Spring Expsoure Tour, Spain 2007
By Olivia Waldowski
Madrid: March 10-11 2007
I arrived to Spain two days before the tour started and before any of the girls were there. I was a little nervous about figuring out the Metro, but got through it okay. I brought two bags (one big one small) and two carry-on bags (my backpack and laptop - I had to finish finals). I packed light but it was still tough lugging around my suitcases in and out of different metro lines. I was staying at Cat’s Hostel in the city. Being alone for two days in a foreign city was the best thing I could have done to prepare for this tour.
On March 10 I took the metro, local train lines and walked (with all my stuff) to the dorm at which we were staying: Club Deportivo Aristos in the outskirts of Madrid. Again, asking the locals where to go was the best thing I could have done. The walk had been the worst part of my trip up till then. Pack light! You’ll have to do laundry in your tub anyway so there’s no point in over-packing.
After we toured the city for a while we met up at a gym in nearby Alcorcon to watch a match (Liga FEV teams Lleida and Alcorcon were playing) and practice. We were so pumped up to practice. Our adrenaline was running so hard from anticipation. Afterwards, a few girls went out to the city that night but others chose to stay in. I had been nursing a flu/cold so I took some Nyquil and passed out.
The next morning we had another practice, this time in the facility where we were sleeping in Aristos. It was freezing and the balls were hard as rock! We were told to stroll into practice at 8 as opposed to the “fifteen minute” rule. It was the most informal practice I have ever had which is something that needs getting used to. We rested and ate for the remainder of the morning then took the metro to our first game against the Alcorcon team that we’d seen the night before.
We arrived and had about 25 minutes to warm up. The gym we played in had a huge glass window/wall which made it difficult to see. The facilities are probably not like what you’re used to. Besides funky architecture the floors aren’t wood and it’s pretty cold. That stuff isn’t bad though. We had a few hecklers at the game which made it interesting. The ref calls were totally biased, the serving was way different, all the players are well rounded, and always aggressive. We learned the hard way that you can’t be inconsistent or timid at any time.
We showered at the gym (there’s no soap and no toilet paper) then went into the city for more fun adventures. The team all branched off. I went out with one other girl, Gillian. I knew my way around so we power walked through all the sights. My suggestion is to grab a map of the city and just go. Getting lost is half the fun. Gillian and I ended our day in an Irish pub with a few gross smelly guys. It was quite the adventure. The walk back to the dorm was killer, but we made it and immediately collapse into bed. Everyone shared their crazy experiences from the previous day at breakfast the next morning as we got ready to head off to Toledo…
"Thanks to Eva Tcholakova and Kim McConaha (both playing in La Coruņa this
year) for making the trip to Madrid to hang out with us all weekend after their
match in Burgos!"
