Old Post

Found one of my old post from several weeks ago. Figured I might as well post it too so here it is!

We played in another pre season tournament a few weeks ago. We played very inconsistent but ended up taking second in the tournament. Still continuing to train twice a day and if we do not play we have the weekends off. I am blessed to have nice teammates that take me places so I can be a tourist! I was able to go to a festival in a town about twenty minutes away called Skalica. It was a great experience! My teammate Veronika made me try a “typical Slovak burger”. It was good but nothing like my uncle bricks burgers!! Also tried a cake that is only made in that town and of course after trying it I had to buy one! One of my favorite things I got to try was a honey whiskey. Guess that is the southern coming out in me 🙂

Trying the Honey Whiskey with my teammate Veronika.

The weekend after the festival I went to my teammates house in the hills here in Senica. There were a bunch of small houses, stacked close to each other, up a very big hill. Each house had its own garden and area to sit outside and cook out or entertain guest. I loved it!! The view was ridiculous. I can not even begin to explain how amazing it was and the pictures of course do not do it justice. I ended up taking home some fresh fruits and vegetables too so that was an added bonus.

Oopsie Daisy

Wellllll see this is what happened…. I though I had been posting the past ummm month or so but apparently they haven’t been uploading. Yeah. Sorry for those of you who actually read what I post. Serious blonde moment.

The team has been doing very well. We are MUCH better than the league we are playing in but on a positive note I may have my first undefeated season! Practices are still everyday twice a day with weights mixed in there too.

When I am not playing I have a lot of down time. I live in a super small city so there really isn’t much to do here. I have found a few coffee shops that I really like to go hangout at. Afternoon coffee and tea is very popular in Europe and i absolutely love it!! I have been able to visit a few places on my weekends off! Today I actually went to Bratislava for the second time. I got to see the Old City this time and it was beautiful.

Under the main bridge in Bratislava

I also recently went to Czech with one of my teammates and got to see some more beautiful places and castles. We do not play this weekend so I planned a trip to Budapest, Hungary! I am so excited!! I will take plenty of pics and be sure to write about it (and actually post it) when I get back!

Home Tournament

We had our first home tournament last weekend! We ended up 4-0 for the weekend and tournament champs! I was very excited about not only winning, but how our team fought back when we were down. With winning comes a trophy right? Exactly!! AND along with the trophy, we also received a gift bag of chocolate and a bottle of champagne (pictures to come). We took our bottle of champagne and box of chocolates to the coffee shop/bar the club owns and celebrated! (Umm…. I think I could get the hang of this) We also met some of the sponsors there. It was nice to meet some of the people that support the team and make it possible for me to be here!

The team with a sponsor

That night I also had lesson one in speaking Slovak  with the managers daughter. She would say a word and tell me to repeat it, then laugh at me when I said it wrong. Good thing I love kids. 🙂 The number of words I can say is climbing but very slowly.

My tutor Slavka!

One of my favorite parts about the weekend was meeting some of the younger local girls that play club here in Senica. They were sooo sweet! As you might have guessed not many people speak English here so when given the chance they are one of two things… afraid or excited. These girls were beyond excited! They invited me to watch the local first division futbol, I mean soccer, game and I hope I get to join them! Meeting these girls reminded me I am not here just for volleyball. Volleyball is the game I love and it is what got me here but I am here to soak up all aspects of this opportunity! Hope I can help them learn more about America as they teach me about Slovakia!

Game Time

Finally got to play some games today!! It was just a scrimmage but it felt great to play against someone else. We played in Bratislava, which is the Capital of Slovakia and only an hour away from where I live. Big and beautiful city that I plan on going back to enjoy longer. We won our first match and lost the second. After just one week of practice with the team I was very pleased. Clearly we have some things to work on but I think we are going to have a GREAT season of smashing balls!! 🙂

One thing I had trouble with today that I usually don’t is talking. Possibly because I was the only American in the gym, and one of three who spoke English, with one of those being my coach (thank the Lord). My teammates are so kind and love teaching me simple words that will help with that. They also love laughing at me when I try to pronounce them. Glad I can be entertaining in several languages! 

Now we get a few days off to rest then we hit the court again!! Ready to work out all the kinks and keep improving as a team! 

The Beginning

It is hard to sum up what has happened in the last twenty days. It has literally been a roller coaster ride. I left the states on August 7th and headed to Maribor, Slovenia. After the first day of the tour I had two contract offers. One in Germany and the other in Austria. After going with the one in Austria I soon found out I was not the player for them. They needed someone to play outside and pass, and well, I am a true middle blocker. I rejoined the tour to try and get picked up by another team. This was such a blessing in disguise. I was able to meet so many awesome people and volleyball players from all over the US when I went back. We also were able to visit Bled Slovenia and Vienna Austria. BEAUTIFUL places and none of the pictures I took do any of it justice.

Bled Slovenia

 

Next the agency sent me and Alexa (my new best friend) to Slovakia to try out for a team. After a week of training with the team and seeing what this small town has to offer I am going to stay and play here this season.

I am so excited to see where this journey takes me! I will try and update my blog regularly so those that are interested can see what I have been up to. Enjoy 🙂