New Kid On The Team

The time I stood alone that I can comprehend really well is when our football team had an exchange student from Spain and nobody made an effort to talk to him so I made an effort. His name was Indigo and he was orginally a soccer player but wanted to play football because they did not offer football back home in Spain. As time went on some of my teammates saw me talking to him and they got to know who he was. Indigo would tell us about life back home and how fortunate he is to be here in Maine for a year.

Indigo started feeling more comfortable around the team and he started hanging out with us outside of football. Indigo is a tall, skinny, funny, and a great guy. His parents have a beautiful house that sits on a little hill in Wales with a Mini Golf Course and Apple trees. It is very challenging for someone that comes from a different country to learn a new language and new sport. I am very thankful that I was able to meet him and I’m glad I stepped up when I did cause I probably wouldn’t have gotten a chance to have so many good laughs and memories with. We brought Indigo to each others houses and watched College and NFL Football. When we weren’t watching or playing football we would give Indigo other peoples phone numbers to prank call. It was very funny and all of the guys got a good laugh out of it because he was speaking Spanish and we had no clue what he was saying until he would translate what he said to English after the phone call was over.

Indigo had never drove a car before so we went to a vacant lot and had him drive very slow around the lot. It was good to see that he was included with the team and met new people along the way. One of my friends Bryson has really took him under his wing and they go to the gym and workout. Indigo also comes to my hockey games and sits in the student section with kids that he doesn’t know but builds relationships with. Again, I am very happy I separated myself from the team to talk to Indigo and make sure he was included and was a part of the team. When Indigo and I first met each other I shook his hand and I started introducing him to the team. After meeting the team Indigo and I were walking back to the locker room and I asked him what he thought of Maine and being in the USA. Indigo replied with “I’m happy I just really miss my family.” Some of my teammates overheard our conversation and made a soft spot for Indigo in their hearts. I felt alone when I was talking to Indigo at first because nobody made an effort to talk to him or get to know who he was but I am really glad I did because he truly is a great and funny guy. Talking with Indigo affected me in a positive way because I got to meet someone knew from a different country across the world with many stories to tell that will live with me forever.

“All Saints Academy Football” by hyku is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.