Soccer at Sunset

We wind our way through the maze of bungalows at Jakarta International School. After an hour-long ride in traffic, it feels good to move faster than slug-pace. The air is warm. And from over the high cement wall that borders the campus comes the smell of charcoal. Madi thinks someone is cooking hotdogs - but I'm sure it's saute. Either way, it smells familiar, like a summer barbeque.

We finally find the field (there are at least four large playing fields on the JIS campus). Coach Tim is from Holland with a beautiful accent to match. We meet the other team members...Sindre is from Norway and Ruben is the coach's son. We're guessing Nicholas is Italian because of his dark hair and accent. There is also an Indonesian boy who stops warm-ups to break his fast. Madilyn is the only girl tonight. There's another girl on the roster, but she didn't come.

The trainer leads them through drills until all of them are breathing deeply and drinking water. The field is large - football sized. Stadium lights flicker on and hum in the evening air. Bats dart and dive above the field.

The boys hold back, probably not sure how to interact with Madi. They are tentative at first. But after she scores two goals in their scrimmage, they treat her as an equal player...and don't give her an inch.

I watch her sprint across the field chasing down the ball. She fights for the ball. She wins some and loses some. I know she will learn a lot playing at this level.

It is a bit surreal to watch Madi and consider that here we are, on the other side of the world, playing soccer.

I lean back, rest my hands on the cement stairs, and look up. There are no stars. And the night sky is a rich shade of plum.