Confessions of a Serial Traveler

Benjamin Portnoy, Spring 2018 participant at CIEE Seville Communications, New Media and Journalism Spanish program from the University of Indiana-Bloomington, published this great chronicle about the life in Seville of Ryan Kelly, former Duke and LA Lakers star –now playing for Betis Energía Plus team– in the student magazine más+menos. Life is not always easy when you're a professional star.

Here's a teaser of Benjamin's text:

Centro Deportivo San Pablo is not quite a basketball Mecca. The outer walls, painted in off-shades of tan and green, are old and worn. Above the court, the pipes and beams supporting the building weave through each other like the medieval streets of the Andalusian capital. The stands, numbering just over 7,600, present a more accurate depiction of an oversized high school gym than a professional basketball arena.

Ryan Kelly, the former Duke and Los Angeles Lakers forward, walks towards the players’ entrance dressed comfortably in joggers, sunglasses, and sneakers with a backpack slung over his shoulders.

Standing every-bit of 6-foot-11 and still sporting the same scruffy beard as in his college days, Kelly jokes his appearance is closer to that of a professor than a basketball player – and given that he was a three-time All-ACC Academic team member at Duke, he might not be that far off.

The most glaring changes are the three tattoos on his left wrist: a cross, “Phil 4:13”, signifying the Bible verse Philippians 4:13, and the text “Rise and rise again.” (...)

Read the whole article here; or if you prefer it in the Spanish version, here.