Hello Family and Friends!
I'm writing this in my neighborhood Starbucks, where a Caramel Frappuccino tastes EXACTLY THE SAME as at home.. Ahhh the small American comforts :)
I can't believe that January and February flew by so quickly, but I'm excited to report that the signs of spring in Dresden are no longer just a figment of my imagination.. Today was so sunny and almost downright warm enough for us to sit outside while sipping our Starby's treats! I think Mother Nature knew that if she didn't chill out with the winter wonderland-ness, I might have either: a) gone into real serious hibernation; or b) gone entirely bat-crazy. Either way, thanks Mama Nature!
The end of January saw an important birthday for Tesha, my awesome teammate who celebrated the 10 year anniversary of her 20th birthday! We stretched it out over the course of a couple days (possibly a couple weeks), and it culminated in a fun bowling party at a local alley with the team and a night out with a couple guys from the local hockey team. Despite all the "grandma" jokes that more and more people make on a regular basis, T is a trooper and is embracing her new decade of life.
In early February I got a visit from Marco, and it worked out to where he got to watch a home game. It was great to have him around to see where I spend so much of my time (Margon Arena, our gym!), meet a couple of my friends in the VIP room after the game, and enjoy some sunny but cold February weather.
On Valentines Day we decided to dress up for a fancy schmancy Sushi night with our friend Markus, a hockey player. Sandra surprised us all in the morning with roses and cryptic invitations left at our places in the locker room that morning, and in the evening Markus surprised us also with roses. As always at the "Sushi and Wine" buffet, the food was delicious, as was the company, and it was a great Valentine's Day!
From the 16th-21st of February I had a visitor in the shape of an old high-school friend.. Koryn! We met in the spring of 2000, while we were both at the Vintage High campus to take our placement tests for English and Math classes. We were both the tallest girls around at the time, and a mutual friend introduced us by proclaiming that I didn't like Koryn because she was so tall, and vice versa. Ahh Kristina Weber, thanks for that! Anyway, sounds like high-school, right? In the end Koryn and I became friends, and besides being the tall chicks in school, we found out that my birthday falls on her half-birthday, that we both love rice with ranch dressing on top, and we would later both commit to spending 10+ hrs/week driving to volleyball tournaments together with Empire Volleyball Club. That is a good equation for a long-time friendship!
Anyway, when we met up last summer for dinner in San Francisco, she had mentioned a possibility of coming to visit sometime this year, but so many people say that that I hardly take it seriously anymore! However, I got an email in October or November asking for details, and whadya know, a couple months later I was spending almost a week hanging out with her in Germany!
I must say that I was struggling with my hostess skills because my days were interrupted with training, physio appointments and the like, but Koryn was a pretty easy guest. We spent a couple days exploring Dresden, during which she met a good portion of my friends here. On the last day of her visit, a Sunday which we had free from training, we drove to Berlin with our setter Mareen as well as her boyfriend, and spent the day sightseeing. We were able to meet up with another old friend Lizelle (she, Crystal and I were partners in crime in Rome 2 years ago), who was visiting for the weekend from her volley-home in Switzerland.
The funniest small-world moment came that evening, when we squeezed in a quick coffee (seriously, quick=15 minutes, and actually mine was green tea) with Jazmin, who is headed home from Berlin this week to spend several months in the states. So first it was me and Jazmin, who met on the first day of 7th grade while on the bus from Vintage to Silverado Middle School. Total opposites but bffs for life. Next was Koryn, who, along with Jazmin, was one of my best friends throughout high-school. Finally was Lizelle, who is one of the funniest girls I know, and who I manage to rendez-vous with in all corners of the world. My mind was exploding as I thought about all of us sitting at a table at a tiny coffee shop in Berlin called "Hotel" (what kind of name is that? I dunno).
Koryn's trip was over quickly, but it was great to share my life here with her, and I'm glad I got to give her her first taste of Europe!
On the volleyball side of my life, we're doing pretty OK. We lost a close game in Suhl in late-February, which was a major bummer, but also a good reminder that we have to keep working towards our goal of winning the championship in May. We're struggling with a couple key players being sick/injured, but we're kind of at that point in the season where our bodies are getting worn down.. I also have the feeling that we're having to work harder to get the same results, which is frustrating, but thankfully Alex gave us this week essentially free from ball-training to give those of us who are pretty healthy a better chance of staying healthy, and those who are sick/injured a chance to take some steps toward recovery...
As a complete and total surprise, Alex gave me the thumbs-up to fly to Klagenfurt this weekend, where I will have a chance to spend some time with Marco as well as with Sophie, my long lost Austrian-sister :) I'm hoping I'll have more pictures from this trip than I have from the last 2 months, the winter made me lazy!
Hope all is well, and sending love from Germany!
xoxo
Anna
