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.