So, 6 days, 20 hours, 31 minutes and 13,12,11,10,9...seconds until the plane is scheduled to leave for Toronto...[insert clichéd comment about not counting].

For my first blog it seems suitable that I set up some goals to achieve whilst on the trip. As a student I often set myself daily, unattainable targets such as to get out of bed before 2pm, and to complete at least one season on Football Manager. Thankfully, my aims for the trip ahead are much more feasible.

They are as follows;

1. To walk out onto the see-through glass in the CN Tower without having to change my underwear... I don’t count spending the day in soiled pants as achieving this.

2. Convert at least 2 Costa Ricans to supporting Spurs.

3. Teach at least 2 Costa Ricans the word, ‘wep’.

4. Go through the trip without losing anything valuable.

5. Have a picture taken with a sloth.

6. Win at least 1 game as coach!

Each aim should come with an explanation and without further ado...

1. Heights and flying are my two fears and within the first 2 days I would have experienced them both...what a start to the trip. Nevertheless as that magnificent England coach Sven Goran Erikson once said, ‘“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure”. Indeed over the two month period that I will be travelling it is inevitable that I will come across some problems. Hopefully I will be over to overcome them and the best way of doing this is by pursuing a no fear policy.  

2. With any luck this won’t be a difficult one, especially after I teach them the Spurs style of playing...’jugar al patadón’ is the Spanish for long ball...

3. More a personal one this one but also relates to language in general. Of course, improving my Spanish is another important aspect of the trip.

4. A close friend once said that by turning on your ‘organisation genes’ you can attract beautiful women...needless to say I think I’m going to have to improve my organisation skills if I am to achieve target number 4. It doesn’t help that I have the memory of

5. Un perrezoso! Undoubtedly the coolest animal in the world, my trip to Da Rica won’t be complete without seeing one of these half blind/half deaf creatures! Boo! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndMKTnSRsKM

6. Surely this one is possible. With the swagger of Pep Guardiola and the tactical knowledge of Robbie Savage I must have the winning combination! Interestingly Pep Savage translates to Spanish as ‘energetic violence’...hmm so much for the tika taka style of football...

Undeniably a difficult selection of targets but I will keep you updated on my success!      

Peace x