worst road trip ever....

Last weekend was a rough one! We were scheduled to play in Extrugasa so Friday afternoon we departed from Ibiza. Our flight was delayed about an hour... no big deal it happens all the time. We had 2 hours to kill in Madrid before we took off for Vigo. Our flight kept getting delayed in Madrid, all of the sudden the airport seemed incredibly busy. It was a holiday weekend in Spain but there we are talking no open seats anywhere in the waiting area crowded. After a 3 hours of waiting it was announced that there was an unauthorized air traffic controllers strike and all flights were cancelled for that evening. I am sure you imagine the mass chaos that ensued as hoards of people lined up to scream at the airline representatives. The nice thing about traveling with a team is that you can just sit back and wait... someone else has to worry about the details. Eventually we made our way down to baggage claim where we were going to pick up our bags and jump on a bus to Extrugasa. Imagine every single plane in the airport having to be unloaded and the bags carted to baggage claim, no think about how many people who were leaving for vacation or work that had become stranded converging into the baggage claim area!!! That is where my teammates and I spent a solid 5 hours. Dinner that evening was around 1130pm and featured multiple boccadillos from the airport. We finally got our bags and headed to a hotel in Madrid to spend the night.

The next morning we had breakfast at 930 and after much debate it was decided we would bus the 9 hours to Extrugasa and play Sunday morning. The bus was supposed to leave at 1145, but the bus didn't show up until 1230 so we got a bit of a late start. We stopped to eat in what I would deem a super sketchy hostal/restaurant and then were back on the bus. We arrived at the hotel around 10 and went straight to dinner.

The next morning it was difficult to wrap our head around the fact that we had a game but hey we are pros and managed to get in the right frame of mind. During warm up we noticed the floor was a little slick but since we only do lay ups for 35 minutes nobody thought it would be that bad. Jump ball goes up, we win the tip and score a layup. The other team comes back at us Shona falls trying to deny the ball. The other team misses we get the board and run down to play offense. Our post player catches the ball at the top of the key and slides both feet at a time about 2 feet. The refs didn't really know if the should call travel or not so they let us play. She passes me the ball and I go to cross over and what do you know my feet slide right out from under me and I end up in a super awkward position. I am very thankful my knee is still intact as this was the type of fall that could tear one up. The ball was rolling in front of me but I didn't even try to get it... I was really mad. We talked to the refs and after debating for 30 minutes it was decided we would call the game. We had to report back to the gym in four hours to play again. We rested at the hotel for 2 hours and reported back to the gym. All of us were pretty drained at this point after the travel days we had this is what we had to deal with. The court was the exact same if not worse. The other club was quite upset, they wanted us to "play until someone got hurt". Because we didn't play the other team has to pay a fine and pay for us to fly back out there next week.

By Monday we had made it back to the island all in one piece, me with a very sore groin/hip. The next day we were back at practice!!!

Next week should pass by quickly seeing as though we will be traveling the whole week! Megs and Alex are in Ibiza right now, enjoying the sights and the amazing 20+ weather!!

I love December!!

Team pic before our last game and the amazing Milka chocolate advent calendar. Had my first chocolate tonight and it was so worth the extra 6 euros!!!!

I flipped to the final page in my "Office" calendar today and it felt amazing! Last week went by terribly slow and all those practices didn't exactly lead to fresh legs come Saturdays game. We did however almost pull off an upset, we ended up losing by 3. Disheartening to lose but our coaches and owners seemed happy with us so I guess it was all good. Saturday night I went out for a few drinks with our Spanish teacher and a few club supporters. It was really nice going out and talking about something other than basketball with people besides your teammates. Sangria was flowing and it lead to some interesting conversations. Spanish people love to party, our coach in fact tells us to go get drunk and stay out late once a week. It has been proven to release stress!! I lasted until about 2am at which point I was ready to turn in for the night. Most parties don't end until the sun rises the next morning. These people will impress you, it is not just young kids either. Mom and dad your 8pm bedtime would be shunned around these parts.

Earlier in the week Barcelona played Real Madrid in a football match our coach deemed bigger than the American super bowl. He said all of Spain watches the game and the day is a bit of a holiday (we still practiced twice). A few of us headed into our little town to watch the game at a bar. It was crazy, everybody was out watching the game somewhere. All of these little bars brought in extra tvs and people were crammed in screaming at the tv. The game wound up being a blow out 5-0 for Barcelona. After the game the streets were packed and cars were honking. It was pretty neat.

We only go once tomorrow morning so I am headed into Ibiza to do a little Christmas shopping. We are on the road this week for our game.

A picture of the houses in Hondarribia, it was an adorable little town right on the water. I got the chance to tour around a little. Went for a walk around the water and you could see France off in the distance. The other is a pic of me in action.... you have to love the Euro uniforms, sponsors everywhere!

We won our game this weekend, first road win of the season! I didn't shoot too well, I missed short for some reason my feet can't fly anymore. While I knew I was missing short and consciously told myself to bend my legs the joints in my ankle won't bend. It didn't help that it was a long travel day, we travelled for over ten hours as it was a much cheaper option.
Back to the game we built a little lead but it quickly evaporated. We managed to snuck away with a two point victory. After the game we were celebrating in the locker room until our coach came in and yelled at us in Spanish. He was yelling really fast so I didn't even try to understand. Sometimes it is better that way. Apparently he was very unhappy and practices are supposed to be really hard this week!! I thought they were hard to start with so can't wait to see what the week holds for us!

We are 30 days away from me coming home! I have a terrible case of the grass is greener on the other side right now. I remember last year I was just itching to play some games. I missed living in a foreign country, meeting new teammates, going through the ups and downs of foreign coaches and leagues. Now that I am here I miss my family and loved ones. I haven't seen my fiancee in over 100 days, normal people don't do that. I really miss sleeping through the night pain free. Or taking a walk without having to bear through a joint "warm up". I love playing the game, the rush of adrenaline and nerves that course through me before tip off, the thrill of hitting a big shot. I just wish I was healthy and I could do all of this closer to home.

Time to go get my butt kicked, first of 5 practices in a row!!

This week has been flying by! Monday we had a beach workout, it was pretty awesome. Last time we had a beach workout it consisted of a lot of running and my achilles was swollen and it hurt to walk the next morning so I was weary going into this one. Instead of running on the beach one of my teammates who has bad knees and I ran in the water. We went up to our butts and walked/ran so there was no real pounding. Yes it is still warm enough to run in the water! We then did about 1000 abs, and crazy back exercises that I had to cheat on because holding a 12lb medicine ball while in a superman position for 20 seconds is difficult one time, repeating 20 times near impossible. Then it was time for games. The first game was all out tackle rugby/football. Bit of a mix of both games ending only with a full on dog pile. There was possibly a larger crowd watching us play this game than shows up at our actual games. This was followed by "baseball". Baseball had four bases, a wooden bat and a kick ball. The only way to bat was to catch the ball in the air! It was a nice change of pace and gave us two whole days out of the gym!
This morning I had to go to the police station and get my work papers. I was told that someone would pick me up at 9am outside our apartments. At 9:05 a guy walked up to me and started chatting, Spanish people speak REALLY fast. While I am learning a lot of new vocabulary I only caught the word "player" which he mentioned several times. I nodded si and as he started walking towards his car figured he must be the man who was taking me to the police station. I picked up my bag and followed him to his car, preparing to get in. He turned to me and gave me a no no no and I hung my bright red face and walked back to sit in front of the apartment complex. Five minutes later our vice president showed up to pick me up!

I asked my Spanish teacher what the rules were for picking oranges around here and he said I am good to pick away. Basically Ibiza truly is a hippy island and things that would be frowned upon back home nobody here cares about! Yesterday afternoon we were free so Sho and I took Cava (dog) for a walk in quest of oranges. We found some property that has a bunch of trees and started picking. We came across what we like to think of as an amazing discovery, a clementine tree! They were not quite ready yet but in about a week we will be going back! All this amazing fruit for free!

We leave for Hondarribia tomorrow morning.

We lost another game last night. Our team played really terrible defense which is something we are normally pretty good at. The loss stings even more because it came after our first "light" week of practices. The past few weeks we have ran and ran and by the time the game rolled around on Saturday my legs were gone. This week was a different story but since we lost it will probably never be repeated.

I went out to dinner last night after the game with a few teammates and some girls that play on the second division team here in Ibiza. It was this little restaurant that you had to reserve a table for because for only 20 euros it was unlimited food and lambrusco and sangria. The food was typical spanish fare; meats, salads with cheeses or tuna, toast with olive oil and tomato spread. It was all so delicious, this was also the first time I tried sangria in Spain... it was tasty.

Dinner ended around 130pm and I was not up for staying out until 7am so I opted to take a taxi back home. In most cities I would not feel safe walking around by myself at 130 in the morning. However in Ibiza the streets were packed with people just heading out to a bar or club. If this is the down season I can't even imagine the summers here. They range in ages from teenagers to 60 year olds. I honestly don't know how they do it, maybe it is something you need to start training for at a young age.

My spanish and driving are improving. Although I don't think I will master either, I just might be able to get by.

escuela

We lost our game last weekend, we were down two at half and then got blown out. I was so tired... I couldn't run up and down the court by the end of the game. I am blaming it on hard practices, no subs and waking up at 630am on a game day to fly to Madrid.

After the game we had the next day off so I walked around downtown and found a few orange trees to steal oranges from. Orange season is upon us, I have never tasted an orange as good as the ones they grow here. I can't even really describe them they are truly magical. I am not really sure what the rules are as far as picking them off trees. Technically the trees are on somebody's property but if the tree hangs out into the street does this make the oranges fair game? I am hoping so because I have made it a daily habit to steal at least two. Sunday was also a gorgeous day so I spent my time reading on the beach! For those of you wondering if I have tanned at all yet, the answer is no.

Today was my first day of Spanish classes, our teacher is a really cool guy. Actually a fellow Canadian who is teaching at an English school here in Ibiza. I was amazed at how simliar Spanish and English are... for example any English word that ends in tion in Spanish it ends in cion. Example: solution becomes solucion. I mean how easy is that? We learnt a few rules like those ones and then some basic verb conjugations. I had a lot of fun and I am excited to be using my brain again!

Tonight after practice I was a little late getting out to the car because I had to get some treatment. When I walked to the car Rass was in the passenger seat and Sho was in the back, both smiling at me. Apparently it was time for me to drive again. It went a whole lot better than anticipated I only stalled once the car behind me didn't appreciate this and flashed me numerous times before passing! My driving instructors were very impressed.

To top today off Sho and I made an amazing cream of chicken and rice soup.... we are getting good with the stove top. Best news of the day optional practice tomorrow morning!!! The old Kim would probably go in and shoot but my body is clearly telling me it wants no part of the gym so I will take my time when I get it.

Our coach was saying we are going to practice one week easy and then two weeks hard. How this makes sense I am not sure I guess I should just be thankful that we are in the midst of an "easy" week and deal with next week when it comes.

Yesterday was a big day in my books as I finally have internet throughout the apartment. Before this the only place I could talk and watch shows was in the very corner right near our door. On top of the internet coming through yesterday was pay day as well!
We head to Madrid tomorrow for a game and I am a little bummed because I will be missing the big football game. # 5 Utah versus # 3 TCU. ESPN gameday is going to be in SLC, they are allowing people to camp out on campus. I miss Utah, hoping for a big win tomorrow!
Settling into a routine around here now that we are down to one game a week. Practices are getting lighter (thank goodness). Next week I am going to start Spanish lessons, twice a week for an hour and a half. Hopefully I pick it up quickly! I am excited to go to class and actually use my brain a little.
I am headed off for driving lesson number two, hoping it goes a lot better than the first.

Goodbye Michelle:(

A few pics of Michelle and I watching the sunset at cafe del mar.

We dropped Michelle off at the airport this evening. It was so great to have her visit. She was like a little breath of fresh air, exploring the island, eating out. It was wonderful. The last few days she was in town we went to another side of the island Sant Antonio. We grabbed a cocktail at Cafe Del Mar. It is a famous cafe where all the rich and famous go. During the summer time you can't get in without a reservation. Lucky for us the tourists have all fled the island and we were able to take in a gorgeous sunset at a local hot spot.
Saturday we played our game and won by quite a lot. I was exhausted after the game... I think the practices may be a little too much. I am having a achilles tendonitis flare up. I guess this is some good practice for next summers qualifiers because I feel as though I have played 4 games in a row come game day.
The weather is changing.... I think days of lounging in a bikini on the beach may be done. Although all of my teammates laugh when I say this, I think I am a little more tanned than when I first arrived.

Pics of Michelle and I at the beach. The view from our lunch today!


Michelle is in town! It has been great having her in town and getting the chance to hang out a bit. We lost our game last Saturday and I wanted to meet up with her in Barcelona but the flights were a little too pricey so I spent my day off lounging on the beach all day. Michelle came in Monday afternoon, we walked into town but it was Siesta so there was not too much to see. Monday evening I had a beach workout. A beach workout means you run for 20 minutes bare foot on the beach and then we did all sorts of jumps, butt kicks, high knees for a certain amount of time. While Michelle was invited to both the beach workouts and practices she has declined thus far! She did her own run around the beach and town.
In between practices we have been walking into town or heading to the beach. Sadly the weather has taken a turn while I know I shouldn't complain as it is still around 20C or 70F. We are not warm enough to swim in the sea, there are still quite a few people swimming, they must not be as cold blooded as we are!
We are headed into Ibiza city tonight to go out to eat and check out the city at night.

A picture of me at the beach today. You can kind of see where I am living if you look on the hill and the apartment buildings further right are mine. If you blow it up a little they are the redish/ brownish ones.

We won our game last night! I didn't shoot very well but c'est la vie sometimes the shots don't fall. It is a little discouraging since I am shooting very well in practices, it can only get better.

Last night I went out for drinks with my old teammate Morgan (Utah) and Crystal (Sacramento) it was great to catch up although it was short lived since they had curfew! Sometimes I am shocked at how we are treated.... curfews for grown women is a little too much. It was great to hang out and catch up quickly!

This morning we had off and I decided it was time for me to spend some time laying on the beach. I have been having a lot of problems sleeping both falling asleep and staying in a deep sleep. I was hoping some rays of sun would do me some good. I woke up around 11 and headed downtown Santa Eularia (ten minute walk). I stopped at my new favorite place in town; a little french bakery. I have been practicing my French with the cute old man that owns the store. I bought a pain au raisin and pain au chocolate and headed for the warm waters. The water was amazing, still nice enough to dive right in. Most of the tourists are leaving so the beaches were pretty quiet minus a few topless women, a family of four stripping naked and then changing into their bathing suits. This is not a North American beach!

Driving lesson

The island of Ibiza is quite small, you can drive from one end to the other in 30 minutes. I can easily walk into downtown Santa Euralia from my apartment. It is a cute downtown with shops, beaches and anything I would need. I still want to be able to take the car every once in a while to explore some other places on the island. The problem is the car is stick and I have never driven one before.
My teammate tried to give me my first lesson yesterday. There are no big open areas or parking lots where I could practice so she decided I should try and go around the block. I got in the car and everything was going well until I had to come up to a stop I did not know that you had to put your foot all the way down on the clutch when you brake. The car stalled and there were cars coming up behind me so we switched seats and I got back in the car on the hill down to our apt. Sho told me to go from first to second, easy except I didn't actually know where any of the gears were in the car so I jumped from first to third. The car didn't like that either and we wound up just coasting into our parking spot. Shona was crying laughing at this point. This is why I wanted to learn now so it doesn't have to be my car one day!
I sat in the parking spot and practiced changing gears... I have the order down now but I am not sure when lesson 2 will happen.

We have a game tonight against my old university teammate Morgan, will be fun to catch up with her after the game. After this weekend we will only have one game a week which will be a welcome change! Hopefully we can settle into some sort of schedule.

Last one!

tour continues

tour of the apt

Part 1 of my apartment tour

Running of the Bulls.

We just played our last road game in Pamplona the city that is famous for the running of the bulls. It was quite a cute little university town but we did not get much time to explore it.
We did go for a quick jog through town Friday night. Upon arriving we were told we could not use our shoot around time and so fearing we may be lethargic if we had a day off we were told to lace up our sneakers we were going for a run. I had no idea going for a run was an option thus laced up my travel runners sans orthotics and headed out the door. I felt like the fat kid in gym class, as soon as I was out of the teachers view I slowed down to what one may consider a "walk/jog". I was proud of myself after the fact because I know full well that my ankle can longer run in the cold on pavement and wake up to play a basketball game the next day. In Europe sometimes you have to look out for yourself and while it went against all my instincts as a person and teammate I did it! The next morning we also somehow got a gym time at a different gym! I was thankful my "running" clothes were not too sweaty!
We wound up losing the game it was a game we should have won which always makes things worse. After the game we showered, ate dinner and watched the whole game on film! Not a pretty sight, kind of like pouring salt into wounds.

We are back at home now and this is the last week we have to play two games! After Saturday we are on to our regular schedule of one game a weekend!
Michelle is in Espana as we speak and will be making her way to the island a week from tomorrow, getting excited to see her!

Espana

Alright so I am back and blogging. The day after our last game in Karlovy Vary I was up at 730 to embark on my new adventure in Ibiza, Spain. I was leaving the day before my team so my agent offered to take me to the airport when he left. Our cab driver drove the whole way around 160-170 I kid you not. The drive from KV-Prague is supposed to take around 2 hours, we did it in 45 minutes. The roads you drive on are single lane highways and he sped into oncoming traffic to sneak around cars numerous times. I was sitting in the front seat bracing for impact.

When we got the airport I had quite a few hours to kill before I could check in so I hung out drank some tea and tried to pass time. All airlines in Europe are very strict about their baggage weight requirements, you are only allowed 23 kilos. Anything above you will be charged around 20 Euro's/kilo. While both of my bags were well under 23 kilos individually, together they added up to 40 kilos. The lady had checked one of my bags and sent me to another counter telling me to leave my bag there and she would take care of it. Reluctantly I left my bag hoping I would see it again later that night and went to pay my bag fine. The fine ended up being over 8,000 czech dollars, in Canadian dollars $475! After numerous failed attempts to pay with my visa, I was sent downstairs to find an atm and withdraw the money. About 30 minutes later I was back in line with my baggage fees paid.

My first flight was uneventful I was lucky because I had three seats all to myself so I immediately passed out. I had a 6 hour layover in Barcelona so I wandered around the shops and watched some TV. I made it to Ibiza around 11pm that night, greeted by Sho, our trainer and coach. Of course my one bag was missing turns out they only tagged it to Barcelona. My time in the air was 3 hours but in total my travel day was 14!

I have been in Ibiza for a week now we had our first game last weekend but I was unable to play, something about transfer papers. I don't understand most of what is going on around me but we have our first home game tonight and I am allowed to play!

I know it has been forever but here is a quick update. I can't believe it is almost May... time has been flying by! The biggest news is that I have parted ways with my old agent and am going in a new direction. I think this will be a very good thing, I have found a new agency and am getting ready to sign a new contract with them! I don't know what my future holds but I like the new agency and hopefully they can find me something good!
The drive in movie theatres opened up and I have been able to test out my new puffy coat for next winter. The days have been pretty warm but the nights are quite chilly which is great for me as I get to test out the new coat!

I am headed home May 18th as my tourist visa is up so I will get some good training time in before camp begins around June 20th. Ben and I will meet up with our amazing wedding planner at home and talk about when/where it will take place!

I am back in CT now enjoying the amazing spring weather! I love this time of year, not only is the weather turning but basketball is on tv all day! I filled out my first bracket this year, not sure how I feel about it. It was only 5 for a house pool but now I can't get swept away by all the upsets anymore as it ruins my bracket! I guess I am just not a gambler.

After spending a month enjoying home and SLC I knew my foot was going to hurt a little as I skipped physio for the most part. I was pretty pleased when I left home because while there was pain it wasn't strong enough to affect my workouts or daily living. A few days ago I went back to physio and was disheartened to hear that all was not good my hips were all out of line again (no idea how/why) he got them moving properly again and worked on my ankle which now all of sudden has no dorsi flexion. Every once in a while when walking I will experience a sharp pain so I am back in the pool for the next few days to see if I can get it right again. I read an article in Fitness magazine about being addicted to working out, I sadly answered yes to 8 out of the 9 questions. Apparently if you answered yes to just one you should re think your relationship with exercise! I am going to go ahead and call out my big sis... following in her footsteps!

We have a pretty good summer planned. We are actually getting two international teams to come play us in Canada!! For all you BC people we have Chile and Sweden coming in to play some friendlies. Pretty exciting we rarely get the opportunity to host and while I love to travel I am excited to play in front of my family and friends! Not to mention the long training camp will be so close to the comforts of home. Nothing like a real bed and home cooked meal to break up the month and a half of two a days! After BC we have two weeks off and then off to Kitchener Waterloo for a quick training session. We are off to France, Greece and then the Czech for Worlds!

With that summer planned I am working on getting my body right!

A few pics of Olympics in Vancouver and at the Smith household.

Engaged in Utah!

I have had a great February so far Ben and I were out in Salt Lake for about 12 days. We had an absolute blast the trip started off a little rocky with our flight being cancelled because of snow in Baltimore. So we wound up flying in a day earlier which worked out well giving us another day to hang out. The trip flew by I got to train with the Utah girls and workout in the old stomping grounds. Nothing like a little lung burning to bring me back to my time as a Ute. We saw the girls lose a heart breaking 4 OT game and a few nights later saw the men also lose in OT. Apparently we were not a good luck charm.

Ben skied almost most days and was pretty sore at the end of night! I got up to ski and had a blast, I can't wait to get back into skiing I wanted to buy all sorts of gear when I was up there!!

The biggest news of the trip was that Ben proposed! We were visiting friends and he told me he wanted to take the long drive back. He pulled into the parking lot at the U and we decided to go for a walk when we got to the steps where we first met he pulled me back got down on one knee and proposed. I didn't sleep at all that night! There were a lot of phone calls made the next day!

We just arrived in Mission after a long day of travel looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning! We are both pretty excited to take in some of the Olympics so we will keep you posted!