Trophy Time! (Saturday, Sept 25)

With the 4 teams in the tournament, the final game came down to us and the home team, which I do actually know are called the Košice “Good Angels”. We had both gone 2-0 in our first games so this was an unceremonious championship game. To preface the game, let me set the mood. I mean it when I say this was the home team. On the drive to the gym there were at least 3 billboards with the team or players on them. On the outside of the gym are huge murals of 5 of the star players. In the gym itself one whole wall is covered with banners that have pictures of the team post- league championship wins- holding trophies and flowers with nets around their necks. They apparently have won their league for the past 6 years in a row (at least). And if the team marketing wasn’t intimidating enough, the girls women, on the team were. They were on the court before or after us each shootaround and each game, so we had run into them often and watched them play a little. They seemed bigger, faster, stronger, you name it. Each one looked like a seasoned vet and they all had a tough, Eastern European look about them- with dark eye make-up and either slicked back hair in a pony or a very unlady-like Ellen DeGeneres haircut. They all had matching new shoes and nice warm ups while we are more of a rag-tag team of varying attire. Their crowd is rowdy and there was even a section of guys with big drums that they banged at the opponents for most of the game. So got the picture? Intimidating.

However no one on our team seem fazed. From the start we simply played our game. With luck, we were up by 12 after the 1^st quarter and up by maybe 8 at half. We were playing well, offensively and defensively but knew that they would come out with vengeance in the second half. And boy did they ever. There were times that they made us look plain silly. For one stretch it seemed like they were doing full court lay-up lines on us, scoring at will. They had the lead for awhile, I think getting it up to as much as 6. But remember, I said my team was good. I still don’t remember exactly how, but we fought back. We had some good shots fall and got big stops and rebounds when we needed to. And when that final buzzer went off, we had squeaked away with a 3 point win! And of course in Lithuanian laid-back fashion, there was no big dog pile or chest bumps but rather just simple smiles and high fives. But that was enough for me. The great team win was enough.  And for icing on the cake, we even got a nice sized, FIRST PLACE, trophy along with it. Although I loved my time at SLU more than anything, it has been awhile since getting a 1^st place trophy so the feeling was pretty awesome. I think our coach summed it up best after the game when he said (in broken English), pointing to his chest, that we proved today that your heart is the most important muscle in basketball. (Man, I knew I liked this guy…). GO VICI!!

Us with our first place trophy!!

 (And if you can't tell, it seems that Europeans aren't big on open-mouthed smiles. So yes, it looks like I'm cheesin extra hard! :) )

FOUL TROUBLE (Friday, Sept 24)

Our second game went just as well for our team. We were shooting the ball lights out and had a commanding lead the whole time. I’m tellin you, my teammates are GOOD. We also played better team defense this game so it was overall an improvement for us and another step in our team’s growth process. However for me personally, this game could be summed up in 2 words- Foul Trouble. For most of you, this is no surprise. Let’s just say that Dad and Uncle Arvid would not have been happy. Ever since my days of playing YMCA ball in second grade, I’ve been a fouler. And ever since then, Dad and Uncle Arvid have let me know about it. No matter what an outcome of the game, whenever I’d talk to them afterwards they would be dissecting every foul of mine, asking what the heck I was thinking. I bet they could tell you how many fouls I had against Wolf Branch in 6^th grade, how many times I fouled out against Althoff in high school and each and every stupid foul I had in college. They know it, and I know it- I’m a fouler. It’s not that I try to foul obviously. In my defense, I believe my size and position starts me off with 2 fouls every game.  Since I’m not the quickest or most athletic player, I rely a lot on my strength and this sometimes gets me into trouble- especially here where I’m not used to the way they call the games yet. Some of the calls this game were bogus, no doubt. I’d get held and pushed around like crazy and then when I’d make a move to get free I got the foul. So personally, the game was not pretty for me since I fouled out early in the 4^th quarter. (It’s never a good game when you have more fouls than you do points...oops). But even with the foul trouble, I was still somewhat encouraged after this game because I still felt like I at least played my way. Now I just have to try and do it without fouling… :/

[Disclaimer: Although Dad and Uncle Arvid are critical of my fouling habits they are also 2 of my biggest fans and supporters! Just not supportive of my fouls. J]

Groovin... (Thursday, Sept 23)

This tournament we were in was just kind of like a round robin, with us playing each team once. At SLU, before we had any game we had a detailed scouting report on the team, knew all their plays, all their tendencies, basically we knew what they were going to eat for breakfast that day. But here, I couldn’t even tell you the name of most teams that we played. Chalk it up to another difference. I’m sure that when we get in our actual season it will be different, but for this tournament all I knew is that all the other teams were from Slovakia.

The first game we played on Thursday was against a younger, smaller team and we beat them pretty handily. This was good as we were all a little skeptical of how the previous day’s terrible travel would affect us. But no worries, we did great. This was also probably the best that I’ve played here. Not just because of stats, but because I felt like my old self. Now that I know the plays and our defense a little better I don’t have to concentrate on thinking as much and I can just play. Especially after feeling like I played so poorly in our last games, it was nice to feel good after this game. I still have a ways to go with adjustments and a lot to improve on, but basically this game could be called How Amanda Got Her Groove Back (I just did it in the gym, not on a beach with Taye Diggs…).

19 Hours. On a bus. That was stick shift. (Wednesday, Sept 22)

I have to admit, I was spoiled in college as far as our travel is concerned. We were fortunate enough to fly most places, with only a few bus rides here and there, I think the longest being 6 hours. But in no way do I mind riding a bus or feel above it. However this bus trip to Slovakia was a different story.

The day started out early, with me waking up at 5 am (to get in some quick last minute internet  time, not knowing if it’d be reliable at the hotel). I’m not gonna lie, I haven’t been up that early in a LONG time. And I was completely alright with that... It’s crazy to think that I used to get up that early every day in the summer for workouts and even crazier to think I made it through when we had 5 am practices last fall at SLU. It makes me sick thinking about it now! Ha. But regardless, Migle was there at 5:30 to pick me up and after picking up two more of the girls we meet everyone at the bus. It was nice because we all had our own full rows to stretch out on and the ride started out good. However it didn’t take long for me to realize that this big charter bus was in fact a stick shift (and a VOL-VO) and was also taking every back road possible. So what does that mean? Lots of bumps and coming to a sudden halt, which also means lots of me almost flying down onto the floor. After awhile though I got used to it and settled in, watching the Sex and the City movie on my computer (which made me miss Liv!) and jamming out to my ipod.

Another different thing about this bus was that there was no bathroom on it. This was good because I was sitting in the back so I didn’t have to worry about smells or people constantly climbing over my legs. However this also meant that we stopped at least every 2 hours for everyone to go to the bathroom. A little annoying but it was nice to get out and stretch all those times too.

I was originally told that this was about a 16 hour bus ride, but as the time ticked on and we started stopping at random gas stations more often, it was easy to tell that we were lost. After stopping in the middle of the road to flag someone down to help us we finally pulled into our hotel at 1 am, giving us a total trip time of 19 hours. Which makes that the absolute longest I’ve ever been on a bus or on a road trip in general for that matter. I can’t complain too much because we all just slept, listened to music or talked most of the time, and we did end up making it safely.

But this was also my first “big” trip that wasn’t for SLU so that was weird. Every time we got back on the bus after a rest stop I was ready to start counting off. And although we did have our own fun, no one taught us any school yard songs/rhymes like Ayrie. But if I had to pick one thing or person that I missed the most from this trip it was hands down James. As all my SLU family knows, when it comes to bus drivers, James is THE man. Over the years, he has been there to charter us on most of our east coast trips. He’s a cool older guy who knows how to whip a bus around smoothly like a Cadillac. And his affinity for Natasha Bedingfield music made the deal that much sweeter. No matter how long and hard our trips, we always had a great time getting on James’ bus, bumping to some Pocket Full of Sunshine (especially when Liv and JB did their choreographed dance! Lol). So although the trip was long, the thing that was the most disheartening was the absence of James, Natasha and all my girls in blue/gray/black sweat suits…

Meet the team!

It originally took me awhile to get everyone's names down, but now that I have (for the most part), I thought I'd give a little rundown of each girl, including how you say their name (or how I think it's said), what position they play and any other info so you can get to know my team that I'll surely be talking a lot about in all my posts.

• #5 Milda (Mill-duh): small guard, back-up point guard. Quick and very smart
• #7 Ausra (Ow-shra): 2 or 3. Smooth, quick guard. One of my favorite players to watch/play with. Reminds me of Theresa Lisch (er...Meacham :) ).
• #8 Indre (In-druh): taller 2 or 3. Fastest person on the team no doubt.
• #9 Rima (Rim-uh): small point guard, runs the team well, team captain. In her 30s, married with an 8 year old son. Probably speaks the best English on the team and acts as my translator a lot.
• #10 Aurime (Ar-rim-ay): 2 guard with a great shot. Unfortunately broke her hand in practice last week and is out for at least another week.
• #11 Giedre (Ged (like "get" with a "d")- ruh): post player. Simply put, a BEAST. Can make any move and finish strong. Awesome rebounder. Also good English speaker that helps me out a lot.
• #12 Vita (Vi-tuh, same name as Mociute but pronounced differently): post player. Also in 30s but can mix it up inside and out. Smart, experienced player. Also married with a kid.
• #13 Marina (Ma-rin-uh): 2-3 guard with the best 3 pt shot. All out ballerrr. Definitely the Lithuanian version of Katie Paganelli, in sooo many ways! Also, loves American music and TV shows which has helped a lot.
• #14 Kristina (Kris-tin-uh): 6'9" lanky lefty. Plays like Bryce Husack, but personality reminds me of Devonna Smith. Younger, but has lots of potential.
• #15 Lina (Lin-uh, just like Aunt Lina): Post player about my size (but skinnier). Tough defender and finishes well. Goofy and always having a good time which reminds me of Mallory Eggert.
  

Also, there's a girl from Canada, Courtnay, who is playing for the Canadian National Team in the World Championships right now but she should be getting here at the beginning of October. She just graduated from Vermont and from what I hear is a pretty good guard. Her grandparents are from Lithuania too, but also like me, she doesn't really speak the language. We've actually been talking pretty often on Skype and Facebook and it'll be nice when she gets here to have another full-time English speaker to go through all this stuff with (even if she says "eh" a lot and spells words funky...its color, not colour! :) )

Anyways, there ya go. That's the team, at least from my perspective for now. There are a lot of other personality traits that I'm sure will come out in future blog entries, but this is a start. And in a nutshell, all the girls are extremely nice and helpful to me and they are all pretty darn good basketball players. By far the most talented group I've ever been a part of, so I can't wait to see how we come together and play this season!

Interview...(Tuesday, Sept 21)

Today in practice a film crew came to record us. This I was used to, not a big deal. However, I was not expecting for them to ask me of all people for an interview. There are so many stars on our team that they could have asked, but I guess they wanted to investigate the whole "American player" angle. So I've added a link to the story. They have a majority of my interview written out, which you'll probably have to translate, and even then it sounds a little funny, but you'll get the idea. Most of the questions are about my relatives being from here and how I like it so far.

Now the video. First off, this will give you all a good idea of the type of language I hear and have to try and decipher every day. A little challenging. Ha. Besides that though, let me preface it with a few things:

1.) Yes, I missed a lay up at the beginning. Embarrassing, but it happens so get over it. Ha.
2.) Yes, they show me pulling a Shimmy Gray-Miller squeeze-the-life-outta-my-water-bottle water chug. Ha.
3.) Unfortuantely out of all the footage they took of my interview they decided to leave in the 30 seconds where I'm scratching my head, trying to think of the name of the town Mociute is from. Guess they're not big into editing...
4.) Yes, it's weird seeing myself subtitled.
5.) And finally, ignore the bad grammar. As my Lithuanian gets better here, my English seems to be getting worse! Ha.

But anyways, overall this is pretty cool to have to remember my first interview here and also pretty cool to share with everyone back home to give you all a little taste of my everyday life here. So enjoy!

http://www.basketnews.lt/news-32882-vici-aisciu-naujoke-is-sent-lujiso-mokosi-seneliu-kalbos-video.html

Cribs: Lithuania

First video blog!! I finally moved out of the hotel and into my own apartment. A few things are still missing as you'll see, and the internet connection is a little sketchy for now, but hopefully this will all get fixed soon and until then I'm just happy to have a place to actually call "home" here. So here's a little tour of my flat (which is cool Euro lingo for apartment). Sorry if it's a little Blair Witch-y but at least it gives ya an idea of my place.

[Ok and after posting this I was able to see the first screen of it which catches me in a horrible mid-sentence face. What's up with that?!? Can't figure out how to fix it so until I get better at this video blogging stuff, please excuse the embarrassment as I swallow my pride and post this for you guys anyways...]

LNTM- Lithuania’s Next Top Model (Monday, Sept 13)

Today was the team photo shoot. Stop right there- this was not, whatsoever, the typical head shot of each person. Nor was it doing a few poses for a billboard or magazine. This was an entirely different experience. I was told that it was going to be something fancy for the media guide where we would be dressed up and take individual pictures around Kaunas. Little did I know what I was getting into….

A girl who seems to be like our media relations person came and picked me up and we headed to the studio to get hair and make-up done. Yes, I felt a little like a celebrity being “in hair and make-up”. As the make-up girl was sizing me up, I was nervous, imagining her thinking, wow I’ve got a lot of work to do on this one. Ha. I have to say though that I owe my saving grace of confidence to my loving Brown family and their admiration of my cheek bones. Sitting in that chair, I knew that if I had nothing else going for me, I at least had those to work with! :) Also, while getting my make-up done, all I could think about was how I felt like I was a kid again, at a sleepover (STN!) with my cousins, stealing our aunts’ make-up to do make-overs. Of course I was always against it because I was such a tomboy, but I can now say thanks for prepping me for this Kate, Linz, Em, Court and Laur! :)

After about half an hour of make-up, with at least 20 minutes spent on just my eye shadow, I moved on to get my hair done. This turned out not to be just a simple prom-like up-do, but a full-on, model-style hairdo. This lady went to work, starting with crimping all my hair (who even owns a crimper anymore?!?!), and teasing, hair spraying and bobby-pinning like a bat outta hell. And although I’ve had some amazing teases in my life (Mattie (when I passed out) and Carrie for the wedding!), this lady was a master teaser. After getting all done up and catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror (Weird!), they dressed me in this big light blue wool poncho type thing and we set off for a little park area on Liberty Boulevard (the amazing tree-lined street). Another girl on the team, Rima, and I went at the same time but they were all individual shots. Let’s just say that I literally felt like I was on America’s Next Top Model. I was trying to pose, they were telling me where to look at and turn my head….it was crazy. I kept waiting for Tyra to jump out of somewhere and kept wishing that the photographer would have looked more like hunky Nigel Barker…sigh. And, I have to admit that while I was supposed to look serious I cracked up a few times, thinking about what everyone at home would be saying seeing me attempt to model. Ha. The whole thing only took maybe 10 minutes to shoot, but it was truly a day I’ll never forget. And now when people stare at me because I’m so tall and ask if I’m a model I can say yes! :)  (And yes, the usual questions after the stares are “Dang girl, you hoop?!”, but the model question comes up about 5% of the time.)

Firsts: Games and soup. (Fri-Sun, Sept 10-12)

Yes, I love blogging, but I have to admit I’m terrible at keeping up with it (if you couldn’t tell). So sorry to all of you loyal readers out there (aka mom and dad). Rather than trying to do each day that I missed I’m gonna fast forward a little now and then maybe go back and do a big recap entry later.

This past weekend we had our first games. They are just like exhibition/pre-season games and don’t really count but I was very anxious to play and see what a European game is actually like. It’s funny to think, but I realized on Thursday that I didn’t even know some of the basic rules such as when can you leave on a free throw- when the ball leaves their hand or touches the rim? Little things like that that seem simple but could be a potentially embarrassing mistake are what I was looking forward to figuring out.

We had a light practice Friday morning and then left right afterwards. A few girls drove themselves, but most of us road a bus (which was really just like a big van, similar in size to an airport shuttle) for our 2 hour trip to Druskininkai, Lithuania. We finally pulled up in this back alley and got out to find our “hotel” for the weekend. This was no Hilton, Holiday Inn or even Country Inn and Suites, but more of a bed and breakfast type place. For all of my basketball peeps, Coach Gray definitely would have pulled an “Andy f’n Landers wouldn’t stay here!!!” Hahaha. As we walked in and headed to our rooms, we all caught a glimpse of what one of the tiny rooms looked like, with an itty bitty bed and humble amenities. I’m not sure if it was the look on my face that gave away my feelings, but one of the girls said, “Don’t worry Amanda, we are scared too.” So that made me feel much better knowing that this type of hotel was not the norm. Ha.

After getting settled we walked to the gym (yes walked, about 10 minutes. Have to say this is the first time I’ve ever walked to a game. Weird.). The other 2 teams in the tournament were playing before us so it was good to watch a little bit and get an idea of what I’d be in for. Our first game was against a Polish (I think?!) team and after getting out to a big lead, we were in control for most of the game. We ended up winning by about 15 and I probably got to play about 15 minutes and did ok. Honestly, it was nice just to get the first game under my belt and nerves out of my system.

Once we got back to the hotel we ate and then two of the girls, Marina and Giedre (who both speak English pretty well), asked if I wanted to walk to the store with them to get some snacks. This turned out to be probably my favorite night since I’ve been here because the girls spoke English with me the whole time, asked all about me and filled me in on a lot of things about the team that I had obviously missed since I can never understand anyone. It sounds crazy, but this was definitely the kind of night I needed where I could just hang out with some teammates and feel normal.

The next day we played at 11 against the 3^rd best team in Russia (btw Russia is like the holy grail of Euro women’s basketball so this was a big deal). We stayed with them for most of the game but ended up losing by about 10. I got to play a little more and again, held my own for the most part. That night was the big Lithuania-USA men’s World Championship semifinal basketball game aka a HUGE deal. In fact our game was originally supposed to be in the evening, but they moved up all game times so we could see the men’s game. Most of our team and a few Lithuanian girls from the Russian team we had just played all watched the game together in like a lounge area at a nearby hotel. Some of you may have not even known that the World Championships were going on, but in Lithuania it is SUCH a big deal (all bball is a big deal here). So after a little trash talking, since I was obvi rooting for USA, the game started. This was definitely a different experience because everyone was so into the game- like cheering and high fiving literally each time Lith scored. I only clapped a few times and threw in a few fist pumps when big plays happened, but I definitely did not try to show up the Lithuanian cheering. I was happy that USA won obviously but actually felt a little bad because it meant so much to all of them. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that few people in the US even cared about the game…

Sunday was our last game and was against another Polish team. We got out to a hot start and kept it going for most of the game. I only got to play for about 5-7 minutes all in the second half this game which I gotta admit has not happened often to me. After doing ok in the first two games I of course started panicking when coach kept putting other girls in. It’s not that I was mad about it, I’m definitely a team player, but in this situation I kept worrying if I had done something wrong or was not playing up to coach’s expectations. This is even harder to gauge because I really get little, if any, feedback on anything I do (which is definitely against my nature- I’m for sure the type that needs to hear if I’m doing something right or wrong). So I guess all this thinking drove me even crazier because when I did get in I played absolutely terrible. It was tough to get into the flow of the game by that point and things did not go well. So the weekend ended on a down note for me personally, but I was glad that the team went 2-1 and that we were able to get some games under our belts.

(Also, I would like to note that one difference between Euro and American play is the physicality. Since I’m not the most agile or athletic player (gasp!), I tend to bank on using my strength but this did not go over well in these games. I got at least one foul per game that was basically just on account of roughness. And although my loyal fans that I’m used to having at all my games- parents, Kate, Mociute, the Weston’s and Uncle Arvid- weren’t there to tell me in person, I knew that it’d be the first thing they’d say after the game. So sorry guys, I’ll work on it for next time. :) )

Our final meal at the hotel before we left brought another big first for me- I finally tried Saltibarsciai. My family and all of Dad’s relatives know what a big deal this is! But before I go on I must supply a picture so you can fully grasp the weight of the situation.

Pepto Bismal right?? Wrong. Soup.

Saltibarsciai is a traditional Lithuanian cold beet soup that Mociute (my Dad’s mom) has always made every few months and sent home with my Dad ever since I can remember. It is a bright Pepto Bismal pink and although Dad always tried to get any of us to taste it, Mom, Kate and I never dared. But today was the day. I had asked the girls on the team about it at the previous nights’ dinner so they were all happy to see that I now had an opportunity to try it. Let me get this straight- I had asked them about it as a topic of conversation, I did NOT imply that I couldn’t wait to try it! But, with Mociute in mind, I picked up my spoon and dove in. I gotta say, it was not nearly as bad as I had always imagined and this was one Lithuanian experience I was happy to check off my list. I only took about 10 total bites and the girls laughed when I said I thought I had had enough for my first time. Ha.

We ventured back in our bus to Kaunas and I was happy to finally be “home” and get on the Internet to catch up with family, friends and American life since I couldn’t connect to the web in the Lithuanian B&B. With the rest of the day and Monday off, I enjoyed just resting, reading and reflecting on my first new basketball experience.

Harry Potter, Pizza Hut & Tim McGraw (Sunday, Sept 5)

Last night was by far the worst night of sleep here yet. Like I’ve said, I’m usually so tired at night that it’s easy to fall asleep but this night I woke up around 2 am and was wide awake, left alone to the thoughts of wanting to be home and spending the weekend with family... After tossing and turning I occupied my time and thoughts with some Harry Potter reading (I’m finally on #6 for those of you keeping track!) and after about 2 hours was finally able to fall back asleep. This long night though caused me to miss breakfast and not wake up until 1 pm! Oops. But it was nice and probably much-needed to sleep in. We have Sundays off so with a free day ahead of me, I was excited to finally have the chance to go out around the city and check out the sites. Migle had shown me where there was a huge mall and another busy touristy street right next to my hotel. So for the first time I put on nice clothes (a cute scarf of course :) ), straightened my hair and set off with my camera and US Dollar-Lithuanian Lita currency exchange rate chart. The mall was about a 2 block walk and with the perfect fall weather (no more hot US summer temps!) it was nice to get some fresh air. The mall, the Akropolis, is HUGE and reminds me of any big mall like in a big US city. There aren’t many, or any, chain stores like NY & Co or Forever 21, but all of the clothes stores looked cute and I am excited to go back and shop a little. Being my first time I was determined to just walk around the whole place and not do any hard core shopping. I did make some first Lithuanian purchases- a pair of Nike socks (for some reason when weeding things out packing I thought I’d only need 3 pairs of practice socks) and a headset with microphone so that it’s easier to hear me when Skyping. Going in these stores gave me another “first” experience with trying to deal with store workers who didn’t speak much, if any, English. After awhile, I started to just avoid any eye contact so that I wouldn’t have to go through the process of them asking me something along the lines of “can I help you find anything?” and me responding with a shrug and head shake. Although, as I learn more common Lithuanian phrases, I am determined to get better at this interaction.

Having woken up so late and missed breakfast I had planned to look for a food court to try out some new foods at the mall. However this plan ended when I was riding up the escalator and a big Pizza Hut sign raised up in front of me like a scene from a movie. Not gonna lie, my heart skipped a beat and I figured it was a sign that I was due for some American food. And yes I know, it’s technically from Italy, but pizza says “home” to me and after the night of homesickness it was so comforting to eat it that I really felt like I was having an Eat, Pray, Love “relationship with my pizza.” Ha. I sat and listened to my ipod and laughed at myself for being in Lithuania and at a Pizza Hut listening to Tim McGraw. I swear, this was a cultural cheat day for me and I will continue to experience different things as time goes on! On my way out of the mall I stopped in Maxima, the big department/grocery story. It was good to look around and see all they had although I got a little overwhelmed in the grocery area seeing all Lithuanian labels and figured I’d had enough of the mall for the day.

I walked back towards my apartment and decided to check out the tourist street that was about 100 yards in the other direction of my hotel. I had actually researched this area a little before coming here so I was happy to see that it was even prettier than what it looked like in pictures. It is an exclusively pedestrian street with a tree lined path in the middle and lots of shops, stores and restaurants along the outside. At the end nearest to where I entered the street is a huge, beautiful church, Šv. arkangelo Mykolo bažnyčia (St. Michael the Archangel Church) After heading that way and taking a few pics I set off in the other direction to see what was all on the street. I absolutely love tree-lined streets so that and the beautiful weather made it an awesome day. I walked about 2 miles down the street until it ends and becomes a normal street again. Needless to say, this is my favorite area I have found so far and definitely plan to return to it often.

I came back to the hotel and spent the rest of the night talking and Skyping with family and friends- a perfect way to end a great off day!

Akropolis mall

Šv. arkangelo Mykolo bažnyčia (St. Michael the Archangel Church). Absolutely beautiful!

Tree-lined streets = Heaven!

Thumbs Up (Saturday, Sept 4)

I woke up early and headed down to the hotel restaurant for their breakfast buffet. Unfortunately they didn’t have a Belgium waffle machine that I became custom too with travelling at SLU, but the food was good itself. I had a piece of toast, some sort of fried or poached egg, some little sausages and a potato pancake-type thing that tasted like the Lithuanian specialty kugeli. I was also relieved to find that the milk here tastes pretty normal.

After finishing up, Migle came to pick me up for our morning “weight training” session. I use quotations here because this is not the type of weight training I am used to. Let’s just say that this was definitely not a Coach Schork-type workout- No up-downs, no power lifting and no yelling :). After the strength coach rambled instructions in Lithuanian for about 2 minutes, the captain (who is usually the best about letting me know what’s going on) came over and told me what to do. This was definitely more of a fitness/toning type program and wasn’t too bad overall.

That night, my second practice was a little tougher than the first. Most of the things were similar, and again we progressed from drills, to play break downs, to going 5-on-5. I again felt like I held my own, but it was still usually hard to tell unless the girls clapped or gave me a high five or if the coach told me directly. The highlight probably came when I made a hook shot over our 6’9” center and coach said “Amanda” and then gave me a thumbs up- a sure fire way to know I was doing ok I guess. Practice ended with another pressure free throw situation (I barely rimmed out this time unfortunately) and I learned another similarity between US and Lithuanian teams- they too think it’s hilarious to have the trainer get involved! We all laughed and cheered when Migle came out and shot her two-handed push shot free throw. I couldn’t help but think of good ole Theresa Hummel and her glorious (2!) half court buzzer beater shots!

Vi-Ci!!! (Friday, Sept 3)

Justas had told me the day before that his wife who is the trainer of the team would be picking me up to take me to get my physical done. Enter Migle (pronounced like Mig-lay). She is a little bundle of energy (who I lovingly compare to Dawn Poe!! :) ) and the most helpful person I have met thus far in Lithuania. She speaks very good English and seems to love when Americans come to play for the team (they usually have about 1 or 2 a year). We drove to the Kaunas hospital where the sports medicine building is. We went into the sports med office and I was immediately ushered up to the bathroom where I had to give a urine sample and then taken down the hall where I gave a blood sample. The hospital was actually pretty crowded, with mostly old people which means that not many of them speak English. I kind of equate English speaking here to Spanish speaking in America. Most of my generation and those after in the US seem to know some sort of Spanish, but not many people older than me do. This seems the same as English here in Lithuania, where people my age and younger know English but older people do not. Therefore, most of the hospital workers did not speak it, which again made it nice that Migle was there to be my translator. After giving these samples of all my bodily fluids, I went back downstairs to the sports med room where the actual physical started. I got my blood pressure taken, asked the usual health questions, and rocked my eye test with flying colors as usual. I then had to ride the exercise bike for about 10 minutes and then get my blood pressure taken again. This all seemed to be going well, although let me tell you, I am not a fan of a doctor’s appointment of any sort where you have no idea what’s going on and the doctor keeps speaking in a different language to his other workers. But, like I said, all this seemed to be going well. And then we got to the knee strength test. As all my lovely sports med and PT people from SLU have already told me, my left knee is a little jacked up. I’ve always been able to play on it, but it creaks and pops when I walk and I’ve come to terms that when I have kids it won’t be an option for me to get in the squatting position to play with them. And although I explained this a little to the doctors, they got to see it first hand from the Biodex machine. Basically they strap you in to a seat (so that you don’t use your upper body strength) and then they strap your leg into a rotating arm at the bottom. This is all hooked up to a computer that measures your leg strength. I had to straighten and flex my knee as hard and as fast as I could 3 times for about 15 seconds each, starting with an ungodly level of resistance and then easing the resistance with each rep set. It was intimidating enough not really knowing what I was supposed to be doing at first, and even more when all the doctors were huddled around cheering for/yelling at me. After starting with the right leg, they could see the deficiency in my left leg right away. So after basically failing this test, they decided that they would get an MRI to make sure that it wasn’t anything serious. To get to the MRI room was an adventure itself. Although the hospital is apparently the best in the area, it was definitely not up to my go-to physician, Emily Wambold’s, status :). We had to walk through the basement which was mostly unfinished with exposed pipes and lots of places that seemed left abandoned in the midst of construction. After the MRI (which was exactly like an American MRI only louder) we travelled back through the scary hallways where I went to get 2 different heart tests done. Here is where I learned another difference between European and American cultures- there is no discretion here. They had me strip down topless right away for both of the tests which no one besides me seemed to care about (you would have DIED Kate!!). But the thought of awkwardness didn’t last long because the absurdity of the first heart tested trumped everything else. I had to lay down on this bed, and then this lady put a clamp on each of my ankles and wrists. Then she had all of these little wires that had a suction bulb attached to a metal ring. So she suctioned all of these metals (about 8) around my heart and then proceeded to do the heart graph tests. I’m sure my story doesn’t give it justice, but I wish I would have had my camera to document this as I felt like I was undergoing some weird medical tests like a guinea pig. However, apparently my heart tests went well and showed that I had the heart of an athlete. This whole physical process took from about 9-12:30 and then Migle took me back to the hotel.



After telling her a little about my first Lithuanian meal debacle she came in with me and talked to the workers, asking them if they could give me some less-Lithuanian food. So for lunch then I had some chicken and mushroom pasta that was very good and a far cry from the egg salad. After lunch they had me change rooms because they said the internet access was better on the 2nd floor than the 4th floor that I had been on. So after moving all 125+ pounds of my luggage (that I had already unpacked) 2 floors down I took a short nap before evening practice. Migle, who seems like she will be my personal chauffer until they find a car for me, came to pick me up and we drove to the gym that we practice in which is a large rec center type place called Orange Virus that the famous Lithuanian basketball player Arvydas Sabonis built here. I got to meet all my teammates for the first time and found that yes they all can speak English, but they just don’t do it that often. Although I haven’t mastered any of their names yet (let’s just say they’re a little more exotic sounding than say a Rachel or Brittany), they are all extremely helpful if I ask them something and they are all pretty darn good players too. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better and excited to play with them. The head coach is still working with the Lithuanian men’s national team so the assistant coach is running things until he gets back and she also speaks English. The only person I’ve met so far who doesn’t speak any English is our strength and conditioning coach. So when he started giving directions for stretching and warm ups I mostly watched the other girls and followed along. Many of the warm ups were the same as the US, but unfortunately no, we didn’t do any Coach Brown “big pushes” (although I did slip some in on my own :)). Practice drills were also very SLU-like. We did a 3-man weave series, an 11-man like drill, 2 on 2, lots of shooting drills and we went over our first play and then scrimmaged half court with it. We ended on a pressure free throw-like competition where we rotated in a circle shooting and you had to run if the person in front of you missed. Although the running was simply a light jog down and back, the girl in front of me always made it and I always made mine so I never made anyone run (whew). We ended on a cheer where the coach said “Vi” and we replied “Ci” (pronounced like “chi”), which is our team name- VICI Kaunas. So overall, my first professional practice went well. The hardest part was that I am so used to always knowing everything that’s going on and being a vocal leader, but that is kind of hard to do now. Instead of asking questions about strategy and game play I’m more concerned with questions such as “what are we doing?” and “Am I on offense or defense?”. But after I get my feet under me and more settled in, I’m sure I will revert back to my usual inquisitive ways.

One of the courts at Orange Virus- EVERYTHING in Lithuania is yellow, green and red!

Leaving on a jet plane... (Wed Sept 1-Thurs Sept 2)

Yes, I am purposely skipping talking about all my good byes at home because it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and I’d rather not re-live it yet. Sooo let’s start with the plane trip. Actually getting here was an adventure itself. I flew from STL to Chicago and after getting off the plane, I spent a few minutes wandering around O’Hare until I finally asked someone where the international flights were. Turns out I had to take a tram over to a completely different terminal (and on the way there I actually got caught up in a revolving door, which some of you know I have a history of doing! And unfortunately T-Bone wasn't there to save me this time! Lol. :)). While getting my ticket from the Polish airlines, I was able to sweet talk the worker and get an exit row window seat which in my book is a double jackpot because I had more leg room and a window to lean against for sleep! After being delayed about an hour and making all my last American phone calls and texts, I finally made it on the plane. My seat was pretty good and after seeing the non-exit row seats I was very grateful for my extra leg room. However, I do have to say that the first class seats were on an entirely different level of comfort. For those Seinfeld fans, picture Jerry up front with his champagne and blanket while I was Elaine in the back, getting stuck behind the food cart on the way back to my seat! Ha. Luckily it wasn’t that bad. The plane food on the other hand was not that great. I was proud of myself for trying what I considered my first European dish (most of you know I am not the most open to trying new foods), but later on regretted my decision when I had stomach pains that kept me from sleeping. Oh well, you live and learn. The food situation was also another little (and humorous) culture shock. Here’s what went down when she came around:

Her: Rattling off a good 6 sentences in Polish

Me: (with a deer-in-the-headlights look) Sorry, do you speak English?

Her: Chicken or Beef?


Obviously there was some stuff lost in translation but we made do. I would say out of the 9 hour flight, I probably slept for 2-3 hours. I kept myself occupied with reading some notes that my good friend Mallory had given me last week with instructions not to open until I was on the plane. It was hard to wait that long, but I’m glad I did because they made the flight more enjoyable! I also watched the movie Love & Basketball on my computer. I know, I know, “I would”. Haha. For those of you that don’t know, L&B is a story that follows a girl’s experiences with, you guessed it, love and basketball. The cool part is that towards the end of the movie, she goes overseas to play basketball so that was pretty sweet to watch as I was on my way to do the same. When we finally got to Poland I was able to find my flight on the schedule board and glad to see that it was also a little delayed and that I would have no trouble making it. On my way to the gate, I finally fulfilled the dream I’ve had ever since I first saw the movie While You Were Sleeping- I got a stamp on my passport! :) After checking in at the gate, I went to find a pay phone to call my parents and let them know I had arrived. I had bought an international phone card in the US before I left and even called the company, explaining my situation and getting explicit instructions on how to make the call. Of course the phone card didn’t work but after my first encounter with currency exchange, I was able to make that call, wake my parents up at 4 AM and let them know I was in Poland. I got back to my gate just in time to board, or at least what I thought was boarding. Turns out the door at the gate just led down to the runway where we had to get on a bus that then took us about 2 miles away to a separate runway where we boarded a small propeller-operated plane through a door at the back of the plane (weird). After not getting much sleep on the long flight, I was glad to put on my eye mask and sleep literally the entire flight to Lithuania. As we taxied to the gate, I had a surreal moment where it hit me that I was actually in Lithuania. Ever since I was little, it has been a dream of mine, at the top of my “Bucket List,” to visit Lithuania so it was pretty cool to actually be there.


Someone from the team, Justas (pronounced “You-stas”), who is not a coach but in his words, “just helps the team out”, picked me up from the airport. Since the airport was in Vilnius, we had an hour and a half drive to Kaunas ahead of us. We first stopped off at a sports store where we picked up a box of basketball shoes for the team and then set off for Kaunas. Justas speaks pretty good English, so we talked most of the time, with me asking him every possible question about the team and the city/country. They are supposed to provide housing for me, but apparently there are many universities in Kaunas so it’s a hard time to find an apartment with so many of them going to students. So until then, they are putting me up in a hotel, and yes I feel a little bit like Rick Majerus. Haha. But it is actually a blessing in disguise because there are always people around which helps me not feel lonely and I eat all my meals for free in the hotel restaurant. For my first meal they just brought me the “dinner special”. Keep in mind, as most of you know, I have a pretty plain palate- i.e. I eat salads with no dressing, burgers plain, pancakes without syrup….you get the picture. Knowing this about myself, I am determined to try new foods here and expand my horizon. However, this first Lithuanian meal was not a good start. The first course was some sort of egg salad concoction. Throwing my picky eating habits out the door, I dove into the salad only to have it wanting to dive right back out of my mouth. After this experience I avoided even trying the beet-like soup that was the second course (and no it looked nothing like Saltibarsciai). Not knowing what the rest of the food was going to be like I chose to avoid leaving more full plates of food untouched on the table and asked to have the rest boxed up. Turns out it was pretty good. Some kind of fish, broccoli and potatoes- all things I recognized and enjoyed. After eating, it took me about 2 hours and countless help from the front desk workers to get my internet working (another reason why I’m liking the hotel living- all the workers here speak pretty good English and have been my saviors as far as helping with internet, electrical converters, etc). I was then finally able to call my parents through Skype and let them know I was safe and sound. After a little chatting, I crashed into bed, luckily so tired from my long day that I wasn’t worried about my first night in a new place...

 

The "chicken" I chose on the plane

 

 

Air freshener in Justas' car. 2 things Lithuanians love- Basketball and Lithuania

 

 

My first hotel room

View out of my hotel window

LABAS!!!

Labas family and friends!! (Labas means hi. It’s one of the 5 Lithuanian words I know so far :)). So here is the start of my blog. I’m sure everyone has tons of questions as to what I’m doing and what it’s like over here, so hopefully this helps answer everything. I hope to update it often and include pictures and videos so that you can all be a part of my journey with me. And for any of you who have ever gotten a card or letter from me know, I tend to be long-winded when I write so bear with me. :) Also, please feel free to comment as much as you want or ask any questions.

As a little background in case you know nothing about my situation, God has blessed me with the once in a lifetime opportunity to move to Kaunas, Lithuania to play professional basketball for the VICI Kaunas club. My dad’s side of the family is from Lithuania, with my grandparents just coming to America during WW2. My dad, Aunt Lina, Uncle Arvid, Uncle Kestas and Mociute (grandma) Vita all speak fluent Lithuanian. Although I grew up with them always speaking it around me, I never actually learned much more than the Lithuanian version of the birthday song- which most people I know have had the pleasure of us singing to you at some point :)

 Also, I have to say that although I am away from my family and friends pretty much for the first time in my life (going to college 20 minutes away from home doesn’t really count), I have never felt more loved in my life. Thank you to everyone who has facebooked, emailed, skyped or called me leading up to me leaving and once I got here. You have no idea what all of your messages or comments have meant to me. It has really meant a lot that people from all areas of my life have been so supportive of me during this crazy adventure. I can never thank you enough for all the love and confidence that you have given me!!

 The Fam and I celebrating my signing with some Lithuanian vodka!