Sunday, November 10, 2013

Update 8!

It's been awhile since I posted but not too much has happened.

Week of Oct 6-13- Pretty normal week again. I lifted in the am and then had practice in the pm. I got a care package from home with pumpkin bread and pumpkin cans and lots of halloween and thanksgiving decorations! It also snowed one night which I was not too happy about. It is the beginning of October and it was snowing! Thankfully it hasn't snowed since but there is talk of snow this week. Hopefully it doesn't stick. I think this weather is crazy than New England! It will be 30 degrees and the next day be 60. It will rain one day and the crazy beautiful the next. I don't really understand it but going through New England weathers have prepared me. We also started our season this week. We lost but played well the first game. We have a lot to work on but hoping for a good season! We also started German class this week! It is really cool and we like our teacher!

Week of Oct 13-20- The routine for the week is pretty much the same. Go to class, lift, practice. I could really get used to this schedule for the rest of my life (maybe not class). We went to the men's volleyball team game! It was really cool and one of our national team members plays on the team! We had another game and lost :(. Still improving which is good though! We had another week of class and starting to learn German and getting better at understanding people!

Week of Oct 20-27- This week we made homed sushi! Of course we didn't use raw fish but we did have avocado and chicken in them! We are making a goal to do something different every week. We also had a photo shoot at our local car dealer which was cool. We headed to Vienna for a game and spent the weekend there. We won! We played really well and are still improving!

Week of Oct 27- Nov 2- This week we tried a dragon fruit. It was good, it didn't really taste like much. We had another week of practice, class and lifting. On halloween my roommate cut her finger and we had to go to the hospital. The ER was so quick and saw her right away. She has been out from volleyball and hopefully will be back soon! We had another home game on Saturday and won! We keep improving which I am really glad about. Our german class is going well and learning how to talk about furniture and what things cost.

Week of Nov 3- 10- This week again was the normal routine. We headed to Salzburg to play. We walked around the old city for a bit which was really cool and saw Mozart's house! Our game didn't go very well but looking to get back to practice and work hard. We had our last week of class. We got a certificate for passing and that means we can take the next class. About a month and half before I go to Italy, Germany, and the Czech for Christmas break. I am really excited and can't wait!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Update 7!

Week of Sept. 17-23- During the week was pretty boring and we just did out normal routine of practice and working out. This weekend we headed to Munich for our last preseason tournament. We played really well both days! We ended up taking 2nd in the tournament which is a great improvement from the last two weekends finish. The tournament was really fun and at every tournament so far they have had a player party where all the players come. This one had food and DJ. The night that we slept over we slept in a gym in sleeping bags, it was like camping all over again.

Week of Sept. 23-30 This week again we did the normal routine of working out and practice. We had Monday and Tuesday off which meant we had time to recuperate after the long weekend. That weekend we headed to the Alpen Zoo. It was a blast! The zoo is up on the mountain and if you didn't know there was a zoo there than you could walk right by it. It had tons of animals that you would typically find in Austria. They had an area where you could pet the animals and feed them. There was a goat who was very greedy and would nudge your hand to get more. The next day we headed to our friends village to celebrate Oktoberfest and watch her brother's soccer game. It was very fun and we ate wienerschnitzel  and pommes, it was really good!

Week of 30- Oct 6- This week again was back to normal routine of working out, practice, and coaching. The weekend we headed to Oktoberfest in Munich. It was really fun but a long day. It was raining when we got there and pretty much didn't stop the whole time we were there. We first got there and it look like a huge fair with rides and food and games to play. We decided we would head into the tent and start drinking. We waited in lines for 2 hours before we decided to just go ride on rides. I rode one ride while my roommates rode 2. We then got a snack of chocolate and fruit which was delicious. We then headed back to the tents to see if we could get a spot back in side. We still were unable to but we found a place outside that was semi-dri. We ended up meeting some Americans that were stationed in Germany. We also met a couple that was from Munich. We had a great time and clinked our huge beers. It turned out to be a good day even though it was rainy. The next day we headed a little outside of the main city of Innsbruck to watch some of our teammates and some of the girls we coach play volleyball. They did great! We than got dinner at a sushi restaurant which was delicious. It might be my new favorite place!
This coming weekend starts our season play and we are looking for a Win!

Look on Facebook for pictures that correspond to my weeks!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Update 6

The first week of September after we had our training camp we started to get into a routine. We have practice Monday (Montag), Tuesday (Dienstag), Thursday (Donnerstag), and Friday (Freitag). Wednesday (Mittwoch) we have off from practice but are required to go to the fitness center. Practices are late at night and we usually have the whole day to hangout and run errands. I signed up for a gym that has lots of free weights so I can continue to do my lifting and get stronger. That week we just finished some required things like get our bank cards and get our visas. I finally have my visa so I can work for the team and be allowed to play. Tuesday we went and watched wrestling matches on our day off. It was really cool to watch and we watched the Tirolian Champion wrestle. He was really good! We also watched an older guy wrestle who beat out all the younger guys. That weekend we left for Maribor, Slovenia. This was where  I had my tryout to get picked up by a team. We stayed at the same hotel and played in the same venue. I even was in the same exact room. We played Friday night and Saturday day and evening. We won one and lost two. We are a young team and are growing every game and getting better which is good! We have strong hitters but need better serve receive but most teams struggle with that. We also played a team in a smaller town an hour outside of Maribor. The drive to Maribor was 6 hours one way. It was very long but it seems to be a common thing for us to travel far for play.

The next week was just back to normal routine and I worked out and practiced. Monday's are my grocery days so I also go grocery shopping. I also do the sauna on days when practice is later. We went out to dinner on Sunday to an American restaurant. It was good and had lots of cool American things in it. I also started coaching a young group of girls with one of the girl's dads on Wednesday night and then on Tuesday night with my roommate Michi. The girls can understand english which is good because Harry (the girl's dad) is going to let me put my input in and help with drills. The week was again really low key because we had a tournament coming up. That weekend we headed to Carcare and Cairo Montenotte Italy for our second tournament! It was really cool and we were right near the Liguiran Sea. The way they do meals is different than what we do. At first you get some type of pasta and then after meat with potatoes! There was a lot of bread and pasta consumed with in the three days. Breakfast also was just a croissant and foccacia bread! Everything was so delicious. We played on Saturday and Sunday and won 3 and lost 3 taking 6 out of 12 teams. Saturday night they had a concert for the teams and brought all the teams up and gave them gifts and t-shirts! It was really cool and we played in a police school on one of the days. The ride to and back again was very long! 

We are starting another week of practice and heading to Munich this weekend for another tournament!

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Update 5

So this past week we spent it in a training camp from Sunday till Saturday. Sunday we arrived at the facility and were given our rooms. I got my own room which was really nice because I didn't have to share a shower or anything like that. We ate dinner and then just hung out for the rest of the night. The food was very good there and we experienced lots of different traditional austrian food. We then had a meeting about the upcoming week and what our schedule was like.

7am- Run
8am- Breakfast
9am- 11:45am- Practice and Weight
11:45am- Lunch
3pm- Practice and Cardio
6pm- Dinner
8pm- Practice

This was our schedule every day, pretty much we napped between lunch and our 2nd practice. Then we headed straight for bed after our last practice.

On Wednesday we had the afternoon off and we pretty much sat around as a team and got better acquainted with everyone. We also spent most of the nights and wednesday afternoon learning German words.

Friday we didn't have the last practice of the day and didn't have our morning run.

During the week we all were very tired and sore. Practices were good and they worked on ball control and running different plays out of rotation.  We also hiked into the mountains and saw lots of cows. When we left on Saturday there was a Almabtrieb which is when the cows spend the summer in the mountains and they come down with their owners back down to the farm. The front cow will wear wreaths on their faces. It was very cool to see!

It was a very good week full of learning experiences and a great bonding week with the girls.

Tonight we are getting ready to go out and then have a relaxing Sunday afternoon tomorrow.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Update 4!

Wednesday- We just chilled at the apartment most of the day until practice. Nothing very exciting. Seems to be a common thing to just hangout around the apartment. I can't wait to get back into a routine once we get back from preseason camp and actually go to the gym and lift again (I have to admit I am becoming a meat head and feel weird when I don't do some serious lifting)

Thursday- We headed into town and got set up with a bank account so we can get paid! We then walked around the city and got lunch in the old city. There are so many outside restaurants and places to just sit and watch all the tourists (I am not considered a tourist because I actually have an apartment, even though I am just as new as some of the tourists walking around). We then headed home and got ready for practice. Practice was good. We then got all dolled up and headed into the city. We started by going to this place called Hofgardern (it was a beer garden or literally a bar in the middle of the garden!) Well apparently it wasn't the night for that bar because there was literally two people in the whole place and when I say two I really mean two. So we then worked our way back and went to another bar which had tons of people already at 10pm. 10pm is considered early to be going out at night. Many people won't even get to the bar till 12am or 1am and won't leave until 5 or 6am. It is a very different lifestyle here. We didn't stay that long, we mostly just watched people dance around all crazily.

Friday- We headed to the gym to get a workout in since we didn't have practice. The workout was good but still not doing any heavy lifting which stinks. We then headed to Baggersee Lake, which is a lake that you can swim for fun or for a workout and just lay out by the banks. The lake was filled with little fishes as well as ducks.  It was fun and nice that there is a place so close by to go swimming at! We came home and again just chilled and didn't do much.

Saturday- We had a scrimmage, my roommate and I couldn't play because of paperwork issues. We both were really disappointed. Our team lost but it was a very close game. After the game we came home and just hung out until later in the evening when we went and got dinner. The place we went was a southwestern bar. It had lots of mexican and american food. I got Buffalo chicken wings and there was no buffalo on them!  We came home early because we both were tired. We are still adjusting to sleeping so much which we think is making us more tired. We also got our phones, so I have two phones now! My phone is very old school and I could barely figure it out at first.

Sunday- We packed and left for Maria Alm which is where we are going for our week of preseason camp and team bonding.

Since it is Sunday, I may or may not have any type of connection for a week!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Update 3

Friday- we didn't do much, just hung out around the apartment and went to practice.

Saturday- we woke up early (mind you early is 10am). Our coach picked us up and took us to the village of Seefeld where there was hiking and little shops. We walked for an hour to a restaurant in the middle of the mountains. The restaurant had very interesting looking decor. It had cow hide and lots of taxidermy animals. The moment we got up there our coach convinced us that some schnapps was water and me being naive was like oh cool and took it. It was definitely not water and looking back on it should have known when she gave it to us in a shot glass. We sat down for lunch and again I couldn't read anything on the menu but what I did know was the Walter our waiter would sound a siren when someone would want an apple streusel. It was a very interesting place. We walked back for another hour and then walked around the village The buildings there were from the 1600s and 1700s. It was mostly hotels and shopping areas. It also was were the 2012 youth winter olympics were held. On one corner there was a haircut place in the shape of an igloo. We got home and just hung out, we all felt to lazy to go out Saturday night.

Sunday- Sunday we got up and just chilled at the apartment and then headed into the old town to get dinner and hangout. We got pizza and the pizza here is thin crust which I love and they don't have any thick crust. We also got Hugo again which is a bubble wine or champagne with mint and lime or lemons. It is my favorite drink here.  We then walked around the palace and went to another location to just hangout. We got a aperol spritzer which I didn't really like. I can't really describe it either because it doesn't taste like anything I have had in America.  We then walked more towards the city and saw a piece of a old wall that surround the city in the medieval times. We also happened upon another gym and the gym was similar to ours except for the fact that all the classes are taught by video people, so there are no live people teaching the class. We went home and just chilled for the rest of the night.  It started to rain and there was a crazy thunderstorm.

Monday- It was down-pouring for the whole day and we only left to go and open a bank account. That failed and we went back home. We had practice and then came home. Nothing too exciting

Tuesday- We hungout most of the day and then went to the gym for two hours and did the sauna ( I love the sauna and stay in it longer than you are supposed to, it's just soo relaxing). We also ran some errands and then I came home and budgeted my expenses, again nothing too exciting.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Update 2!

So,

Tuesday we didn't really do much. We met with the head coach at lunch to go over paperwork and what we needed to get our visas and things like that. We also went to the gym that we will be working  out at (it's a women's gym, so they don't have any squat racks or bench presses like I like to do but there is a sauna!). We then spent the next few hours in the dez (pronounced dates), its pretty much a mall. Then we headed to the fitness center to work out and go in the sauna. We then headed home and went grocery shopping. So, because things here aren't grown with tons of chemicals you can't buy things in bulk like I normally do so the buying things for a couple of days I am going to have to get used to.  We finally rested and then were told that at 630 we were heading into the mountains for a run. We met at the meeting place and proceeded to walk up a mountain. Then we got to a certain spot and ran and did exercises for the next hour. I can't complain too much because part of our run was through a castle and we got to drink out of a fresh water fountain.  We proceeded to get a ride half way home and then we walked home. We stopped at a lake that we can go swimming at (hopefully I can go soon, since we all know how much I love swimming) it was quite warm and there were places to sunbath. We also walked down some steps to touch the river. The river was very cold. I think I forgot to mention in my previous post that I live in the old Olympic village from the 60s and 70s. The rest of the night we just watched tv on our computers since we don't have an actual TV.

Wednesday my roommate Lindsay and I decided to head back to the Dez to find workout gear and a nice wallet to hold all our change! We found a few things and found stuff at Ikea. It was nice to go on our own since we had gone with our other roommate Carrie who has lived her before. We also went back to the fitness center and went into the sauna. We came home, just chilled for a bit and then it was off to practice. Practice was fine, since it is considered preseason we did mostly conditioning and barely played actual volleyball. The practices are going to take a bit to get used to but it will be fine. I have to ask the girls what the coach is saying most of the time but they are very helpful! After practice we just came home and chilled again. Seems like I will be doing a lot of that.

Thursday, I pretty much did nothing all day. Towards the evening my roommate Lindsay (who I share a room with), Carrie (who had played on this team before), and Mickey (who is the coaches daughter), all went into the old city to see the festival that is going on. Austria celebrated almost every holiday and gets that day off from school work and all the shops are closed. We went and got dinner. At dinner a show was on in front of the golden roof (the golden roof is were the pope came and spoke to the community). All the people in the festival were wearing traditional outfits and performed tradition dances and fun things like that. It was fun to sit and watch ( I couldn't understand the language, so I was literally just sitting and watching). After dinner we headed out with some Dutch guys who sat with us at the table (the tables are community, so you could be sitting with tons of different people), the bar we went to was just a shots bar and you had to pick a line and within that line there was like 5 to 6 different types of shots. It was fun, I just tasted the shots to see what they were like. After Lindsay and me decided to go home. We really weren't there long but we thought we were getting on the right bus to go home but turns out the bus we were on was done for the night. As soon as we got on a drunk man came up to us and started talking in german and had a balloon sword and was pointing at the houses next to us. We didn't understand him even when he started talking in English. We then got on the bus and he made sure to tell the bus driver to take care of us. Well we were on the bus for about 2 stops when the bus stopped and everyone got off. Us not knowing what to do just sat there until a man told us were to go. Him and his wife and one of their mother showed us were to go and what stop to get off at. It was an adventure to say the least. I can't wait to start taking German classes so I can hopefully some what understand what is going on around me.  It was a good night!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Hello Everyone!

So just wanted to send an email about everything that has been going on.

Starting with the first day I left. I left Monday night from Boston and headed to London. It was a 7 hours flight and I had my own personal TV. The couple sitting next to me was on their way to visit their daughter who lived in London. The women was very nice and offered me her pillow. When we landed in London I had a 5 hour layover and just sat around. Slept mostly and used the internet. Then I was off to Berlin. My layover in Berlin was quick and I didn't have much time to see anything. This flight was also quick and was 3 hours long. Again I slept for most of it, no surprise there. Once I was in Berlin it was off to Budapest. The flight to Budapest was very quick and I met a guy who tons of tattoos and gauges in his ears and piercings on his teeth! He was very nice and told me he was from Mexico but was living in Spain. He was in Hungry for a music festival which was awesome. Once in Budapest found out my luggage was lost :(. That was ok I had to find my ride to the hostel. The airport shuttle guy was very confused on the location I gave him but we found it since it was right next to the train station.

Once I got there I went up to the hostel and met with the guy who runs it. He was awesome spoke many languages and was very easy to understand in English. He helped me with getting all my train tickets sorted out and told me that I had to go purchase my ticket from the international office in the train station. So I went there and had to take a number. I waited for about 2 hours before the lady called my number. She didn't speak very good english so I ask for my ticket and luckily got the right one. So went home and talked to the host more about the ticket and tried to get everything squared away. 

The next morning it was off to the train station. From the train station it was off to vienna (wien as the spell it, which is very confusing) So train ride to vienna was 3 hours long and I slept no surprise there. Once I got to Vienna, it was more waiting another 3 hour layover. From Vienna I got onto another train and it was off to Maribor. I finally made it to Maribor and the head guy told me to wait for a bus to get on to get to the hotel. Well I waited for 2 hours and finally had to email him asking what was going on. He ended up having to pick me up. 

So I finally made it to the hotel and I was the only girl. So I went to bed (is anyone suprised by how much I sleep yet?)

The next day more of the girls finally came and they were all super nice. We all got along great. That day we walked into town. It was  very cute town and I wish I had had more time to see it.

The next day started everything. We had open gym in the morning and I got to see what I was up against. That evening we had a meeting and the we officially started practice. The first practice there were about 3 teams there and we starting with hitting lines. Pretty much it was about who could hit the hardest and if you could pass. The first day many of the girls got offers. It was very discouraging but I kept fighting

The next day again we did hitting lines in the morning and then girls left after lunch. It was really hard to watch girls leave when I didn't even have anyone talk to me yet. The second session we played and I just played my game and focused more on having fun. Well with that I peaked the interest of this team. They had already been set on two girls and then the coach saw me and asked about me. I talked to them for a bit and then after they asked me to come to practice and tryout against the other girl. The other girl happened to be my roommate for the trip. She was awesome and very similar to me in both off the court and on the court regards. It was very difficult mentally because they brought us to this amazing city and we knew that one of us was going home. 

We had all day sunday to walk around the city and enjoy the awesomeness of it and fall in love. The city is amazing, its very small but big at the same time. Its right in between two mountains which yes means more snow for this girls. They also have very random festivals which we happened to run into. Then today Monday, we spent the day up on the mountain enjoying the view. Then we headed home and spent the day relaxing and waiting to play.

We had practice and it was very different than here. We dribbled a volleyball around the court like basketball and did some very weird things to warm up. We then proceeded to do hitting lines and then just played. After we sat there thinking we had to practice another morning. They ended up making their decision. They told us that they needed someone who could play multiple positions! So thanks to my college coaches and being able to do that for 4 years, they picked me! So I will be playing for the VC Tirol in Innsbruck Austria this coming season. The season has started and will be going to April or May. We have a preseason in Maria Alm which is up in the mountains and we go on a 2 hour hike up a mountain! It sounds crazy but I can handle it. The coaches are awesome and told me that I shouldn't be so quiet. Hopefully I can come out of my shell! I am really excited because the location is amazing to be able to travel around Europe. I will also be learning German at the university which I am excited about. I have already learned some so far and can get by. 

I am really excited for the year ahead of me. I will try to update more on this blog website if you want to follow. It will have everything about my travels and volleyball!



Love you guys!