Saturday, August 30, 2008 -10pm

I’m lying in bed on a Saturday night. Really this city comes alive on weekends-much more than during the week. Maybe it’s because the weather has been beautiful for the last couple of days, but the city really feels alive. I have practice in the morning so I guess I will miss some of the fun. I did go out lastnite though. My new coach Suichi Mizuno(from Japan, but was the Norway Jr National coach) and Brage (from Norway, he’s a setter and in one of the pictures) and I went out for a drink right on the water. Mizuno went home and we hit the town. It was pretty cool, almost every pub we went into the owner would greet us with free drinks for the Middelfart volleyball boys! Kinda felt like a rockstar! We ended the night around 430am and partied at the only disco in town called Buddy Holly’s. It was small, but Brage asked to play some reggae for me from the owner. I got 3 songs in a row… again rockstar! Ha
I’ve got to train two days now (today was our day off). A lot of the guys aren’t here yet so the first practice there were only 6 of us and the second there was only 3. Mizuno is a really great coach and pretty much every drill we’ve done so far I have never done. I feel really good and Brage and I seem to have a good connection. If Scott (our starting setter) and I can get the same kind of connection I will be fine!
So I’ll back track a little. As I said before my luggage was misplaced. It didn’t leave Washington but I finally got it yesterday. My room is now complete. I have pictures up and all my gadgets plugged in. I’ve shorted out 2 power plugs already and we lost the power in the whole house once because of me. SMART CANADIAN! The place I’m staying is gorgeous. I’m living in the basement of a house owned by Maria and Frank. In the basement there is myself and Bo ( libero from Denmark). I’ll have pictures up soon.
And I got to have my first Danish hospital visit! Apparently I am allergic to bee stings! Who knew! Hospital was clean and pretty much empty. Nothing too bad happened but Maria’s mom took care of me (she lives close to the gym) and took me to the hospital. They gave me some drugs and hooked me up to an IV and now I’m fine. My hand is a little swollen still but an interesting day none the less.
Ok that’s all for now

Wed. Aug 27th, 2008 --3pm

So I’m on my first day as a professional athlete! Today is travel day and it feels like I’ve been en route forever. Yesterday seems so long ago when Leah and I were doing last minute things to get ready and lunch with her and my sis. The flight from Pearson to Washington was empty and painless. I was searching everywhere for the White House, but I guess they don’t like planes flying overhead. . I was able to sleep almost entirely the flight from Washington to Frankfurt, thanks to my new travel pillow (anyone doing any travelling I suggest you invest in one, but don’t cheap out, get the nice soft one!). On my final flight, from Frankfurt to Hamburg I was beginning to feel the jet lag kicking in. Anyways, now in Hamburg, I’m feeling fantastic, it just hit me I’m sitting in Germany having a beer and a bagel, waiting for my luggage to arrive and I am not upset at all (with all the stopovers and late flights they mixed up my luggage, oh well an extra hour in the airport isn’t going to kill me). Possibly because I’ve been running from terminal to terminal or possibly because of all the emotions mixed up with leaving home, it has now hit that this is not like Canada. Everyone in the airport seems to understand me, but everyone walking past DOES NOT speak English first. But really who cares, I ordered a ‘beer’ and they seemed to understand. I think I’ll be just fine.