(March 2010) Journal –My trip to Russia!
My trip to Russia was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I was able to learn about foreign cultures and had a chance to play high quality soccer. There were some barriers, but we still had a great time trying to overcome those barriers, and make a few friends along the way.
Our trip started in Moscow, Russia where we visited the Red Square. In the square, we were able to see St. Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s Mausoleum, the Kremlin, and the State Historical Museum. All are well-known buildings in Russia. Then we flew to Sochi, the place where the Kuban Spring Tournament would be held. Our hotel was the one that will be a host to the athletes of the Winter Olympic Games in 2014. We quickly learned that the food there was not what we were used to. Most of the time, my teammates and I just ate fruit, bread, crepes, potatoes, and sometimes chicken. A few of us ventured out of our comfort zones to try the heart and liver, but it was not appealing at all. We were able to sight see in Sochi, and went downtown one day. Another day we went to Ibaga Mountain where some events of the future Olympics will be held. It was a breath taking sight from the top of the mountain.
I picked up on some basic Russian words such as “privet (hello) and “spaciba” (thank you). It wasn’t enough to have conversations with other girls, but a vast majority of them knew a bit of English. In our downtime we were able to have small conversation with girls from Russia, China, Ukraine, and Turkey. They told us that they could tell we were Americans because we smiled a lot.
As for the soccer portion of the trip: Our first game ended in a tie, 2-2, against the Krasnodar Region of Russia. They were a physical team, and we played in the cold on a muddy field. It was weird hearing them speak a language we couldn’t understand throughout the game. We won our second game 9-0 over Uzbekistan’s U-19 National Team. They did not have many substitutes, and were shorter then almost all of the girls on our team. We tied our third game 1-1 against the U-19 Ukraine National Team. We came out of our bracket as the 2nd place team and went up against the U-19 Turkish National Team in the quarter finals. They went ahead 2-0 at the half, but we rallied back to tie the game by the end of regulation. We lost the game 5-4 in penalty kicks, and that ended our chances of winning the tournament. The rest of the games were consolation matches. We played Krasnodar Region again, and lost 3-0, and beat the Ural Region 5-3.
This is a trip that I will remember my whole life. I’d like to thank West Chester United Soccer Club for giving me a place to start. My coaches at the club helped me become a better player to be able to make my way to the state and regional levels.
Haley Miller
