Travel, Travel, Travel

Wow, it has been a long time since my last entry. That can only mean one of two things… either that I am extremely lazy, OR that I have been very busy. I’d like to think very busy, since I have so much to tell you about.  The theme of the past two months: Travel, Travel, Travel.

Almost immediately after my last blog, I took my first day trip up to the Netherlands. The closest city, Maastricht, was Marcus’s and my destination after our final regular season game before the Top 6 started. It began as a snowy day, and then cleared up as we wandered the streets of the city checking out stores, churches and parks. Our goal for the day (and for every other trip for that matter) was to find spots to take creative pictures. Though Maastricht was beautiful, we found ourselves limited on that front until we strolled through a back street and found a statue of a guy dressed in a goofy hat and carrying a sword. Though neither of us speaks Dutch, we managed to make out the “All for One, and One for All” sign below. Naturally, we posed as his fellow musketeers. We finished up in Maastricht by checking out the local University, grabbing some food, and then heading home. I can’t wait to take another trip to Holland sometime soon!

 

The week following Maastricht was the start of the Carnival holiday throughout Europe. Carnival, which I liken to Fat Tuesday celebrations in the States, is a week (or two) long festival marking the beginning of Lent. Europeans do not celebrate Halloween as we do in the States, but Carnival is a similar in that everyone dresses up in costumes and parties like fools. Though I didn’t leave Luxembourg, my teammates took me to one of the major parties in Remich (aka wine country), a town that is on the border of Lux and Germany. We spent all week preparing for our playoff game against Esch. Though the result didn’t end up the way we would have liked, we were able to get our mind off of the loss by costume shopping the next day. Luckily, I didn’t have to do too much shopping, as I raided my closet to find some clothing I could put together to make a costume. I already had khaki shorts, a white button down top, argyle socks, Sperry sneakers, and suspenders (left here by a previous American player), so all I needed to complete my outfit was big glasses and some tape. Once I found glasses, my transformation was complete. I was going to be the biggest NERD in Luxembourg. Four of my teammates and I hopped on a bus and went to Mosel am Dosel (the name of the big party). When we arrived, I was not prepared for what I saw! We walked up a huge hill with grape vines on each side to enter a giant tent that would remind you of a warehouse. Inside, there were over a thousand people dressed decked out in a variety of different costumes and dancing to a band that played all different types of music. Not one person was without a costume! Wine, champagne, and mixed drinks that contained either one of the two were the only beverages being sold. This led to a fun night of sing-alongs and dancing! I can’t wait to experience another Carnival festival next year!

After Carnival, we had a two week break from games, which means I had free weekends to travel. I finally took advantage of the cheap flights you can get here in Europe, hopping on a plane and heading to Rome with fellow North American (she’s Canadian) Raelyn. We had two and a half days to check out the entire city, and I’d say we did a pretty good job of it. I had just finished reading Angels and Demons, and I also received an itinerary from Megan Wikler, who studied in Rome and is a friend of my sister. I also brushed up on my Roman history by going through old lecture notes from college (nerd status I know, but I guess I was still in character from Carnival). I was a “girl on a mission” to see and experience all that I could of the Eternal City.

The first day we dropped off our bags at the hostel and made a beeline for the Coliseum. I expected to be impressed… but WOW! The sheer size and surprisingly good condition of it really made my jaw drop. Especially considering how old it is. We took a guided tour around the arena and learned amazing “fun facts” about the stadium built for the spectator sport of killing. Next up was a walk through the Roman Forum where we saw great views of the city from up on a hill. After our walk through the ruins, we made our way back to a main street to wander to our next destination… the Trevi Fountain. Before we made it there, we checked out some artists doing airbrush paintings on the street, posed with a few street performers dressed in crazy costumes, and ate our first of many scoops of gelato. Finally having some real Italian gelato, I can say, my life has improved for the better. It was AMAZING!

After randomly wandering around some back streets, we finally made it to the extremely crowded Trevi Fountain. Working our way to the front, we took out our change purses and made wishes as we tossed the coins into the water. After the wishes, we checked our map and saw that we were near the Pantheon. One cool thing about Rome is that the main landmarks are not separated from the city. You find incredibly old, but well-preserved, buildings and churches right in the middle of newer construction throughout the city. The Pantheon, the oldest church in Rome, is no exception. Rising up in the middle of an old square is the massive former pagan temple. I was excited, not only to see the church, but also to experience part of the novel (Angels and Demons) that has its main characters wandering through the Pantheon looking for clues.

After a long day of walking, we decided to get some food. According to Megan, there was no better place to go than the outdoor restaurants near Piazza Navano. The Piazza has a beautiful fountain right in the middle of the open square, and we decided to sit down at a restaurant with the best view. Both Raelyn and I ordered (what we now consider) the best Italian meals of our lives. She got spaghetti carbonara and I had eggplant parmesan. We relaxed and recharged by sipping on delicious house wine and then we were on our way to our next destination, the Spanish Steps. On the way to the Steps, however, we stopped in a shop to taste test some lemoncello and to grab some more gelato from what Megan considered the best gelato shop in Rome (and that is saying something!!). We found the gelato place, Gioletti, tucked back on a random side street, and this might have been our greatest find of the trip. I clearly enjoyed my dark chocolate-nutella-pistachio gelato topped with fresh whipped cream as we walked along the streets of Rome at night. We ended day one exhausted on the Spanish Steps and wiping gelato remains from our hands and faces!

Day two began with a 7 AM wake-up call and a subway ride to Vatican City. We knew there was going to be a huge line to get into the Vatican Museum, so we wanted to get there early. Forty-five minutes of waiting in line, and it was our turn to go inside. Raelyn deemed “nerd status” official as I spotted and fawned over some of the famous sculptures, paintings and rooms in the museum. Some of the highlights for me included the “School of Athens” painting and the Sistine Chapel. I’ve seen and studied images of both, as they have been replicated numerous times, but getting to see them in person is something I will never forget! When we were finished up in the museum, we headed to St. Peter’s Square to check out the Basilica. As we arrived in the square, there were thousands of people staring up at a building we didn’t recognize. Confused, Rae and I sought out a couple that looked American and ask what was going on. To our surprise, we heard a voice coming from a loudspeaker, and when we looked up at the building… there was the Pope! He blessed and greeted the crowd in multiple languages. It was cool! Then we waited in line to enter the impressive St. Peter’s Basilica. What I now consider my favorite part of the trip to Rome, the Basilica is an incredible Cathedral filled with beautiful murals, woodwork, sculptures and more. We spent about an hour touring the massive place of worship, checking out The Pieta, before we headed to our next destination.

Outside of Vatican City, we grabbed some great pizza and some not so great beers, and were on our way to check out the Castel Sant’Angelo, another famous building that was key in Angels and Demons. From there, we wandered the streets of Rome, sampling wine and food and bargaining for scarves and fedoras from the street vendors. We made it to a major shopping area where we checked out the newest European fashions while simultaneously being entertained by street performers. We ended the second day with a great Italian meal with some locals we met through another basketball friend. What is amazing about the European culture in general, is the amount of time they spend together while doing things like eating a meal. We were in the restaurant for over 3 hours just sitting, eating, and talking. We took our good old time and, unlike the States, no one made a move to suggest we should leave the restaurant. The next morning, Raelyn and I said “Arrivederci, Roma” as we boarded our plane to return to Lux.

Another week went by and another free Monday had arrived. This time, since my day-trip buddy, Marcus, had never been to Strasbourg, I decided to take another trip back there with him so he could check it out. Another American baller and road trip buddy, Cerie, came along for the ride. We strolled through the French town, taking funny pictures, checking out the Cathedral, and debating over where we would eat (which is a big deal among us three!). We decided to try the local specialty, Flammkuchen, a super thin pizza-like dough topped with caramelized onions, salty ham and cheese. It was very tasty, and fortunately, it wasn’t very filling, leaving us with plenty of room in our stomachs for dessert! Though I had been there before, Strasbourg has a different feel in the wintertime, and I’m glad I had the chance to go back.

My next new experience didn’t involve leaving Luxembourg. In fact, it didn’t even involve leaving my town. This experience, I think, will really help me travel Europe in the future. Marcus decided to teach me how to drive a car with a manual transmission. My learning took place at 1 AM to ensure I had plenty of room on the roads.  After just one night of training (Marcus is a very good teacher) it was my job to drive to Germany to do some grocery shopping. Though I am not an expert yet, I do like knowing that I can drive a stick shift and  therefore do my share of the driving for any upcoming trips.

This past Monday, Marcus and I stayed in Luxembourg, rented bikes and rode along the Moselle River, the river that separates Luxembourg and Germany. It was a beautiful day for a leisurely bike ride, and it turned into a long bike ride filled with photo opp moments. If the weather stays this nice, I’m sure many more bike rides will follow. The banks of the Moselle are one of my favorite places in all of Luxembourg.

Now, on to the basketball update. To stick with the theme of traveling, I would like to inform you that I have not been called for a travel in the past nine games of the season! For a rookie from the States, that is a big deal, considering in my first five games I averaged over two travels per game.

The playoffs have not been so kind to us as the regular season. We won only  one game so far out of seven, and were bumped from 4^th place to 6^th place. Though we haven’t been playing well as a team, if we win two out of the next three games, we MAY have a chance to make the next round of the playoffs. I believe we can pull off an upset or two, and I hope my teammates think we can as well. Wish us luck!

Here are some random ruminations from the past two months that don’t exactly fit into my “Travel” theme.

1. I am so proud of how far Princeton Women’s Basketball has come in the past 5 years. I really enjoyed keeping up with the team and cheering their success. A Top 25 ranking, highest seed in Ivy League history, and many more accomplishments really made me proud to be an alum. Many congrats to the entire team and especially to the seniors, Lo, LJ, and Devo. You guys had amazing careers.

2. It is wayyy more fun to share meals with other people when living alone. Every week, three other Americans players and I rotate who cooks a meal on Wednesday nights. We sit, eat, chill and talk until we are so tired that need to go home. Also, I swap meals with a teammate of mine on Fridays. It is always nice to eat someone else’s cooking once in a while.

3. My bracket was awful. Enough said there.

4.Only in Luxembourg is it ok to fall asleep on an outdoor bench for a long time with your iPhone, wallet and kindle out in the open. No one will steal anything, and people just leave you alone. 

5. Dog shows are pretty cool. We randomly stumbled across one on a Sunday. I really want a dog (pretty pretty please can we get one Mom?!!!)

6. I can’t paint the nails on my right hand without having it look like a 3^rd grader did it.

7. Go Phillies!

Write Things Down/Stay in Touch with People

I’m not really sure how to do the whole week #? deal since we had a break for Christmas... so, that little part of my blog is going out the window. What isn’t, however, are the pieces of advice that I have been acting on since I’ve been here. The theme of this blog (as the title says, of course) write things down and stay in touch with people.  

I came back from home refreshed and ready for the longest stretch of our season, and with that came lots of new adventures... here are the bullet points I jotted down along the way

-Our ‘tougher’ team mentality has done wonders for us to start this year off. We had an offensive explosion against Racing in our first week back. Though we gave up too many baskets (they scored 72 points), we were efficient on most of our possessions scoring 92. The best part was that is was a total team effort offensively, which is a focal point for us moving into the playoffs. 

-All-Star Day was really fun. I had a great time playing and chatting with some of the girls on the other teams. Our coaches were having fun with the game as well, so it was enjoyable not only on the court, but also on the bench. 

-In Luxembourg, as I’ve seen so many times, things can be very different from, well, everywhere. My biggest example from the past few weeks is the 3-point contest on All-Star Day. First of all, I was amused at the ‘racks’ that we would be taking the balls out of... and by racks, I mean shopping carts. Secondly, not all the racks had 5 basketballs in it, as I found out the hard way when realizing I had no 5^th ball, or “money ball” as the Americans were calling it, at my 3^rd spot. Thirdly, I was confused to hear my score, 39, when my 60 seconds were up. If I took only 24 shots, how did I score 39? To my surprise, each shot counted as 3, unlike most contests where each shot counts as 1 and the money ball counts as 2. Finally, to my and the other Americans’ surprise, there was no such thing as a “money ball.” I was sitting on the bench thinking, it’s a 3pt contest... what do you mean there is no money ball? Every where else has a money ball! Welp, this is Luxembourg! I ended up making it to the finals of the contest, losing to one of the guys from Sparta’s team. Even without the money ball, it was still a great time!

-Going to the trainer, or as they call it here, the physio, is some painful stuff! After a good conditioning workout on a Tuesday morning, my knee began to hurt, so my coach got me an appointment to see the physio. My problem, tight hamstrings and calf muscles... the solution, something way worse than anything my college trainer threw at me. For all you Princeton athletes, it was muscle scraping on steroids. I’ve never been so bruised after a therapy session. But, hey, it worked and I’m feeling much better and a lot more loose! 

-Revenge is sweet! T71 was a team that beat us in the opening part of the season, and we were looking to have a good game against them. Just like the Racing game, we had a well-balanced offensive explosion, except this time, we played defense as well. What made the night even better was that our men’s team pulled off a big upset of the #1 ranked T71 men’s squad. In a nerve-racking but exciting game, the Walfer guys gained a 17 point lead in the 3^rd quarter and held on for a 1 point vicotry when the final buzzer sounded. That win gave them a great chance to squeak their way into the top 6 and make playoffs!

-French is a tough language to learn, but Fluenz definitely makes it easier. The one thing it doesn’t help me with... my Spanish accent while speaking French. Really?!? I haven’t taken Spanish in 3 years and I have that accent when learning another language. 

-Though Luxembourg does things differently than other places, some of those things are awesome! Instead of a team conditioning session on a Wednesday night, we had a Tae Bo instructor and a DJ come into our gym for a 1 hour 30 min class. We kicked, punched, and sweated our butts off, but it was way more fun that running for that amount of time. I hope we do it again soon!

-I love meeting family members of my friends. We all tend to be a lot like our family even though we may not think we are that similar. I got to see this first hand with the Scheuren family when they took me out to dinner after Tae Bo. The food was amazing, and the company was even better. When Paulina and her sisters interacted, even though they are very different, you could tell that they were family by their mannerisms and body language. 

-I’ve been over here for a few months, but still at each morning workout, anytime the men’s coach tells me to grab a “lady ball” (aka women’s basketball) I crack up. For some reason the image of a basketball with the coloring of a lady bug pops up in my head and I always have to hide my laughing from him. 

-We crushed Telstar... enough said there.

-I love how when you’re alone, you will watch an entire football game and remember most plays. When you with a group of people watching a game, however, you do a lot less watching and a lot more talking/joking/arguing etc. That is how the Pats v. Ravens game went when I watched it with several other of the Americans. What I do know, the Pats won and the Superbowl is in 2 weeks! Can’t wait for that one!

-It’s a small world after all... it’s not just a song, it’s a fact. On a back street in Antwerp, Belgium, I ran into a group of exchange students studying in Amsterdam. Not only were they headed to Luxembourg the next day, but we got to talking and one of them is friends with Niveen Rasheed, my former teammate from Princeton. I couldn’t get over it, how funny and random that encounter was!

-I finally got my Kindle and I can’t wait to read all of the books suggested by friends... the first one I bought, Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. My former roomie, Shelbie, suggested it to me and so far, so good. 

Not only have people been sending me book suggestions, but I’ve been able to Skype and instant message with a ton of friends from back home. Though I’m not homesick, it’s always nice to hear from everyone back in the States.... it was also good to know that some of my Princeton peeps made it through Dean’s Date and final exam period alive. 

I can’t wait to hear from more people and I also can’t wait to have more adventures to blog about! 

Reflections of 2011

Naturally, I forgot to write another post before I went home for Christmas break. I thought about creating one when I was home, but I forgot my charger and my computer died early on... typical me. So, in honor of the New Year, I thought I’d write a reflection post about 2011, as it was a special year for me with many ups and downs. 

The start of the year and on through springtime was filled with many accomplishments for me. I became the 18^th player in Princeton women’s basketball history to score my 1000^th point. It came on a three point shot (naturally) in front of a large crowd of family and friends on the 5^th of January. We ran through the Ivy league once again with a 13-1 record and ended up cutting down the nets on Senior Night. It was an amazing moment for fellow senior Krystal Hill and me. In front our biggest crowd yet, we were honored before the game and given a nice ovation as we were taken out at the final moments after the victory was sealed. Krystal may have played her best game of the entire season, knocking down a pull up three right before halftime to send us into the locker room with momentum. What an awesome night... I mean, who doesn’t like beating Harvard? And to clinch the title against them, even better!

Following the Ivy season, All Ivy selections were announced. As it should have been, we had 3 players, Devona Allgood, Lauren Edwards, and myself, make First Team All Ivy. We also boasted the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year in our point guard, Lauren Polansky. Finally, and a surprise to me, I was named the unanimous Ivy League POY. Having the award be unanimous was a huge surprise and even bigger honor for me. My stats were not AMAZING, 12 points and 5 rebounds a game (though I was in the top 10 in the country in 3 point percentage and assist to turnover ratio), so it was nice to see other coaches in the league recognize what I contributed to my team. Unbeknownst to me at the time, was that I was also the first ever POY in women’s basketball at Princeton. My dad brought to my attention how cool being the “first” was because in thinking about how prestigious the University is, there are not many firsts left to be had. Basketball-wise, this was by far one of my greatest accomplishments. And what makes it even better, was I did it my way with unselfish play. 

Though springtime was filled with many great memories, it also was filled with some sad ones as well. In a span of 4 months, I lost my two grandmothers and only remaining grandfather. It was a sad time for my family, but it was also a time where we got to see how much our friends supported us. Though I would love to have the three of them here for 2012, I know they are in a better place and looking down on us everyday... maybe even cheering me on yelling Nan’s patented phrase “hit a sinker!”

Towards the end of my college experience I had what I think was my biggest accomplishment of 2011. Not only did I finish my Senior Thesis, a project that all seniors must trudge through during their whole senior year in order to graduate, but I ACED it!! I have never worked so long or so hard on something in my entire life, and that says a lot considering how much time I have put into basketball and my studies! Putting together an experiment, running it, analyzing the data, and writing 65 pages worth of explanation with only the guidance of my amazing advisor, proved to me that my Princeton education was worth it. I was able to put out something that was my own original ideas in an organized manner that was enough to impress two highly recognized Princeton professors. I could go on and on about this (that is how excited I still am about this accomplishment), but I would be entertaining only myself, I’m sure. 

Our Beach Week House

Following Thesis came what I like to call the best two weeks of my life... Beach Week, Reunions and graduation. When you go through a rigorous four years as we did at Princeton, you become extremely close with your friends at school. You get to see them at their best and their worst. During those last two weeks of school, we got to celebrate our time together without school work. Beach Week was filled with amazing memories for me... from our house dinners, to our No Sleep game, to all of the ridiculous things that happened and beyond. Spending that time with my friends was something I’ll never forget. 

And then there were Reunions and graduation, where family and friends collide into a mess of orange and black. My closest friend from home and my family were able to drink and dance the night away with my closest friends from school. No offense to my parents, but I didn’t know they were THAT much fun!!! With the help of bartender LP, we were able to dance the night away and close down the 40^th tent! Graduation was the same in terms of having friends and family there. From listening to Mayor Bloomberg’s Baccalaureate address, to sweating our butts off dancing at Prom, to sitting practically next to Brooke Shields on Class day, and to, finally, being able to walk through Fitzrandolph gate, the whirlwind of Princeton ended. With teary eyes, I said goodbye to my friends and started the next phase of my life.

I refuse to call the next phase the “real world” because, let’s face it, I wasn’t quite there yet. My summer was filled with re-inventing my game. I worked camps and practiced basketball with some new faces. The Crossroads crew and MK Sports became my new bball family for the summer. I was able to take my game to another level. My goal for the summer was to add some swagger to my “white girl”, Ivy league game... and that I did. 

With my new and improved skill set, I signed my first contract and headed off to Luxembourg. As you probably know from reading my previous blogs, I love it here! We keep progressing as a team, almost beating the 2^nd place team in my last weekend before Christmas (just to fill you in on what I forgot to post before I left!). We really worked hard in that game and we played solid for 40 minutes. 

2011 ended with a nice two week break back in the States. From being away for so long, I really began to appreciate some of the little things I missed while living in a foreign country (my family, salsa, my car, having the grocery store open past 6 for example...). I took a ‘cousin’ trip up to NYC and even got a chance to make it down to Philly for New Years Eve. It was a needed and relaxing break home!

Looking back on 2011, it was a pretty good year for me in terms of accomplishments both on and off the basketball court. They have led me to the amazing experience I am going through now. I can only hope that 2012 holds some big things as 2011 did... and with the first tough workout our team had today and our new tougher mentality, I am thinking it will!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Weeks 11, 12, 13 & 14: Find Good Gifts to Bring Back

Two weeks ago, I began writing another blog with the intention of posting it before my parents arrived, so as not to have to write a novel of a post after they left. Well, that was an epic failure. Normally, I tend to run of out of time for writing blogs because basketball, coaching or napping get in my way. This time, however, I have a MAJOR excuse for not keeping up with my blog… CHRISTMAS MARKETS! Just when I thought I could not get any more distracted from the writing process, I wandered into the city three weeks ago and saw the wooden booths and lights being set up. Thus began my research process to find out where I would be traveling in search of winter wonderlands. Hey, I was just acting on a piece of advice from my sister, family, friends, and many others: “Find good gifts to bring back!”

Before telling about the wonder that is Christmas time in Europe, I figured I will give a little rundown of how basketball has been going for the past four weeks. After all, it is how I make enough money to buy those good gifts. Week 11 ended with a win for us over our rival Amicale, who have one of the top scorers in the league, fellow-Philadelphian Meg Gardler. Though they are in the bottom half of the league, I was warned that they always give us a tough game because of the rivalry of being neighbor towns. They never gave up the entire game and we ended up winning by only 7 points.

Next, it was a quick turnaround to our Cup Game on Tuesday, when we played a top team in the league, Etzella. We were not able to get gym time on Sundays or Mondays (Badminton has it then), so we were forced to play without practice time. We came out okay, leading by 10 in the first half, but Etzella came back storming in the second. We tightened up offensively and ended up losing by 16. I played through a migraine that kept me in bed for the next two days.

A book fair was going on in our gym from Wednesday to Saturday, so once again our gym time was limited for our preparation for that Saturday’s game against bottom team, Heffingen. We were able to practice in a random gym in the city that Friday night. A lack of practice time might have been to blame for a shaky start against Heffingen. In the first quiarter, we ran our offenses well, but shots just weren’t falling. Down 6 to start the fourth quarter, we began a 28-3 run to take over the game. It was mostly due to Jill Bausch, a shooting guard who went off for 4 threes. Unfortunately, in the game, I was elbowed right in the mouth and ended up chipping two teeth. Luckily, that Monday, a teammate’s mom was able to take me to the dentist to get them looked at and fixed right away. Trust me when I say this… dentists’ offices are the same everywhere, AWFUL!

Our next opponent was the top-ranked and undefeated Esch. I had a tough shooting night, scoring only 10 points, which made it hard for my team to keep up with the many veterans of Esch. Their American center went off for 30 points and their Canadian wing player and Luxembourgish point guard were also tough for us to contain. Though we lost the game, I think we are making progress toward reaching our potential.

Finally, this past week’s game was against Contern. Contern is in 5^th place, one right below us, and it was a “must win” game. We played great defense and kept it a low scoring game, and that helped us pull out the win without shooting a high percentage. I had 19 points and 16 rebounds, making it one of my more efficient games.

As always, basketball has been going well. We finished the first round of the regular season in 4^th place, and will stayed there with the win versus Contern. We have a big game against #3 Etzella this coming Saturday!

Now for the off-the-court update. My parents and aunt arrived on the Thursday (Thanksgiving) before the Esch game… that means I waited a whole entire week and a half to check out the Christmas market in the city! They were troopers on their first, jet-lagged day here and managed to stay up late enough to eat dinner with me after practice. Our post-practice Thanksgiving meal… PIZZA HUT! And they will vouch for this, it was waaayyyy better than any Pizza Hut in the states!

That Friday, we got up, grabbed some fresh pastries for breakfast, and headed to Trier, Germany to check out their market. For a small town, it is one of the best around! It had tons of wooden cabins with Christmas gifts, scarfs, sausages, potatoes, desserts (… you name it!). We decided to try the street food and got some delicious bratwurst and potatoes. After that, we grabbed some dessert and toured historic city, wandering into Roman baths and cathedrals from long ago. Trier was not only a great first market, but an amazing place for my mom, dad, and aunt to see!

Saturday was a day dedicated to checking out Luxembourg City, because I had to stay close having a game that night. We arrived in the city and went straight to the Christmas market. The market smelled of hamburgers, sausages, fondue and many other foods, but first, we decided to check out the city before chowing down. We did, however, treat ourselves to a hot chocolate before taking the long walk down into the valley that divides the city. This wasn’t your ordinary hot chocolate, though. It was The Chocolate House’s Chocospoon, a wooden spoon with one of over 30 different flavors of chocolate that you put into a cup of hot milk that they give. I had tried it once before, but now I am totally hooked! After wandering through the historic parts of the city and grabbing some more street food, we visited the annual International Bazaar. The Bazaar is an exposition where numerous different countries showcase their local goods with all proceeds going to charity. Naturally, I was drooling at the American tent at the sight of El Paso hot salsa, Aunt Jemima’s maple syrup, Stove Top stuffing, Jif crunchy peanut butter, and other goods that they don’t have over here. Let’s just say my early Christmas gift from mom and dad were a few supplies from the USA tent!

We had originally plan to spend a few days in Switzerland, but changed our mind Sunday morning and decided to do three day-trips for the next few days. Bruges, Belgium was our first stop. The four-hour car ride was a rainy one, until we arrived in Bruges. The sun was shining, and we wandered our way through the town, over bridges, and around cathedrals until we finally found the main market situated in the town square. Right next to it was an impressive bell tower. My dad and I, both having seen the movie “In Bruges,” wanted to go to the top of the tower, so all four of us got in line. Only 70 people were allowed in the tower at one time, and on the climb up, we found out why. The spiral staircase, which fit only one person at a time towards the bottom, became increasingly narrow as we made our way up the 366 stairs. From the top, we had a 360-degree view of the city and a perfect view of the market and ice rink below. We worked up a big appetite, grabbed some food at the market, and made our way to the canal for a boat tour of the city. Our multi-lingual tour guide was entertaining as he showed us around the different parts of Bruges. It was amazing to see the city from such a different vantage point. In deciding to take day trips, we also decided to sample the food from each region we would visit. And what better to get in Belgium than waffles and chocolate! We definitely left Bruges on full stomachs! 

Monday’s trip began the same as Sunday’s, ugly weather above us for the entire three-hour ride to Heidelberg, Germany. The only thing that scared me more than the weather conditions was the lack of speed limits on the German highways. Cars were zipping by us when we were going at least 80 mph. Once again, and lucky for us, the sun began shining right when we arrived in Heidelberg. First, we went to check out the castle. We found out the hard way why castles were built on such steep inclines, and we all agreed that if we were trying to attack the castle, we would need a nap at the top first! The castle was one of the biggest I have seen so far. It had a courtyard right in the middle, which reminded us of the castles in Lord of the Rings, where the warriors would return to greetings from the people! We made our way through the castle and back down into the city where we wandered around the Christmas markets looking for a place where we could get an authentic German meal. We stopped into a local tavern-like restaurant where we ordered a round of beers and four different types of German food. We sampled the beers along with sharing the meals, and my parents were surprised at how willing I was to try new things. Those of you who know me well, know how picky of an eater I am (or was). Suffice it to say, my mom was impressed at how I simply dug into my food, not knowing what was in it! Shopping followed dinner, we ate dessert on the fly, and drove home through the think fog that had rolled.

Two long trips in a row made us pretty tired, so we decided make a shorter trip  on Tuesday. We hopped in the car again and drove the 45 minutes to Metz, France. In Heidelburg, we were laughing at the cars that would randomly make their way down the tiny, cobblestone, pedestrian streets. In Metz, because of some construction in the city and detours, we became that car. My mom, Aunt Sue, and I laughed hard as my dad was under considerable stress navigating the tiny streets and trying to avoid the oblivious pedestrians, behind the wheel of a large stick-shift, diesel Volvo (shades of Clark Griswold!). We made it safely to the parking lot that was situated right next to the cathedral that has one of the highest naves in Europe. The church was impressive, and it was nice to see the nativity scenes and decorations for Christmas. After touring some of the buildings and other churches, we, once again, checked out the Christmas market. Though I’ve heard of “chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” I had never tried them before, and they are a staple at any market. I tried them, but decided they are not my favorite (I almost felt like a squirrel when eating them!). After walking some, we decided to have lunch at a local café to try the regional food. Our waiter spoke no English, so we ordered without knowing too much about what we were getting. My dad and I kept it simple, ordering quiche Lorraine, while my mom and Aunt Sue tried what we thought were sandwiches, but ended up being savory crepes. All of the food, again, was delicious, and my dad was happy that we tried that café because he got to practice his two years of high school French.  After lunch, we walked long enough to digest our food because we wanted to try some French desserts. Though it was a tiny moment of our trip, our interaction with the vendor at a crepe stand might have been one of the funniest moments. The entire trip we were trying to get my mom to say hi, thank you, and goodbye in the local languages. Five days in, she made an effort. After saying “Bonjour” to the vendor, mom was asked if she wanted nutella on her crepe. Feeling really in foreign language mode, my mom answered… “Si.” She and the vendor both started laughing and he corrected her with saying that yes is “oui” (wee). We paid for our desserts and said “au revoir” only to have the vendor say “au revoir” to my dad, Aunt Sue and me, and singled my mom out by saying “for you, Adios!!”

That night, after my practice, we took some of the girls out to dinner. The deal was, we treat if they pick a spot with good Luxembourgish food. They definitely didn’t disappoint. We had a fun dinner of trying new dishes and having my parents get to know a few of my teammates. Besides my mom’s language mishap, this was my favorite part of their trip. Half of the fun of being over here is meeting and becoming friends with new people, and I was so happy that my parents and aunt got a chance to meet my friends!

Finally, my family’s trip ended with a day in Luxembourg. First, we went to Vianden, a town famous for its castle. We once again went castle sightseeing and took a tour through the renovated castle. Everywhere I go in Europe, I find connections to Princeton, and Vianden was no exception. During the tour, my dad pointed out the lineage on the wall in of the former owners of the castle. The House of Nassau and the House of Orange were posted right their in front of me! After that, we had a Luxembourgish meal and then explored the small town. We found a literary museum devoted entirely to Victor Hugo, the author of Les Miserables and former townsman of Vianden.

After Vianden, we drove straight into Luxembourg City to buy up gifts we had picked out earlier in the trip. Though the theme/advice of this blog was “find good gifts to bring back,” I’m not going to divulge the gifts we bought… only two weeks to go until Christmas, and only the Grinch would spoil the surprises!

Tis the season for more basketball and traveling. Catch ya in the States in under two weeks! Joyeux Noel!

Weeks 8, 9 & 10: Take Lots of Pictures

Again, the past few weeks over here have been jam-packed full of basketball, exploring, and finding things to do with my free time. Through pretty much everything I do, I carry my camera and try to snap as many pictures as I can. I find it a fun way to keep friends in the States updated (though I have been informed that some friends working 9-5s, jokingly, no longer want to look at my fb albums because it makes them sad to be stuck in an office while I go frolicking across Europe). It also a fun way to keep all of my memories in a safe place. 

First update, however, is a place where I can’t take pictures but still have a lot to talk about, the basketball court. Since my last blog, we’ve played 3 games and have gone 2-1. First up was Racing, a team at the bottom of the pack who has been struggling to keep up with the rest of the league. We showed right from the beginning that we were a stronger team. Everyone played well and we had good chemistry on the offensive and the defensive end. It was a good follow up game to the tough one against Pikes. We responded really well and I was proud of how we played. Personally, it was a game that I needed, shooting 5-5 from the 3 point line. I had been struggling to get the ball to go in from long range, but that game seemed to open the rim up a bit more for me.

The next week, we encountered a dangerous team in then sixth ranked T71 Dudelange. They are a team that can get hot from three. They are small but tough, and definitely brought their best game to Walfer on Saturday night. We struggled defensively to guard their quickness, which forced defensive rotations and led to open 3s. We made a run in the 4^th quarter to bring the game back down to single digits, but we ended up losing by 11. The game against T71 was a breakout game of sorts for me. I had 35 points and 10 rebounds, both career highs. But, basketball is a team sport, and all of that doesn’t matter if the team doesn’t win. One good take away from the game was the fight in our team. We never give up.

The game from this past Friday night was against the worst team in the league in Telstar. They were from the 2^nd division and moved up into the 1^st division this year. Though we tried to slow down and run our offenses through, it still ended up being a majorly lopsided score. Everyone got to play and we got back to good defensive principles. I was glad that, once again, we could bounce back from a loss.

Basketball, as always, is going well and is so much fun. Though I certainly put in the hours practicing, I do have a lot of free time.  And now for the activities where I’m always camera-ready (and look like a tourist as my teammates say).

The Monday after the Racing game I wasn’t feeling too well. So, instead of traveling, I decided to check out a place I haven’t been to in Luxembourg. A short bus ride away is the Luxembourg American Cemetery, a cemetery dedicated to the American soldiers who died in Luxembourg during WWII. The Battle of the Bulge was crucial for the Allies. I had no idea what to expect but was excited to check it out. It had a beautiful monument right after the entryway looking out over the cemetery. Unbeknownst to me was that at noon everyday, they play the US National Anthem and salute a special grave, that of General Patton. It was cool seeing the American soldiers there to salute the flag and grave. I’m glad that I decided to wander to the site.

For the rest of the week, I had the urge to cook. And when I do cook, I take a lot of pictures because my parents, and especially my sister, don’t believe me when I say I’m not that bad! My meal of choice this past week… stir-fry with chicken and veggies. Yummm! And, because it was rainy and I was bored, I even made some fool proof peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for my team. They tasted way better than they looked, and, if I do say so myself, they looked darn good!

On the Sunday after the T71 game, my fully-charged camera and I hopped on a train to Dudelange, where I met up with fellow American baller, Cerie Mosgrove. We then drove to Thionville, France to hop on a TGV to Paris. A quick two hours and we arrived in Par-ee! Because it was daylight savings time, it got dark quickly on our first day. But it was a chance for us to see the city at night. The City of Lights! We wandered around and walked all the way from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower (too far, we realized, and decided to take a tour boat the next day). It was there that I ate my first crepe with nutella and whipped cream. DELICIOUS! Our entire trip was filled with time spent in museums, churches, and monuments. Paris definitely did not disappoint and I can't wait to go back and see more. Some of my favorites were the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Pantheon. The Pantheon was a surprise. I didn’t expect it to be as impressive as it actually was… beautiful architecture with a surprising crypt underneath housing some of the most famous Frenchmen in history.  What's not to love about Paris? The food, the sites, everything was perfect. I, for sure, see another trip there in my future. 

Finally, the last main event in past three weeks was the Après Ski party the basketball teams and boosters hosted on Saturday night. An Après Ski party is a themed party to mimic what you do after a day on the slopes while vacationing… drink, party and listen to traditional music. Though the music was not my favorite, it was still awesome to see the community come out and enjoy themselves. The men’s team worked the main bar serving beer, while the women’s team served champagne. Though we were technically ‘working’ we still found time to go dance and socialize with many different people. It was so much fun and lasted until 4 am. I hope that we get to go to more of these. Below is a link to the singer from Austria who was the main performer at the party. What a random night, but we all enjoyed ourselves!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmly66Sn-Yc&feature=share

I’m absolutely looking forward to more basketball and more free time adventuring… and with that comes plenty more pictures. Stay tuned!

Week 5, 6 & 7: Learn the Language

I haven’t blogged in three weeks, not because I have nothing to say, but because I’ve been up to many different things… which is definitely good with the amount of free time I have during the day. Between basketball, traveling, shopping, coaching and more, I have been keeping myself very busy. 

In the past few weeks, I have made strides in learning a little more Luxembourgish. I have “moyen” (hello) and “addi” (goodbye… tough one to remember, I know) down, but I decided I wanted to talk more during practice. So, I am learning to count! Yes, very elementary, but still tough. Every Tuesday before practice, we lift as a team, and this time has become my new language learning session. We lift in partners, so my partner would say the number and I would repeat it. I can understand the numbers up to 20 when I hear them, but I still have a tough time remembering 13-20 on my own. In honor of my mastering 1 to 12, below are the top 12 highlights of the past three weeks.

1 (Eent) To start my fifth week overseas, I decided to take a trip to Brussels, Belgium. It was a three-hour train ride from Luxembourg, so I got up early, worked out, and hopped on the train.  I didn’t even check the train stops and was caught off guard when I realized that there were 5 different stops in Brussels. Panic-stricken because I was alone and in a train car by myself, I quickly ran to the next car to see if anyone could speak English and help me. Lucky for me, an older couple told me right where to get off the train to sightsee. I wandered out of the train station and ran right into a beautiful cathedral (a staple of any town or city in Europe). From there, I wandered through the shops, sampled some delicious chocolate, and took pictures of some architecturally interesting government buildings.  Brussels was an amazing place, with great food/desserts and picturesque streets, and I certainly plan on heading back there soon.

2 (zwee) After my Monday trip, it was back to real life for the rest of the week. The second highlight of the past three weeks was getting new workout buddies during my morning sessions. Instead of shooting around by myself, I joined the Americans on our men’s team for their morning workouts run by their coach. Some guys from other teams come to the workouts as well. It’s been so much better and more enjoyable now that don’t have to chase the ball around the gym by myself. Oh, and I lost 10 Euro in a half court shooting contest after one of the workouts. I am determined to get that back… Coach Flores didn’t teach us how to shoot those shots for nothin’!

3 (drai) Week 5 was also the start of the regular season. We played Esch, a top team in the league. We battled for 40 minutes, but ended up losing by 14 (the score was closer than that the whole game though).  I had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, but learned that I must play more efficiently. My shots just weren’t falling, and it definitely cost us. Besides the L, I thought our team showed good upside potential in how hard we played. 

4 (veier) On Sunday after the Esch game, I participated in a “Fun Run” with little kids from Walferdange. It was a 10k, 5k, and “fun run” event for the whole town, and the women’s basketball team was there to show our support. Our job was to form the human barrier of a starting line with a hundred or so little kids pushing and kicking us to try to gain an advantage and start first. My new number skills came in handy during the countdown, as I knew when to start running so as not to get trampled by a million little kids. It was an awesome way to see what the community of Walfer was like and I’m glad I woke up so early to do it.

The canal in Vianden

5 (fennef) Sunday afternoon I was taken to a Nut Festival in Vianden, a small town with a famous castle. You are probably wondering what a Nut Festival is, and so was I. Every year, there is a festival in Vianden dedicated to the harvesting of different types of nuts. There are roasted nuts for sale along with nut cakes, cookies, and liquor… that’s right, nut liquor. Basically, the rest of my Sunday consisted of tasting different types of food and drinks while listening to techno music alongside a canal, watching older drunk people dance on balconies and younger drunk people fall into bushes. An uneventful Sunday, I know :). I had a great time and wish every there were a festival every weekend!

6 (sechs) Week 6 started with a bang as well. Monday night was ladies night at the movie theatre so a few of my teammates and I went to see the film. Before the movie, we went to a restaurant that serves “all you can eat” wings on Monday nights. Coach Moore had told me about this place, and for Luxembourgish hot wings, they were pretty good. Stuffed and ready to watch a movie, we headed into the theatre. Ladies night is a night where only girls can go to see this particular movie (normally a chick flick, and yes, I had to explain to my teammates what a chick flick was), get a goodie bag filled with coupons and champagne, and enter to win raffles before the show starts. Though the movie was the typical chick flick, I still had a lot of fun… and thoroughly enjoyed watching Mich, our 6’2 center, take all the bottles of champagne out of bags left on empty seats at the end of the movie.

7 (siwwen) On Tuesdays and Thursdays starting from Week 6 on, I am training young kids before my practices. They are elementary to middle school aged kids with a ton of energy. It’s tough, however, because they do not learn to speak English until high school, so there is a bit of a language barrier. With the help of one of my teammates and with a few of the kids who know a little English, drills get translated and skills get practiced. They are a lot of fun!

8 (aacht) Toward the end of the week, our team was preparing for our first double-game weekend. Friday’s game was against Contern, a team who won their opening game.  I came out on fire, hitting my first 4 shots but fizzled out for the remainder of the game. Poor shooting plagued us again, but we were able to rally from 12 down in the fourth quarter to pull out a win. We showed a lot of fight. Some things I learned in the Contern game were that players cannot call timeouts (I had two 5 second calls while trying to do so) and that being a smart player in the States doesn’t equate to smart plays in Europe (running out the clock is tough when there is an 8 second backcourt rule).  After the game, I was informed of the rest of the rules that were different from the States (though I thought I was told most of them after our first scrimmage).  It made for some good laughs with my teammates. Lessons learned are always better when they are learned after a win!

9 (neng) Etzella was our opponent on Sunday. A one day rest led to a battle during the game. Tired legs didn’t help us shoot lights out, but again, we gutted out the win powered by a great defensive effort. My shots weren’t falling again, but I was saved by the stripe. Ten for ten from the free throw line with two to seal it at the end capped off a good team win. Though I thought I learned all the new rules, the travel call in Europe still got me good. Four turnovers on four travels… apparently they have a thing for calling it on the Americans.

10 (zeng) After being beaten up pretty good from the long weekend, I decided to walk out my soreness with a trip to Strasbourg, France. Accompanied by a new travel buddy, Cerie Mosgrove, the American player on the Dudelonge team, I got up early and we made the 2 hour train ride to France. Strasbourg is a beautiful city with waterways running through it at multiple points. We visited the shopping malls, churches, cathedral, and ‘Little Paris’.  Amazing pastries were on display in shop windows, and naturally, we had to try a few. Desserts over here are AWESOME! We also tried our luck with some street food. Cerie speaks a little French, so we decided we would try to order in the native language. As she was teaching me how to pronounce the type of sausage I was going to get, the little Frenchman in front of us turned around to tell us that “they probably speak English,” in a snooty voice. Typical French move” is what I was told later by some of my teammates. No matter what language we ordered in, the food was delicious and very satisfying after a long walk around the city.

11 (elef) Mousel Pikes was the game that awaited us at the end of the week. They've been the top team in the league for the past few years, and they showed why right from the beginning. A ten point run after the tip knocked us right on our heels. I felt like we were a little intimidated, so I tried to calm the team down with a few strong takes and by knocking down a few jump shots. The score in the end ended up being very lopsided. But, it’s early in the season, and it shows us what we have to work on!

12 (zwielef) My favorite thing about these past few weeks has been getting to know and spend time with my teammates.  They really don’t have to take me along to everything, but they do. They always ask me if I would like to join them, whether it be to the movies or to a meal, and I have met so many nice people through them. To that I say "Thank you" or I should say "Merci". Merci, Merci, Merci times zwielef (that is as high as I can count so far).

Those are the top zwielef things about the last few weeks… and to my mom and dad, “yes, I am still loving it here; and no, I’m not homesick yet.”

Addi,

Addie