neener, neener....switzerland

Bigger and Better

2011-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

New Blog! - http://ellenorchard.wordpress.com

Good Morning World!

2010-10-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

Quick volleyball update...my team is doing really well! We are second in the league as of now with only one loss so far. I'm loving the chemistry that we have on the court and am looking forward to see how we do in the Eurocup this year! The bad news is that I recently pulled a muscle in my calf which limits what I can do right now...hopefully it wont take too long to recover!

On a spookier note...HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I miss y'all.

Welcome Back

2010-09-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Racklett: one of the reasons I wanted to come back...I'm dead serious. This picture doesn't do the cheese justice.

Perpetual Fog: something I selectively chose to forget about this place. It's back.

6 days later....

2010-09-18T06:05:00.001-07:00

Only slighty green :)

Down For The Count

2010-09-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

Look closely and you will see a unicorn horn forming on the left side of my face. thankyou italy....thankyou weight bar...

Schaffhausen...Teil Zwei!

2010-09-02T02:33:00.000-07:00

The weather is warm (for now) so I've been reacquainting myself with the town and my beloved Rhein. Here is my reading spot number 1:

and my view of downtown and Munot, the castle:

and finally my Kindle ad with swan included:

Want hours of time to finally read all those books you've been meaning to finish? Just come join me river-side :)

Bern

2010-08-23T04:51:00.000-07:00

I've been here one week so of course I had to get to Bern as fast as possible...It's such a beautiful city and has one of my favorite places to visit: the Barengraben. Bears people... cute ones. Here's a picture from last march. The cubs are a bit bigger now but still just as cuddly.

The city also has these crazy statues everywhere that you don't notice until you look close enough.

Yes. That is a statue of a man eating babies. Explain that one.

Like I Never Left

2010-08-17T05:36:00.000-07:00

Back to my sweet Swiss home, where everything feels familiar and the cheese is still good. There are a few new things though....new bigger car, new cuter apartment, new crazy roommate, new cool teammates, and new adventures to be had. I love this place.

Goals for this year:

- decorate my apartment
- get fewer speeding tickets
- enjoy the snow more
- eat well
- play well
- live well

I'm ready to start booking visits from my people! Come eat some Raclette with me!

There Is No Place Like Nome

2010-08-14T07:03:00.001-07:00

Like I said....

See you soon Switzerland :)

Midnight Sun

2010-08-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

I walked on a glacier...in Alaska! Look at this beautiness:

I walked around on that. Crazy I know. Now I'm in Nome, Alaska...where it is quite different than anywhere else I have ever been. Everything is just bizarre...pictures to prove my point soon.

USA!

2010-06-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

My personal fave is the kid sliding down the stairs. I'm not gonna lie...I jumped out of my seat too.

Cooler People

2010-05-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

I'll admit that I get to travel and do some pretty cool stuff these days, but when I look at what other people in my life are doing I still tend to get incredibly jealous. With a brother and sister-in-law changing lives in Thailand, a sister raising the cutest baby in the world, a friend training to be a fighter pilot and even a friend committing two years to the Peace Corps in Kenya, it's hard not to puff up with pride. So if you haven't had a chance to snoop around the blogs I have linked on the side of my page...seriously stop waisting your time and go check them out right now.

Better Than The Smoke Monster

2010-05-26T20:25:00.001-07:00

Eyjafjallajökull and Jónsi. I'm a little obsessed. Enjoy!

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

POKE

2010-05-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

I love California. And the Golden Gate Bridge. And Jess.

A Vacation From My Vacation

2010-05-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

It feels so wonderful to be home. You know...back in the States, seeing the people I love, eating the food that I missed, hearing people speak English. Some things change but now I see that mostly things stay the same. Right now I'm in Berkeley catching up with old friends and taking advantage of these sunny Berkeley days as best as I can. Here are a few things that I have missed:

Berkeley sunsets

My meadow babies

annnd YOGURTLAND! I need help.

Thanks Ange and Laura for sharing your apartment with me! I need more cuddle puddles in my life.

I Heart Vicodin

2010-05-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

I finally got the darn thing fixed!! And I have the surgery on DVD if anyone's interested.

Right now I'm faceless, hairless and still in my hospital gown, but couldn't be happier to be on vicodin. Big shout out to my Momma, my Dad and Joanne for taking care of me!

This is where I want to be right now:

Under The Knife

2010-05-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

America is great. Being home is great. Seeing old friends is great. However, I'm in a weird time/world warp that has me feeling so happy to be home and so sad to be out of Switzerland. But life moves on...

TO SHOULDER SURGERY!

If you don't hear from me for awhile, I have a good excuse this time.

Berkeley = One Week.

SUPER MEGA ENORMABLOG

2010-04-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

So I'm here sitting on my porch right now soaking in my last little bit of Switzerland. The weather is perfect and I can tell that it's going to be another beautiful Spring sunset. I'm so incredibly excited to come home and see all the lovely people I have missed so much, but I can't help but wish I was staying here for the summer to experience more evenings like this. I can't believe that 8 months are up and I'm homeward bound tomorrow.

Now I know I haven't blogged in awhile (trust me, I hear about it all of the time) but you will just have to forgive me. So to make up for my absence...this blog will be quick recap back into the the past month and a peek into what's coming up for me this summer.

Highlights since we last talked:

George and Lane came to visit and we went to see the MATTERHORN! It's my new favorite mountain. Zermatt is also my new favorite Swiss town and I've decided that is where I shall retire one day. Seriously though, it's easy to forget all of the world's problems there.

Thennn the fam came to visit and I finally got to spend time with my precious nephew who is such a good little world traveler. I've never seen a happier baby when he wakes up. It's like he's so excited just to see everyone again after napping. It was also so nice to have my parents and sister here to see my life and to explore Switzerland with. There is nothing better than spending time with your family on your birthday...especially when they help you introduce the game of Bunco to foreign Switzie lands.

Somewhere in there my season ended with us finishing in 5th place which was not our expected outcome, but still fun none-the-less. As of now I don't know if I will have a contract to come back yet, but I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I get to return here to Schaffhausen where it feels like another home to me.

As for the upcoming summer....I will be bouncing back and forth a lot between Texas and California with a quick pitstop in Seattle at the beginning in May to get shoulder surgery. I'm hoping that I can recover quickly enough to work some volleyball camps and to start preparing for next season. Let me tell you though, I am sooooo looking forward to some legit Mexican food, being able to wear sweats to McDonald's where I don't have to pay extra for ketchup or refills, driving at speeds calculated at miles not kilometers, and being able to comminucate with people when I go to the store. I seriously can not get to Berkeley fast enough.

So now I'm closing this chapter not knowing what the next one holds, but that is the best part about this time of my life! I guess I will have to change the name of my blog though....

Goodbye Switzerland...you were incredible.

Garchies Unite!

2010-03-14T03:08:00.000-07:00

George and Lane are heeeeeere! Yes, more wonderful visitors to spend time with. I LOVE having people here. love it. What is the first thing that we do? Eat raclette of course!

Last night we beat Sm`Aesch Pfeffingen in 3 straight sets and have our second game against them tonight in Basel. If we win then our season is finished and we come in 5th overall. If we lose then we have to play one more match on Wednesday. Hopefully that won't be necessary! I am ready to be done and get my shoulder finally fixed!

More updates later about the adventures of these three Texans.

Oh Hello March...

2010-03-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

Viv left this morning and my apartment seems empty :( There really is nothing like having close friends around you! And now I only have to wait a week for George and Lane to arrive! What a lucky lucky girl I am.

Last night we beat Düdingen to end the series and look forward now to playing Sm`Aesch Pfeffingen to close out the season. Only a month and a half til this is all over....what happened to the past six months??

Weather pleeeeeease warm up!

Just another fantastic sunset :)

FIFI

2010-02-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

When I ask Vivi what she thinks of Switzerland, she says "Give me more Raclette".

Today is my only day off from training so we took advantage of it by going to explore beautiful places like Interlaken and Grindelwald. To our delight...we found a Hooters....in Switzerland.

It's always nice to know that home isn't that far away.

Grindelwald is gorgeous. I want to live in that kind of perfect snowy-hot-chocolate bubble.

And of course, what is an adventure without a jumping pic.

World's Collide

2010-02-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

VIVI IS HERE! and I couldn't be happier. Already accomplished is the eating of raclette, the exploring the tiny city of Schaffhausen and lots of jetlagged napping. She even came to practice with me, just like the glory days at Cal! Here is us on a very windy day inside the Munot castle:

Unfortunately the weather can't make up its mind. Fortunately that creates beautiful sunsets!

Manga Power!!

2010-02-23T00:58:00.001-08:00

Carnival is fun :)

Golden

2010-02-19T07:28:00.001-08:00

2 am turned into 5:30 am and I ended up sleeping through Evan's performance....GOOD THING HE WON! So so proud of someone I had never heard of until two days ago. Yes Mom, I am happy now.

Not the biggest fan of the glittery snakes, but I think glitter is a requirement for figure skating.

My Vancouver Addiction

2010-02-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

That Russian guy needs to keep his snooty comments to himself! Perhaps I will stay up tomorrow night til 2 to watch Evan Lysacek destroy him. Men's figure skating can be brutal.

I also find myself with a surprisingly large amount of Swiss pride while watching the Olympics. Except for when they are up against the US of course! I have been here too long....

Carnival time :) Pictures to follow.

Life Is The Bubbles!

2010-02-12T05:48:00.000-08:00

February is crawling by. This may be because nothing has really happened recently or because I have so many good things waiting for me in March, but I'm starting to get antsy. To get rid of the ants I'm making a countdown to all things exciting in my future:

7 days until a weekend off and Carnival...
14 days until Vivi comes to visit hopefully!...
29 days until George and Lane visit...
35 days until the Orchards invade Switzerland with baby in tow...
74 days until I return to the great state of Texas and kick off a fantastic summer :)

We are in playoffs right now so this weekend we have two important matches to win. It's still snowing a lot and I spend all day curled up in bed dreaming about the day when I can wear flippy flops again.

Dreams Coming True...

2010-02-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

We lost in Poland 0-3, but it was a monumental game in my career for one awesome reason.

I got to set :)

Always being tall from a very young age, like most overgrown adolescents, I have always been shoved into the "tall person" positions in sports. Hence the reason why I am a middle blocker today. Secretly though, or not-so-secretly, I have always dreamed of being a setter and if I had a chance to talk my 13 year old self, I tell me to demand the job of setting! I'm not saying that I have good hands or even decent hands to say the lease, but I want the training!

So when Sara, our only setter, sprained her ankle in the Eurocup match on Wednesday, Micheli and I were assigned the task to set. Yay Micheli! I'm sad Sara got hurt and we did end up losing, but thanks Lord for giving me that one game! Now I can die happy.

For pictures of Poland, look here.

Snow Day!

2010-02-01T01:02:00.000-08:00

Or more like snow week. This is new territory for me. Driving in snow is SCARY!

Next up: 12 hours on a bus to Poland tomorrow....hurray.

A Blast From The Past

2010-01-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

This photo has resurfaced after 6 years. Such a good memory!

Bernnnn

2010-01-26T07:57:00.001-08:00

I'm lucky to have friends who live in cool places. Thankfully Vanessa is nice to me sometimes and invites me to her home in Bern. This past weekend we headed that way after our win against Biel on Saturday and I got to spend some more time in the lovely Switzie capital. One of my favorite things about getting out of Schaffhausen is that I often can find a Starbucks or two in other cities. What I have found is not only do the Starbucks here have the seasonal red cups here, but they also give you a mug to drink your coffee out of if you don't take it to go.

I love it. Come on America...life isn't just about disposable cups!

Tonight, we kick off the next Europacup round against the Polish team. They are quite tall. I feel like a normal person around them. Time to jump a little higher!

New Year - New Hair

2010-01-18T00:38:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed my change in hairstyle recently and I think it's best if I just explain so everyone knows what's going on. Prepare yourself :)

Here's a picture of alopecia:

Ah, beautiful Alopecia, my dear friend. For some reason my immune system randomly attacks the hair on my body making it fall out leaving beautiful cheetah-like spots on my head, arms and legs. I have been to several doctors and there is neither an exact known cause of Alopecia nor a dependable cure for it either. Those of you who knew me back then may remember when I lost the majority of the hair on my body at the age of 17 for the first time.

As you may have noticed, it has happened again, in a matter of 4 weeks....I am almost completely bald again. My amazing parents have mailed me two wigs that you will see me in from now on and if you are lucky, I may just sport my cheetah head for all to see. I was also so lucky to have brother and sister-in-law here to help me shave my head and document the glorious day that my wig arrived in the mail. Thankyou again Phil an Con for being here for that!

So that's it! Feel free to talk about it with me, it's not a big deal to me anymore. I just see it as a part of who I am now. And as Constance said, it's going to be the lastest fashion in Europe now, so watch out!

Oh The Places You'll Go

2010-01-16T09:43:00.000-08:00

The view from our hotel....they left the lights up in our honor. Thankyou Romania.

Red uncomfortable beds, one thing that I'm learning to live with while I travel. Thankyou Belli for posing again :)

The gym. So dark!

The food included lots of suspicious meat, like turkey. I was less than pleased.

We ended up losing the match 3-2, but by winning those 2 sets and our match against Unic at home we qualified for the next round of 8 in Poland. In two weeks we play Impel Gwardia Wroclaw and then the following week we go there to played them. Country #8!

I know I make fun of yall a lot but thankyou Switzies for being clean, nice and obsessed with cheese. It makes it a joy to live here!

Merry Christmas from Romania

2010-01-14T01:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't been in Romania even 24 hours yet and here is what I have observed:

- they have countdowns on both the green and red lights...handy but slightly annoying I've found.
- everything is red
- everything has a very distinct smell
- they have tiny beds, similar and just as uncomfortable as the ones in Italy.
- I have been offered turkey sandwiches twice already
- I found a weed store. no joke. the sign said "WEED STORE"
- and all Christmas lights and decorations are still up everywhere

I have also realized that I am very spoiled living in Switzerland and I actually miss it. Time to win today and go home! Hopp Kanti!

Standing On The Rock

2010-01-09T06:30:00.000-08:00

So inspiring....Colt McCoy's solid faith. Watch here.

Hook Em!

2010-01-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have practice in the morning.

Yes, I am staying up til 2 am to watch the Rosebowl.

Yes, I am ready.

Point Proven

2010-01-06T03:51:00.000-08:00

I just can't stop.

Thanks Belli for supplying the energy drinks. Now if we could only find that last missing piece.

P.S. I promise I'm not a Twilight freak. The puzzle was a gift.

My Secret Life

2010-01-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

I keep getting yelled at for not blogging very much lately and I have no excuse except that I am "busy", meaning I have been taking a lots of really long naps for the past week. In my defense too, a few people have given me puzzles to work on and for some reason I can't stop until I finish them. Now you know my weakness for brain challenging things that also includes a daily crossword puzzle that I must complete before I can eat breakfast. Constance called it my secret life.

I know yall are dying to know how Phillip and Constance's visit went so you can read about it here. She is a much better and devoted blogger than I am. Let me say though that I was incredibly lucky to have them both here on Christmas and thanks to their adventurousness I have upped my country number to 7 now! This is why I love them:

After a nice week's break from training, we are back in the gym preparing for four big matches within the next week. We first play Unic LPS PIATRA-NEAMT on Wednesday for the next Eurocup round and then we play Volero, the top team in the Swiss NLA league, on both Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday match is for regular season play and the Sunday match is for the Swiss Cup semi-final round. It will be challenging but also interesting to play them twice in a row. Since Kanti won the Swiss Cup last year, there is a lot of pressure to repeat this year. And finally we head to Romania next week to play Unic again. Country number 8 for me!

My new years resolution is to blog more than once a week. We shall see how long this lasts.

Now if you excuse me, I have a puzzle to finish.

From Sun To Snow

2009-12-23T04:15:00.000-08:00

Phillip and Constance arrive in Schaffhausen in 2 hours and 32 minutes.....

The eating of cheese and chocolate shall commence!

Just Nonsense

2009-12-14T03:23:00.001-08:00

IT FINALLY SNOWED HERE! After hearing about snow in Houston AND Berkeley I was starting to get quite jealous. It has only snowed a little and I have no pictures but I am hopeful for more snowy days ahead. Good thing I hung some snowflakes in my apartment!

As for volleyball news, we found out that our next Eurocup Challenge match is against a Romanian team. That means we will be heading that way the second week of January. Also, this weekend we play our second Swiss Cup match against Düdingen which is a good draw for us so hopefully we push our way into the final soon.

One more week till break...Christmas is so close and Phil and Con arrive in 9 days!! Until then I have a lot to take care of andddd I get to visit Vanessa in BERN! It's going to be a great way to end the year.

Happy Santa Claus Day!

2009-12-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

Well, technically it was yesterday. But snowflakes and cupcakes were made and we even went to the Santa Claus market in town where we met Mr. Claus himself! Apparently here in Switzerland there is a less friendly counterpart to Santa who comes and sticks kids in a bag if they have been bad. Fortunately I got a picture of him...

Creepy I know.

Life is good when you have funfetti cupcakes though :)

Hamburg(er)

2009-12-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

My mother claims that if she had a blog, that she would update everyday. HA! I apologize then for my meager weekly blogging activity. Exciting things only happen to me once a week I suppose. Like for instance, today CHRISTMAS IN A BOX arrived!! Complete with a Christmas tree and even a cupcake stand. My mom really is that cool. Pictures up soon when my apartment is all Christmasfied. Thanks Mom!

As you may know VC Kanti went to Schwerin to play our first Europacup match against one of the top teams in Germany. We lost though it was close and we played well. Our second match against them is next Wednesday. Some exciting highlights of the trip include an American hamburger in the Hamburg airport, a cat at the hotel who had its own Christmas tree, a giant real gingerbread house, the CASTLE and my first sight of Switzie snow flying back into Zurich. See for yourself....

Next up: Köniz on Saturday, Bellanzona on Sunday, Schwerin on Wednesday....whew!

Busy...busy...busy

2009-11-25T06:33:00.000-08:00

3 months feels like 6 for some reason. But then again I have a weird concept of time here so I'm sure I will turn around and it will be time to go home or something. However, some exciting things are coming up for me!

This weekend we play Bellinzona at home on Saturday, Schwerin on Tuesday in Germany for our first Eurocup match, Konitz next Saturday and then Bellinzona again that Sunday for our first Swiss Cup match. Play play play!!! And then I get to celebrate Thanksgiving with some new friends :)

Even more exciting is the fact that we get to watch our friends from Amriswil play an extremely good men's volleyball team from Italy in their first Euro Cup match. Vanessa is all in a twitter about some of the players that we will get to see play...it's going to be AMAZING.

Here is a picture of when I stayed up till 3 am my time to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Cali friends. Isaac and Soph cooked a successful turkey, I'm just glad I didn't actually have to eat it.

Half Way...Sort Of

2009-11-14T11:38:00.001-08:00

Tonight we beat Düdingen in three straight sets, marking us half way through the regular Swiss season. Time flies when you are having fun. Big news people: Phillip and Constance are coming to Switzerland for Christmas!!! I don't think I can wait that long though. It's gonna be GREAT.

Everyone...meet Vanessa. She is just one of the reasons why I love it here. :)

Fake Halloween

2009-11-10T08:00:00.001-08:00

Better late than never :)

what happens in switzerland stays in switzerland.

2009-11-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

The Giraffe.

2009-11-01T02:37:00.000-08:00

Rex wins cutest costume, hands down.

After last night's important win, Kanti is back on track for total domination of Switzerland! Not really, but we definitely needed it. What a good way to celebrate Halloween! My team and I are carving pumpkins next weekend which should be interesting, since none of them have done it before. Crazy girls with knives...scary.

And now for a day off filled with a bunch of nothing to do. Time to enjoy Switzie Fall.

For a complete performance of The Monster Mash by Isaac Howell and Sophia Hocini, check my Facebook wall. It's a graveyard smash.

Let The Wild Rumpus Start!

2009-10-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's officially fall here in Switzerland. Even the sunset is orange.

The good news is that I bought a jacket.

So last weekend we beat Toggenburg in three straight sets and are now heading into the weekend with two matches against better teams. We face Sm`Aesch Pfeffingen, who is ranked first in the league at the moment, at their place on Saturday and then play Volero at home on Sunday. Fun fact for those at home: Erin Waller, who I played against in college from Stanford, plays now for Pfeffingen. Except now I'm wearing red instead of her. Ironic.

Random side note: has anyone seen Where The Wild Things Are yet?? I want to see it so badly.

Tex Rex

2009-10-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah. That's my nephew.

Oh Joy

2009-10-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

I had a REALLY good day today for a couple of reasons:

1) I got a phone...that's right, I'm no longer unreachable. Talk to me personally for details.

2) I got a ton of Halloween decorations from my mom in the mail (thanks mom!) and am determined to make my team celebrate the holiday with me. Pumpkins and spider tattoos will abound!

3) I ate a lot of pistachios. Dumb, but delicious enough to make my day.

4) I had my first practice without any shoulder pain. TYL! My serve is coming back :)

5) Finally, I embraced the fact that I am going to freeze here and have decided to enjoy it no matter what. I'm finally living in a place that has seasons and I can't get over how beautiful everything is. We shall see how long this good attitude of mine lasts.

Volleyball Update: We beat Bellinzona on Saturday and then lost a close match to Köniz on Sunday. This weekend we play Toggenburg at home. We have scrimmaged them before in practice and hopefully will take care of them again like we did then.

A Box o' Goodies

2009-10-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Whoa...two posts in one week! Watch out! I got something in the mail today that deserved its own post though....Isaac and Sophia...you are the absolute best!!

Inside a a wax toilet bowl gasket box wrapped in beautifully decorated brown paper I got so much Crystal Light that I could bathe in it if I wanted to.

Some of the highlights include Isaac's self portrait:

And a Dutch lobster that is cheering for VC Kanti :)

So fun...thanks guys. You completely made my day.

Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier...

2009-10-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

Learned how to count in today's German lesson. I can count about as high as I need to officially keep score now...baby steps....

We won our first official match! Yeeeah. Tassia is being trooper and is hanging in there. This Saturday we drive all of the way down close to Italy to play Bellinzona and then bring it back home on Sunday to play Köniz in our own gym. It's going to be a good weekend!

Oh and also....
I miss this girl.

When In Schaffhausen...

2009-10-02T05:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry all for the delayed update! Lots has happened in the past week to catch up on.

The Super Cup last weekend was held in Lausanne where all Swiss teams competed to get a first look at the competition before regular season play starts. We played well on Saturday and then lost it on Sunday landing us in third overall. It was a fun time to see everyone in the league including the men's teams as well.

Last night, we scrimmaged the team from Stuttgart as a formal presentation to our sponsers. And this was the first time that we got to compete in our main gym, Schweizersbild. We only played four sets and split two and two with them to warm us up for our first official match against Cheseaux on Saturday.

In other news, I have my first official visitor here! The B-rett Savage.

Everyone is pretty obsessed with his hair. It's funny.

That's all for now!

My Vacation From My Vacation

2009-09-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

You just can't beat the feeling of being in New York when the weather is fine.

I love my bestie.

And of course I had to take pictures of clouds

Visa is in hand and I'm back in Switzerland now ready for the Super Cup in Lausanne this weekend. I miss you already America.

Go Kanti

2009-09-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

This marks the end of my first month in Switzies and I couldn't ask for a better month. I have already found a new family in my team and made a home in one of the cutest towns ever. I really do love it here and can't believe that I could be so lucky.

This past weekend we had a tournament in Germany (10 minutes across the border) and we played three really good teams. Both the German champions and the second placed teams were there along with a third talented team. We didn't do well on Saturday but came back today with a vengeance. As for me, I'm slowly falling apart with a some kind of nagging shoulder injury and a twisted ankle (via the ref stand). Thankfully I have this next week off in New York where I am going to get my work visa and to see Meredith and Lindsay! Heck yes.

With a month of European volleyball under my belt, here are some differences from American college volleyball that I have had to get used to:

- Liberos don't serve. Good thing us middles are such excellent back row players.

- You can touch the net anywhere except the very top. This is good news for setters and bad news for middles for obvious reasons.

- The serving style is completely different and completely effective.

- Our uniforms are covered in sponsers without any indiction of what team we actually are. Our spandex says GASSER in huge letters on the front because of the car dealership that sponsors us and our butts say Schaffhausen Casino. Pretty classy if you ask me.

- We are well taken care of except for the significant lack of ice available after practice and games. I was so spoiled in this aspect at Cal. To think that I used to complain about it!

With that I leave you with a picture of my team (missing a few players). I'm so excited to take on the other teams in Switzerland!

Pallavolo

2009-09-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

My weekend in Italy consisted of a huge amount of food, beautiful mountains and crazy fast intense Italian volleyball. I realize now that I was in the presence of volleyball greatness with some of the people I got to meet.

I also found that Italians have the weirdest toilets (as modeled by Myuki):

And really small beds (as modeled by Vanessa) :

It rained most of the time we were there but it made for these beautiful clouds! I had to take pictures of the Alps out of the car window so I did my best:

Von TEPE!

2009-09-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

My dear beautiful tree-tard friend, Jena, is getting married today!!

Unfotunately my job makes it impossible to make it to the wedding and I am seriously sad! It's gonna be beautiful Jena! Congrats to you and Alan! Love you!

Death by Crystal Light

2009-09-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

Look how ridiculously cool my mom is:

Just FYI - My new favorite flavor is Honey Lemon.

Well, we ended up going undefeated last weekend against three different Swiss teams that we will see again later in the year. It was fun for me to to be in uniform on the court with a team again. I didn't realized how much I had missed that till then. And the trip back gave me my first glimpse of the Alps. WOW. I'm going to take some photos tomorrow as we drive through them? Over them? Or under them? How do you get across the Alps?

Oh and P.S. I'm going to Italy for the weekend!!

Discoveries

2009-09-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

I love Switzerland. It's clean here, people are nice, nobody steals, and everything is so delightfully euro. It's pretty much the opposite of Bezerkeley. Not to say that moving here wasn't an adjustment...I got along just fine in Berkeley and miss it very much. So here are some things that I have learned to help deal with the life of the Swiss:

- Cheese. They have it. They have three aisles of it in fact at the store...but no cheddar. Why is cheddar the only cheese that I want? Why do I have to be so American!

- Stop lights. They turn yellow before turning green! Genius!!

- Police. I've only seen one policeman in two weeks...and he was directing traffic to the waterfall.

- Cameras. That's how they catch you speeding. Then they mail a 300 franc bill to your home.

- Round-a-bouts. So superbly efficient.

- Handball. It's like waterpolo on land and it's all the rage.

- Money. You need a lot to live here. Which is why I shop in Germany!

- Fruit flies. They live in Switzerland too.

First tournament tomorrow in Düdingen against three teams that we play in the regular season. I finally get to see some more green Swiss countryside :)

Swans!

2009-09-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

This is where my team and I have gone swimming every afternoon this week:

You can just float all the way down. The river is AMAZING!

A Cure For Homesickness

2009-08-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Here is what I discovered this weekend...

Schaffhausen has a bigger farmer's market than Berkeley:

Schaffhausen has a bigger waterfall than Berkeley:

Schaffhausen has a real castle:

And finally Schaffhausen has sunsets like this:

But I still miss my people :( Come visit and I promise you beautiful sights!

Week ONE!

2009-08-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

I survived my first week :)

Practices here are short but intense. There isn't air conditioning so sometimes I want to die, but I'm sure I'll be thankful for that in the winter. We also practice in 4 different gyms so we go all over town which is super cute. There is a REAL castle here. A real one. I swear.

My coach, Andi, is great. He is super German but runs practice in English because we are so international. He's really nice and only seems to yell at the Swiss girls. This may be just because he sounds angrier in German. He coaches with a fanny pack on and has a Snoopy tattoo on his ankle. He is legit.

We have the weekend off so I'm going to get explore a little bit, instead of sleep. Waterfalls, farmer's market and the castle are on the agenda.... FUN!

I need a massage.

My ride.

2009-08-26T09:10:00.001-07:00

Just in case you were confused about who I am or who I work for, just take a look at my sweet car. I'm going to be hard to miss:

They gave me the keys to the car without even asking me if I could drive a stick shift or not. Thanks George for being patient with me all those years ago. It is paying off now! Annnd the first song that came on the radio once I got in was "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal. I think I'm going to be just fine here.

Someone please send me Chrystal Light. I think it might cure my jetlaggedness.

Kronenacker 5

2009-08-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

Turn left when you see the gnomes:

Is that giant snail on its way to attack the little happy gnome with a fake beard?

And we can only guess what this gnome is giggling about:

First practice in half an hour!

Orange Curtains and Green Tiles

2009-08-23T14:00:00.001-07:00

Switzerland is incredible. The flight over here is not incredible. Its long, boring and a little bit awkward when an old Italian lady sits next to you who constantly makes you eat and tucks you into your seat with her blankets. I made it though! Here are my top ten favorite things so far:

1) my queen size bed because they knew I was bigger than the average European
2) the money they keep handing me
3) the little cars and the giant VW buses
4) the hundreds of gnomes on my street (pics soon for you Emmy)
5) my bright orange curtains that make my room glow
6) my green bathroom that is all different shades of ugly green
7) the food...I've already had more chocolate than I've been blessed with my entire life
8) my roommate...she is fantastic
9) my team which is incredibly diverse
10) the fact that we get to go to Italy in just TWO weeks!

This is just surreal. Love and miss everyone!

Just get on the plane...

2009-08-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

I leave for Switzerland tomorrow. Tomorrow. What happened to the past month? I have to leave my nephew now?! All things aside, I'm pumped. Here is the info for those who want to keep up with my team:

http://www.kantivolleyball.ch/

I highly recommend google translating it.

4 days later...

2009-08-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

Rex David Kilbride. 20 inches. 7 lbs 2.5 oz. Overwhelmingly cute.

Baby Mode

2009-08-07T23:19:00.000-07:00

Look Zach...I'm posting!

Look Emmy...I'm posting!

Hello world, my plan was to start blogging long ago, but here I am at the end of summer and I am finally getting around to it. More importantly, my new baby nephew should be arriving any day now and I am excited to spend TWO whole weeks with him before I move to the Switzies.

Updates to follow soon :)

NEW BLOG

2008-11-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

I have a new blog, obvi.

Zach created it. He is sooo awesome and has nice feet.

A lot of the time he doesn't wear shoes, but I imagine he does.

I imagine other things too, like Wenny with a handle bar mustache. but that's just silly... her stache would definitely be a hitler. The End.

love ellen