#SuomiLife

FINALLY IN MY NEW HOME! The travel to Finland isn’t hard and I'm glad I didn't have to connect anywhere in Europe. After making a friend on the plane, being interrogated by some rude European man at the Visa check-point, waiting what seemed like FOREVER to get my luggage and change out of the winter clothes that would have put my bags over weight, and an hour and a half drive to my new abode in the middle of nowhere, I made it to my new apartment. My first time to Finland I experienced no jet-lag, probably due to the fact my flight had left at night and arrived in Amsterdam at 1 pm so I got some sleep, but this time I got ZERO sleep. The car ride up hypnotized my body and exhaustion set in; my cardiac rhythm was still on U.S. Eastern time and in my mind it was 1 a.m. At the point of arrival all I wanted to do was sleep. From the outside it was pretty uninviting. Dark wood with no curb appeal, HGTV would have a FEILD day with it but once inside it was very cozy! I have a spacious living room with a connecting dining area and a traditional, narrow European kitchen well equipped with a stove, small oven, refrigerator and TONS of storage space. Right off the entry is the kitchen to the left, the bathroom, my room and my teammates room on the right. As soon as I located my room I plopped by bags down and hit the bed, but not before noticing I had NO closets in my room, which to my surprise meant they were outside my room...made no sense. I checked out my roommates’ room and she had plenty of closet space and room for that matter. Naturally a small bit of jealousy set it but I figured I was the American, the foreigner and I arrived second so that's what happens. On the ride up my coach had inquired if I would be joining evening practice that day, around the time I settled in and the team manager arrived it was 4 a.m. Eastern time, there was no way I would be able to function at a full practice. 
 
After my nap I was able to unpack the three bags of mine that were bursting at the seams. Naturally I over packed, I've always been one to bring too much. Eight months is a LONG time to be missing my favorite socks or something! During this time my teammate arrived, all six feet six Dutch inches of her. She's 22, which was nice to hear given the others girls baby ages. I am the second oldest on the team...imagine my excitement. She is a very nice girl, comes from a family of four girls including her and loves volleyball. We conversed for a little then took our respective spots, hers on the couch watching "How I Met Your Mother” and mine in my room FaceTiming everyone back home. A long day of travel called for some rest so I decided to hit the hay around midnight to catch some zzzz's.
 


4 A.M. Hello Sunshine. I seemed to have made the amateur mistake of leaving my blinds open knowing the sheet I exchanged to make a "longer curtain" didn't cover the bottom five inches of my window. That same five inches welcomed the sun at 4 a.m. Needless to say my wakeup call was very early for my first practice at 8 a.m. I proceed to toss and turn for a few hours, sleep was finally achieved about 30-mintues before my alarm was set to go off. We left for practice at 7:25; it was a 20-minute drive to our gym in the neighboring city of Tampere. My first practice wasn't too bad, just what I needed to get back in the groove of things. The girls welcomed me with hugs and smiles; it was nice to see all of them again. Practice only lasted an hour and a half, during which we did a cooperative ball control and blocking warm-up, various serve receive drills, offense versus defense, and ended with a core workout. After practice we went to pick up SIM cards for our phones to open communication in Finland. Of course I had heard my phone didn't need to be "fixed" before heading overseas but I should have double-checked, my SIM card currently does not work and I may have to get a cheap phone. My roommate, Nicole, and I grabbed lunch at the restaurant I had mentioned in my earlier blogs before heading out for our team bonding on the lake. At 1:25 we left for the lake, a 30-minute drive to another place in the middle of nowhere. I have come to conclusion that that's simply what Finland is: lakes, trees, and a whole lot of wondering where you are. We were greeted by a very hospitable Finnish couple that handed out refreshments to toast the day, alcohol free of course, and instructed us on the proper way to enter and exit the canoe as well as rowing technique. After everyone had entered safely and no water was detected in the boats we paddled out for what felt like 30 minutes to a cute island that had shelter, a fire pit and a makeshift bathroom. The couple began making dinner ON THE ISLAND as the girls and myself explored. Canoeing had worked up an appetite for everyone so once dinner was announced we all eagerly waited in line to be served our first helping of a Finnish favorite: Fish soup. If you read my blog you will notice earlier pictures of the soup from lunch one day and as expected, nothing beats the homemade version. Three cups of soup, a shared slice of homemade blueberry pie and raspberry cake, a problem-solving game, a dip in the lake AND a Finnish hot dog that was forced upon all of us later (a.k.a. three hours), we packed up the island and headed back to our starting point. The way back was a lot faster, as it always it, but Nicole and I were tired and full so we fell behind just like we had on the way there. Once back at the dock, everyone made sure to get out carefully...except my coach. He made a heroic move to get off the canoe on land versus the dock, which gave him and his partner, our guide, an unexpected dip in the lake. Naturally I burst into laughter, completely American of me to laugh at someone else's misery. Oh well, haha. Thank-you’s and goodbyes were exchanged and everyone parted their ways for the weekend. 
 
My first weekend in Kangasala was extremely uneventful, just as I planned. Saturday's call for a 60-90 minute cardio workout, which I saw as an opportunity to explore the new town. I took off in the direction of the hotel-house I had stayed in a month ago and pushed past the familiar area. Kangasala is really beautiful, even under rainy gray skies. I'm excited to see what winter LOOKS like, probably like a snow-globe but I'm sure it will feel like a meat locker. Saturday was also deemed media day. Our club set up a table at the busiest grocery store in Kangasala. Nicole and I handed out our playing schedule and greeted customers/potential and current fans. After three hours of standing we both crashed on the couch, made dinner, watched our shows and had a very relaxing Saturday night. 

Today, Sunday, has been the quintessential, boring pro-life day I've heard many of my friends describe. Today consisted of grocery shopping (I have successfully mastered buying loose fruits and veggies, personal victory), FaceTiming U.S. friends stumbling home in the wee hours of the morning, watching my new show obsession: Orange is the New Black, and cooking dinner from yesterday lemon chicken left overs. I also started looking into possible travel destinations for Christmas and post-season. I want to take full advantage of this opportunity and see as much as I can while I have the opportunity. Although it was a slow day it was great preparation for my first week at practice. I'm hoping I can get on a more regular sleeping schedule this week. Waking up at 4 a.m. on Thursday, 11 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. today feels unusual but I think it will get better.

No practice until 5 pm tomorrow so the morning will probably be slow, I plan on waking up and doing a light workout but we'll see if my body has the same thing in mind. 

Until next time....