Maria Karlsson settling into Doncaster, preparing for first FA Cup match

People who know me well, know that I like organization and structure in my life, so this last week has been heaven for me! Now I have a national insurance number, an English bank account, and last but not least, an English phone number. Feels good! I feel that I’m more and more beginning to get routines here in Doncaster.

I begin to know the surroundings and know more and more people around here. And this week my two teammates/hotel friends Aine O’Gorman and Kylla Sjoman and I went to IKEA in Leeds to make our hotel rooms homier. I got a touch of Sweden in the big yellow and blue store and my friends got a touch of the Swedish meatballs!

Everybody was happy and the plants and the candles look beautiful in my window. Room 229 is actually really nice and cosy now.
Doncaster Rovers Belles FC of 2011 has played its first game together. From my point of view, I think it was a good friendly game for us, and I think it’s so important for us to get as many games together as we can, before the FA Cup game the 13th of March. Many girls are new to the team, but I already think that one of our strengths this year can be our good team spirit and our willingness to work for each other.

This Saturday, Kylla and I went to Bawtry, a small town close to our hotel, for a brunch with our chairman and his wife. It was a lovely brunch, and it was so English! We ordered scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, mushroom, tomato, toast ,and a cup of tea (which I changed to a cappuccino). You almost feel like you’re full all day after a brunch like that. This week I’ve also celebrated my 26th birthday here in Doncaster, and I got the best present I ever received. My family had sent me a digital photo frame with hundreds of pictures. It’s so nice to have it in my room to look at. I also got a lovely birthday song from my team and a delicious cupcake from
Aine and Kylla. Feels like this year is going to be a good year.

Tip of the week: The Fighter, a really good film with a lot of emotions.

Maria Karlsson is a defender for Doncaster Rovers Belles and the first Swedish international in the FA Women’s Super League.