Soccer Practice (and another "Only in Mexico" moment)

Nothing too out of the ordinary-sounding here, right?  Will joins a soccer team and we head out to the local sports center for an afternoon practice.  It begins with the typical warm ups: a bit of stretching...

... running some laps around the field ...

... and then, of course, a bit of scrimmaging:

Then, another one of those "only-in-Mexico" moments occurs.  My Spanish is rapidly improving, but clearly, I have a long way to go.  So when the coach approaches me and tells me he has to go open a gate on the other side of the field and asks if I could help get the kids off the field when the helicopter arrives, I was certain today was just another one of those bad days when my Spanish comprehension was hopeless.  So I scratch my head and begin to scan the skies anxiously.  Surely, a helicopter isn't going to land on a soccer field with a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds around, right?!?!

Wrong.

Seems some sort of dignitary, TV star, or drug dealer is heading home after a weekend visiting our quaint little town.  (By the way - that's a joke about the drug dealer.  It'll probably now end up as front page news in the US.  Don't believe everything you read, especially about Mexico.)


So I do as the coach asks and then, of course, scurry to capture the moment on film, knowing full well that this is one of those moments that will probably never happen again in my entire life (unless, of course, it happens again next soccer practice, which is entirely possible...)

The kids finish practice, shake hands...

And we all head our merry ways as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.  Which I suppose is true.  And at least it gives me some faith that my Spanish comprehension isn't as bad as I thought...


Just another day in Mexico...