Undefeated

So right now the Marbella Sharks are 3-0 and sitting at the top of the National Conference in the LNFA. We've outscored our opponents 72-6 and lead the nation in points allowed and are tied for second with points scored. However, we cannot and will not get ahead of ourselves. We had a BYE week this weekend, and then next week have to drive over 10 hours to go play the Barcelona Bufals, who are 2-0 and have had two straight BYE weeks. It's shaping up to be quite a battle on the 21st of February, and I couldn't be more excited. And to add to it all, my mom and sister will be coming to visit next week and will be in town for the big game.

Our team is really coming together and practices are getting much more organized and productive. I think I finally know everyone's name on the team, and my Spanish is getting better as I continue to coach up the Spanish guys. We have a very interesting combination of players on the team. There are 3 Americans (since only 3 are allowed by Spanish League rules), a few guys from Finland, a few from the UK, then a few more guys from other countries in Latin America and Europe, and of course guys from all over Spain - including those who speak great English, a little English, and no English.

Most of my Spanish speaking has come while hanging with 'The San Pedro Cartel' Rule #1: Do not mess with The Cartel. Rule #2: Whatever The Cartel says, that's how things are gonna' go down.

No that's not true at all. The San Pedro Cartel is actually our secondary minus AJ - our 2 cornerbacks and free-safety. We started calling them The Cartel a few weeks ago and it just fit perfectly. The cartel consists of three Spanish guys that are my age who live in San Pedro, a town just south of Nueva Andalucia, and have been playing football for about 3 years. We started hanging out together and we have a lot of fun when we go out to the local clubs. Despite some of our cultural differences, we really do have a lot in common.

My Spanish skills also improved drastically this weekend after my excursion to Madrid to meet my mother and sister at the airport. I was smart enough to write down the address of our hotel up there, but apparently I didn't deem it necessary to get directions from the airport to the hotel. Well I took care of business and we made it happen. AJ had spent a semester in Madrid, so he suggested a few places to visit including El Prado museum and La Plaza Mayor. We had a lot of fun getting around and ended up finding a great little tapas bar (tapas are appetizers but it's common to order a bunch and share them as a meal). We got up early and took a bus down to Malaga, where we picked up the rental car and went over to their hotel. The car is a stick shift, and I've been doing most of the driving. I must say that I kind of look like the dude from "The Transporter", so I was seriously offended when my mother said she was "a much better driver than I am"... She's getting kind of old, I worry that her perception is starting to go.

This morning, Emily and my mom came to meet me at the house at 11 but unfortunately, last night turned into one of those late nights, and getting up before 11am was just out of the question. Combine the facts that I live in the basement and they don't have a phone and you get Emily and my mom spending a half hour enjoying the driveway outside the gate to the house. When I finally woke up and found them waiting for me outside, we left for Gibraltar - which is actually an English province and you need a passport to get in. Unfortunately, they drive on the right side of the road in Gibraltar, but I decided we should drive on the left, since it is an English province after all. That didn't last too long.

It was a really cool place and we got to see these huge caves and there were monkeys up on the mountain and they climb all over the car and then one climbed on Emily. He started digging for food/bugs in her hair (I believe he did find a little snack in there) and then peed on her shoulder. Pretty hilarious few minutes for me. We checked out a few more tourist things and then walked around the town a little before heading back to Marbella.

Tomorrow we have high hopes to meet up and go to the market and walk around El Casco Antiguo - The Old Town. I had to promise that I would be outside and ready at 11am this time. Haha. We'll see.