Who wants to Skype? I drink coffee you drink wine...

This time change is the weirdest thing. I am sitting here chatting with my bestie Jessica on Facebook. Its 10pm for her and 7am for me. I just made coffee (Dunkin' Doughnuts Chocolate Glazed coffee in fact, and OMG its amazing - thanks BME <3) and she is going to bed. I am glad I have adjusted to the time change for the most part. I remember it took me months in Spain.  It doesn't help that I stay up late talking to everyone of course, but that is the only time I can! Everyone is asleep while I am awake during the day. 

So I left off telling you guys about our team event we went too.  The next week we had 3 days of practice and then left for Nancy, France for our first preseason tourney of the year.  We had only had about 10 days of practice as a team, and even then I was so sore for the first week I could barely jump. Old age is hell... ;)

We left after practice on Wednesday.  It was about a 3.5 hour drive, so not bad at all.  Plus the scenery along the way was gorgeous.  Here is a castle we could see in the distance on our drive. I am pretty obsessed with castles and this was my first sighting so I was fired up about it :)

so cool!

We don't have our jerseys for this year yet so we are wearing the ones from last year for preseason.  The Libero jersey's are bright pink which happens to be Hahn's favorite color can't you tell by this picture?! 

Haha!

Here are all the American's before the match (we won in 5)

Being goofy, per usual

This was the court we played on. It was a fun atmosphere to play in. 

We ended up going 2-1 on the weekend. Both games we won went 5. We lost the last match in 3, but all the games were close.  The goal of this tourney, of course yes, we want to win, but we wanted to work as a team on organizing and playing our game. I think we played well for having so little time together as a team and I am excited to see where we will be at for the beginning of season in mid October. We have another tourney in France this upcoming weekend!

On weekends that we have matches or travel we usually will have Sunday and/or Monday's free to recover and do as we please.  We woke up on Monday not expecting to go anywhere but at the last minute decided to get on a train and go somewhere.  Everything is so close by train you can literally pick a spot on the map and be there within a few hours.  We grabbed some mimosa stuff (again, no open container laws- SCORE!) and headed to Lausanna, Switzerland.  It's a town right on Lake Geneva and only about hour and 15 minutes away by train.  We get 50% off train tickets anywhere in Switzerland so it only cost us about 24 Francs round trip!! 

The train ride down there was indescribable.  Everything is so green.  As we got closer to the water you could see the beginning of the Alps and directly on our left side were vineyards and just amazing views.  Here are some pictures from that day and our adventure. 

Mimosas on the train! We were sitting next to an older couple on the train that happened to be from San Francisco! Crazy small world...and it was nice they didn't judge us on piping champagne bottles right next to them...

Some of the scenery on the way to Lausanna. This is what the whole ride looks like. We most have collectively took 300 photos.  Around every corner was something prettier than before.

When we got there we were kind of in the middle of town so we found the local Metro and took the train down to the water asap! Thank goodness we have Mayf with us. She lived in Paris a few years ago and rode the trains all the time so we didn't look like complete idiots trying to figure it out.

Panoramic of the lake. 

Huge swans that were hanging out.

Cheese! Yes that's a beer in my hand....

So the metro stop that was near the water was called "Ouchy" obviously said differently but we thought it was hilarious that we were headed in direction "Ouchy" and this pic was just too funny to not share.  

hehe

Roomies!

:) 

At lunch!

Gorgeous Cathedral in the center of town.  

totally not tourists.... 

Gelato! Boom.  Great day. 

Best picture of the day.  The picture is amazing and it does not even do it justice...

We have a full week of practice and then head to Terville, France on Saturday morning.  We are only there for 2 days and then come home.  We have Monday off and we are planning on going to Grindelwald to go zip lining!! So grateful for this experience and opportunity to do something I love and get to travel to these places. 

Until next time....

BYEEEE! <3

Playing Catch up!

I have a lot to catch up on! I am going to do it in two or 3 posts because there is so much to cover.  When I left you last we had just arrived in Dudingen and were getting to know our surroundings in our little town, which now I am realizing just HOW little it is.  The fact that we can walk to pretty much everything just goes to show.....

I love how everything here is available by train or bus.  Makes everything SO easy. Also that we live about 5 minutes from the train station doesn't hurt either.  They run all day and late into the night so coming and going is easy, even for someone who has never traveled much this way.  I am sure we stick out like sore thumbs but I feel like we are doing okay. (ps when I say "we" I usually mean my roomies Desiree and Allison aka Dezzie and Mayf, get to know them, they will be in a lot of pictures and/or stories) 

So we got settled into our apartment nicely and found out where they grocery store is and I immediately bought a coffee maker. It was worth EVERY penny. It will be a nice gift for whoever is in the apartment next. #yourwelcome 

Said coffee machine

We had the first weekend off from volleyball but were able to help out at a tournament for a few of the other leagues in the area on Saturday.  Dudingen has this really awesome fan support and most of the people that work for the club do so for free.  For example: Claire, who was there to pick us up from the airport, got us to our apartment, helped us with train passes and showed us the ropes of living here, does so without getting anything in return.  She has literally made sure we stay fed, which mostly comes in the shape of baking goods. She makes DELICIOUS cake. If I come home 20 pounds heavier you will all know why. Any who, we went out that Saturday after working the tourney and here are a few pictures from that. As you can see my #selfiegame is on point here in Switzerland. 

Mayf and I being silly

All the foreigner girls! Left to right: me, Hahns, Mayf, Dezzie, Lucky) 

Hahns making some awesome faces per usual. Its the red lipstick. It does things to her.

So on Sunday the club had a team event planned for us.  We were able to walk to a small lake and get on a boat to see some of the area around us.  The walk down was gorgeous, of course. The pictures do nothing in comparison to what we are seeing. The colors are amazing. Everything is so green.  Here are a few pictures from that day....

Cool bridge we went under...

walking..

passed houses and everyone had gardens. So pretty.

On the lake!

Huge house on the lake

Some of the girls!

Mayf, me, dez, Marie

Awesome to say that I have swam in a lake in Switzerland. And I won't be doing that for another 8 months haha It was already so cold!

After the boat ride we hiked up the mountain to secluded camp fire area where our club president's sons were BBQ-ing and we had a huge picnic.  It was amazing. Wine was obviously drank. 

The picnic area was actually in someone that works for the clubs, backyard. So when we left we were able to take a road back home. We had no idea how to get home, but we knew the general direction so we started walking. This is looking at Dudingen from her house. Fields on both sides!

No open container laws here. So we brought the wine with us! Duh. 

That was the house we were at. To the left is the forest/lake area not pictured. 

I wish this was bigger. We got a sweet panoramic of the fields. 

Found some llamas on the way. Got photobombed by this fluff ball. I love llamas.

Pretty horses that were on the other side of the field and came to say hi. Then I got shocked by an electric fence. Wont make that mistake ever again. 

Sunset from our balcony....

Roomie love

One more with the llamas because I love them.

Next up: Our first preseason tourney to Nancy, France and our first official day off where we went to Lausanna, Swizterland for the day. 

Byeeeee!

The Shire aka Home Sweet Home

For those of you know me pretty well, you know that I am a total sci-fi/fantasy nerd. If it has dragons, magic, time travel, and creatures other than humans...? It's for me! So you can imagine my delight on the plane coming into Zurich when everything looks straight out of a Lord of the Rings movie.  Literally looks the The Shire. Which of course is what we have named out 3 bedroom/1bath flat in Dudingen.  It looks like if a rainbow was to pop up somewhere I could literally go find the pot of gold. 

Here are a few pictures of my apartment and view.

The view from our balcony....^

My roooom

Living Area

Kitchen and dinning area

Nothing fancy but it's big and has enough room for us and great storage. The beds are comfy and the windows have these amazing roll down blinds that block out ALL light. It could be 12pm and I would have no idea. Helpful when you have jet lag and are up at all hours of the night.. O_o It is also a walk away from the gym, the grocery store, the train station, our bank,  and the other girls apartment. 

The 4 Americans went out on Sunday to explore.  Everything closes down Saturday around 4pm and does not open again until Sunday so we got to explore without having to worry about talking to people! Here are some more pictures from that adventure! 

Gorgeous Church that may or may not chime every 15 minutes all day everyday.

THE SHIRE!!!!

Al and I being goofy....

CAN YOU IMAGINE THIS WITH SNOW!!!! Sledding here I come.

There are cats everywhere. They hang out in the fields, around the houses plus they are all fat, so you know they belong to someone...but this guy in particular reminded me of grumpy cats grumpier father or something...and I had to share.  

SO pretty....

Cool house

GoPro pics!

more...

okay this was a super cool wall that was hand painted by some kids at the local school. They each got a rectangle and got to paint whatever they wanted. This was a panoramic but I will show you some of my favs in the next few pics.  

My favorite by FAR....  #swag #yolo #unicorn hahahha

Pizzzaaaa

not even sure...#longkittah

minions! Banana!

There is this forest behind the gym that you can walk through that has trails and also a bunch of hiking. Had some really cool stuff to explore and we have not even got through half of it!

Hope you enjoy!! Come visit me!!!

BYEEEEE

Dudingen!! (DOO-ding-en)

Whelp after 12 hours in a plane and 24 hour awake I finally made it to Dudingen, Switzerland!

Wooooow. 

I can not believe I am finally to this point. It seems like it was just yesterday I was signing my contract and saying to myself, “pfff, I have like 4 months until I leave. This is going to be the best summer ever!!”  Well I got one thing right. I had an AH-mazing summer. Even with work I found time to have a blast with all the people I have become so close to over the past 3 years living in Hermosa Beach aka “The Bubble”.  But now, here I am…sitting on my flight to Zurich, with SO many emotions rolled into this event. (one of them being frustration for the lack of wifi on this flight. I mean COME ON!!)

(my face when I found out no wifi for 8 hour flight to Zurich)

On the one hand I have been looking forward to this day for…well months now. And on the other am nervous, emotional, and even scared. Now, some of you may be saying, “why scared? You have done this before, been gone from family and friends for months at a time, played everyday and been all over the world blah blah", but it is very different this time around. Before the last few years I spent in Hermosa, I have not been in the same place for longer than 6 months since I was in college! The life I had in Hermosa was not only amazing (yay beach!) but I made some wonderful friends who became more than that…there were my family.  :) I smile right now thinking about the inside jokes/nicknames, themed parties, ace tournaments, monday night vball teams, netflix marathons and of course Wednesdays….those are my favorite. (you know who you are) 

This summer was no exception. To say I was a social butterfly may be a bit of an understatement.  Denver with Sloves, ace tourney’s with….everyone, Adult Nationals with “Thanks Champagne” (thanks Nikki!), WINNING 6-man (again Nikki!), #splooshhaus with my favorites, and of course my last weekend in the states at my parents in AZ with everyone that came to send me off. I can’t even remember one free weekend for months! (pictures to follow...at least one from each event) We always had something going on. EVERY summer I think the last one can’t be beat, and here I am saying, omg this was the best summer yet. That is a pretty great problem to have. 

I am so excited to be moving on to this next adventure. After my shoulder surgery 3 years ago I did not think I would ever be going back to play. What can I say? “The Itch” got me again.  I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the passion I have toward volleyball. This opportunity came and was something I couldn't pass up without regretting it forever.  I am SO excited to play again, be apart of a team again, and travel as much as possible. Switzerland is a unique opportunity that  allows me to do something I love and still be able to enjoy life outside the volleyball aspect. Days off I am free to travel and roam and see as much as I can (CASTLES!!!). Which I plan on taking FULL advantage off. 

The flights over to Switzerland have been great as well. For traveling half across the world, the travel time has been great. One flight from AZ to Washington DC (4 hours) and then on to Zurich from there (8 hours). Our coaches were waiting to pick up all 5 girls at the airport in a bus that will take us back to Dudingen. (need to find out how to get the two dots over the U when I type it…).  The toughest part so far was getting into Zurich around 8am, waiting for 3 hours for our teammates to get in and then driving 1.5 hours to Dudingen.  By the time I got back to the apartment I had been going on no sleep for 24 hours and was quite cranky. SORRY! We got to take a 2 hour nap (saved my life and possibly others too) and then had a light practice with most of the girls. This volleyball program is very cool as they integrate their younger girls directly into the team so we had a few of the elite girls on our team as young as 16! (holy hell does that make me feel old...which I am. The oldest on the team. -_- )

Of COURSE, our first night we had to go out. Don't ask me how I did it. I think I was delirious and just went with it.  There is a city about 10 minutes down the way by train, Fribourg, that has a fun social scene so we all went out to a local Irish Pub. It was so fun! The girls have a ton of energy and love to dance. Even the younger girls can come because the drinking age for beer and wine is 16. We have no practice this weekend so I didn't feel bad being super tired. We got home around 3am and I slept like the dead until 11:15am. Glorious.

(with a few of the girls, and wine of course. L to R: Des, Sarah, Allison, Me)

There are 5 girls on the team that are foreigners.  My roomies: Deseriee who played at LSU and is a MB, and Allison who played at KU and is an OH. Both girls are very nice and I think we will have fun living together. The other two are Kristin, who played at Iowa State and is our libero, and Lucky (Andrea) who is from Montenegro and our other MB. I am still getting to know more about her so more to come. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming.

 We are a walk away from anything we need, including the gym we play at, and a train ride from many other bigger cities including Berne, the capitol.  Our apartment is big and has everything we need, including wifi that reaches the whole apartment (insert sigh of relief). Our grocery store is on the way home from the gym so that is also very convenient. 

I can't wait to start a normal schedule here on Monday.  We leave very soon for a preseason tourney so I need to get in as much volley as possible. Can't wait to keep you posted on more about the Swiss adventure I am going on.

Next post will have pictures of the area and apartment. <3

BYEEEEE!!

Disclaimer...

DISCLAIMER: 

I had a blog previously while I was playing in Spain.
 I started off the whole thing saying something about myself and how this blog was…simply put..

 ME.

 If you know me, I suck at spelling, (personally I blame smart phones 
and stuff because I mean,who uses a dictionary or actually practices spelling
 anymore….oh I can’t figure out how to spell a word? I type it into a text message.
 Oh I am slaughtering it so bad that even the freaking smart phone can’t figure it out? 
Whelp, I change the sentence). I will curse, (Again, if you know me, you know I am one sassy
 individual who pretty much always speaks my mind, whoops, also everyone
 knows where I get it..haha but seriously) and lastly, I will be trying to tell you all the little details
 about my time over here…I  dunno, but for me its a type of release to write about it and my feelings 
and I also know I love hearing about other peoples adventures while they are doing something 
they love so why not let others live through me?!  Long story long, deal with it.  I am going to make errors, grammatical (sorry Garrett) and spelling wise and may be long winded at times (like now)….
just gunna deal with it or you don’t need to read my blog.

 Sorry not sorry. Okay moving on……...Byeeeee!