Coming to an end

Our last game of the season was against Fjölnir, the team I was originally in contact with and was going to play for. We ended up losing 3-0, but I got to meet Thorleifur, the coach who contacted IR for me. It was nice to finally put a face to the person who helped get me to Iceland.
Monday, I woke up ready to ride my bike to the club by 10 a.m. so that I could go to the Westman Islands with the 16 girls team only to find out they weren't going anymore. I decided to just hang out all day and had no plans. At 10:40 the apartment doorbell/buzzer/speaker rang and it was Dori. He was downstairs and was asking if I wanted to go with the U14 boys team. I had about 2 minutes to get dressed and grab a what I needed to take with me. To get to the Westman Islands you take the same road as you do when heading toward the Golden Circle but instead of turning just keep following the coast, so I got to see a part of Iceland I hadn't seen yet. It is about 2 hours from Reykjavik to the ferry which takes about 30 minutes to go to the Islands. These Islands are amazingly beautiful. I don't know how to accurately describe what they look like, other than just saying extraordinary.

It is mainly a fishing island and is very wealthy. They have a large club and they host a big tournament every year.  A little history about the Island: In 1973, a volcano on the main (inhabited) island erupted and a portion of the town was completely covered in lava. You can see a few buildings halfway covered in volcanic rock. Fortunately the boats were in the harbor and people were able to escape. Also, in order to keep the dock open they had to pump sea water onto the lava to cool it down and slow the flow. You can still go up to the volcano and feel that the rocks are still warm. Another interesting tidbit is that Keiko, aka Free Willy, is from Iceland and was reintroduced to the "wild" in the Westman Islands. They closed off a part of the ocean that met up with one of the islands as a habitat for him where he lived until 2003.

One thing that everyone who goes to Westman Islands has to do is swing on a rope from the side of a mountain. It was my turn and some locals were explaining the best way to do it. I listened and tried to do what they told me. I jumped and then started to twist around with my back towards the upcoming rock wall. Everyone down below was yelling "NO!" So I got myself turned back around. Unfortunately when I got to the wall I didn't push off hard enough and didn't quite make it back to the other side. I ended up just hanging there with no way to get back to the ledge. They told me to lower my hands down the rope so that I could just let go and fall down. I wasn't able to get me hands any lower and just decided to go ahead and fall. I wasn't too high up maybe 8 feet off the ground but it still messes with your nerves. After I let go my hands hurt for about 15 minutes. They were burning and aching. Even today they are still a little sore. It was definitely an interesting experience. It was fun and I would do it again. Especially now that I know how to do it right.

On the drive back to Reykjavik, we stopped at an amazing waterfall. It comes off a ledge so you can actually walk behind the waterfall. It was incredible.

I will post some pictures soon.

Today, Tinna's mom had us over for a traditional Icelandic fish dinner. We had fish, potatoes, rye bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and hard boiled eggs. It was fantastically delicious. There was also one other item she had me try. It was a rectangle mold of bits of lamb meat. That's all I knew when I took my bite. After I ate it and said that it wasn't bad I was informed that it was sheep head. They take several sheep heads and boil them for a long time which causes the meat to fall off the bone. Then they take the meat and put it in a pan (loaf pan). It has a similar texture to chopped brisket, but with a little gelatin to bind it. All in all it wasn't bad and if served it again I would be able to eat it, even knowing what it was. Definitely not something I would go out of my way to eat again though.

One more full day in Iceland and then back to  the real world. Tomorrow I am coaching in the morning, hanging out with Tinna and Linda in the afternoon, practice in the evening and then a goodbye party with my girls. I am going to be sad to say goodbye. It has been such an incredible experience and I hope I can come back.

Busy, exciting, awesome, adventurous Week.

Last week was crazy and awesome. On the 5th, my parents arrived and picked me up. We had to leave immediately for a drive up north for a game on the 6th. We drove about 5 hours to a teammates house in Olafsfjordur to meet up then head out for practice. After practice the team went swimming and back to the house, but my parents and I continued on 2 more hours to Husavik and arrived at 10:30 pm. We stayed at a cute guesthouse. The next day we played Völsungur and won 1-0. Getting a win and a shutout was a nice change of pace :) 

Our Guesthouse

Immediately after the game we went and got Fish and Chips then caught Silvia to try whale watching again. This time we were way more successful and saw both Minke and Humpback whales as well as some Puffins. I am particularly good at spotting Puffins, my strategy is to just look for the birds on the water that suck at flying. 

Humpback Whale Diving

On Sunday we took a detour and continued up North a bit more to see some more sites. We attempted to find a Puffin colony, but all we found were cows. 

Running away from the cows

The next stop was Ásbyrgi, a horseshoe shaped canyon believed to be the hoof print of the god Odin's 8-legged horse.

Ásbyrgi

Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe was the next destination and we accidentally took the wrong road there. The road we took was supposed to be closed to passenger vehicles for good reason. It was a one lane unpaved road with no shoulder or guardrails. It was the bumpiest hour in a car I have ever experienced. The result was fantastic though. 

Dettifoss

Going off plan but heading back to Reykjavik we stopped at Hverir, an area that smells like the worst rotten eggs ever. It is a sulfur field and has some pretty interesting geography and sulfur pots.

Hverir

We finally made it back to Reykjavik after a weekend of driving, driving, and more driving. The next morning we woke up and got on the road again. It was my dad's turn to see the golden circle.

Strokkur Geysir

We got back in time for practice and then grabbed dinner at my favorite place Saffran. The next morning was our horseback riding adventure. The Icelandic horse is awesome. It's small, sturdy, and has an extra gait. Who knew?

Icelandic Horse with Hair to match the rider

When we got back we grabbed some food and I headed back to the hotel for a nap while my parents explored downtown. We had against Haukur that night and we lost 3-0. The first half I dominated on corner kicks and crosses so in the second half they put 3 girls on me. I thought I played well, just played a better team. The next day we woke up early and walked down to the Arctic Adventures office to be picked up for our final day of Adventure. We went arctic rafting and it was incredible. I had never been rafting before and was really nervous, but decided I was just going to suck it up and enjoy every part of the experience that I could. I was the first to jump off the high cliff (6m). It was amazing, and kinda terrifying. 

I also jumped out of the boat mid rapid, and played a balance game standing on the end of the boat. I was pretty good at balancing while facing inside the boat, but the minute I turned to look outside the boat I fell in. We played some other fun games and mom got pushed in by dad. We got in a 12 passenger van with monster truck tires and drove out to Langjökull, a nearby glacier to go snowmobiling. Mom got her own while dad and I shared one. I was terrified and that wasn't made any better when a group behind us flipped their snowmobile. After they fixed that and switched drivers went a little further they flipped again and the passenger was trapped under and injured her leg. I didn't want to take my turn driving after that but decided I had to. How often do you get to drive a snowmobile on a glacier in Iceland?  I was tentative, but ended up enjoying it. Not something I want to do often though. 

Had to say goodbye to my parents the next morning which was a little easier than when my mom and sister left in June, because I knew I would be home in a week. I am so thankful for my time in Iceland and that I got to share it with my parents and Erin. I just with Ryan and Corey could have come too. Maybe next summer ;)

Whale Watching

Had a blast with mom and dad this weekend. We won our second game 1-0 then went whale watching in Husavik. We were fortunate enough to see minke whales and humpback whales. It was fantastic. My mom got soaking wet, but my dad and I were up on the roof with the captain and the guide so we stayed nice and dry. Today, we drove back to Reykjavik and stopped at some pretty cool spots along the way. Asbrygi, Dettifoss, Godafoss, and Myvatn.

Better late than never (right Tracy?)

Well, I haven't posted in two weeks. OOPS.

Not much has happened the past two weeks, just work, coaching, and practice. We did win our first game last week. It was 2-1. The goal they scored was a deflection off one of my players and I almost had it.

I helped out at Rey Cup. It is a large tournament and I was there all day everyday for about 8 hours. I was in charge of warming up IR goalkeepers. We had several teams competing, but I helped out with 3. Overall all of our teams did pretty well. The last night of the tournament they had a huge barbecue for all the participants. There were hamburgers, grilled lamb, and grilled pork but no hot dogs. The lamb was delicious. After that my team had a party and went downtown. It was a lot of fun hanging out with the girls away from soccer.

In just a few days my mom and dad are coming for a visit and I couldn't be more excited. We are going to do a lot of exploring, mainly up North, and also give whale watching another go. Hopefully we get to see some Humpback whales for my mom's sake. We are also gonna go arctic rafting, snowmobiling on a glacier, horseback riding, and drive the Golden Circle one last time. It is gonna be awesome.

I am headed back to the states on August 18th. Still working out details, looking for a job and housing.

Everything in Iceland has been such an awesome adventure and experience of a lifetime. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity.

Elphaba!

My new nickname is now Elphaba..Just kidding. After two days of bagging cut grass by hand I have turned green. Thankfully, ample soap and water have turned me back to my pasty pale self.

It has been a great week. I love working with the kiddos at IR. I got to help with a group of 4-5 year old boys and girls and they were adorable. At one point they were playing 2v2 to small goals and one of the teams had a really little girl and a bigger boy who was dominating the game. After a few minutes he stopped trying to score and did whatever he could to get her to score. It was precious. There are two boys who are 8 and love coming to my goalkeeper sessions. They made me feel so awesome this week because everyday they asked if they got to train with me, when I said I didn't know they went and begged the youth director and their coach to let me do a gk session with them. It is always more fun when you know they are enjoying it as much as I am...I will definitely miss these kids.

I am busy planning my mom and dad's visit. So excited to show them around.

Biking

Yesterday was my day off and it was a beautiful day. I decided to ride my bike downtown to do a little shopping and walk around. I wasn't exactly sure what the best way to go would be but I set off knowing the general direction I was headed. Along the way I stopped by a museum and walked around outside, because they had some pretty interesting sculptures. I continued along the bike path and stopped to take a picture of a French couple. I made it downtown, did my shopping and ate a pizza place. It took about an hour and a half to go there and back. Finished off the day with soccer practice and guess what I rode my bike there too. So it was about 2 hours and 15 minutes of biking. My butt is officially sore.

Photos

Long time, no blog

Sorry for such a delay in updating my blog. I was still recovering from the last two weeks.

Funny story (to me anyway): I was walking to the grocery store and there was a man standing out front that was trying to talk to people walking by. I do what I always do in that situation (even in the states, but especially here since I have no idea what they are saying) and avoid eye contact and just keep walking. I was doing good too, no eye contact, moving quickly...Then he started speaking to me and I just said "sorry" and shrugged my shoulders. His only response was "Oh, I thought you were Icelandic." Made my day....Tinna always says that I don't look Icelandic or Nordic, maybe German, but not really. It was a short moment of triumph.

I am now donning the title Master of Painting and Manual Labor. I have been working hard at painting an old covered bench, blue. It has been a four day painting job and many flies have met their end in the sticky blue paint. Unfortunately, so has some of my hair. I always end up with blue paint in my hair and it always breaks off. I almost have bangs now with how much hair has broken off. Currently I have blue tips at the end of my ponytail. I accidentally dipped it in when I was reaching across the paint pan.

I had been planning to cook dinner for my team and decided to sneak it in as a July 4th celebration. About 12 of the girls met at Ulla's house and I made Basil Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms. They loved it. I wore my Old Navy American Flag shirt and Lady Liberty hat that my mom and sister brought me when they visited. I am waiting to get the picture and will post it when I do. It was a fun night and it was great to spend time with my teammates away from practice and games. They are all so nice and fun.

We played Helena's old team on the 5th and got dominated 3-0. I don't think we even took a shot the whole game. They were just bigger, faster, stronger, and more technical than us. The positive thing that came out of the night was a Horned Frog Reunion. Helena Sverrisdottir and her mom came out to watch me play and I got to chat with them for a bit before going into the locker room. It was great to see a familiar face.

We are halfway through our season and haven't won a game. Hopefully the second half of the season will be a little better.

I have my Harry Potter tickets pre-ordered and in the VIP section (lazy boy recliners and all you can eat popcorn and drinks) It is gonna be awesome....Yes, I know I am a Weird, but that's ok.


Starting to get really homesick missing friends and family. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything, but sometimes wish home was a little closer..


Love,
Walls

London!!!!

Last weekend was jam packed with excitement. Friday we had a game and weren't able to go to sleep until 1 in the morning. We had to wake up at 5 a.m. so we could drive to the airport and make our flight. We arrived in Gatwick at around noon caught the train to London and took the Underground in search of The Who Shop. unfortunately when we put in the address into Google Maps it sent us to the wrong place, so we tried again and it gave us the wrong directions again. We ended up walking 2 hours and took a bus only to find out it was like a block from where we had started. It was worth it though. The Who Shop is awesome and was a lot of fun. After that we headed to Leilani's house (Tinna's RA from college). From there we headed to the O2 for the Glee concert. Fan-freaking-tastic is all I can say about Glee. It was awesome and was such a wonderful experience.
Sunday we ventured out to a Wine and Tapas festival near the Tower Bridge. I got to sample wines from the Rioja region of Spain and this awesome Rice dish with chorizo, ribs, and some other meat and pepper that I didn't recognize. Everything was delicious.

One of my favorite things to watch on the History Channel when I was younger was all about the Tower of London so I had to go. It was so cool and it was great to see it in person.
All in all the trip was a great success. I hope to go back when I have more than just 30 hours.

I have a lot of photos to post, but the internet connection has slowed down so I will post them next month.

Walters WO"MAN" trip.

While the Walters' men are off on their "Man" trip in Florida, the Walters' Women came to visit me in Iceland. They have been here for three days so far and we have packed the days full of adventures.

The first adventure was finding their luggage. Somewhere along the way Delta lost their bags and they had to be re-routed through Amsterdam and arrived Sunday night. Sunday morning we woke up and went to wander around Downtown Reykjavik and look at shops. We had got hot dogs at the world famous hot dog stand at the harbor and then headed to a lobster soup lunch. Both were delicious and it was time to head home so that we could get ready for our game vs. the Greenland National team. Didn't know they had a national team, but did find out that they aren't even recognized by FIFA. They were not very good, and it was a pretty boring game. In the second half I punted a ball straight down the middle and one of our forwards got a toe on it and scored. My coach had thought I got the goal because he didn't see her touch it. Either way I was pumped. Then with about 10 minutes left in the game Greenland got a PK. My teammates were being very encouraging saying, "you got it." I was nervous as usual when it comes to PK's but she hit it directly at me. I guess I was intimidating. (hahaha) After the game we came back to the apartment to wait for luggage and Tinna picked up pizza for us. Her mom joined us for dinner and we had a great time chatting. I made a meringue that is very popular here. It took me two tries to get it right, and the final product still needed some help with the finishing touches but it tasted great.

Monday morning we set off for the golden circle. We saw the same sights I mentioned last time I went to the golden circle and had a blast. We got home in time for soccer practice. While we were practicing mom and Erin stayed at the apartment and made us hamburgers. We left practice 15 minutes early, rushed home to change and eat our burgers, and then sped downtown to make our whale watching tour. It was a lot of fun, but not very successful. We did see a few whales, but only their fins as they came up for air and dove back down.

Today was our trip to the Blue Lagoon. It was incredible. We all enjoyed in water massages and facials and just floated around for a while. On the way home we stopped for gelato and then had Indian food from my favorite restaurant here, Saffran.

Tomorrow we are headed to museums.

Update

Growing up, my dad wouldn't ever let me mow the lawn because he was scared I would get hurt and I need all my toes and fingers so I can play soccer. This week I had to mow all the grass around the club and there are rocks everywhere in Iceland. Every time I hit a rock I was scared to death that it was going to fly up and hit me in the eye. Luckily that didn't happen. Mowing is not fun and I have knots in my forearms. I can't wait until Tuesday at the Blue Lagoon. We have booked massages and I couldn't need one more.

I got a "new" (to me) bike from IR and it is great, although the seat could be a little more comfortable, but that is just typical of a bike seat. It is a man's bike and I have to lower the seat all the way because I am short, and it probably should be a little lower. I am just thankful I don't have to walk to work and I get in a little extra exercise which is nice.


My Mom and Sister get in tomorrow night and I couldn't be happier. I am so excited to see them and show them how amazing Iceland is. We have a lot of fun activities planned and I will post pictures later. We are going on a whale watching tour, driving the golden circle, taking advantage of the spa at the Blue Lagoon, and spending some time in Downtown Reykjavik.


Tinna has a friend in London who had 2 extra tickets to see Glee live, so on the 25th we are catching a flight and going to the concert. I am SO EXCITED. It is such a great opportunity and I am so grateful to my parents for letting me go. I love you guys.

Game and Weekend

On Thursday we played the team from Selfoss at our home field. The last 3 times ÎR has played them they lost very badly, 5-0, 6-1, and 6-0. We lost 1-0 this time. I thought we played good, we just need to find a way to score.

On Saturday we ventured out to the summer house to help Tinna's mom with some yard work. We dug up a lot of grass from the garden and put in a liner to keep it from growing back in the planting area. After that we visited a village called Sólheimar. It is an Ecovillage that was originally founded as a home for children with special needs. They had an amazing art gallery with things the residents had made. There is a wikipedia article about  the village just look up Sólheimar Ecovillage. It was fascinating. When we got back to the summer house we started work on dinner. Tinna's mom made us Lamb Chops with a mushroom sauce, roasted potatoes, and salad. It was unbelievably delicious and we had the leftovers for lunch today.

Icelanders believe in elves. Tinna's mom told me a story about how her great grandmother used to put leftover food on a stone outside their house and every morning it would be gone. Her grandmother continued this tradition and when she was pregnant with Tinna's grandmother and her twin she had a dream and the elf who lived in the stone told her that she would help her because she had provided her with food. When the twins were born they were very small and probably wouldn't survive. The twins lived in a drawer with wine bottles filled with warm water and survived.


Well, it's off to Tinna's nephew's b-day party now. Gotta run.

Bad Day :(

Well the whole day wasn't bad. Just the second half. I got to work and we put nets on goals and watered the field. Then I coached as usual and had an hour before practice so I decided to ride the bike home and just ride back to practice with Tinna. I was hungry so I wanted to go home to grab quick snack. Unfortunately my house key and bike key fell out of my pocket at some point on the way back home. I thought there might be a chance that they had fallen out at the club when I was unlocking my bike, but when we got there they were nowhere in sight. After practice I decided to run home so that I could look at the path the way I went, but again they were nowhere in sight. I think the mischievous bunnies or seagulls picked them up. We can't just go make a copy of the key so now I have to pay for new locks and new keys and not sure what else that will include. :(   I also need to get a new bike chain and lock. Basically, I am not in a good mood right now. Lesson learned: If your keys are on a lanyard it is probably a good idea to wear it around your neck and not put them in your pocket.

Work, Coach, Practice...Repeat

I started work this week at the club on Tuesday. I got there at 9 and had to wait for Jakob to get there. When he arrived he put me to work re-finishing the wooden playground equipment and stair handrails. It was a cold but nice day. After I finished with that it was time for lunch and then waiting around for 3 o'clock coaching to start. Dori, the coach I help out, was running late so I had to get both teams out and warming up. I got them started and then Dori arrived. The weather was now wet and freezing.  After coaching finished around 6 I went back inside to grab a quick snack wait for my team's session at 6:30. Practice was a little frustrating because I was already so cold and tired. I didn't get home until 9 that night. So it was an extremely long day. On and interesting note, Jakob went to SCAD with Erin and Haley. It is such a small world.

Wednesday, was much better. I got to work at 10 this time and was able to stay inside :). I cleaned up the equipment room, packed up the lost and found to be sent to Goodwill, and washed all the doors in the club. There are a lot of doors. Then it was time for coaching but I was on my own. I was running a session on shooting, crossing, and getting in the box to finish. We finished with some 11v11 on half the field. It was a bit crowded. Wednesdays are my team's day off so I got to go home early. Tinna and I went to Ikea to buy a pan to make lasagna. We ended up also getting some other much needed cooking utensils.

Thursday was a national "no work" day in Iceland. One thing I love about Iceland is that work does not rule their lives. If they want time off they get it. They get 5 weeks vacation every year and random "no work" days. I believe we have 3 "no work" days left in June :). We practiced at 11 and it was fantastic. everyone was buzzing and it was a lot of fun. Tinna and I took advantage of the day and went to see X-men: First Class and really enjoyed it. When we got home I attempted to make lasagna, but unfortunately they don't have Italian Sausage or Ricotta cheese. I found some sausage that looked promising, but it ended up not working they way I would have liked. The lasagna turned out O.K. but I will definitely be trying again and will just use ground beef next time.

Friday it was back to work and I was outside again. Luckily it was a nice morning. I painted shipping containers used for storage that had been graffiti'd and also the ticket shed. My hands are still blue and white.  Practice was with an older group of boys 15-16 and four of the older girls. Then it was time for a gk session.  I had three gks and we worked on breakaways. Team practice came around and half of our team couldn't be there so we had a fun session. We got to play soccer tennis, and of course my team dominated;). After that we played a few rounds of 4v4. I decided I wanted to score and took a shot from 25 yds out and it went in. I was super excited. Sometimes I get tired of just keeping the ball out of the net and I want to put it in the other goal. It was a great practice.

Saturday we went to downtown Reykjavik in search of a rubber spatula. The one we bought from IKEA melted the first time we used it :(.  We ended up finding one and then just walked around for a while. One of our teammates had a booth set up at the market so we went to say hi. Lunch was awesome, we went to this small place by the harbor and had Lobster soup. It was UNBELIEVABLE. Very simple, but delicious. After that we went home and I took a nap. I was exhausted. The Men's national team played Denmark, so we went with two of our teammates and watched. It was a good game and Iceland dominated most of it but just couldn't finish. Denmark got a couple of looks and finished 2. It was a little disappointing but we finished the day off with some Doctor Who when we got home.

Roadtrip X2

Sauðárkrókur

This was a very long and busy weekend. We played our second game in Sauðárkrókur, which is in Northern Iceland and is anywhere from 3.5-5 hours away. It was a beautiful ride and we even had to drive under the ocean. That was interesting. We carpooled and made about 3 stops on the way. They said they aren't used to driving for so long at one time and that's why the stopped so frequently. When we opened the car door we were completely overwhelmed by the smell of fish. After a while we stopped noticing but it was awful at first. We lost the game 1-0, but I thought we played much better in this game. We just can't score. The goal the other team scored was a set piece just outside the 18 and bent in upper 90 back post. It was a great shot, and one she will probably never make again. After the game we were sooooooo hungry and almost everything in Iceland closes 8-10 and it was 10:45. We did find a pizza place that was open and decided to eat there. They had some interesting pizzas, but I went with pepperoni, mushroom, and onion.Then it was back on the road. Luckily it was light the entire ride and got home at 3:30.

The next day we went to the mall so I could get something that would keep me warm during practice. The mall is the place to be on Saturday, it was so busy. After we finished shopping we got some gelato and it was AMAZING! I had to take a nap when we got back because I was exhausted. Tinna's mom came over to watch Man U vs FC Barcelona, they are both crazy Man U fans. I made dinner during half-time. My sister's awesome Chicken Enchiladas with Spinach Corn Pesto and Spicy Sour Cream Sauce. It was a hit.

 Sunday, it was back on the road again. This time for sight seeing. We went around the Golden Circle. It is a loop that has some really cool places to see in Iceland. Skálholt, a church built around 1200, Strokkur, a geyser that erupts, and Gullfoss,  a beautiful water fall. We decided to go home a different way and drove through Þingvellir National Park. At this park you can see the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is very beautiful and they have a wishing pond. Þingvellir is also the original site of the Icelandic Parliament. Dad, Petey B.A.B made it to Iceland and Gullfoss.

Skálholt

Strokkur

Gullfoss

Wishing Pond

Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the background

Petey B.A.B.

We ended a beautiful weekend by watching Hangover 2. Not so beautiful, but pretty funny.

Burrrrrrr.

Well I guess it goes with out saying that Iceland is cold.

I started working this week. I get to work with the goalkeepers during their team training and after 3 groups it is time for my team's practice.

Yesterday was a clinic and I got there early to help with set up. There were some cool drills set up for the kids. Timed drills, a goal with a radar gun to show them how fast the ball goes after the kick it, soccer tennis, and my favorite, a Bicycle kick station with a huge pad for them to land on. The clinic lasted 3 hours and they had hot dogs for everyone. Although it wasn't on of the "best hot dogs in the world" from the harbor, it was definitely better than any hot dog I have ever had. I am not the best judge, though, it has probably been 10 years since I last had one.

This week has been unusually cold for May, and today was no exception. It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been Oklahoma status windy and Seattle status rainy. I thought riding a bike with flat tires was hard, but riding against crazy wind, uphill in the rain is not much fun either. The only positive thing about today's trip was that it didn't take as long as it did with the flat tires.

Once the first practice started it took about 30 minutes before I was completely soaked. I didn't get warm again until 8 pm. So for about 4 hours I was freezing. I told my teammates that I couldn't feel my face and that I needed to buy some warmer clothes. I had on four layers.

If it sounds like I am complaining I am sorry, I'm just trying to explain everything but it was fun and I had a great attitude the whole time.

We have a game tomorrow and a 3.5 hour drive to get there.

Walls

Weekend

The Reykjavik Arts Festival started on Friday. Tinna and I decided to go to a free street performance downtown. It was a group called La Fura Dels Baus. They are a group from Spain and perform opera and dance hanging from cranes. Here is a short video of the dancing.

 It was a very interesting performance and it seemed like everyone in Reykjavik came to see it. We had made our way to the front of the crowd only to find out that leaving was going to be a more difficult task. It took probably 15 minutes to move 50 yards. We had to hurry back to our apartment because we had practice. Practice was a lot of fun. I was really excited about our game Sunday, but because of the Volcano the team we were playing was not able to travel to Reykjavik. Our game has been postponed.

I start work tomorrow from 3-5 with the youth teams then have practice at 6:30. Fridays I get to coach the goalkeepers. In June I will work from 1-5 at the club. I am excited to have stuff to do during the day.

Having fun, but miss everyone

Love, Walls!

Interesting Day!

I stayed up for the entire Thunder game on Thursday night (Friday morning here). SO EXCITING. I was up until 4 a.m and was woken up by a text message at 9 saying that I was running a goalkeeper session that night. I needed to be at the club by 4:30 to talk to my coach about what I was going to do for a 5:00 practice. Then I could just hang out until my team's practice at 6:30. My roommate said I could borrow her bike to get to the club. I planned out the GK session and went down to the storage room to get the bike. The tires were extremely flat and I had about 30 min before I had to be there. Tinna told me there was a pump in the storage room and I looked for it but never found it. I decided I would go ahead and ride the bike and hope the tires didn't pop or bend the wheels. After about 1/2 mile my legs were toast. I never knew how important pumped up tires were until yesterday. It was the hardest bike ride of my life. I took a couple wrong turns but never got too far off the path. At about mile 2 I had to walk the bike up a pretty steep hill and went another 1/2 mile and was confused. I wasn't sure which way to go, left or right. Follow the same sidewalk, or cross the street. I stood there for a couple minutes trying to decide what to do and finally asked a man that was passing by. I started off with "Excuse me" and tried to pronounce the name of the soccer club, but obviously failed because he had no idea what I was saying. After an awkward pause I just said the "soccer fields". He knew immediately what I meant and sent me off in the right direction. I eventually made it to the club 15 min late and had a successful goalkeeper session with 3 younger goalkeepers. It was a lot of fun, and they did great. I am excited to keep training them. I think I am also going to be coaching a younger team or at least helping with practices, but I am not sure. We shall see.


All in all it was a frustrating, fun, and interesting day. I just wish I could peek into the minds of the people who were passing me on the bike trail, because I would love to know what they were thinking as I was moving so slowly on my bike with extremely flat tires. Best workout of my life, my legs felt like Jell-o. I probably would have stopped half way there but I had to get there.

Today, we are going to the Arts Festival downtown and going to see La Fura Dels Baus. It should be very cool. Then it's off to practice. We have a game tomorrow at 5.

Game 1, etc.

Yesterday was our first game. It was a part of the Valitor Cup and is a single elimination tournament. We lost 1-0. There were a lot of little mistakes made by everyone, myself included. It is an interesting feeling being in the locker room before the game, at half time, and after the game and having no clue what is being said. I am starting to get used to it though.

One of the players on the other team is from Kentucky. I got a chance to talk with her a little and she has been in Iceland since February. It was nice to meet someone going through the same thing as me with a little more experience.

We got today off, but start practice again on Friday and Saturday to get ready for league play which starts on Sunday. I get to start work on Monday, but I am not 100% sure what I will be doing. I do know that for 2 hours a week I will work with a group of younger goalkeepers, 10-14 years old. I am really excited to get to do some more coaching and thankfully this age group is really good at speaking English.

I was told that the Men's team has a goalkeeper trainer and that I will get to go to their sessions. I am really excited to get to train with them.

Today is Game 2 OKC Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks and I need everyone to cheer extra loud for OKC. The game is on at 2 a.m. here and it will be really hard for me to stay awake for the whole game. So it's time for everyone to RISE TOGETHER!

Love you all, and GO THUNDER!!!!!

First Practice

Yesterday, I was giving a quick tour of downtown Reykjavik. Yes Dad I did find out where the famous hot dog stand is. Then it was off to the club to meet the coach before practice and try on some gear to get my name and number screen printed on. My coaches name is Bjartur and every time I try and pronounce it correctly I fail miserably. I think I will stick with "coach." There are several girls on the team whose names I can't pronounce either. We are going to have to find nicknames. Practice went really well. It reminded me a lot of club practice back in Edmond. It was great! We started out with a long warmup of jogging, sprints, passing exercise, and "windows" while the men's team finished up practicing. Then we moved onto the field and played possession trying to pass between small goals set up all over the field. After that we played 6v6 to goals with only two touches and finished with free play. Overall, It was a nice easy practice because our first game is on Wednesday. The coach and the girls are great and very helpful.

Where I live

This is my apartment building.

This is the view about 1/4 mile from my apartment.

This is my room!

Perfect poster for my room, right? It was there even before she found out my nickname!

This is the living room.

Living room with balcony.

Adventure #1!

Yesterday I arrived in Reykjavik and met my roommate Tinna.  After arriving I took a much needed nap and woke up to the sound of cheering. Tinna was watching the Premier League match Blackburn vs. Man United. She is a major Man United fan and very excited that they got the point they needed to win for 19th time.

Adventure #1: Tinna needed to go help her mom at their summer home and asked if I wanted to go along. She said it was about 45 minutes away and I would get to see some of the countryside. So I said yes. As soon as we get in the car she asks if I like Glee. The first thing that went through my mind is that this is going to be awesome. So I said "of course, It is my favorite show." We listened and sang along to a play list of Glee, Pink, ADELE, and a few Icelandic songs. I also found out that she loves musicals. It couldn't get any better. Glee, Pink, ADELE, and musicals are a few of my favorite things.

On the way we stopped at a volcanic crater lake, Kerið. It was beautiful.

We arrived at the summer cabin and found out that the water pipe had burst and tried to fix that with no success. There were a few other things to help with and then we headed back to Reykjavik. It was a beautiful drive.

We picked up dinner at a kind of food court/gas station. They had this place called Serrano. It was like Chipotle and was good but not as good.

Last night was a big night for television in all of Europe. They have this song contest called Eurovision. Countries enter a song and it is voted on. There are a few rounds but last night was the finals and Iceland had made it too the top 25. I only made it to song 10 before I had to go to sleep at like 8 o'clock.

3….2….1…. Lift Off. Wait Hold UP!!!!!

Today I left for Iceland.

Usually I am pretty on top of things and am pretty organized. However, like sophomore year of college on the way to MWC conference tournament I forgot something. Luckily it wasn’t my passport or ID like it was then. Unfortunately, it was my cell phone. Once I am in Iceland I don’t have much use for my cell phone and will have the service suspended but I needed it for traveling today and calling people to say goodbye. It also had all my contact information for the person that would be picking me up. I realized I didn’t have it 10 minutes away from the airport and 2 hours before my flight. My dad promptly called the hotel and had them check to see if it was in the room and asked them to call a cab to bring it to the airport. It was delivered 20 minutes before my flight boarded. Phew! THANK YOU HYATT PLACE! Hopefully that is the only hitch I will have on the way to Iceland.

Now I have to wait 4.5 hours in Boston for my flight to Iceland.

SO EXCITED!

Miss everyone SOOOOO MUCH already!

Love.

Wally

Thanks

I just want to Thank a few people for all the help they have been in this whole lengthy process.

To Bobby and Dr. Upton:
Thank you so much for putting in an enormous amount of time helping me get fit and strong.

To Dan:
Thanks for contacting coaches and helping me find a team to play for and thank you for letting me come out and train with the team.

To Cleggy:
Thanks for coming out and doing extra training sessions with me and letting me come train with you high school team and club team.

To the TCU soccer team:
Thank you so much for being so supportive and letting me train with you. I love you guys so much and you always put a smile on my face.

To Cheryl, Codes, and Bowman:
This past semester has been awesome. Thank you so much for letting me live with you guys and thanks for expanding my life experiences (lol). I will never forget the fun times we had.

To my FAMILY:
I wouldn't have been able to do this without you. Thank you so much for believing in me and encouraging me to follow my dream.

Thank you guys so much. I wouldn't have had this opportunity if it weren't for each and every one of you and I am so grateful. I can't wait to tell you all about my adventure!

Love,

Wally

Let the Adventure Begin!!!!

I've been waiting a long time and now it is almost time to take off for 5 months in Iceland. As of right now I am scheduled to leave on Friday, May 13th and I will arrive on Saturday, May 14th. My team's first game is May 18th so I don't have a lot of time to get used to the team or figure out how to communicate to my back line. But, I have realized that my job is to keep the ball out of the net and the communication will come. I will have time to get more comfortable and I think that jumping right in will make it easier in the long run. This is such an amazing opportunity to do what I love, travel, and get some great life experience.