One-way-round-trip!

Let's see, last time you heard from me I just got back from a great trip to Barcelona. A lot of things have happened since then and that's why it took so long before I decided to write this... Pio XII has done a lot better since the short losing streak in the first half of the season and is now getting back on track. I think I have mentioned/complained about my injury before so I'll try not to say too much about it this time... 

After two weeks of rest and rehab in November, my foot felt better and I was able to slowly start practicing with the team again. Everything was great and I was excited to dress up for our next home game against Ferrol. Personally I was disappointed with the game, but we won!! The day after I started feeling a little pain in my foot and I realized it might have been a mistake to start back up so soon. In my defense I had been cleared to play and the pressure to help the team and to put up some good numbers made it hard to protest and sit out even longer. I was not sure what to do next with Christmas break only being one week away, but then the team trainer made the decision for me and gave me some stronger NSAIDs... 

Of course I was stupid and continued practicing since the pain wasn't bad at all, but after being benched for 31 mins in the last game in Ourense I understood it was not worth fightingThe pain was already killing me again... That was the last game for our other foreign player Andrea who moved home that next day. It was a sad goodbye, but I think like the rest of us she was happy she would get to see her family and friends again in a couple of days. I have no doubt that she will find another team for the rest of the season! 

That last week I found out that the club decided to extend my contract one month to give me a chance to get healthy and back into the shape I was earlier in the season. I had explained to him that I was going to need more time to recover completely since the 2 weeks wasn't enough and he seemed to agree. I appreciated that  they believed I could still be an important player to the team. Even though my playing time and numbers didn't show it, they seemed to still want me to stay and that was good I guess. Something was stopping me from celebrating too much though, because I never got the impression that Jacinto trusted me in the games... 

Making gingerbread cookies!

The last Sunday before Christmas I finally I got on the plane to go home for a 6-day break. It took me a whole day just to get to Oslo and when I arrived, of course my bag didn't. I shouldn't complain because I know many people had flights that got cancelled and I did get my bag already the next day :) The week at home went by tooo fast. I did stuff everyday and had a lot of fun with my friends and family. It wasn't nearly enough time to do everything or see all the people I wanted, but a very successful and much-needed break indeed. 

Lydia and I (and Therese)... 

Coming back to Santiago I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was surprised when coach thought I was instantly ready to practice like nothing was wrong. No miracle had happened in Norway and I still needed more rest for my foot. The next few days were really awkward because I could tell that the coaches were nervous after finding out I needed at least 3 more weeks before I could start running again. With only 7 healthy players they would have a problem against the no.2 and no.3 team in the next two games. When they extended my contract they didn't expect it to take so long for me to recover. I knew what was coming and when the coach asked me if I had thought about going home I had already made up my mind. It would be better to cancel the contract now instead of waiting till the end of January before being sent home because I wasn't ready to play. 

So here I am sitting in my apartment in Santiago getting ready to go back home again in two days. It will be sad saying goodbye to the friends I made here, but I hope this isn't the last time I will play in Spain and that I will see them in the future. The time I spent here was a valuable experience and even if it was cut short my career is far from over. The number one priority now is getting healthy and then hopefully be able to finish the season somewhere else. Now I have to continue packing up all my stuff. I wonder how it is that I came with one bag and now I'm leaving with 3... 

Hasta la vista!