Orebro, Sweden

Hey everyone! Its been a while but I have finally made it to another season in my favorite country, Sweden! Thats not even the best part, but that comes later. I arrived in Stockholm on a Wednesday morning feeling like I had returned back home once again after only spending a brief time during Christmas break. I was greeted at the international terminal of the Stockholm airport by three of my teammates, one holding a sign with my name on it :) One was an Aussie and the other two were Swedes. I was happy to see them and was excited at how animated and fun they seemed to be already. In an almost drunken like stage I sat in the front seat on our way to Orebro. It took us around 2 hours to get to the apartment I was to stay at for the time being, it was occupied with yet another teammate, Sofia the libero. She wasn't home yet so I decided to post up on the couch and immediately pass out. Thankfully it was the one day off during the week so I was able to pretty much sleep all day, waking up to eat dinner and also in the middle of the night, since my body was still on USA time and all.

The next day I went to the morning practice and had a go to try out my court legs after the long trip over. I wasn't half bad. Still exhausted however I wasn't my best. That night was a lot of the same feelings although I tried hard to show that I was in fact good for the team and wasn't sand bagging because I had just gotten there. Practice seemed like a fog through the end of the week and then we had a weekend off! This was perfect because my boyfriend Jake signed with a team 45 minutes from me and was playing that weekend (this is the best part about being back in Sweden, hands down!) So I decided to go visit him for the weekend through monday afternoon. It couldn't have gone better, we had a lot of fun in the small town he is living in. Surprisingly there is quite a bit to do there. They even have cosmic bowling!

The next week flew by with practices, Jake coming to visit me, coffee's, moving into the new apartment, Kiah our new American setter arriving, getting internet, phone, etc. It was a whirlwind of excitement. Well the excitement ensues. This week we are getting ready for our first league match against Sollentuna. In the past this team has been slightly stacked with a good outside hitter, a setter and a libero who could all hold their own. This year both the libero and outside have left so it will be interesting to see what they "serve" up for the match. I believe that we will have challenges this season but with those challenges I see achievements and success. Maybe not all the time but I think if we come together as a team, focus and play smart then we will be able to win a lot.

Below are some pictures of where I am living this season before it starts to snow, which I assume will be coming along shortly. Enjoy and a new post will be along soon. Take care all!