Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Julien’s Journal

 

We lost!!!

 

Yes, despite our best efforts and on a pitch that would be the envy only of a bunch of snakes looking for some rocks to bathe, we were defeated by Liverpool Masters 3-2. Considering the fortunes of Liverpool FC at the moment, I think a better side was on show. I learnt a lot about African football today. It’s a game where skill is the only factor. If we possessed just that little bit more pace and stamina I’m sure we’d have beaten them easily. Not that we lacked skill but it faded in the second half and after we opened the scoring (with a move I started by the way – I’ll bask in more of that glory later) we lost our shape and as anyone who knows football will tell you, the team that loses their shape first loses. The midfield will dominate and that team will end up winning. I also learnt that the reason African football still is subservient to European football is that when the national team comes together to play internationals, they have to play on grass and it completely throws them.

 

Now, the basking. I was actually proud to last 90 minutes, particularly with my hydration issues and ill-feelings the last few days. I had a shot early on that missed the left hand post by about an inch, not kidding. I was then played through on goal and taken down in the area by about 4 of their defenders. Penalty. The captain then stepped up confidently and missed the same post by about the same margin. After struggling for breath for the first half of the second half I came into the game again, hurling myself into a big African dude to play the ball forward to one of our strikers and after a bit of penalty box pinball we put the ball away. I then became the Emile Heskey of the team, playing the centre of the field and flicking the ball on to our strikers. The opposition scored three goals in the second half and a few minutes before full-time we won a penalty which was promptly converted by one of out strikers. The game finished 3-2 but not before I set up 2 attempts on goal and was played the ball myself before being HUGELY incorrectly called for offside. I was happy. It was just such great fun to get out there and at the end of the game it was all handshakes and hugs. That’s what its all about.

 

I have just come back and all the medical students were out, Daniel who lives next door hasn’t got back from the game and I’m totally alone. I have just had a beer and put some chips in the oven. I was so rapt to come home and find no-one else here. All this moaning about loneliness and as far as ups and downs go, this is defiantly an up. I whinge about not having enough time to myself at home and here I am in the middle of fucking nowhere with plenty of beer and wine and the oven heating up for my chips. There’s one person who probably won’t read this called Michael – if you guys at work get this, please show it to him because I think it comes close to his idea of heaven. Of course I’m sure he can think of one addition to make but I do the best I can.

 

Two of the med students have just returned with their frightening stories of getting spat at by a Cobra today. I’m seriously never getting out of my car again driving on these dodgy tracks.

 

I intend to do the washing tomorrow and apart from that will be loathe to write up my interviews and discussion with the traditional healers. Back to work on Monday and this is my last full-on week of work. My last week I’ll probably just make sense of everything, do some tying up interviews of follow-ups and bugger off to Nelspruit/Johannesburg for a few days.

 

That’s me for now. I’ll see you soon.

 

Cheers,

            Julien