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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

It's Official

I went to the Mediterranean Sea. And it was beautiful!
We played in Cannes on Saturday. We left Saturday morning and played Saturday night. We actually played really well and the match was really fun. We lost 0-3 (which was expected) but the scores were 18-25, 21-25, 18-25. So it wasn't embarrassing which I am very happy about! Everyone played hard and we played together which hasn't happened in a long time. So it was a fun weekend!

Our hotel was a 10 minute walk from the Mediterranean and we took a walk Saturday during the day to get the blood flowing in our legs! I loved it so much I went on a walk again with Laura, my Checz teammate and roommate on road trips.

We got back Sunday evening and the internet was out... ughhhh. It is starting to get annoying and it is inconvenient. I was supposed to skype with my parents on Sunday but I couldn't. Monday we had 2 practices and after our second practice we had a mock volleyball practice for all of our sponsors. It was actually really fun and funny at the same time. Our sponsors acted as the players and we put them through some drills and similar things to what we do in practice! It was fun to coach them (with my very limited French) and great to watch them attempt to play. But it was a fun evening. Today we had morning weights, practice and then French class. After weights we went and looked at our new gym for recuperation. We are allowed to go 3 days a week. They have an aqua massage table, sauna, swimming pool, and a bunch of cardio equipment and free weights. We can use whatever we want. We will still have our normal musculation at the other gym, but if we want to supplement it with anything, we can use this new gym.

Also, I am very naive in case anyone didn't already know that. There is this new billboard up around Nantes and it is a picture of a girl and guy without shirts on embracing. The girl has long dark hair and the sign reads "Salon Erotisme." For about 3 days I thought it was a sign for the new hair salon in town. WOWWWW! It is actually a sign for the strip club. But I guess that I am getting used to the half naked girls on billboards here in France and it is becoming normal to me. WoWW!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Cannes!

This is where I am going tomorrow!!!
Tomorrow morning (Saturday) we are heading for Cannes for our match. Our plane leaves at 6:45am which means we have to be at the airport at 5:45am which means we have to leave the apartment at 5:25am. We will arrive in Nice at 9:40am. Nice by the way is beautiful. We were just there last weekend for a match against Le Cannet. It is gorgeous and stuck right between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea! BEAUTIFUL! Our match is at 8pm Saturday night and we will come home Sunday.

Travel is much different than NCAA volleyball where you would leave Thursday afternoon and practice in the gym on Thursday night. Then you would wake up around 10 on game day and have a good breakfast, go to practice, watch film, have a pregame meal, take a nap and head to the game. I don't mind traveling the day of the game, but it is just a little hard when you don't get a good nights rest before your match. If I went to sleep right now I would get 7 hours, which is much less than my normal 10 haha. It is just an adjustment you have to make and get used to and when game time rolls around it's on!

Also, we are expected to lose to Cannes. Everyone is expected to lose to Cannes. There is a weird vibe that goes around the week you have to play Cannes because it is "impossible to beat them." That is something I will never get used to. I love to play against the best teams and come out fighting hard and shocking people. That is what you do. That is what sport is all about. But apparently we are just supposed to have fun. All week in practice we have been preparing for next weeks match. Cannes week is just a weird week. But I am excited to play against a great team and I am going to give it my all! Maybe we can pull together as a team and shock some people!!!!! Have a great weekend!!!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

New Year's Resolution- Starting 12 days late...

So I basically suck at this blogging thing but it is my New Year's Resolution to update it more often. I think that if I update it every few days then it won't seem too overwhelming to update my life over the past month.

So...
I'm back in France in my new apartment and we finally have internet. We didn't have internet the whole month before Christmas break which was beyond miserable.

We are currently in 9th place in our league and we start our second round of competition this weekend. We started out the season really great and then we struggled the last part of the first half. But after a much needed break at home, we are ready to get back at it.

My best friend Megan, flew back to France with me and stayed for a week before school started at UK. I'm so happy she came because if not, it would have been extra hard for me to leave the states after Christmas. We took a 6 hour trip to Paris and saw the Eiffel Tower (at day and night), the Arc de Triomphe, all the key paintings and sculptures in the Louvre, and Notre Dame. Not bad for 6 hours. The rest of the time she was here we explored Nantes and just hung out trying to adjust to the time change.

The real reason I am writing this blog entry, is because I want to tell you what happened today at the physical therapist. I arrived at the PT (I have some nagging plantar fasciitis which won't go away) about 15 minutes early. I am always early because I never know how long it will take me to find a parking spot for Bertha since parking in all of France is ridic. Anyway, I was sitting in the waiting room and the second I walk in and sit down, the lady next to me with her foot propped up on another chair starts telling me her life story in French. I didn't even have 2 seconds to butt in and say "Je ne parle pas francais." I kept hoping my PT would come get me because I knew that any second she would ask me my life story. O but no... she talked for 14 minutes straight, and I interjected with the ooh's and aah's when necessary. She was probably wondering what was wrong with me and why I wasn't saying anything. Well, then again she didn't ever pause to breathe so she probably didn't notice much. Then with one minute until my appointment started, I thought I had made it home free when it happened. She asked me a question. But, I understood that she asked what was my job. So I said, "Je suis volleyuse." We have practiced this phrase over and over in French class and I was happy to put it to some use. She immediately looked at me and said, "Do you speak English?" I shyly replied yes, but I did inform her that I understand French... lie. She apologized and we both kind of laughed since she talked for 14 minutes prior without a single breath for air. But the problem was that she couldn't understand that my job was to play volleyball. I had to show her my sweatshirt that said Nantes Volley Feminin and then she kind of started to get it. She asked, "Professional??" I replied yes and then everything started to click for her. Then my PT came to get me. Ahhh one minute too late. I still laugh everytime I think about it.