The name of my street is Clocheville. It is located very near the heart of old town Tours and there is very rarely a parking spot within three blocks. When I first arrived i had the choice between two places, neither one of which seemed at first glance to be very homey. The difference between the two was simple; the first choice was older, more rustic, and lacked conveniences like a shower or a washing machine; while the second choice was compact, sterile, and had everything to make life easy. The more rustic of the two was within walking distance to most of the interesting things in the city and it had a familiar smell that seemed to be like an old friend welcoming me in. Maybe it was the bigger kitchen or maybe just the ... read more

And the saying goes, "practice makes perfect." If thats the case then getting my stuff in a bag, tying up loose ends, and saying my good-byes should be similar to a hot knife through butter. Instead it feels more like I'm pulling my head out of a jumbo sized Chinese-finger-trap whilst walking through a large vat of quicksand. Throw in a stomach full of gluten, shake and bake in a plane for 10 hours and Vua-la!! ......the adventure begins. If you didnt understand all that basically heading out here was hard. If you dont know where "here" is, allow me to update everyone on my status. A couple of weeks ago I got a call from an agent saying there was a team in France that may be interested in my services. After much debate and ... read more

A pile of Christmas lights lie lazily in the corner reminding me of where my festive tree once stood. All around the city lights and decorations have disappeared. Only the occasional forgotten Santa or star still hang from balconies acting as a similar cruel reminder, that the nice part about having cold whether is over. Christmas time has always held some of my favorite memories. From the anticipation of opening my presents when I was young to the togetherness and security of my family as I grew older, the cold whether and bright lights have always been something I look forward to. Replacing my normal anticipation this year was Kaitlin coming for a visit. I knew from the moment i landed all those months ago that i would have to find all the best things around ... read more

So its been just about two weeks and things are finally starting to come together here in Greece. it was tough for the first week or so because i did not really have internet or a car or money for that matter but all that is now in the past and I have been exploring and trying to figure everything out here. Like so many other places the culture and daily life here is quite different than what im use to. My daily routine usually starts somewhere around 10 or 11AM for our first training session. After a quick shower most of the guys from the team will go to a coffee bar and have a "frappa." A frappa consists of one part instant coffee and one part sugar, add some water and ice and begin ... read more

This one will be short and quick but i thought everyone should know whats going on. We played Friday night for a chance to go to the finals. Our opponent was the only team that we had not beaten and the guys had a bad history of falling apart against them. Diego and I had talked before the match and came to the conclusion that it was going to be up to us if we were to win. The first set went to us mainly because of Diego's play. The second set was a sea-saw battle and when the score hit 19-19 Diego went up for a block and came down hard on the opponents foot. He immediately collapsed and began to yell in pain. I have been around this sport for a long time now ... read more