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Travelin to the UK with AIST

This the story of when I traveled to the UK to play Lacrosse with strangers

By Jackie ReyesPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
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Last day of my trip at the park showing off my new tat.

In the summer of 2017, I decided to go overseas to play lacrosse in the UK. My college coach at UDC had brought it up that she had coached with this program a summer or two ago, and it was a lifetime experience. I thought, oh shit, I should explore and travel outside of the states and play the sport I love. The only thing for me was, jeez, the price, but I’ll try to make it and pay for it to have a trip of a lifetime.

Driving to New York and making the trip

After making my payments, I was in. I figure out who was on my team for the trip. I messaged one of the girls who lived in New York if I could meet up at her house, leave my car there and go to the airport together. She kindly said Yes, and was warm and inviting, which was great, also strange at the same time. It worked out for the best. The funny thing is that she was a player at one of the rival teams we played for at my school.

I drove probably around 8–10 hours got there. Her family welcomed me with open arms and got some pizza. I got to meet some of her family friends, as well. I liked that I got to experience kindness from strangers and felt super welcomed; it will always stay in mind. We made it to the airport. It was interesting knowing I’m about to take a really long flight to go overseas on my own with people I have never met before.

First Stop, Ireland!

The first stop we made during our trip was in Ireland. All I can say is WOW! To be more exact, we stayed in Dublin, Ireland. We got to explore, see a lot of monuments and see the old Viking church. We learned a bit about the history of Ireland. We stayed in a hostel. My partner at the hostel was this girl that went to Newberry College, who was coached by the same coach I currently had at my college. We bonded over the dislike and lack of coaching experience she had (worst coach I have ever had, like why she even get the job🤔). She also was on the trip; it was a very different dynamic cause she was trying to be so cool with everyone. In my personal experience at our college, she tried way too hard.

This us celebrating our first international lax game

We also played some lacrosse! We played the Ireland team, on astroturf, it was an exciting game we enjoyed it so much. Our teams were short on people, so we shared teammates and enjoyed an international game of lacrosse. The girls were so friendly we talked and started to bond over life and some lacrosse. This trip, even though it was about lacrosse and playing the game with people around the world. I believe we got to start to make some bond with people we would have never met.

We also got to go out and drink and party (this was also the first time in my life, the police stopped me for looking too young, I was 23 at the time). Not only that we went to the Guinness Brewery, but we also went out to a few bars, and towards the end of our days, we got some gelato, and one of the girl's parents paid for it. As they say, if it's free, then it's for me. It was super kind of them to that for us. We were surprised when they actually paid for all of us since we didn't know at first. Not only that, I was on a budget while I was traveling since I was the one that paid for my trip and any other expenses. I related to that with one of the other girls on the trip, which was nice. Not only that, I ended up getting my first tattoo, which was dope. I got a shamrock with the colors of the flag of Ireland. I was glad I was able to celebrate my trip that way. Not only that, it gave me the idea to get more while I was traveling. I got to enjoy a beautiful country, its coffee, and make amazing homies that I got to hang out more.

I had to get dairy-free gelato since I'm lactose intolerant.

During this trip, I was clicking with two of the girls, Ashley and Heather! Oh, they were characters in a good way, they were very different and a joy to be around! I think if it weren't for this trip, I probably would have never met them otherwise.

Now on to the land of the Beatles: Liverpool, England!

Group Pictures After our lax tournament in England

Our second stop we ended up making was Liverpool, England. We honestly didn’t stay there that long. So I don’t have too many pictures. Not only that, we took a ferry into Wales… Oh my Gosh! Was I seasick. I felt like I was green and about to vomit for those two hours while the friends I made were knocked out. After that, getting off was where I was happy. Even though there weren't picture there for sure lifetime impressions, whatever shows I watched were pretty spot on what English women look like. A good chunk of them in the party scene had caked-on makeup (looking older is a thing over there when you young). I remember it was a pretty fun match up and we played 3 teams. We won one of the games. It was exhilarating, and I got to score. At the same time, we say the level of competitiveness we needed to bring. It was also hard since we would go out and party. At the same time, we learn to have time even though we were going out. At the end of it all, we got little awards and got to see everyone enjoy games. We got to eat some food the families from the English team made. I do remember we ended the final night on a good note. We chilled, drank some beers, and ended up playing cards we were leaving the next day in the morning.

Our Final but lovely stop SCOTLAND!

I know, I had said I loved Ireland, which I did! I loved, loooved Scotland😍🥰, the rolling hills, greenery, the cool vibes from people. Specifically, we were in Edinburgh, Scotland by the Cows Gate. We got here in the prime of the Edinburgh Festival as well, which was lit AF! We would go out and enjoy our time, the time I remember the most was when we went to this pretty cool bar they had this drink called Pornstar. It was a dangerous ass drink since it was delicious but packed with alcohol you couldn't taste.

In the middle of the circle of stones.

While we were in the area next to the Cows Gate, we also went into the tunnels in the bridges, we got a scary tour and learned about some of the histories. We got to visit a practicing Wicca area with a circle of stones said to harvest energy. We also went to a different place; at first, when we started our tour we learned Edinburgh was the Inspiration for Harry Pottery, which is pretty sweet. We had a blast exploring and getting to learn about a lot of the older areas. I also got a Scotland crew neck. We also played some lacrosse! We won our games, which was super exciting!

Gotta hold up those Number 1 since we won first place!

These are all the girls that were on my team. Since Edinburgh was our final and one of our longest trips, we explored and saw more. We were always told to stay in groups. It was also nice that it was around the low 80’s and high 80’s, which was enjoyable. A lot of the people from there were saying that it was a “heatwave.” But really, we all knew it was climate change.

A soldier's look out into the city from the Edinburgh Castle Wall

We also got to stop by Edinburgh Castle; we got to see the sights, and it was so nice. I even got to a picture in a classic red phone booth. Touristy but cute🤗! We also got ice cream. We ended up having a nice impromptu photoshoot. We also got to go out our last finals day after enjoying our wins. This when I noticed I made friends with some great people. Even if I didn't make friends with some of them, I got to meet some freaking great people. It's nice to spend time with different people and hear about their experiences. Also, it makes miles feel so much small.

My cute tourist picture at the Castle!

Coming Back Home!

Obvi, no pictures on the way home. But I will say I was bummed I couldn’t get my tattoos, but it's just an excuse to go back and enjoy my time without playing lacrosse. I will say when I got home, I decided to pull a 10-hour drive back home. I was driving this shitty green car that I couldn’t drive over a certain speed limit. Even though my partner said it wouldn’t be worth it to travel (also the money I spent) and play to lacrosse, I got to travel on my own with strangers meet new people. While enjoy just going out, eating and chillen. The girls I got along with so well made an everlasting impression in my life. We sometimes keep in contact, but we are all over the county. It would be fun to plan a trip and just got out in the town and enjoy our time.

Me, Random Viking guy getting tips, Ashley, and Heather!

If you ever get in your own way of trying something new or planning to travel, don’t say no, or I’ll do it next time. Just go ahead and do it because it’ll always be a great opportunity where you learn, explore, and meet great people!

This was a blast from the past and I hoped you enjoyed it!

Jackie

student travel
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