Puerto Rico Week 1

---

Ok so due to things beyond my control i have been unable to post anything for some time. maybe if i find the time i will go back through my pictures and post some from my last few months in Switzerland but until then i will have to start the next chapter in my travels. As most of you know, i am now in Puerto Rico. for those of you who dont know the full story of how i got here, here it is;

I had been home for about one month and had yet to find a job. I was splitting my time between friend's couches in LA and my home in Fallbrook. i got the opportunity to train for one week with the national team up in Aneheim and of course took the opportunity. the problem was that once again i had to find a couch to sleep on while i trained. this is a small story in itself but i was lucky enough to have an old friend in the area. How does this all fit in to me getting to Puerto Rico, you might ask? well on Thursday May 4th and old friend walked into the gym and as we started talking he told me he might have contact here in Puerto Rico that needed a player. half joking i told him to give the guy my number and promptly forgot about the whole thing. Well that night while i was out to dinner with a friend i get a call from an "unavailable" number. Normally i ignore these calls but i decided to pick up since it was past my peak time and it would be free. in the loudness of the resaraunt all i understood was "Puerto Rico." i quickly jumped up and ran into the corner to try and talk. basically the conversation was about how quickly i could get out here because then had a match on Saturday that they needed me to play in. that ment i would have to get on a plane in less than 24 hours! overwhelmed by such a decision i did what any mature, 24 year old, independant, young man would do.........i called mommy and daddy. i drove home that night and was packed and on a plane the next day. i landed Saturday morning, played Saturday night and we won the match dramatically in 5.

Since then it has been pretty non stop with today being one of the first full days of rest for me. Im happy im here and im trying to prolong my stay for as long as possible. Alot of my old friends are here and guys that i've played against in college so it extremely fun to catch up with guys like that. i will try to do a blog from time to time but im still getting settled and im not sure where i will end up or if there will be a regular internet connection. untill i find out enjoy some of my pictures from my new camera that i had to buy for this trip.

---

Photos

Week 1
this is the back yard where i stayed for the first week. It was very nice but no where near the beach which bummed me out a little.

Snoopy
When everyone else was busy, Snoopy was nice enough to keep me company.

Cool Camera Feature
I did alot of this for the first week but as you will see things have picked up a bit.

Winning gift
So the day i show up we had a big game that night that i already told you we won. one big difference between here and the states is what happens after you win a big game. I'll let you use your imagination but for those of you who lack one just look on the floor to the right.

Hotel View
Things have gotten a little better since they put me a hotel room by the beach.

Local Food
Churrassco and Mufongo are some of the local foods. its basically steak and something good but i dont know what it is yet.

Tough Job
Sometimes Volleyball can be real stressful so its nice to be able to get away from time to time. Hey its a tough job but someones got to do it!

More Beach
I guess i could get used to this, if i had to.

Mr. White
Switzerland did a few things that im trying to fix right now.