The Blog Is Back

Ok its been awhile since I have done the whole blog thing but since I am once again in a different country it was time to start up again. One reason being is that it takes up a few hours of my day and keeps me busy so I dont get to bored out here and the other reason being so I can keep family and friends updated back in the states. So where am I you ask? well the answer to that is Finland. Ya i know crazy, me beach loving, sun loving girl is in a place where that doesnt really exist! ha! But time for a new adventure and new experience.

I arrives here in Hameelina, Finland on Tuesday, August 4th. The little town of Hameelina is small but very cute. It is also a very close train/bus ride to other bigger cities like Hellsinki and Tampere. I have already been to Tampere and loved it. So I have been here about a week and have finally gotten adjusted to the time difference. The first few days I was up at about 4 in the morning. But the weird thing here is that right now it is light out most of the time. It probably gets dark around 10:45 and lasts till about 4 in the morning. But in a few months time it will be the opposite, i will have no daylight. That should be interesting. When I first got here the sun was shining outside and all the girls were like dont expect that too last too long! And they were right, it was sunny for about 6 days and then the rain came. I was living in the a hotel the first week but right now I am living in a players apartment while she is on her honeymoon for 2 weeks, and then I will have my own apartment..finally! Im ready to unpack and settle in.

The first week of practice was real good. The girls on the team are super nice and they all speak English, which is a huge blessing! The coach also speaks english and the girls seem to like him as a coach. I was excited after the first practice watching the girls because they were good! Last year this team placed 3rd so I am really excited about the season. I watched the first practice because I landed early in the morning and they had lost my luggage! So i was without my luggage for 2 days, so I had no practice clothes, shoes, kneepads, or anything! The airlines gave me this cute lil overnight bag with toothbrush, toothpaste,(which i already had cuz i always travel with my toothbrush,toothpaste and an extra outfit in my carryon,u learn a few things when traveling so much) deoderant,a shirt, face wash,brush and comb. But the team gave me some shirts and spandex and shoes that were about 2 sizes too big for me to practice in. But finally I got my luggage and I was happy practicing in my stuff.

On the weekend we didnt have any practices so the coach and his wife, who is also a player on the team, invited me out to their house near Tampere for the weekend because there was a beach tournament going on and also the mens national team was competing in a tournament there. The girls brother is a player on the mens national team and is one of their best outside hitters. The place was packed for the mens game. The first game we watched went 5 and the second went 4. In the beach tournament there was a girl on our team who was playing in it so we went to cheer her on. It turned out to be a fun weekend watching some good volleyball.

Despite being jet lagged, losing my luggage, practicing in shoes too big, my first week in Finland has been a good one and a good start my season here in Finalnd!