Yesterday as I pulled into my new home an iguana the size of a small dog wiggled its way across the driveway. Today a gecko enjoyed the view with me as I ate breakfast on the balcony. The two sweat shirts and four pairs of jeans I packed have not even made it out of their bags and I've gained a new appreciation for tank tops or shirts with cut off sleeves. The weather is warmer, my room is bigger, the food is tastier, and Costco is just around the corner. Other than the occasional 6 inch spider or the 25 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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One of the few days we had off in the past few weeks was due to a national holiday. The holiday consists of..... well I'm not 100% sure but it has to do with Greece's eventual defeat of Spain when the Spanish tried to invade and take over. The closest equivalent in an American holiday would probably be the Fourth of July. Rather than shoot off fire works and get drunk this Greek holiday is celebrated with a huge military parade. Just about everyone in the city, skips work(nothing new there), buys a flag and heads to the parade route early [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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So..... since i have been here i have not been publishing to many blogs. Despite the great responses i normally enjoy and repeated requests to write, WritE, WRITE!!!, i have not been able to sit down and type about my experience here. I could not figure out why this was such a problem until i had a conversation with my father. I realized, after our talk, that there are two things holding me back. First i realized that so many of my stories come from dialog. After i have told someone a story it is a million times easier to sit [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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So i see its been 23 days since my last blog. I wish i could say that i've been out experiencing new things and thus to busy to write. Alas the opposite has been true. Since my last blog the days have been vanishing in mundane daily habits with only a few hiccups to break the monotony. This has not been completely unhelpful though as i have been able to focus on my rehab and physical shape. Sorry mom i still haven't gained any weight but my knee is doing well and the rest of my body feels as good as [View Full Entry]

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First let me start with a quick note to everyone out there. Thank you all for your positive comments and notes on some of my stories. While i may not get the chance to reply to all of them I want you all to know what a joy it is when I log on and see that my blogs are well received. So thank you all and please keep the comments coming. Now without further ado. Many people have been asking me what the locals do here for fun. Up until a couple weeks ago the only response I could give [View Full Entry]

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When coming to Bahrain I thought that I was going to be exposed to mainly middle east and muslim culture. I was wong! There are many other cultures here in Bahrain and I had my first encounter with a traditional south Indian experience today. Just a word of warning: this story does contain nudity so please if there are children present they may need to leave the room. It all started when I told Diego that I felt like I needed a massage. With only a look I knew I had opened Pandora’s Box and he said he would take care [View Full Entry]

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I have been adjusting slowly and steadily for the past few weeks. After some disputes about my contract I am officially part of the Busiateen Volleyball Club. I received my first payment and a car a few days ago and have been enjoying both as much as i can. I have also been learning alot about the culture here and am realizing how different it really is from what im used to. There are little curve balls all around that keep me constantly on my toes and wondering whats next. The perfect example of this was just last week when I [View Full Entry]

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