2025-05-12, 08:16 AM - Word count:
Life in Sydney had been an unexpected change of pace for Sandro da Silva. He was able to leave his house with his valuables like his phone and wallet without fearing an armed robbery attempt. He was able to train on the beaches without being accosted by aggressive vendors hawking street corn and fried cheese. Most of all, he was able to explore the city without the dangers that he'd grown accustomed to encountering in his home city of Natal.
That was Sandro's goal for today, to get to know Sydney. He knew it was only a temporary home while he played at the academy level, but he'd grown fond of the city. While there were many things he missed about Brazil in the relatively cold and unforgiving culture of Australia, there were many aspects of living in a first world nation that he felt that he needed to properly experience, as he had no idea where he'd end up next via the draft.
What did the Australians do for fun? He really didn't know as most of his teammates were foreigners like him just stopping through on their paths to professional football. So he went to the beach and just watched them. Surfing, volleyball, drinking... this was just like Brazil, all it was missing was the Samba and Football. Or soccer as they call it here.
As he walked down the beach he started to hear music coming from groups of teens around his age. While it was not samba, it had a distinct sound to other gringo music he's heard. Different and unique instruments playing traditional gringo beats. It intrigued him so he walked in closer. They were playing a game he'd never seen before. It looked like American Football with a much larger egg ball, but tackling each other and pitching the ball to one another the same way, even kicking it sometimes.
He proceeded down the beach and saw the most beautiful toned blonde girl running back into the surf with her board in tow. "That's something we don't have where I'm from", thought Sandro. In the Northeast, natural blondes are almost unheard of, and if you see one, they are either a gringo or from the south of Brazil and just visiting on vacation.
As the sun set down over the trees and the moon rose up over the water, Sandro looked up at the same stars that he'd seen his whole life. He felt cosmically connected to his home, despite being halfway around the world. Australia wasn't home, but he knew that he'd made a bigger deal of the transition to a new world than it needed to be. It's not so different here, and it won't be so different in the next stop either. He is just beginning his journey, and he will be sure to keep an open mind no matter where he ends up.
That was Sandro's goal for today, to get to know Sydney. He knew it was only a temporary home while he played at the academy level, but he'd grown fond of the city. While there were many things he missed about Brazil in the relatively cold and unforgiving culture of Australia, there were many aspects of living in a first world nation that he felt that he needed to properly experience, as he had no idea where he'd end up next via the draft.
What did the Australians do for fun? He really didn't know as most of his teammates were foreigners like him just stopping through on their paths to professional football. So he went to the beach and just watched them. Surfing, volleyball, drinking... this was just like Brazil, all it was missing was the Samba and Football. Or soccer as they call it here.
As he walked down the beach he started to hear music coming from groups of teens around his age. While it was not samba, it had a distinct sound to other gringo music he's heard. Different and unique instruments playing traditional gringo beats. It intrigued him so he walked in closer. They were playing a game he'd never seen before. It looked like American Football with a much larger egg ball, but tackling each other and pitching the ball to one another the same way, even kicking it sometimes.
He proceeded down the beach and saw the most beautiful toned blonde girl running back into the surf with her board in tow. "That's something we don't have where I'm from", thought Sandro. In the Northeast, natural blondes are almost unheard of, and if you see one, they are either a gringo or from the south of Brazil and just visiting on vacation.
As the sun set down over the trees and the moon rose up over the water, Sandro looked up at the same stars that he'd seen his whole life. He felt cosmically connected to his home, despite being halfway around the world. Australia wasn't home, but he knew that he'd made a bigger deal of the transition to a new world than it needed to be. It's not so different here, and it won't be so different in the next stop either. He is just beginning his journey, and he will be sure to keep an open mind no matter where he ends up.
![[Image: C75197-D1-9-E74-4-DC5-836-E-981-D75-A96413.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/nc8qJ0Nf/C75197-D1-9-E74-4-DC5-836-E-981-D75-A96413.png)
