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RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS: SOGGY CHANGING ROOMS & SWEATY PRACTICE 15th June 2008 There are a few things I forgot to mention yesterday .... first, the washroom in our stadium dressing room exploded. I missed the actual event because I was outside watching the Korea/ New Zealand game, but from second hand accounts, someone went to the toilet and all of a sudden there was a geyser of water and then a few inches of water all over the floor.
I arrived back in the dressing room to find chaos. There was water everywhere, and my teammates were standing on chairs, basins and tables, while a stadium work crew, all soaked with water, did their best to mop things up. Obviously, for them, there was little amusing in the events, but for us it was all hysterically funny.
This Peace Queen Cup tournament is so well organized that it is a pleasure to be a part of it. From the moment we landed till present, the tournament workers do everything they can to make our stay here as enjoyable and hassle free as possible. It is therefore always hard to know what to do when something goes wrong, say if a toilet explodes. Koreans are very concerned with their reputations and loss of face. What I mean by this is that when something goes wrong Koreans tend to see this as a slur on themselves, rather than some fluke that just happens. It is hard not to take pictures of such events, and to not laugh, but we try be as conscious of the local people's mortification. ... As you can see, I still surreptitiously took pictures as my teammates look so funny.
My last comment from yesterday concerns the ice bath we took at the end of the day. This is something we have always done in the past, and it is not a pleasurable experience. However, it is something that makes the next day feel so much better. Yesterday's ice bath was utter hell though. There is that cold feeling and then there is freezing. Yesterday's feeling was definitely the latter. We only had to be in the batch for 10 minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
This morning was filled up with trips to the physio and to the massage therapist. These are always painful experiences as well, but well worth the pain for the relief you feel afterwards.
Everyone is in a good mood after yesterday’s win, but you can still the toll that the game took on us. There were many sore bodies about. It was good then, that the morning was a quiet one with breakfast followed by the televised Spain/Sweden Euro game. Breakfast has become my favorite meal of the day, thanks to watching the soccer while eating. Mind you, the food is alright too ... If anything, the food for main meals has been a little ... shall we say bland. So, so the toast and peanut butter for breakfast is as good as anything.
We trained at 2:00pm, the same time we will be taking on Korea tomorrow. It was scorching hot outside with high humidity. The session went alright, and was the usual post game / pre game session. There was nothing too arduous. Even then, we were sweating like mad and were happy to have a few ice towels to throw over our heads whenever we had a chance. Every day we have had to replenish liquids, but after this session, we will have to redouble our efforts.
The afternoon was a very quiet one, filled with whatever we wanted to do. In my case I did nothing and loved every minute of it. Others, from what I have heard, played games like scrabble, while amny more played Guitar Hero. Sincy and Robyn both brought their games and they are a big hit. I am not sure who the best is, but thanks to being roommates with D, I have to endure Robyn’s and Diana's gloated crowing about how good they are, more than most.
Now, it's time for an early night. Having a match every two days is trying on the body and I need my rest more than most.
RhianWilkinsonSoccer.com is the Official Website of Rhian Wilkinson.
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