Poland Bound

So, we have successfully sight see(saw) in Barcelona.......we hopped off the subway to see Sagrada Familia........ and have made our way to Stare Jablonki, Poland. Never in my life did I think I would make it to Poland, but again, volleyball comes through and sends me to a foreign farm country. We woke this morning at 4:00am and left by shuttle at 4:15am. Sat in the Barcelona airport for 2 hours, drank our shot of coffee, had our last chocolate croissant in Spain, then headed out. After a 1.5 hr flight, layover in Zurich, and another 1.5 hour flight, we landed in Warsaw. The FIVB shuttle was waiting for us. Along with Mexico, Angola, Japan, and Australia, we hopped in the 15 passenger van and began the 3 hour journey to STARE JABLONKI. It was a cramped space, 12 athletes, a couple coaches, and tons of luggage. I guess it comes with the territory. We drove about 1.5 hours, I slept, snacked some, and we arrived at the Polish KFC (not really) the driver was hungry so he picked KFC. Some lady was selling strawberries in the parking lot, so we bought. Literally, we arrived 12 hours later. We are at Hotel Sanjimino, just ate dinner, and keeping all my favorite people updated. This town is really like a fairy tale land. Not much going on. well, we are going ot find massage and facials tomorrow. I think we deserve it! Love you all and thank you for your prayers and support.

Barcelona Day 3

So we played Germany this morning and were unlucky. I am beat! The sand is deep and we played 12 games. At the sight there is a museum and behind that the Stadium from the '92 Olympics. Heidi and I took a walk and found some great foto opps.

Barcelona Day 2

Good morning from my end. It is 7:58 am, Heidi and I just ate a spanish breaky and getting ready to play Pohl/Rau of Germany. Yesterday we faced Germany #1, and won! Then we faced Brazil (Salgado/Salgado) and lost. IT was an ugly match. So, today we looked to pull another a huge upset. It is definitely in our capacity. We are feeling good and ready to play! This pic is the view from the main court in Barcelona.

Barcelona

After a few long flights we arrived in Barcelona, Spain. We have already stayed in 2 hostels, very tiny rooms and now have managed to perch ourselves at the Main Draw 4 Star hotel. Which means we qualified yesterday by beating Australia and Canada to get in. It was not an easy day by any means. But, we managed to play together and keep our composure. Our first match today is at 11am vs. Germany!

Other Pics from Osaka

Osaka Results

So Osaka was good to us. Wr qualified and won 2 matches in the Main Draw to finish at 13th. We faced Japan and Spain in the Qualifier and China 1, Finland, and Austria in the Main Draw. We lost to China, but ended up beating Finland in 2 sets and Austria in 3 sets. WE are playing well. The best part about the week was that we had played Finland and Austria in the past. Finland we beat in Gstaad last summer and Austria we lost to in Norway, so we had something to prove.

Monday in Osaka

We have been in Osaka for 2 days...Day 1 was a whirlwind...mostly a travel day! That is Picture 1.
Picture 2 is the size of the doors here. Chad and I are giants!
Day 2 was great. Weather was nice, we practiced at the tournament site-took the subway a total of 1 minute-Pic 3, explored the city baseball team-the Hinshan Tigers (baseball is HUGE here!), walked through the mall, and ate some great food. Today, we woke, ate McD for breaky and practiced-Pic 4 is the 3 of us at the tourney site.........other than that it's the Office or reading a book. I bought 2 more episodes of 24 so we can at least finish season 1. It is really difficult to stop watching once you start. I have never been into a show this much, I guess it is just a good way to pass the time! Well, going to bed soon, qualification draw is tomorrow....I will let you know all know who we play.

Made it to Osaka

We have actually made it to Osaka. Took a very long time...bus, plane, train, walk. We are staying at the Hotel Keihan Tenmabashi. Everything in Osaka is very small...the cars, the doorways, the roadways, the people. It is definitely a different culture here. We tried to find some good Japanese food for lunch, but ended up at a bakery getting pizza and pastries. Well, tomorrow, we plan to try and catch a baseball game at the Koshien Stadium. Well, off to take a walk and get out of the tiniest hotel room in the world. These are a few more pics from Korea.......

Seoul Seeing

Yesterday we played Brazil, then Germany. We played very well, but lost both. Tough to play some of these top seeded teams, but promising to know we are giving them trouble. Today is recovery day for our bodies......So once we woke, we ate, grabbed a Starbucks and headed to the courts to watch some matches. There was so much going on in Seoul. Many field trips and kids days. After all, we are staying at the Olympic Parktel which housed many athletes for the Seoul, Olympics in '88. Here are some pics from the day!

I'll explain later!

Ok, this cute little dress that Carol gave me and these size 12 men's shoes. One night in Manila, we wanted to go out dancing. In order to keep my load light I packed a pair of tennis shoes and 2 pairs of slippers. When we arrived at the dance club, Heidi and I had slippers on. As soon as we jumped out of the car, the bouncers, said "No, they cannot wear those into the club". immediately Heidi called her local friend Corky and told him the news......he said, "ill search my wife's closet for something you two can wear" he arrived at the dance club ten minutes later with a grin. He said, well, she had nothing that would fit you, so I brought you 2 some of my shoes........so, we wore Corky's dress shoes into the club. It was hilarious!

Seoul, Korea

We did it! Well, if you see the scores of the first match in our Korea event it looks like we shut em out...but Norway, our first match forfeit due to injury. Then we faced Japan for the 3rd time in 2 years. It was certainly our turn. We played well and controlled every point. BUy, did it feel good. Now, we sleep and get ready for Brazil in our first round tomorrow. Just to recap last year Korea....we played Japan in the qualifier and lost in 2 games. Immediately we jumped on our computer bought a ticket home and got out of Seoul. Thank goodness this year is different. Let you know how we do tomorrow.
G'NIte!

Made it to Korea, Pics from Manila

We arrived in Korea this morning at 6am and had to kill 8 hours before check-in! So we stepped off plane, took about 30 minutes through customs and took an hour bus ride to get to hotel. Just gonna sit in the hotel today and sleep and eat and CHILLIN! Here are some pics I tried to post in Manila, but the internet was really SLOW!

Another Day in Paradise (Manila)

So, its Thursday, our day off! We slept in til 630am....only because we were woken for breakfast. I cant say the service here isnt great! OUr laundry done for us, massages in the house, every meal cooked and room cleaned for us. It is nice. We continued watching 24 last night and will hopefully finish Season 1 before we leave here. We are off to Korea on Sunday morning and until then, shopping, movies, blogging and just soaking up the culture. To all of you that read this blog, thanks for keeping up with me. I sometimes forget about all those people out there supporting Heidi and I. So, just know how grateful I am of you.

Reflection in Manila

So, we have been in Manila since Friday. Enduring the hottest days ever. We are practicing daily, which is great, dripping pounds of sweat and eating some interesting foods. It is great here. We stay at Tony's family's compound and have the luxury or being driven places and shopping at Green Hills. Right now Heidi is chatting with Steve, Chad is sleeping and I am just enjoying a little time to reflect. I have been "skyping" with Ryan a lot.....It s hard to be away from the people you love for so long and be 15 hours time difference from them. Ryan just finished his last baseball game of the season. Thank goodness. He also found out a close friend's dad passed away Sunday morning. I know his friend Andy, and Ryan was very close with the family. We have been talking about it a lot and it makes you really think about how powerful God is. Well, I know it has made me think of how strong Andy and his family have become through this. As well, how badly we all wish it does not happen to us. It is hard to understand. The only thing I can gather form this is how powerful our Lord is and He decides when it is time for us to go. When you are removed from a situation it can be hard to feel for them, but just knowing Andy's family makes it easy to believe his dad is at peace and so is the family. To all my family and friends that read this, just know that as I am FAR away, I miss you all and love you dearly and pray for you as often as I can. PS. Dont forget Mother's Day on Sunday! Bye for now!~

Down Time

We are sitting in the Shanghai airport at 12:30 am waiting for our delayed flight on CebuPacific. We are not sure when it is coming or how long the flight is. All we know for sure is that we are tired. WE usually do not stay awake past 930pm and we get up about 6 am every day, so we are being stretched right now. Oh well. All in all, my experience with China has been pleasant, except for the loss against Netherlands. Weather was good, hotel was good, food was OKay, and shopping was great.