Thursday, March 27, 2014

Countdown begins...

Hi!!

Yesterday concluded our last trip to another country.  We traveled to Belarus and played our last regular season Baltic League game.  We were in Minsk and the city itself was very pretty.  The one thing I love about the cities in Europe that I have visited is the size.  They are large cities but they are not crowded.  You do not feel like buildings are on top of one another, and that goes for the people as well.  In Minsk we lost our first Baltic League game but we still finished first in the regular season. Finals start in about two weeks. 

We drove three hours from Lithuania to Belarus and on our way to and from we had to cross the border.  When we first reached the border one of the officers entered our bus and checked all of our passports.  Truthfully, it was very intimidating.  I wish I could have taken a picture of the man and woman who came on our bus with their uniform, hat and boots.  On our way back crossing the border one of the girls told me we had to get off the bus to clean our shoes because of wild pigs that are currently roaming Belarus.  I laughed assuming it was a joke, but then a officer came on and instructed us to step off the bus, and sure enough we had to clean our shoes due to wild pigs.  Honestly, you can't make this stuff up. 

Last week we also traveled to Latvia, Estonia, and Sweden where we played two games.  We won both games on our trip.  Sweden is one of my favorite countries that I have visited simply because of how friendly the people were.  At Drexel I had a teammate from Sweden, Jen Stjarnstrom, and now I know why she is so nice!! The people in Sweden make you feel welcomed.  After we won the game the coach and the fans came up to us and thanked us for giving them such a good game. That’s what EuroLeague teams are all about.  I found it funny, but that is the nature of their culture.

I have officially visited 10 countries during my seven-month stay in Lithuania.  I have been to Poland, Spain, Turkey, Russia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, and Belarus.  If you count the countries of the airports I have been in, it's probably around 20 countries.  Each country was unique in their own way. I have learned something from each country that I will be able to carry with me for the rest of my life.  I'll write more about that in the last blog I write in approximately three weeks which is when I will be coming home!

Next week starts our playoffs for Lithuanian league.  We finished first in that league for regular season as well but the two teams we are facing in the semis and finals will be tough.  The semis start next week and its best-of-three and the finals are best-of-five.  But I believe we have the best and strongest team.  Regardless of the team I am on I always think we are the best and strongest haha.  But we are! And I plan to win two championships with this team before I leave. 

I cannot believe it will be a little less than four weeks until I am home.  I have finally gotten comfortable living in Lithuania and have made friendships.  Eventually things come to an end though, I just can't believe I made it this far.  If you would have asked the Hollie five years ago if she was going to live in Europe for half a year she would have said HECK NO!!! But that's the best part, your life is capable of taking you to places you never thought you would have gone five years ago.  My life is forever changed because of this experience and I am so thankful every day for it!!

Well, four weeks left and one more blog post to go!!!!

:)

Monday, March 3, 2014

T minus 1.5 months

Hi!!!

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted, but I wanted to get through the last two months before I posted again.  As you know I was home form Christmas break, and it was just what I needed.  Although, having to leave home – again – was very difficult.  I flew back to Lithuania on the 30th of December, and the next day was right back at it.  It took me about two weeks to adjust to the time change.  I have officially been in Europe for five months!!!! And I have a month-and-a-half left, which is crazy to think about!!

We have been playing a lot of games and traveling over the past two months.  I traveled to Spain, Russia and Turkey, which are all awesome countries.  Spain and Turkey were beautiful.  I would love to play in Spain. The only problem is that I’m not sure I would ever come home if I went – that’s how spectacular it was.  We visited Salamanca, which is a very old and “romantic” looking historic city.  I did not get to see a lot of Russia.  The only thing I have to say about Russia is everything is HUGE.  As my roommate likes to say, "dramatic."  The buildings are ginormous.  It's almost as if they are trying to make a statement: "Hey, we are big and powerful."  So, yeah, that's what I took away from Russia.  Turkey was interesting.  We were in Istanbul.  I got to see the Black Sea and Blue Mosque.  As my teammates and I were walking around the city, there had to be about 30 people who stopped to ask if we play basketball.  I said I was going to make a sign that said “yes” and wear it on my shirt and point to it as I passed by people (only if they asked if I played basketball, of course).  The people in Turkey were extremely friendly and warm.  Everyone we saw wanted to stop and speak with us.  Out of the 6 countries I have visited thus far, my favorites have been Spain and Croatia.  Both are very beautiful and the people made you feel welcomed. 

We finished up our Euro-League season last week in Turkey. We played against a lot of great teams and players, and I am thankful to have played against some of the best competition because it has helped me grow as a player and has motivated me to be an even better player.  So I have new goals in mind moving forward. 

We are currently playing in the Lithuanian League still, and just recently joined Baltic League which consists of a team from Sweden, Estonia, and Belarus.  The playoffs for the Baltic League, I believe, are near the end of March.  The playoffs for the Lithuanian League are mid-April.  Then I AM HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Truthfully, I will be sad when I leave.  The first three months here were brutal.  I told myself I was never coming back, and I could not do it.  But my mom always told me "anything new you must try for at least 6 months to determine if it’s for you or not."  Well, like always, she was right, haha. Maybe not always, but nine out of 10 times she is ;).  The end of the fourth month things got a lot easier.  I started to enjoy basketball more and I started to get closer with the girls on the team. And the fifth month was a breeze. I didn't get upset once or have thoughts about leaving.  Of course I always miss home and my family and friends but I am adjusted and I have chosen to enjoy my time here and not take it for granted.

People ask me what I have been doing for fun......watch tv shows. Haha.  Truthfully, I did most of the site-seeing in Lithuania the first couple months I was here, and when I am not playing basketball I am tired and want to lay around.  We also travel a lot, and seeing other countries is very exciting.  Being able to see different cultures and how people live is very enlightening.  Also, my roommate and I have gotten close to a Lithuanian family who lives in our building.  They come to our games and they also had us over for a home-cooked Lithuanian meal.  It was amazing.  Soon we are going back over to help them prepare dinner together.  They are going to teach us how to make a national dish for when we return home. 

Well, I will be home in less than 60 days,  I think it's like 55 days, something like that.  So get ready :)

BYE!

ps. I can count to 100 in Lithuanian!