As you can see I have not posted in a few days. This is due to my incredibly busy schedule....
Sunday: Game Day
On Sunday, I had to be at the field at 10 for our doubleheader that started at 1. We have to set up everything like the fence, concession stand, etc. The games themselves were a bit disappointing. Personally, I didn't do as well as I would have liked. I even struck out my first at bat. OYE! We lost both to Manheim, the best team in the league. I was really hoping to get a sweep because the Disciples have only swept them once in twelve years (Niagara and Canisius all over again!). The day did get better though! After our games, the first and second team along with other members of the club went to an Asparagus buffet in downtown Munich. First of all, I walked through my first beer garden in order to get to the buffet. It is hard to describe but basically its just very fancy beer tent without the tent. Anyway, at this buffet there were nearly foot long, white asparagus. They are different but very tasty. I also had schnitzel (pork ) with this special butter based sauce. It was amazing!! Another highlight of the night was getting to know some of the girls better :-) I hope they like me as much as I like them!
Monday: Back to school
I woke up exhausted Monday morning. I didn't realize how physically and emotionally draining those games were. After I snoozed my alarm literally 20 times, I went upstairs to eat breakfast. Mascha is always up and wanting to feed me! I obviously don't complain. After my breakfast, I packed my backpack and headed to central station to meet with Ingo so he could show me where my German class was. We walked through central station and then through the streets in downtown Munich.
My class was very difficult! The teacher only speaks in German, enough said. It also didn't help that I missed the first week of class. After my class, I had to navigate through the busy streets and find my way back to central station and then to the right S train. Luckily I did. I took the S train all the way to Haar (about 25 minutes) just in time for the second team practice.
I help coach the second team and in fact, I run the practices myself. I was a little nervous at first but once I started some drills I could tell that the girls liked what I was doing so it made me feel more comfortable. I worked them hard for two hours. Afterwards, they seem to be in good spirits and I even asked a few what they thought about the practice and they said they liked it because it was more structured then what they have had. This made me happy. Coaching will definitely be a challenge especially because some of the younger girls cannot understand English to well. This Saturday I will go with the team on their road trip to help coach.
My host family waited for me to get home before eating! We (Mascha, Franky, Lisa, Anton, and I) ate outside on the terrace. Afterwards, Lisa helped me with my homework. She is a very good teacher and it helped me a lot!
Tuesday
I woke up and had breakfast with Anton and Mascha. I then went to the train station at 1:15 to catch the 1:20 train to central station. This did not happen. The stupid train was delayed or something ( I couldn't read what the board was saying) and it did not come till 1:40. After I arrived at central station, I took two wrong escalators but finally found my way through central station and onto the streets. I finally arrived at my class 15 minutes late. After class, which was just as hard as the first day, I went straight to Haar for practice. However, it started to rain and thunderstorm so we just had a team meeting at restaurant that was close to the field. The meeting lasted 2 1/2 hours and I enjoyed a little pan pizza along with my new favorite drink, bubby water with Apple juice (I think its called appel spezl). When I got home, the family was waiting again for me so we could all eat together :-) Franky who is an engineer told me about his workday and how he met with Russian planners to talk about an entire train system. It was very interesting but I was a little confused. Naturally.
That is all for now.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Round Two
Today I woke up at 11ish and had a family breakfast outside with the Stoeckels. It was sunny and just the right temperature to sit and eat outside. It was a traditional German and Russian breakfast (Mascha is Russian). There were a lot of different breads, croissants, and pretzels. They also made eggs for me! Today I tried the croissant which was delicious. After taking a couple of bites I realized that the croissant had something in the middle. I was a little nervous to try what it was but I'm very happy I did because it was chocolate :-) !!!! We had good conversations at breakfast. Although at times they have no clue what I am saying. When this happens they all ask each other in German or Russian what I said but usually end up asking me to repeat myself. It is quite entertaining. During one of our conversations, I learned that they collect rain water. Under their grass in the backyard there are water collectors ( sorry don't know the correct word) . This rain water is then used when you flush the toilets. Very interesting indeed.
As soon as breakfast ended Ingo came to pick me up. We went to the double header of two teams in my league. It was an hour train ride to Gauting, a pretty upscale town. After that we had a 20 minute walk from the train station to the field. I did not mind because we walked down a pretty, winding street with cute little shops everywhere.
Watching the level of play of these two teams was like watching a game of mine six years ago! It was totally different from D1 which I already knew but it finally hit me after watching it. I sat next to Mandy and we talked about the level of play and joked that LKPs (long knee pads, which they wear) were way outdated. It was nice to get to know her a little better.
After the games, Ingo rode back with me to the Central Station and I went back the rest of the way by myself. I had to change trains because they do not run from Gronsdorf to Gauting directly.
While waiting for the train from Central Station to Gronsdorf, Ingo took me outside to see a little of the downtown Munich area. We were only up there for five minutes but what I saw was beautiful. We went back down to catch the train to Gronsdorf. This is where I left Ingo and traveled by myself. Surprise, Surprise I did not get lost!
Lisa was home along with Anton, the nephew, who I had never met before because he had been celebrating his graduation (I believe in Spain). It was a quiet evening, Lisa and I watched a movie and showed each other pictures of our friends and talked about various things. She is coming to the US in August and is very very excited. They love America! haha After that I talked to some peeps and ended up in my bed writing to the world.
I need to get some good sleep tonight because I play my first games tomorrow against the best team in the league. I'll will finish studying the signs and go to sleep soon! Chao.
As soon as breakfast ended Ingo came to pick me up. We went to the double header of two teams in my league. It was an hour train ride to Gauting, a pretty upscale town. After that we had a 20 minute walk from the train station to the field. I did not mind because we walked down a pretty, winding street with cute little shops everywhere.
Watching the level of play of these two teams was like watching a game of mine six years ago! It was totally different from D1 which I already knew but it finally hit me after watching it. I sat next to Mandy and we talked about the level of play and joked that LKPs (long knee pads, which they wear) were way outdated. It was nice to get to know her a little better.
After the games, Ingo rode back with me to the Central Station and I went back the rest of the way by myself. I had to change trains because they do not run from Gronsdorf to Gauting directly.
While waiting for the train from Central Station to Gronsdorf, Ingo took me outside to see a little of the downtown Munich area. We were only up there for five minutes but what I saw was beautiful. We went back down to catch the train to Gronsdorf. This is where I left Ingo and traveled by myself. Surprise, Surprise I did not get lost!
Lisa was home along with Anton, the nephew, who I had never met before because he had been celebrating his graduation (I believe in Spain). It was a quiet evening, Lisa and I watched a movie and showed each other pictures of our friends and talked about various things. She is coming to the US in August and is very very excited. They love America! haha After that I talked to some peeps and ended up in my bed writing to the world.
I need to get some good sleep tonight because I play my first games tomorrow against the best team in the league. I'll will finish studying the signs and go to sleep soon! Chao.
Friday, May 27, 2011
First 48
Where to begin.... After flying from Toronto to Amsterdam to Munich I finally made it! I was well fed (two meals on the plane!) but extremely tired. As soon as I got my junk from baggage claim I met my host mom, Mascha, her daughter, Lisa, my coach, Ingo, and a member of the disciples club, Frank. I could tell that they were all excited to see me which made me happy. Mascha even bragged about how she was the first one to find me. It was funny. We drove back to my host family's house in Gronsdorf which is 15 or 20 minutes outside of Munich. Everything here is very pretty, clean, and green :-).
The first thing I noticed about my host family's house was the staircase. It is wooden, spiral, and sooo cool! My room is in the basement (although I still have a window :-)) along with my own bathroom.
As soon as I unloaded my belongings and changed it was time to go to practice. The train station is only a three to five minute walk and the field is only one stop away! Oh so convenient! On the way to the train Ingo and I ran into my host dad, Franky. He is just as nice as the rest of his family. At the station, Ingo explained how the train system works. I was still confused. We got on the train and the first stop was the field which you can see from the train station so it is impossible for me to get lost! When we got to the field I noticed that it was different. An all grass field, can it be? Yes.
The practice was typical, defense and hitting but definitely more relaxed than what I am use to. While we were hitting, a huge thunder storm struck. Which makes it official, crazy weather follows me wherever I go especially when I am playing softball. Joy.
Ingo, Mandy (the other American), and Julia (a friend of the family who plays on my team), all joined me at my host family's house for dinner. Mascha made CHICKEN!, veggies, potatoes, and salad. It was all very delicious and I was happy to see they eat "normal" things and not pigs guts or something of that nature. After a long get together of getting to know each other and eating it was finally time for me to shower and go to bed. I was exhausted, and still a little overwhelmed by everything. The wonderful invention of Skype made my night because I got to talk/see my parents, and few friends.
The next day I woke up at 2pm. I definitely needed the sleep though. I went up stairs and immediately was asked what I wanted to eat. I had eggs, toast with fresh jelly, milk, and Mascha's special tea for the immune system. I was surprised to find out that you have to separate everything when you throw things away. Food (or organics as they call it) goes in one trash, then plastic, then paper, and finally one for the 'who knows what it is' as Mashca said. They have very small garbage cans too. So all day I asked where to throw what in what. I think it was entertaining to them but they appreciated me asking.
We were suppose to have practice at 4:30 but it was raining all day so that was cancelled. Ingo came around 4 to drop off some paper work and my phone which happens to be all in German so I have probably called random people all day. OYE. After Ingo left, my host family invited me to play beach volley ball with them and their friends. We went to this beautiful facility near a small lake. It was a glass building and inside they had four beach volley ball courts, locker rooms, and a tiki hut looking bar area. It was awesome! We played for about an hour and half. My team won 2/3 games or at least I think we did ! They pretty much only spoke in German while we played so it was tad bit confusing. After our games, we hung out at the bar area. One of the Stoeckel's (my host family) friends bought me a drink. It was lemon, lime, and strong. Their friends were all very welcoming and I felt like I had known them longer then an hour. Everyone here is so friendly! We finished at the bar and then went back to the Stoeckel's house for the traditional "noodle" party that they have with their friends. It was a lot of fun. They mostly spoke German during the meal but at the same time they made me feel comfortable and asked as many questions as they could think of. It was all very interesting and a lot of fun. People here, as far as I can tell, are very social, open, and a lot more touchy feely then Americans. It is actually refreshing. After a long, long dinner I finally made it to my room where I am now sitting and writing this lovely blog.
Overall, everything is going well! It is a very different atmosphere and was hard especially the first night. At the same time I have had two very good days and I am excited to learn more things especially the language so I know what the heck they are talking about.
The first thing I noticed about my host family's house was the staircase. It is wooden, spiral, and sooo cool! My room is in the basement (although I still have a window :-)) along with my own bathroom.
As soon as I unloaded my belongings and changed it was time to go to practice. The train station is only a three to five minute walk and the field is only one stop away! Oh so convenient! On the way to the train Ingo and I ran into my host dad, Franky. He is just as nice as the rest of his family. At the station, Ingo explained how the train system works. I was still confused. We got on the train and the first stop was the field which you can see from the train station so it is impossible for me to get lost! When we got to the field I noticed that it was different. An all grass field, can it be? Yes.
The practice was typical, defense and hitting but definitely more relaxed than what I am use to. While we were hitting, a huge thunder storm struck. Which makes it official, crazy weather follows me wherever I go especially when I am playing softball. Joy.
Ingo, Mandy (the other American), and Julia (a friend of the family who plays on my team), all joined me at my host family's house for dinner. Mascha made CHICKEN!, veggies, potatoes, and salad. It was all very delicious and I was happy to see they eat "normal" things and not pigs guts or something of that nature. After a long get together of getting to know each other and eating it was finally time for me to shower and go to bed. I was exhausted, and still a little overwhelmed by everything. The wonderful invention of Skype made my night because I got to talk/see my parents, and few friends.
The next day I woke up at 2pm. I definitely needed the sleep though. I went up stairs and immediately was asked what I wanted to eat. I had eggs, toast with fresh jelly, milk, and Mascha's special tea for the immune system. I was surprised to find out that you have to separate everything when you throw things away. Food (or organics as they call it) goes in one trash, then plastic, then paper, and finally one for the 'who knows what it is' as Mashca said. They have very small garbage cans too. So all day I asked where to throw what in what. I think it was entertaining to them but they appreciated me asking.
We were suppose to have practice at 4:30 but it was raining all day so that was cancelled. Ingo came around 4 to drop off some paper work and my phone which happens to be all in German so I have probably called random people all day. OYE. After Ingo left, my host family invited me to play beach volley ball with them and their friends. We went to this beautiful facility near a small lake. It was a glass building and inside they had four beach volley ball courts, locker rooms, and a tiki hut looking bar area. It was awesome! We played for about an hour and half. My team won 2/3 games or at least I think we did ! They pretty much only spoke in German while we played so it was tad bit confusing. After our games, we hung out at the bar area. One of the Stoeckel's (my host family) friends bought me a drink. It was lemon, lime, and strong. Their friends were all very welcoming and I felt like I had known them longer then an hour. Everyone here is so friendly! We finished at the bar and then went back to the Stoeckel's house for the traditional "noodle" party that they have with their friends. It was a lot of fun. They mostly spoke German during the meal but at the same time they made me feel comfortable and asked as many questions as they could think of. It was all very interesting and a lot of fun. People here, as far as I can tell, are very social, open, and a lot more touchy feely then Americans. It is actually refreshing. After a long, long dinner I finally made it to my room where I am now sitting and writing this lovely blog.
Overall, everything is going well! It is a very different atmosphere and was hard especially the first night. At the same time I have had two very good days and I am excited to learn more things especially the language so I know what the heck they are talking about.
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