The [B][B][C]: The Tour

I thought if I made it to 25 without being in the back of police car then I had succeeded. Well 4 years later, about 6 months shy of 30, it finally happened. What's even scarier is it wasn't in my home country or even my adopted country. It was while traveling abroad in Croatia....

However, they were actually taking us to one of Croatia's best football pitches (ahem - soccer fields) for our second match of the week.

Let me backup a bit. A few months ago I finally started playing soccer again. A buddy of mine Fergus, who is the boyfriend of one of Brandina's coworkers Ruth, introduced me to their Football Club called the Old Sedcopians FC. We play other clubs every Saturday, all over London and it's full on - 11 vs 11, 90 minutes, restricted substitutions. After every game, both teams meet up in the local pub and the home team provides some sort of after-game meal - bangers and chips, pasta, chicken, and of course a few pints...can't beat it - well that's what I thought at least, until I got the Croatian invite.

Every year the club puts together a "tour" to another country, complete with custom jerseys and polo shirts (mine of course says "The American" on the back), a few games with some of their local teams, and plenty of leisure time. They've been to Latvia, Munich, and La Herradura in Spain, among others, and this year they decided the Croatian Islands were in the cards. To be specific, we stayed on a small island called Preko, about a 20-minute ferry ride from the Island of Zadar. When they asked if I wanted to go, I really didn't think twice - an opportunity to play some soccer in the Croatian Islands - umm count me in.

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There were just a few hiccups:

1) I missed my flight out.
All 17 of us were booked on the same Wednesday evening flight, but we were all arriving to the airport a bit differently due to jobs, location, etc. After I arrived at the train station, the ticket machine couldn't find my train ticket, and the staff weren't very helpful. This resulted in 2 missed trains that would have gotten me to the airport with plenty of time. Instead, as my train pulled into the airport, I sprinted to my gate, grasping 2 bags, my laptop, my belt, and other miscellaneous items I snagged after security, and watched, gasping for breathe and cramping up a bit, as my plane pulled away from the gate. 5 minutes too late - damn.

I went home and figured out a round-a-bout way to get to Zadar, including a 6am flight the next morning, and multiple planes. Fortunately, I wasn't alone in this journey, as another teammate missed the original flight too.

We made it to Preko, just in time for our first game - thanks to the crazy taxi driver that literally let us off at the ferry ramp, and talked the ticket collectors into letting us run on for free.

2) I recently started a new job at Healthy Planet, albeit 3 days a week (blog to come later...), so I had an interview scheduled for another part-time position at FoodCycle, for Friday morning - the Friday while I was in Croatia. As a forward-thinking organisation, they happily agreed to conduct the interview via Skype. There was only one place nearby on our island that had wifi, and it was the bar we had partied at the night before (called Luna by the way, the same name of the bar we frequent when in Sacramento). I was impressed to see the bartender there the next morning, as I'm sure he thought the same about me, though I was quite refreshed and ready to rock the interview, as I had kept it quite tame the night before.

The quietest place was in the outside seating area, overlooking the harbor, so I set up shop, and hoped for the best. The interview went great, and the panel even enjoyed my unplanned soundtrack in the background...thanks Luna ;). I had one of those surreal moments, where you just realise how amazing life is sometimes. I was asked in the interview, "If you could do anything in your life what would you do?" As I thought about my answer, I peered over my computer, looking at the harbor and the ocean just steps away, and a wave of euphoria came over me. I said, "You know, not to brag or anything, but I'm kind of living that moment right now. I'm sitting steps away from the ocean in Croatia, interviewing through Skype." I went on to add how I want to (and will) improve our broken food system, but nonetheless, it was an amazing feeling. The interview ended, and while I wasn't sure if I would get the position, I was confident that they liked me. The song Loco-Motion came on, and I sipped on my beer, as I soaked in the tranquility of an amazing morning.

Which finally brings me full circle. On the tour, we were treated a bit like celebrities. We had apartments right on the water, feasts everywhere we went, and even a police escort to our game on Zadar, the practice field that the National Croatian team uses. The Deputy Mayor even came to watch our game and feasted with us afterwards.

It was a fantastic weekend - delicious food, beautiful weather, some quality football, and plenty of good times.

Oh yea, the results - We won the first game 1-0, and lost the second game 7-1. Though to be fair, our second opponent consisted of current and recently retired special forces police officers. Can't win em all.

One of our hosts bbqing our post-game feast

View from our apartment balcony

Luna Bar - Site of the Skype interview and homage to my Sac friends and family

Fresh squid....delicious

Fisherman cleaning his freshly caught fish

While I'm on the topic of sports, and to be honest, while I'm writing a blog (a rare feat Brandina will attest too), I thought I'd include a few more sports photos. I've somehow made it a habit to photograph sporting events, whether professional, local, or cultural, through-out our travels.