Week 4: Don't forget to be a tourist

I spent much of my free time last week looking on Amazon for some language learning software and Insanity, a crazy new workout video that I am going to try, so I didn't have to much to say for a Week 3 blog. In between my online shopping sprees, I was also looking up places to visit while I am over here. I don't have a car and I don't know how to drive stick shift anyway, so it's up to public transportation and trains to get around. I've been around Walfer and the City, but I have yet to go exploring elsewhere on my days off.

This past Monday, however, I decided to change that and to become a tourist, as I made my first trip outside of Luxembourg to Trier, Germany.

It was my first time at the Gare (train station), and I soon found out how easy and cheap it would be to travel outside of Luxembourg. I bought a round trip ticket for 8 Euros and hopped on the train. Forty-five minutes later I arrived at Trier. I was told by teammates that this was a great place to shop, but as I walked out of the train station I had no idea if I even went to the correct place because there were not too many shops around. So I walked. I had the day off and decided as long as I could find my way back to the station, I could wander as far as my heart desired. I walked straight out of the station for about 8 minutes and ran directly into the Porta Nigra (Right), the largest Roman gate north of the Alps. What was supposed to be a shopping trip then turned into a sightseeing adventure. Once a nerd, always a nerd, I guess. I picked up a pamphlet and toured the city by myself.

Of course I know the Roman Empire spanned a great deal of Europe, but I did not expect to see so much of it in a little town in Germany. From the gate, to the Roman baths, to the Amphitheater where gladiators fought, every piece of architecture was impressive. And the Roman buildings were just a small piece of what was in Trier.


The cathedrals and churches were amazing to see. The work that went into the stain glass windows, the marble sculptures, the ceilings, the courtyards etc, was breathtaking. What was funny too, was that much of the architecture reminded me of my home for the past four years at Princeton University (see below). The archways and courtyards were eerily similar and were a nice taste of 'home' so far away!







Though I didn't end up shopping too much, I was able to eat some delicious food in Trier. I had a soft pretzel for lunch followed by some sort of apple pastry for dessert. I am definitely loving the food over here!

As for basketball, we had two scrimmages since I blogged last. Our first one was against a team in our league, US Heffingen. It was a good game and we showed some signs of being a pretty good team. I was in foul trouble for most of the game, though I was assured that my 'fouls' were not truly fouls that would be called during the season. Even though I was off the court for long stretches, we still won by 15 which shows me that we have a solid squad. Half of the team is older, 23 and up, and the other half of the team is quite young, 18-19. It is a good mix with the younger ones really pressuring the ball and the older ones having more poise offensivly. I really like how we can bring different types of basketball to the court at once!

Our second scrimmage was against a team from France. They weren't very good and we beat them by 40 some points. Though I would have liked a better scrimmage, it gave us the opportunity to run through our plays against someone other than ourselves. Once again, I love how this team plays TEAM basketball. Everyone makes the extra pass and everyone is excited when WE score. The season starts on October 2 against Esch, a good team with two Americans (one who is now Luxembourgish) and an EU player. It will be a great test for us to see where we are!

Welp, there is my past week and a half in a nutshell... a little bit of traveling in a basketball oriented schedule. I'm definitely looking forward to more of both!

Week 2 Cont.: Be Proud to be an American

Before heading overseas I was told by many people I'm in for a life changing experience, and I do not doubt that. Much of it was full of positive notes on how being away from home will give me a different perspective on life, yet much of it consisted of slight slants to American's way of life and our culture. Yes we are gluttonous and, just like anywhere else in the world, some people can be rude. However, on a day like today, with an out of the country look at America, I can say that I am definitely proud to be an American. So much support and love for our own country has permeated every social media site, newspaper, and television... and not just in the good ol' US of A, but in some places in Europe as well.

Ten years ago after the attacks, one of my favorite sports columnists, Rick Reilly, wrote an article on the four men who helped take down the plane in Pennsylvania. My dad showed it to me then, and every year since he has had my sister and I read the article. Is it a great piece of writing and journalism capturing a lot of feelings from that day and the months after the attacks. In clear Rick Reilly fashion, he takes an article about sports and gives it a new meaning. I'm putting the link at the end of this post, but here is a little taste of a favorite passage of mine. Please do read the whole thing:

"At a time like this, sports are trivial. But what the best athletes can do -- keep their composure amid chaos, form a plan when all seems lost and find the guts to carry it out -- may be why the Capitol isn't a charcoal pit."

The article gives me the chills every time. I don't want to get too heavy on my thoughts about 9/11, so I'll leave it at the article, though I still truly can't believe its been 10 years.

As for my past few days here, they have been interesting. The weekend marked our first set of two-a-day sessions. I was at the gym at 9:30 both mornings and stayed until 16:00 or 17:00 at night (we do time on a 24 hour clock over here, people). In between sessions each day, we had a team meal cooked for us by one of the mothers. It was definitely a good break from the chicken and salad I have been making myself every day and night. What's really funny is, even though it is after a practice, everyone grabs a soda or carbonated beverage to drink. What ever happened to hydration? The meal was great and dessert followed which was also delicious, a plum tart pie on Saturday and cupcakes and fruit on Sunday.

Saturday post-meal, our team got together to go over team rules. What was great is, unlike any other team I've been on before where if rules are broken there is either conditioning or playing time to pay for the infraction, if you break a rule you pay. Literally, you pay your infraction in Euros. Examples: Being late to a practice, 2 Euros; forgetting a practice jersey, 2 Euros; air-balling a free throw, 5 Euros; and technical foul, 10 Euros  (a steep price for saying SHOT on a fast break layup... yes that is a tech over here). Money at the end of the season goes to a team fund and we get to choose what we do with it (ie. new t-shirts or something).

A short practice followed our meeting and I was able to catch a ride with one of my teammates up to Ettlebruck where Kareem Maddox, another Princeton baller of the Class of '11, was playing. It was great to see him play and even better to catch up with him a little bit after the game. It sounded like he was in a good spot and was enjoying the season so far.



Sunday's, today's, post-meal was another fun session. Under the rock climbing wall there are soft and squishy mats that our team decided to take our hour break on. Before practice, however, we forgot to clean them up... prompting our coach to use a relay to start practice to determine who had to clean the gym after. What I thought was going to be a basketball related relay was not. The team was divided into scrimmage squads and each squad brought one of the mats onto the baseline. The relay... to run from the wall and jump on the mat sliding it across the floor one teammate at a time. The winners were the team to go full court and back on their mat. Clearly, the 'good guys' (my team) won, and we didn't have to pick up the balls after practice.

I have really been enjoying my basketball experience so far, and I can't wait to do more.

Sports can be silly and fun or serious and time consuming. Rick Reilly was right in saying "Sports are trivial in the grand scheme of things." But just as they are trivial, they provide the opportunity to learn and grow and I'm thankful I have gotten that chance, through sports, to learn and grow.

USA all the way.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/magazine/life_of_reilly/news/2001/09/19/life_of_reilly/

Week 2: Write things down

Welp, I've settled into my normal schedule with working out in the mornings and having practice at night, so I don't have very much to update. Here are some ruminations from my last couple of days.

No wonder why people eat snails here (escargot), I saw 5 on my walk home on Tuesday... and that's not including one that a dog was chewing on.

I'm going to need to find something to do in my free time during the week. Five hours in the middle of the day need to be somewhat productive.

I think I talk to my family and friends more now than I did at home. Thank you Skype.

Seeing all of the "work starts tomorrow" statuses on Facebook makes me realize how lucky I am. My job is to get up, work out, and put the ball in the hoop.

"Not in my house" and "dribble drive" are the only two phrases I recognize while watching the FIBA world championships. Apparently there are no translations for them in German.

Dirk and the rest of the German national team have great hair.

And finally, Coach Eric Taylor from Friday Night Lights makes some epic pregame speeches before every game. I would definitely be ready to play and crush people after listening to him. How does he do it?!?

Advice: write things down... well, there are my thoughts for the first part of the week.

Day 4-End of Week 1: Represent PA and Princeton Ballers/Crush it on the court

The more workouts, practices and games I go through, the more I realize that I have no other clothing/gear that is not Princeton stuff or summer league/Philly gear. I was apparently easy to spot at the airport because of my Princeton Athletic sweatshirt that I was wearing, and I was recognized by a few coaches at the tournament because of my Princeton t-shirts I was wearing around. The amount of clothing I have that represents school or Philadelphia is ridiculous, and I wouldn't have it any other way... after all, I was asked to rep PA and Princeton Ballers and that is totally what I intend to do.

Since my last entry, we had our first preseason tournament. I was given a uniform with my old number 15, and much to my surprise, our colors were black, white and pink. We only had one 'Think Pink' game a year back in college, and now we 'think pink' every game and I'm very excited about it.

Our first opponent was a tough team from the top league in Germany. I was expecting to come over here and crush it right away on the court, but much to my dismay, we got crushed in the first 20 minutes of the game. They were a very tall team and played a run and jump defense. We not only struggled to break the press and score, but we struggled guarding their pass and cut offense. Though it was not the way I envisioned my first half of basketball over here, I was very proud of how our team responded in the second have, just outscoring the other team. Two things that made me feel better about this game were, one, that team ended up winning the tournament, and two, my teammates made me a birthday cake and we celebrated after the game. Over here, there are bars connected to the gym and the players, coaches and fans all mingle after the game. The basketball community here is very tight. Everyone knows everyone and I enjoyed meeting and sharing the cake with some fans and coaches.

In our second game the next day, we fared better. We ended up winning the game, and I personally performed better which made me feel good. After, a local restaurant had all of the teams over for a delicious pasta lunch before the next game. It was definitely delicious and much better than anything I have cooked for myself so far... though I know I will eventually/have to become a better cook!! After lunch we came back down to the gym to warm up for our next game against a good team called Esch. This team was very tough. They had a tall American post player, a Canadian shooter (she was considered Luxembourgish due to marriage), and a EU point guard. Because this league only allows one American and one EU player, it gives them a big advantage. We hung in there, however, and I think that we have a great chance of winning the game during the season.

That night instead of going to the fair for dinner, I stayed in, cooked for myself, and tried to catch up on a tv show Friday Night Lights. Much to my dismay, hulu doesn't work in Europe. I was devastated! How am I supposed to catch up on my favorite shows without hulu!?!?! I know you were wondering what I would do and how I would survive :) ... and thanks to a tweet from Dan Mavradies, a Princeton '11 baller playing in Greece, I was able to find a site that streams our shows.

Our tournament ended on Sunday afternoon with a loss to a Belgium team whom I think that we should have beaten. A poor third quarter was our downfall, but at least we learn now in the preseason that we can't play like and expect to win. I stayed at the gym after our games to watch the finals where the German team went to school on one of the top teams in our league. Though it was not fun playing against the Germans, watching their play was amazing. They were a team of almost all professionals (our league allows 2 or so per team) and they just played the right way. They ran on makes and misses, they found the open player every time, and they had no let downs when subs came in. They looked like a great team and it was very good to see. Though we went 1-3, we made some strides this weekend. The tournament was also very helpful in introducing me to the other Americans over here.

Once again, we went to the fair for dinner and a little fun. We rode a crazy ride that flips and spins you around and it was a lot of fun. I had a Luxembourg specialty from the fair for dinner. They were potato pancakes of sorts and were absolutely delicious. I'm definitely glad that I tried them.

Week 1 has gone pretty smoothly so far. I might speak/call my sister and my parents more now thanks to skype than I did when I was home!! I really like it here and can't wait to do more exploring. Though basketball might be my 'job' now, I am still having a lot of fun with this team, and I cannot wait for the season to start.

For now, it is back to practice... with my Princeton gear and all.

Days 2-3: Be a Good Teammate

"Be a good teammate" was always the advice my parents gave to me when playing sports. It is fundamental not only to a winning team, but to a cohesive team as well... not to mention it is always nice to be well liked. In my first days of practice that is exactly what I tried to do...

Practice on the first day went very well. I was excited to meet all of the girls, and they seemed excited to meet me. We went very light on the first day. The practice mostly consisted of running through offensives because (and to my surprise) we had scrimmages coming up on the weekend and we needed to have some sense of offensive flow.

I didn't know what to expect from the team or the coach in this first practice, but I definitely liked what I saw. We had an organized practice plan with points of emphasis of one or two things. The primary one this day was talking, and I made sure to do that. We all clapped as we huddled before practice, and the enthusiasm and high fives were kept up the entire day. Not only was I focusing on being a good teammate, but the entire team was for the duration of practice. Positive talk and energy were everywhere. Though most of the girls do not "talk their game" (or talk on the court), they always encourage and have funny things to say on the sidelines.

On the second day here, I began what my normal schedule will be for most of the season. I woke up at 9, made myself breakfast and started my 5 minute walk to the gym. The walk is very cool, I cross over a small bridge into the sports complex where teams were playing rugby, boys were taking batting practice in the cricket cages, men and women were hitting tennis balls, and, of course, multiple people were playing soccer. I had a mini workout with two of the girls who didn't have work that day. We got a lot of shots up and chatted for a while. After the workout, it was definitely time for a nap, as jet lag was still kicking my butt. Practice followed that night, and was very similar to the first. Lots of team stuff and a little more 5v5 action. The only thing that differed was that this time after practice, I was told to go shower up because I was being taken to a 'fair'.

I quickly showered and was picked up by a teammate and taken into the city where a big carnival type event was taking place. It goes on for 3 weeks and I think most of Luxembourg was there. Colorful lights, rides, beer carts, and food trucks lined the streets, and I was given a tour of all of it. That night, I even made my first purchase... a Belgian waffle with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. I know we have these at most fairs, but I must say, I have never had anything like this!!! It was delicious and the perfect after practice snack (though Angie might say otherwise). Though my sister says it's not a real fair without funnel cake, I beg to differ.

Today (Day 3) was more of the same in terms of a morning workout and practice. However, instead of my long jet lag nap, I was taken to the grocery store to do a little shopping. It was awesome to see all of the different foods, cheeses, pastries, and products that they have over here. And it was fun to try and figure out what everything is because the labels are in different languages. Though the stuff that was new was cool, my favorite was seeing all of the brands we have here in the states with a European twist. For example, Kellogg cereals had different types of berry flavors and their mascots were different from some of them in the US. They look pretty good too, so I am definitely going to have to try some out later on. I was very thankful that one of the ladies who works with the team could drive me to the store, as it is a 10-15 min walk on my own and I had quite a few groceries being it was my first week here and I needed supplies. When I told the girls at practice about my adventure, they made sure to let me know that if I ever needed a ride to give them a call (using my prepaid cell phone that they just showed me how to use (;  ).

Be a good teammate... I for sure was trying, and as for the team, they definitely were succeeding in that department.

My Blog

I am not a great writer. Never have been. So earlier this summer when I was presented with the idea of having a blog, I kind of wrote it off (pun intended). It almost reminded me of a task while on vacation to Wyoming when I was in the 4^th grade. Back then, I was not a great writer. Heck, I couldn’t say that I was a good writer, let alone a writer at all. My mom made me keep a daily journal to practice the art of reading and writing which I was not proficient at yet (embarrassing, I know, but hey, I finally learned and look where I’m at now!). Back then, I thought the task was stupid. But, while stumbling upon the journal during one of many ‘clean out the library days,’ I was able to read about days I had forgotten and I was able to see what a younger Addie thought was important to write about. So... here we go!

Since I decided to act on a piece of advice in starting this blog, I am going to share all of the advice I was given when people found out I was going to play basketball overseas. These are in no particular order of importance. 

1. start a blog
2. learn the language
3. be a good teammate
4. don’t forget to be a tourist
5. have fun
6. pave the way
7. represent PA and Princeton Ballers
8. find good gifts to bring back
9. don’t break the law
10. don’t lose your passport
11. try new food/like new food
12. stay in touch with people
13. always be aware of your purse
14. don’t look like a tourist
15. be proud to be American
16. take lots of pictures
17. write things down
18. crush it on the bball court
19. travel travel travel... and come back with zero dollars left
20. you can take the dougie anywhere 
21. become more euro (toms, skinny jeans, cappuccino sipping, dubstep dancing, (insert anything Bethany this is ‘euro’ here), etc.)

There's the advice, or all that I could remember of it. So in sticking to that advice, here is Entry 1. 

Day 1: Start a Blog/Write things down

My first flight from Philadelphia to Frankfurt went fairly well. I was in a middle seat, which was at first my worst nightmare for a 7 hour flight. But the travel gods decided to give me a break, and the man in the other middle seat next to me decided to move leaving his seat empty and his leg room all to me. To my left was a German girl who was my age and very interesting to talk to. She had just spent the summer in San Francisco working as a au pair. The flight went by surprisingly quick while listening to music and watchingThe Lincoln Lawyer. However, I didn’t sleep much, thanks to the man with a raspy voice in a row behind yelling about the seat cushions and the Bible (not sure how the second topic came from the first). Before I knew it, we had landed in Frankfurt. After about 30 minutes of wandering around the airport before finding my terminal, I found out my second flight was delayed, and this blog began. 

Day 1: Learn the language 

My second flight finally touched down. I walked right to the baggage claim, took my stuff, and walked out of the airport where my teammate, Michele, and another teammate’s mom were waiting for me. I was greeted with hugs and we hopped in the car to drive to my flat. On the way there I told them I would really like to learn the language. With a giggle, my new teammate told me that out of all of the places I could go and learn the language, Luxembourg might be the most difficult. I quickly found out that their native language, Luxembourgish, was only spoken, and that the children don’t even learn it in school. Instead, French and German are taught in schools. Since Luxembourg is a fairly wealthy country, much of their workforce is from outside of the country, and I was told to probably try to learn French, as it is a much more useful language. 

I was then given my first language tutorial. A word sounding like “moy yen” means hello, and my name “addie” means goodbye. In fact, my full name together sounds like a common phrase over here... Addie Micir sounds like the words to say “goodbye, thank you.”

We finally made it to my flat where I put my suitcases down, and then I was shown the gym and taken to lunch. My flat is very comfy, and the mother of my teammate even stocked the fridge and gave me all the necessary supplies she thought I needed. It was very, very thoughtful of her, and all I kept thinking was that this was probably all the good karma my family received from taking care of my Princeton teammates for four years. 

It was in the fridge where I received my next language lesson. By trial and error I am finding out what is in my fridge and writing down the names of the things that I like so I can find them again! 

After the ‘lesson’ I took a 4 hour nap and had to wake up fresh and ready for practice... I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.