-^-for posterity-^-

julie lives in newcastle which is somewhere in england. she keeps saying it’s in the north of england and i keep reminding her that’s like saying that new jersey has a west coast. the north of england is scottland. (of course, all is in jest)

she is a big fan of the newcastle football team which i refuse to name at this time. all i know is that their manager is bobby robson because she has a large picture of him on her wall signed by his secretary or his wife. it’s not the signature of a football manager.

she received a jersey from her team and was excited to give it to one of the vietnamese students. the students decided that they should have a football tournament (not american football which requires much too much preparation and protective gear). they organized their three classes into teams and everyone was ready for the big match.

the teams all sported new jerseys. some of them had “j. j. j.” on the chest which represented, “jack, julie and jon.” it was a nice gesture. two of the jerseys were the exact same color and make and you couldn’t distinguish the two teams.

they also made a banner for the tournament; white letters set on a red background. it said, “julye’s cup” or something or other. i can’t remember exactly but all i know is that her name was spelled hilariously wrong in bold lettering. i believe a couple students asked her if that was how she spelled her name and she obliged.

jack and i were chosen as referees because we always dictate things in class, we’re tall and we’re different looking. we were given whistles, watches and red/yellow cards. i had to think back hard to my high school days to remember the rules.

the games began and jota and julie and a few hundred vietnamese students stood on the dusty sidelines. the teams played with passion and we blew our whistles too frequently or at inappropriate times. we have learned, though, that when you make a mistake, if it’s a minor one, to save face you must stand by your decision. i decided kicks should go one way with fervor. i said that throw-ins should be given to certain teams with authority. in reality, i didn’t have any idea whose it was.

the games went smoothly and the students ran around on the dirt field and kicked and scored and fouled and lost and won all at the same time. i gave out one red card and two yellow card. the throngs of people on the sidelines cheered and jeered (there really were hundreds of people watching the game). i gave them out when the game didn’t mean anything and when i wanted to test out my new-found authority. it was fun.