I have to admit that I am a little intimidated of blogging. It is something that I have never done before, but I love writing, and have a great adventure to share with the many people who I love at home so I am willing to overcome my fear and start playing with it.
For those of you who do not know I am playing professional volleyball in Vordingborg, Denmark. I arrived here August 5th and will be here at least until April. When I say professional I want all of you to understand that it is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds. It is for sure a step down from college ball, at least the league that I am playing in. I am being paid to live here though, and more than being here for volleyball I am here for the experience and to grow as a person… not saying I would be upset if we win the Danish cup though. You all know how competitive I am.
I think the best way to get everyone up to speed is to copy some passages from emails so sorry if you have already read this:
When I arrived here I was so tired because I couldn’t sleep on the plane at all thanks to a great book that Schwabe gave me called “Something Borrowed.” It sucked me in and wouldn’t spit me out until I finished it. My coach picked me up from the airport at 7am on Saturday. He took me immediately to the store so that I wouldn’t go straight to sleep in hopes of helping me with the adjusting period. I was so out of it that all I bought was a bag of spinach, a bell pepper, and some oatmeal. That was all that I had to live off of for about a week (poor decision on my part).
The stores are not that much different from ours except that they do not have nearly as many brands and options. Life here is just more simple which I really like.
After our trip to the store I finally got to take a nap. It was amazing but two hours later my coach woke me up and insisted that I had to get out of bed and that we were going to help our teams libero move into her apartment. It was nice to get out and meet her. She is a little, very sweet Danish girl. So far she is my favorite one on the team. I then went to bed at 6 that evening and stayed in bed until 1 the next morning. The next few days are a big blur but basically it was a lot of meeting people (I remember zero names), and running errands with my coach. I am glad that I got here before the other two american girls. It was nice to settle in on my own and get to know my coach. I got to ask him a ton of questions and got some time in the gym with him.
The time in the gym with my coach was both great and very very frustrating. It made me question everything I have every known. My hand was still really hurting me (feels like a knife stabbing me every time I set). For those of you who don’t know I had surgery right before I came here to get a bone taken out of my hand. The first few times in the gym I was basically just getting ripped to shreds by my coach. I was proud of how I handled it though. Every time he yelled at me I just nodded my head and said ok (This has now become my life modo here: Nod and smile). I just kept reminding myself that this is what I wanted…to be the worst again…to improve a lot…to feel like I suck and be completely uncomfortable both as a player and a person so that I can grow. As soon as I look at things that way I feel way better and smile to myself.
The other two americans got in on Monday and we had a team meeting. It was really exciting to meet everyone. They all seem really cool. I like the Danish girls a lot! The american girls I honestly didn’t like that much at first. I found respect for them though time in the gym because they work very hard and want to play every time I suggest it. We don’t need to be best friends but we will be great teammates…I can already see that. And we all get closer every time we play together.
Second Email:
Things are getting better with the other Americans (Jackie and Branagan) but the cool thing is that for the first time ever I don’t really care that much if they like me. I am here to play volleyball and explore so if I need to do that by myself…so be it. I have a ton of respect for both of them on the court. They are both amazing and work hard and are completely different on the court than off the court. So that is really all that matters. The last American got here a couple of days ago and I like her a lot more than the others for outside of volleyball stuff. She wants to get out and see stuff and take pictures and be a total tourist, but at the same time learn about the culture here and become a part of it. Her name is Sage. She is a little strange from time to time, and really concerned about spending money, but I think we are going to become good friends.
The Danish girls are all quiet but so sweet! They are just really nice and great girls. I don’t know them that well so I will let you know more as I get to know them. My favorite person here is our little libero that played last year in Sweden but is from Denmark. She is a short blonde but super strong. She is just a sweetheart to the core, but also knows who she likes and doesn’t bother with people who don’t accept that. I think she likes me and we are becoming friends
! Her name is Jeanetta, but it is said Shanetta. All of the Danish people are just pretty down to earth, and not loud attention striving as I have noticed the americans are. I never understood where we got that reputation from until now and it is very obvious. The customs and everything seem pretty similar but I don’t really know enough about the culture to be able to tell you the differences so I will keep you updated on that. They can all speak English fantastically. It really blows me away that it is their second language because they make it seem so easy. WHY THE HECK DONT WE HAVE KIDS LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE FROM AN EARLY AGE?!The Coach is kinda hard to play for. He yells a lot and is super hard on me. He was a setter so I guess he picks on setters a lot. It is a little hard to take, but ok. I just try to take the good feedback and forget the more jerk comments that he makes. I am sure it will get better as I learn the new system and how to set to the new hitters. We have only had two team practices so it is hard to judge how it will be so far, but our team is good and I think I am really going to like it. Jackie and Branagan are very good hitters, jump super high, and therefore are really fun to set to.
The food is expensive, but pretty similar to what we have in the states, although I have tried some new things. I have a new favorite cookie, it is like graham cracker outside, and dark chocolate in the middle. It is the perfect level of sweet. I also love dark bread( which is kinda like ezekeal dad) and Nutella.
They use the Kroner(Said Crown in English). It is 5 Kroner to 1 Dollar. Everything here is super expensive which has been a little tough to get used to. I spent $20 on a towel for example.
I think that is enough for the first post. I know a lot of you have already read all of that and I promise I will get another post up soon and some pictures because it is really amazing and I want you all to be able to see it here
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