Final US Post

---

Things have officially come to an end here at the Olympic Training Center. Today had an eventfull happening as i found out that Brian Waite is not going to be going to the game. i guess he and the coach had been talking since last Thursday and he ended up being replaced by Nate Meerstien from Penn State. I talked to him about it and he seems to be doing ok just a little bummed. I was disapointed to hear the news too as now im going to have one less good friend along for the experiance. There is a little consolation for him now, though, as he will be able to play in the Hume Lake Volleyball Classic. he will be attempting to end my teams dynasty, however, so i wished him no luck in it.
On a happier note they gave us our gear and told us whats going on. the pants and bags are pretty nice and the jacket is now among my favorites. Between practices we also had to take a team picture in our uniforms so we got those as well. its been quite an exprience to play witha ll these guys as such a high level but when i saw my name on the back of the USA jersey it really became something special. Its hard to describe but knowing that im going to represent the US in an international tournament is something i have always dreamt about but never really thought would happen. I couldnt take any pictures of it because the coaches are responsable for getting them to Turkey so they took them away from us. but its ok because we get to keep them, so everyone will see it at some point. my number is 5 which is fine with me because i didnt get to pick it and its basically a 2 upside down.
we leave tomorrow at 9AM and have a one night stay in Washington D.C. then comes the 11 hour flight to Turkey for the games. i hear the accomodations are nice but im pretty sure they are not going to have a soft serve machine. better get my fill before we leave. thats all for now.

---

Photos

My New Favorite Jacket
I only hope its cool enough in Turkey so that I can wear it all the time.