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RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS: UTEP AND JUAREZ 31st March 2008 I have spent a very pleasant morning watching Liverpool and Everton playing on television. Kara and Amy came to the room to watch with us. English Premiership games are always more fun when there is a room full of people.
The morning went slowly because we really have little stimulation beyond bed and television. We are not allowed out of the hotel because of security concerns. I am becoming worried about bed sores.
I am sure that our management and other officials will eventually loosen our tight leashes, but until they get a feel for the area and its safety, they are keeping us under close guard. Going to training was a welcome diversion. And, it was quite the excursion. It is one that we will have to get used to, it seems. The training fields we were offered in Juarez do not have enough grass on them, so our manager has organized for us to do our training and preparation at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). It is right across the border.
This close proximity makes getting to training quite an involved process. This process is made even more convoluted by the fact that Juarez is on West coast time and El Paso, literally 5 steps away, is an hour ahead of us. This leaves us all very confused, but we are beginning to figure it out.
Our journey starts with the squad being dropped off at the border on the Mexican side. Then we pay our toll fees, and we walk across the bridge, over the Rio Grande, to the United States border. We then line up at U.S. customs to have our passports checked, our bags X-rayed, and then out on the other side. Then we board another bus to take us to the University.
As you can imagine, takes quite a period of time, so we are all very pleased when we finally get to the training field, and of course, we get access to some washrooms.
The training itself went well today. It was a little lighter than usual. It is strange to have moved from the heat of California to the dry hot climate of Mexico and Texas. We straight away noticed the difference and have had to take extra careful attention to our hydration. The dry winds and sun leave you parched in no time at all.
Before we knew it, we were back on bus number one heading back to the border. The crossing this time was much easier than getting into the US. In fact, so one even looked at our passports at all !!!! Then, we climbed onto bus number 2 to head back to the hotel and a return to our televisions and beds. Perhaps I even feel happy to be getting back to them - they don't seem so bad after all! Tomorrow we will train in the stadium being used in the tournament, and I am sure it will be a little easier to get to. RhianWilkinsonSoccer.com is the Official Website of Rhian Wilkinson.
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