The Last Hoorah

Five days until our season officially starts. It's crazy to think I've already been in Finland for almost two months. Initially I felt as though the time would pass slowly, giving me plenty of time to develop sever homesickness and contemplate returning to the states early but this sense of freedom, of entire disconnect from everything I know has actually had the opposite effect. Aside from missing dear friends, family, and my inner fat kid eateries, I have actually extended my stay in Europe by a month. There's so much of the world to see and I intend to see as much as I can while I'm already here.

Since my last post nothing ground breaking has occurred, same schedule and weekend boredom. Although I do spend a lot of time in my apartment and experience some cabin fever, it's nice to wake up on the weekends knowing I truly have NOTHING to do. No practice, no cardio, whatever I want. Last weekend we played at the Ideapark, a giant mall in Finland. As a foreigner it was nice to get out and work with the young talent of Finland and see the fans. Seeing how we were playing in a mall, no full blown game took place, rather a tip game with four players and half the court versus a team in our league; OrPo. We also had a tip game against our men's team, so funny to see them react to the difference of the net and play against a girl’s game. For those who don't watch much volleyball besides when we're half naked in the sand, men and women's volleyball is very different. The men's game is played off of physical prowess, high jump and hard hitting. Women's volleyball focuses more on technical skill and the mental parts of the game. After our mall play day we had the rest of the weekend off, of course I spent mine FaceTiming, movie watching and baking. This weekends treat: Quinoa Bluebery Banana Muffins.

After my graduation to the heavy weights group I've started to somewhat dread Mondays. There's nothing exciting about doing snatches at 5:30 pm, however; my previous failure to hang clean 65 kilo served as my source motivation give it the middle finger this week. Monday lifts are always the same, 5 sets of 5 snatches; hang cleans, and jerks; adding one or two extra sets of cleans with heavier weights. Snatches and the required amount of snatches went well and then the big guns were brought out: 65 kilos or roughly 143 lbs. I was more determined than nervous approaching the bar but to my surprised, I crushed it! Maybe it was due to the fact I hadn't played 17 sets prior to my first attempt or I was mentally focused on the task but the sense of accomplishment I felt once I put the bar down took me back to my college testing days. Needless to say the rest of the workout I was on high. 

Tuesday we only had morning practice, our coach had to go to a league conference in Helsinki. Random Occurrence: some man at the conference asked him about MY DAD. Apparently he's a big NFL fan? Talk about the world being SMALL. Can't run from that man nowhere lol. Anywho, morning practice consisted of myself, my roommate, another outside hitter, and our fiery assistant coach. With only three of us at practice we got a lot of reps and one-on-one coaching that I appreciated. After a good practice, quick shower and grabbing some lunch, my teammate, Hanna, and I headed out for our day in Helsinki! Ever since my 80 billion hour bike tour in July I have fallen head over heels in love with the city. Every time I'm in Helsinki I seem to be traveling somewhere else, so it was nice to finally have time to enjoy the city and the city alone. After taking a detour to the airport for STARBUCKS, the only one in Helsinki, we made our way to the city center to spend some dollas. European fashion is very neutral, practical and slim fitting aka just what you would find in my closet. The four-story malls, countless winter coats and thick circle scarves mesmerized me. If I could live in a season fashion forever it would certainly be fall, I love everything about it. Our day off also meant foodie cheat day, my teammate made sure to take me to her favorite wing spot, Henry's Pub, and share Finland’s most delicious treat: Arnold's donuts. If Dunkin Donut and Krispy Crème had a baby, it would be Arnold's. Seriously AMAZING and for €3 it better be. Around 9 pm we headed back to Kangasala, shopped out and ready for some sleep. I was very glad to get out of my apartment for the day and enjoy the city on the sea before it would be so cold my eyelashes would freeze....but seriously my teammates said this happens all the time I'm the winter....it gets THAT cold. 

 My teammate/ride or die chick Hanna enjoying her FIRST Starbuck frappucino! 

Arnolds. True love.

The rest of the week was slow, seemed like we only had evening practice. Oh! I did get a bike! It's a restore traditional beach cruiser, no gears or hand breaks. Thursday morning as my cardio I took a nice ride in the sun. Practice Thursday and Friday was slow, lots of rotation work resulting in tired legs. Thankfully Saturday was our last pre-season scrimmage. The scrimmage versus HPK went...ok even though we lost. We made too many errors and didn't win long rallies. Once everyone is back in their preferred positions I think we will start to see more confidence on the court and all the gears will start turning smoothly. I've also started jump topspin serving. I think it's a better serve for me but I don't have much game experience with it so I'm a bit hesitant to attack the ball as I should, it's a work in progress. This past weekend was our last true free weekend before season starts so I headed to Helsinki for a final turn up with some new friends.

-------

The rest of my weekend was fun. Once I arrived in Helsinki I walked around a bit to test my memory of the city, I'm getting pretty good at navigating the winding streets and maze-like forums (malls). My friend picked me up at the train station and we headed to his house to grab some food and start the night! Two Minnitu shots (probably the best shot I've ever had), some Jaffa mixed drinks, and a conversation about potential business ventures later, my friend called his personal taxi and we headed out to Helsinki. The club we went to was really cool. It had an underground entrance with poker in the back. For some reason it reminded me of The Great Gatsby. Anyone that knows me knows I love music and I love to dance, preferably alone, and the club gave me both of those things. We danced the night away; left the club and headed home to get some much needed rest. The following morning and really the entire day we laid around. Ordered some pizza, hit the sauna and watched Hotel Impossible aka the epitome of a Sunday after a night at the club. Around 8:30 we headed back into Helsinki towards the train station so I could start my voyage home. The railway system in Finland, and I'm sure the rest of Europe, is pretty awesome. It's really unfortunate the U.S. couldn't keep it going and modernized, I think it would have been a HIT especially now with everyone seeming to have that travel bug.

GAME WEEK!

This week marks the final preparation before season starts. We haven't had our entire team at a week of practice in about a month due to illness and small injuries; hopefully we'll have everyone this week. The times we did have everyone in their best position we were unstoppable, which is a good sign for the rest of the season. Our first match is against the top team of our league and the only team we've lost to, for those who are new to my blog, Salo. As of now I believe we will still be missing our starting middle but our right side that has been moved to middle for the past few weeks has been playing well. Going into game week I always try to focus on specific aspects of my game to sharpen. This week: consistent jump serve, effective back-row attacking with low error. The novelty to jump serving presents kinks in its consistency but right now I'm just going to focus on keeping it fluid then increasing power each week.

EuroObservation: Perhaps I was inattentive to this in the U.S. but a sense of spatial awareness doesn't seem to exist in Finland. Maybe it's because people don't have personal bubbles or are use to bumping into each other but I've noticed Fin's move around without any regard to anyone else. Whether waiting in line or moving through a doorway, there's not consideration of the person in front or behind them. Either way this observation is something I immediately noticed because I'm all about my bubble and taking other peoples actions into my counter moves...living life countermove to countermove. Haha

Hope everyone has a good week!

...Live you passion :: Love on purpose...