Rhian Wilkinson's Official Website

RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS:

SCORING, SINGING & COOKING IN STROMMEN 10 September 2008

D and I are still settling into our apartment, new beds, new kitchen, and into the Team Strommen club. On the weekend, we helped Strommen defeat Klepp by 2-1, with D scoring the winning goal. It was an auspicious start to our season here.

I have added some photos from our day- to-day living arrangements here in Norway. Even though we have only been living here for a week, we have really settled in quickly and I love getting to see my old Team Strommen friends who have retired. When I was here the last time, I lived with a player named Linn, with whom I became good friends. Now, catching up with her, and her new family, has been a huge pleasure for me. I am looking forward to spending some time with her when I can, or rather, when her beautiful baby daughter Tuva is sleeping.

As you will have observed, D and I are great in the kitchen, even trying to make our own pesto with mortar and pestle.

You will also have noticed that this is a land of giants - just see D trying to get money from an automated bank machine.

However, we are gradually unpacking and the apartment is still really clean.

One photograph shows me and one of the American girls Ella, singing in the streets of Oslo. We were being interviewed by one of the local television stations that does a regular piece on women's soccer. This was all fine and good, until they decided that the end of the TV clip was going to be Ella and Rhian, walking along the street singing the National Anthem. I was not at all happy. When D and Lindsey and the other overseas players were not invited to sing with us, my voice slowly died inside me. While they just took photos, I dried up - I have asked my teammates not to mention this event again.

On Tuesday 9th September, we played our second game for the team. This time, we played against a side called "Amazon Grimstad," and even though they sound like something from a fairy tale, they gave us a pretty tough game. This match was not for League play, but for the Topserrien Cup. The Cup tournament is like the playoffs, and Norwegians (at least those on my team), consider these matches to be the highlight of the season.

Three years ago, when I was last here, we managed to reach the Cup Finals, but lost in the final game. It was quite an experience, as the Final Cup match is played in the national soccer stadium in Oslo and is televised. Before I came to Norway, I had no idea that the event is such a big deal. However, I soon found out when , as part of the finals hoop-la, I had to take part in a musical video, in Norwegian, with the rest of the team ... I think it was around this point that I started to get what all the fuss was about - insanity.

Tuesday night, we were playing in the quarter finals of the Cup and we managed to pull off a hard fought win. The score wa 2 - 0, but the game was much closer than the score suggests. I think we were much the better team, but we never really got hold of the game, and there were definitely some scary moments towards the end of the contest.

Mari on our team scored the first goal from a rebound after a corner kick, while I continued the Canadian tradition (started by D) of scoring the winning goal late in the game. My chance came from a ball through by D. I am so happy to finally end my LOOOONG scoring drought, which can be hard to do, when one is playing defense. Fortunately, this evening, I was playing forward and the goal came at a good time as we had been under intense pressure for much of the beginning period of the second half.

Amy Vermeulen took the train to Strommen to come to watch the game. It was great to see her, and instantly it was again like being in Vancouver at the residency camp. We all lived together on the west coast for so long, that it is still hard not seeing everyone every day ... . Anyway, I mention this to explain how great it was to see her. She is stayed the night with us in our apartment, before heading back to her team, Asker. They spent this morning preparing for their quarter final game on Wednesday evening. D and I are traveling with her, to watch her game. You have no idea how long it took the three of us to organize all this!

I am looking forward to seeing her play for her Norwegian Club. Perhaps she can grab a score too, and keep the Canadian scoring streak alive?

A bientot, Rhian.