Happy Birthday to Me!!!

I turned 25 today! A quarter of a century old! I can't believe that I am already 25, but I feel younger which is the important thing! I woke up to a nice surprise of a sunny day! It has been raining for what feels like weeks, so seeing the sun especially on my birthday was great. Unfortunately, the day was spent inside either practicing or taking a nap between practices! In between practices, the mail came and a card from my Aunt Toni and Uncle Dick arrived. Perfect timing!! I couldn't wait until 9 pm here because that was when I was going to FaceTime with my parents. I was also going to get to open the package they sent with gifts from them and my brother's family. This package has been staring at me saying, "Open Me!" since I got it last Friday. Anyways, it was worth the wait. After taking to my parents, I had a mini photo session with my new gifts!

 My lovely friend Layne who I kept me sane while in Montenegro sent me a birthday package too. This one arrived super early because we were used to the snail mail in Montenegro. She totally surprised me with the package by asking my parents and Marina for my address. Thanks Layne!!!! :)

After practice, I went over to Marina's so she could give me my birthday present. She had went to this little bakery and got me a dessert/cake. She put a candle in it, so I got to blow out a candle on my birthday. Marina and Damir got me a headband, some hair clips, and some body lotions. So nice to spend my birthday with one of my best friends!

 Couldn't wait to open my package! So exciting!!!!

 Photo session begins. (I had to take very many pictures just to get the few I posted. My self-timing skills are a little rusty, plus I was trying to get as many things in one picture as possible.) Trying to get a good pose with both my new boots (Thanks Drew and Amanda!!) and my new sweatshirt. Got two goods ones... Thought they were kinda of funny so I posted them both. :)

Still flexible at 25! 

Some of my other gifts: a Nike t-shirt, a pull-over, a new game, some chap stick, Orbitz Sweet Mint Gum (yum!), and two new pairs of earrings.

Happy (early) Halloween! Some Peeps and another Nike t-shirt (in my team's colors!). Can't wait for the Peeps to get a little stale to eat them! May have to share with my teammates because I am sure none of them have ever had them!

Of course the parentals had to put in a few "parent" gifts: a light for my bike so "I don't get hit from behind" as my dad told me and some multivitamins. My parents have been telling me that I need to take these especially with the cold weather coming, and now I have no reason not to take them!

Overall, it was a great first birthday in Europe! My teammates sang to me at practice, and I was able to chat with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and niece. A special thanks to everyone who sent me something all the way over here in Finland. I love getting things in the mail...It is so exciting! Here's to another great year! Thanks again!

Scrimmages and Saunas

Let me start this post off with a few minor updates:

1. Preseason is over! This means no more extra workouts after practices. We are still either lifting or practicing in the morning and practicing in the evening, but it is so much better than the first six weeks.

2. I found out we have a TV game on January 2. Dirk unfortunately informed me that I could only come home from December 19-26. This means only a week and no New Year's Eve in America, but I guess any time is better than not being able to come home at all.

3. It has been raining non-stop for like the past two weeks. It is not a heavy rain by any means, but enough to be annoying. My parents are getting their moneys worth for my rain coat! :)

4. My second roommate (Martina) comes on Saturday. She is an outside from the Czech Republic who has been training with their national team but was recently cut. It will be nice to finally have our whole team together and another person in the apartment.

5. My birthday is in a week, and I am looking forward to my package from home!

I think that may be it for the updates other than the scrimmages. So far we have played 3 scrimmage games with three more in the next two weeks before we go to Germany. The first game was against Kangasala, who finished last in the league last year. We won all four sets we played pretty easily. We worked through different lineups, and I got to play middle for two sets and right-side for one. Playing back row is always fun, but I really prefer middle.

This past weekend we took a little trip to the town of Orivesi which is about an hour and a half away. On Saturday and Sunday we practiced in the morning and then played against Orpo (the team from Orivesi) in the evening. Orpo came in second last year, so it was good to see what more of the competition will look like. On Saturday, we won three sets and lost one set. I was pretty pleased with the way I played, and our team is starting to come together. I think we are going to be very good this season. On Sunday, we split sets with Orpo, each winning two. There were some questionable calls by the refs at crucial times, and the crowd got pretty into to it the last two sets. I think we were all exhausted from a week straight of practice and training, and it seemed to catch up to us during this scrimmage match. However, we still learned a lot about our team and saw our potential. Dirk was pleased with our play and told us that he knew we were tired from a long week and long preseason. With this in mind, he gave us the next two days off! During these days, we were told to relax, eat well, sleep well, and go to the sauna.

Being the good listener I am, I went for my regenerative run at our workout place. This is the first time I ran on the treadmill instead of around the lakes, and it was so BORING! Anyways, after the run, I did a thorough stretch and then headed to the sauna. Sitting in the sauna, I thought it might be a good blog post because going to the sauna is not very common in America, but very popular in Finland. In addition to sweating out all your impurities, the Finnish use the saunas as almost a social hour. Most are separated into male and female (they provide hours for each sex) because you are supposed to go into the sauna nude. I read a statistic that there are over 2 million saunas for the 5 million people in Finland. That equals out to one per household.

While in Finland, I have been to the sauna three times. The first was after spinning with the team to help our tired muscles. I only stayed for like 5 minutes because it was so hard to breathe. The second time was at our owner's home. Our entire team went to his country house for a team dinner. The women went in the sauna first, and then the men. Some of the girls jumped into the lake and then got back into the sauna. It is typical for one to go into the sauna for some time and then either shower or jump into the lakes. In the winter, they either roll around in the snow or cut a hole in the ice on the lake and take the plunge! (It reminds me of when we would jump in the pool during the winter after sitting in the hot tub.) The person would then go back into the sauna. The third time was today. The workout place was empty, so I had the sauna to myself. This was nice because I could make it has hot as I wanted. I think the Finnish girls on the team can tolerate much hotter temperatures than me. Overall, I am beginning to understand why saunas are so popular here. I bet they feel even better in the winter when it is so cold outside!

Photo Tour of Hameenlinna

Today was a beautiful day outside- sunny and actually hot (I finally wore one of the three pairs of shorts I brought)! I am not sure how many more days like this we will have here, so I tried to spend as much of it outside as possible. The day started with a lovely 5k run around the lake with my team,  followed by coffee for Marina and Damir and ice cream for me in the market square, and lastly a bike ride/photo shoot around Hameenlinna. Since it was sunny out, it was the perfect day to capture some pictures of the different sights around the city for you all to see. Enjoy the tour!

 Had to start the tour with the Hameenlinna castle. Not really sure what it was used for or who lived in it, but it is big and sits along the lake. Marina said it is not too impressive on the inside, but it seems like the castle is an important symbol for Hameenlina. Maybe I will make it inside one day...

 I took a little break in this garden right by one of the bridges and this was my view onto the lake. Everything is super green here now and really pretty. Marina and I were discussing this and she said to enjoy it now because pretty soon it will be gone! :)

 This church sits in front of the market square. I am not sure what denomination it is, but I think it is pretty to look at and reminds me of one of the churches in Belgrade on a much smaller scale.

 The market square. On Saturday mornings this place is hopping. Everyone had gone home by the time I took this picture, but earlier there were lots of different vendors selling fresh produce, flowers, and little knick-knacks. There is also a small coffee and pastry shop and ice cream stand. On one edge of the square is stage where different performers will occasionally play live music. It is also a great place to people watch! The square is about a 2 minute walk from my apartment.

And finally the street that I live on. If you look closely, you can see the lake at the end of the street. It is about 2 blocks from my apartment. The apartment sits on the top of a hill which is sometimes a nice thing and sometimes a pain! 

These are major sites of Hameenlinna! Super exciting stuff I know, but I thought you would like to see some of the city where I am living.

Officially Finnish

Well, not really. But I did get one step closer with the purchase of a bike. I know this is not only a Finnish thing, but it seems like EVERYONE has a bike. Although bikes are super expensive here (new ones start at like 200 or 300 Euros) and I won't be able to ride it in the winter (unless I get spiked tires), I still think it was a wise investment. Here is how long it takes to get from my apartment to the places I need to walking: Gym- 10 minutes, Weight Room- 15 minutes, Cafeteria- 15 minutes (These times are all estimated while walking at a decent pace). Not only does the bike save me time, it is also a lot easier than walking! 

Marina took me to the place where she got her used bike last year, and luckily they had one that fit my size and only cost 70 Euros. I considered this a good price since it still works and doesn't look half bad! The man did not speak any English, but was so cute and threw in a lock and tire pump for free! The bike does not have any gears so going uphill can sometimes be tiresome. Luckily there are no huge hills in Hameenlinna. Also, in order to brake, you must push the pedals backwards. I am used to having handle brakes, so this took a little while to get used to. It also came with a cute little bell to warn people to get out of my way! :)

Overall, I am very pleased with my newest purchase. I have used it everyday and it feels great to speed past all those walkers. (Although this is a little mean, it is so true!)

 My bike! Soon there will be a small basket on the front to hold grocery bags or other things!

Been here a week!

Hey guys! So, I have almost been in Finland for one week; one busy week! Here are some of the highlights of the past seven days:

• Had to change my flight leaving from Pittsburgh because the first flight was delayed into Newark, and I would have missed my connection to Amsterdam. Luckily, the nice people at Continental and United switched me to a flight to Chicago first and then to Amsterdam. Plus, they upgraded me to Economy Plus on the over ocean flight, so I got an extra 5 inches of legroom! Yay!
• Once I arrived in Hameenlinna, I watched a little bit of practice and then headed to my new apartment. One of the girls had already moved in, so I got to choose my bedroom from the two remaining. The apartment (as you will see in the video) is really big and very nice. Its about a five minute walk to Marina's apartment. We still need some stuff (biggest thing is a washing machine!), but have most everything we need.
• On Tuesday I started practicing. This is what my days will look like for the next three weeks of preseason:
• Monday: Weights (lower body) @ 9 am. Practice @ 10:30 (can be switched). Practice from 4-6:30. Running Intervals right after practice.
• Tuesday: Weights (upper body) @ 9 am. Practice @ 10:30 (can be switched). Practice from 4-6:30. Spinning class right after practice for 1 hr. 
• Wednesday: Practice at either 9 or 10:30. Practice from 4-7.
• Thursday: Weights (lower body) @ 9 am. Practice @ 10:30 (can be switched). Practice from 4-6:30. Sand workout right after practice. 
• Friday: Weights (upper body) @ 9 am. Practice @ 10:30 (can be switched). Practice from 4-6:30. Running stadiums right after practice. 
• Saturday: 5k run on your own
• Sunday: Off
•  The rest of my time has been spent sleeping. For some reason it was really hard to adjust to the time difference this go around. I would sleep for sometimes 12 hours at night and take naps between practices. Plus, my stomach had been really bothering me since I got here and it would feel a lot better when I was laying or sitting. So, I would solve two problems with one solution: sleep (take care of the tired factor) while laying down (make my stomach feel better).  :)
• I finally got around to unpacking today. Usually I love organizing and putting stuff away (just ask my sister-in law Amanda), but for some reason, I was not into it at all! Anyways, it looks good now and I even have more room for new stuff!
• The weather here has been great. It feels like an American fall. Most days I'll either wear shorts and a long sleeve shirt or pants and a light top. However, it gets pretty cool in the morning and night. Don't think I needed as many warm-weather things as I brought! I guess I'll just bring them home at the Christmas break.

That's enough for now. I will leave you with a lovely tour of my apartment. Unfortunately, I did not have Layne's expertise on the camera (which allowed me to do only one take!), but you still get my witty commentary and a view of my new home for the next 9 months! Until next time...

Update!

Hi! Just wanted to give everyone a quick update about my situation for next season. I will be playing for a team in Finland (about an hour outside of Helsinki). I am leaving this Sunday and won't be back until Christmas! I am super excited to start playing again and can't wait to get settled in and meet all of my new teammates. Look for me to start posting regularly again! :)

Zagreb Post 4: Marina's family

Marina’s family was so welcoming the entire time I was there and always wanted us to come over for lunches. At one point her mom and grandmother were “fighting” over whose house we would go to for lunch (Lunch is the big meal of the day here instead of dinner like in the states). Everything we had to eat was delicious, and I think I gained like 10 pounds while I was here! They would keep asking me if I wanted more, and I would politely decline. A few minutes later, they would ask Marina if I wanted more again. I would decline again and this went on several more times before I said, “Okay.” This always made them very happy. In the end, we had lunch at her grandmother’s four times, at her parent’s 2 times plus coffee, and at her aunt and uncle’s once.  Plus we had a huge celebration for her cousin’s communion on day. Marina was like, “You need to come back more often!”  

I tried to get pictures with everyone. Most of them were taken on the day Marina’s little cousin got his first Communion so I am dressed up a little:

 Marina and I with her cousin Igor who just got his First Communion

 The whole crew that went to the communion minus Marina's cousin who was taking the picture

 Marina's baka (grandmother) and mom

 Marina's parents

 Marina's father and uncle

 Marina's aunt

 Cheering with Marina's grandmother and her homemade alcohol

 Marina's friends 

 Marina's other grandmother

Marina and her mom