A Journey to the Past: Amsterdam, Soccer & Adventure
Recently I discovered my journal that I wrote in when I was thirteen years old, traveling to Amsterdam, Holland as a Sports Ambassador to play soccer for the U.S. I was feeling really nostalgic while reading my account of my adventures abroad and remembered things that I had completely forgotten about my experiences there. It was really fun reliving the past from the perspective of the future and absorbing all of the experiences and remembering how they affected me. I decided to post my journal entries here on my blog as a way of preserving my personal history before the journal gets lost along with the thousands of other items from my youth that I do not keep track of.
So below are all five journal entries that I wrote while traveling in Holland at 13 years old, pretty much word for word (with minor corrections and small insertions in [...] for clarification). Enjoy!
Journal 1 - The Arrival 7-20-07
Today was an exhausting day. At least what had been a mixture of both yesterday and today. The flight that I departed from LAX had flown me to London, UK. From an airport named Heathrow, we then departed for Amsterdam, Holland. I was suffering because of fatigue I'd gotten because of jet lag. There is a 9-hour time difference in London from LA.
I tried to follow my father's advice about sleeping on the airplane as much as possible. This was easy for me to follow, until I woke up about 3 hours later. Unfortunately, the seat that I was given was right next to talkative teenagers. I had to bear with their obnoxious attempts to be funny and sing pop songs.
Anyway, once I reached Heathrow I was tired. Even though the British Airline Pilot said good morning, the evening was just beginning in LA near where I live. After about an hour of socializing, my two friends Frankie and another one from South Africa (I forgot his name) had realized that the airport staff left their luggage at the Heathrow Airport back in London. They were forced to fill out paperwork and answer questions before they could get their baggage sent to Holland. I played soccer at the dutch airport in the lobby until our group left to our hotel.
The Holiday Inn that I get to stay at is a huge hotel. Unfortunately, the architects of the building didn't have a huge imagination. They made the hotel room such that you need a key to turn on the electricity in your hotel room.
I also tasted Dutch food for the first time. For dinner I ate bread, spaghetti with some Dutch sauce, and some pudding. It was delicious. I received a coach and team today. Hopefully I can keep my eyes on God and use my opportunity here to bring glory and honor to His Name.
Journal 2 - Soccer Practice & Travels Begin 7-22-07
Today was a pretty hectic day. I was very busy moving from place to place on time [soccer practice and various tourist destinations in Holland such as a cheese factory]. My schedule is now compact full of tasks to accomplish and soccer clinics to do. Unfortunately, I'm still suffering from jet lag.
There are many interesting things to do and to see here in Holland. Amsterdam is strange because it's both rural with so many trees scattered throughout the city and industrial in its urban architecture. Certain parts are tall skyscrapers, buildings, and polluted air similar to LA. Other parts of Amsterdam are interesting, such as museums and uniquely shaped buildings. We visited the Ajax Soccer Stadium today. It gave me a better understanding of soccer in Holland. I saw different trophies, Dutch players and overall Ajax Club victories within the stadium. Because there was a Museum about the history of Ajax in the Museum. I met a lot of new friends today. I also got to know my teammates better.
Our team's name is The Daredevils. The coach said that I'm aggressive and could win the ball from anyone. I felt good about that statement. Our team also got training from a Dutch Coach. To me, he is not really amazing at coaching, but rather he is OK. He is still a good coach though, I just can't compare him to Pepe [Pepe was my coach in CA. He was formerly part of the Argentine National Soccer Team]. Our team plays hard. I was put in defense. I wanted to call my parents . I'll call them at 7am tomorrow morning so I can talk to both of them. I hope and pray for the best.
Journal 3 - Dutch Countryside & U.S. vs. Holland 7-24-07
It's been a couple days since my last journal. The bike ride across the Netherlands' countryside was beautiful. Today was a great experience for me and the betterment of my skills in soccer. I played a Dutch team. They were extremely fast, strong and agile. Our team lost 9 points to 0 points. I'm still happy that I raised my overall soccer standards and skills.
Today I went on a canal. It was a good and educational tour of Holland. Tomorrow we'll go to the beach and visit the Anne Frank House. I'm looking forward to it. I have many friends here now. I'm standing firm in my Christian belief and everything I do revolves around Jesus now. I may not get it perfect. I try and pray that I get better at it.
Journal 4 - Beach & Friendship Games 7-26-07
The beach was pretty dull. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time there because of our tight schedule [we managed to get some beach soccer in the hour that we had, but the beach was deserted and a little chilly. The North Sea was very cold. Funnily enough, the bus driver played weird songs from the U.S. that most of us hadn't even heard of like "Sex on the Beach"]. About half the time we were there our team and I were trying to find a decent place to eat. When we finally found one, I had to eat a cheeseburger that tasted like sausage. We also lost two soccer games both yesterday and the day before that. We had a chance at finals because 1 team from Liverpool in England had to go home for some reason. We lost that chance because we lost 2 games. There was a dance yesterday night at the friendship village [I mostly hung out with my friend Caitlyn. It was awkward because my roommate Brandon had a crush on her. Being 13, I didn't really think about it but now that I'm older I feel really sorry for Brandon. He bothered me about it later that night.]
I think I'm getting sick. That night my throat started aching and I had congestion. We're going to watch the final games for the soccer tournament today in friendship village. 3,500 people will be watching. There are some amazing teams here in the Netherlands. I'm lucky that I get to experience a high level of soccer play. Since we didn't go to the Anne Frank House yet, we'll do it after the Friendship Games.
I'm having a great time with people from all over the world. Kids I would never met otherwise [there were athletes from Brazil, Sweden, and South Africa. Funny story. My friend Frankie was desperate to date a Swedish girl, so he would try to converse with all of the Swedish swimmers, who were all double his height, but this by no means deterred Frankie]. Touring European architecture is very entertaining. The trip has also brang me closer to God [During my trip, God gave me the opportunity to share the gospel message with my roommate and goal-keeper on my team who was part of a cult, and both accepted Jesus into their lives, as I did for the first time on the trip].
Journal 5 - Anne Frank House, Soccer Finals & Departure
7-29-07
The friendship games were pretty much one-sided. The Netherlands' team was a juggernaut compared to all the U.S. teams. They obviously won and everyone could see that they were superior to every other team. They just worked hard, had faith, and trusted each other [also, they were part of a soccer academy. A soccer academy in Europe is like a substitute for school, where kids growing up play nothing but soccer and learn strategy]. The Dutch team had faith in God also [evidenced by their prayers before every match]. They deserved to win.
The Anne Frank House wasn't what I expected. It looked cramped up between two other buildings. The house was located right next to a beautiful cathedral. There is a clock tower on it. It remembered the clock tower from the book The Anne Frank's Diary.
They've transformed the house Anne Frank once hid in into a museum. The museum owners formatted the house with exhibits and educational videos about the Holocaust. The original Anne Frank's Diary was placed in a glass case in a temperature and moisture controlled room.
It was a saddening atmosphere knowing the Anne Frank story and walking in the exact Annex in which she lived. The hidden stairs behind the bookcase felt tall and I tried to imagine what Anne Frank was feeling and doing in each room of the Annex. It's still very hard to accept the idea that 8 people lived in such a small place with no fresh air. The Van Pels, Franks, and the dentist whose name I've forgotten were different than I've expected. Mr. Frank described an as sedative and showing barely any emotion. Until he read her diary, Mr. Frank didn't get to know the real Anne Frank.
I also saw the books in which the Franks were listed with the specific death camps they were sent to next to their names. The house also had a video about a death camp called Auschwitz. It was awful knowing that so many people who were Jews from Europe had to die in such terrible conditions. I was saddened knowing so many of my ancestors were killed in such an evil manner. It just encourages me to represent God in the right image. Not an image of revenge nor death, but rather an image of love and of mercy.
My trip was educational, social, challenging (I improved my soccer skills), and enlightening (it helped me understand myself better and obtain a larger perspective of the world at large). I'm acknowledging that when I go to bed in California, my friends in Holland are playing soccer. All in all, these 10 days were the best of my life.
