I've been in Dresden for almost a month now, and it's almost starting to feel like it might maybe possibly one day feel like home!
Volleyball started almost immediately after arrival, which has been exciting and exhausting at the same time. I haven't experienced a rigorous schedule like this since double days at Santa Clara, so I definitely went through a period of adjustment during which I had to get used to 4-6 hours of training per day! But now it seems normal, and it's great to be back in team training mode. While off-season is always wonderfully relaxing, there's nothing like the feeling of getting back in the gym and actually playing volleyball again.
With all those hours spent in the gym, I'm feeling lucking that I have a nice group of teammates and trainers to spend my time with! There are 12 girls on the team, 9 German girls and 3 Americans (including myself!). I'm sure I'll introduce everyone in time, but for now I'll stick to my fellow yankees: Tesha is a middle blocker from New York who has been playing in Germany for 6 years, of which 2 have been in Dresden. Dani is an outside hitter from Nebraska who spent a couple seasons playing in Indonesia while bouncing back to the States to coach, and who also played in Dresden last year. Though I had never met them, the fact that two girls had chosen to play here for multiple years was a big part of my decision to come to Dresden, and I'm thankful that they're both here!
We have several girls who grew up in and around Dresden, so they've been playing for DSC (Dresdner Sport Club) for their whole careers, which is pretty awesome. It's great to be surrounded by girls who know Dresden as home, because they can help me with all the little things that can be confusing when moving to a new place.. Best cheap restaurants? Best grocery store? Best cellphone plans? Best parking lots where the man will give you a discount because you're a volleyballer? Just ask in the locker room and the team will come up with an answer!
Besides my time spent playing volleyball, I have gotten to do some pretty interesting stuff here already! On my first day, Alex (coach) brought me to my car, a stick-shift Ford Fiesta (super cute, I love it!) so I had no choice but to learn how to drive it! Anyway, cold-sweats while driving with a stick for the first time: CHECK.
During my second week in town we had our team photoshoot, which was several hours of primping and posing in our uniforms. The following week we had our calendar shoot, which was an intense process of make-up, hair and styling like I have never experienced before. It was a long night... we didn't finish my shoot until 3AM (!!!!) but it was just one of the many things the club does to help get exposure for the team and keep people interested! Photoshoots: CHECK.
The following weekend I had an entirely unexpected (but entirely welcome!) visit from Marco, who came to town from Friday night until Monday morning. We spent the weekend exploring Dresden, from the inner old city, to the new city, to the famous blue bridge (the "Blaues Wunder"), to the city's largest park (the "Grosse Garten"). It was great to show him around my new neighborhood, and a wonderful weekend surprise. Unexpected but entirely welcome visitors: CHECK.
Other than that, I spend most of my off-time with the girls, relaxing between practices or on off-days. Dani, Tesha and I had one day of adventure that brought us to NY Bagel Bar, Starbucks, and then Chemnitz (a neighboring city)....
...and yesterday several of us got together for a picnic next to the Elbe (the river that runs through Dresden), so we do find things to entertain us! Adventures and sunshine: CHECK CHECK.
Tomorrow we practice in the morning before leaving for Wroclaw, Poland, where we'll be playing in our first preseason tournament. We're dealing with some injuries right now, so our roster is a little thin, but hopefully we'll be able to make the most of it!
Hope all is well wherever you are, and as always, I'd love to hear from you! (acmaylo@gmail.com)
xoxox
anna
ps: Cobblestone streets are so cute right? yeah, I thought so too.. But until you live on a cobblestone street, you don't realize that those cobblestones are actually made to amplify the sound of any wheeled machine rolling over them.. seriously, they make a 2-door hatchback sound like an 18-wheeler! Anyway, it was worth capturing...
