my right, but I had an open seat next to me so she switched.  The lady she was supposed to sit next to had a bloody mouth and was bleeding the entire plane ride.  I'm not sure what was wrong with her.  She also didn't speak English and didn't understand when Ray was trying to get past her.  So Ray would point to the window seat, and then the lady would just shake her head and not move.  The people in the surrounding seats were translating and we thought they told Ray that the lady was sick.  But really, the lady had leg problems and couldn't move or something.  Not really sure.  Anyway, when we arrived in Dhaka I had some problems with my visa.  The people messed up and issued me an expired visa.  The issue date was May 17 and the expiration date was May 16.  All the officers and workers at immigration thought that was funny though, and I got it all fixed.  We had some team pictures taken when we were exiting the airport, and then a charter bus picked us up to take us to the hotel.  It took an hour to drive 10 miles to the hotel.  The traffic was pretty bad, but thankfully the bus was air conditioned.  All the different vehicles were interesting, and there were other types of transportation, which I'll probably take pictures of later.  When we got to the hotel, we were served dinner which was rice and veggies and stuff.  The food here is pretty spicy, but I thought it was good.  I didn't eat much though because I wasn't that hungry.  Our hotel room kind of looks like an insane asylum.  It's all white--walls white, bed sheets white, everything.  We thought our room was bad but then girls kept coming in saying that we got the best room.  We went to look at everyone else's rooms and they have twin beds on the floor, and bad bathrooms.  Lucky us, I guess.  I'm rooming with Monika (from Michigan, goes to Loyola of Chicago) and Marielle (from the Philippines, team cpt.).  I guess overall it's not too bad here- I wasn't expecting anything great, so I don't think I'm as shocked as some of the other girls.

And.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH! love and miss you!!
Anddddd..... Welcome back to the states Andi (even though I'm not there now)!! You've been missed.