Aug 14, 2008

I Have ARRIVED

Hello Everyone,

I have decided to write the first part about my trip from the plane. One reason is because I wanted to listen to the music on my computer and not run the battery on my PSP all way down. I made a rookie move by not having it all the way charged before I left. I was going around the airports looking for ports. The second reason being that the entertainment system on board is from 1984. It has one screen for the economy class that is the size of my computer screen. They have played one new movie (what happens in Vegas) and the rest have been cartoons from 1978 and a show about parrots. Of course it has been hard to watch with people standing in line for the restroom and small girl who has been screaming since we left. The start of the trip went very well. I was able to escape paying $75 in luggage fees for having too much weight and too many bags. The computer was down or something the attendant said (I think he just liked looking at my finance). I met up with drew in O’Hare and we boarded shortly after that. Even though the plane is from WWII they did manage to have some good chicken and rice. I am going to attempt to get some sleep, but I am right next to the screen and it is a little too bright for me. I can definitely say I am a little more excited already just because I have someone else that I can communicate with the whole time. I lost no bags and had a ride from the airport when we landed. Now if Poland is as good as the start of this trip we should be just fine.

We are about four days in and things have been pretty well. We will not have our apartments until after we return from training camp, which is about an eight hour trip away. The hotel they have us in is right on the beach. You have to go through a path in the forest and then there is the beach. We have been doing some running out in the forest and on the beach. There are a ton of trails and then you go over the hill and there is the beach. The Baltic Sea is pretty cold. Drew, Skip, and I took a late night swim around 9 pm. We used it as a cold whirlpool, but it felt really good once we got out. People were staring at us like crazy. I compare it to Lake Michigan in September and October. The hotel takes care of all three meals with breakfast and dinner buffets and then a sit down lunch were they bring the food like family style. I have not had a meal I have not liked yet. They like there meats and soups which sits well with me. If you are wondering if I have had in polish sausage (kabasa) the answer would be yes. I believe I have had it three out the four days in different ways or instances. The first time was in my soup, the second time was out at a hotel bonfire, and the third was as the main course for dinner.

The arena we play in is not huge but has a nice floor. The cool thing about the stadium is there is an indoor water park on the other side that we get to go in for free (three hot tubs and slides that come out of the building). Practices have been pretty light as we have been missing two other players and not had enough to play 5 on 5 yet. I guess camp is like 8 hours away in a town that has absolutely nothing but a gym and a fitness center around more forest and lakes. I have seen many areas that have reminded me of the episode in band of brothers when they are just blowing up all the trees in winter time. If you have never seen Band of Brothers I will take this opportunity to suggest it, a wonderful series about Para troopers during world war two. Ok, back to basketball, after the 10 days of camp we play two games in Lithuania and then make the trip back home. Then it seems things really big up after that with two or three tournaments before the start of the season which starts the 27th of September I believe. The coach seems to be really laid back and a great guy. He just finished playing last year and went straight into coaching. He is German and speaks very little polish so he tries to figure things out as well sometimes.

So hopefully the next update I will be in my apartment with internet and all settled instead of living out of these suitcases. Some funny observations so far have mostly been on the beach. It is a very small city beach and people put up little fences to claim there territory. We also witnessed an older man trying to jump and run from the waves. The third terrible observation was two guys in thongs flying a kite or hitting a ball. Quite frankly I do not remember what they were doing cause I was too busy puking the other way. They also tie their cows down. I know that is random but making the 1 hour trip from the airport to the city I saw about 15 cows who were leashed like a dog to graze. We also ran on the beach that took us into a part that was a nude beach. Saw many naked people there that I wish I had not seen. Overall, what I have seen Poland has been very rural. The town we are in has a lot of people right now, but all the teammates said they are German tourists and by season time the town is empty.

I have pictures but will not let me upload so i will do that next time!

Until next time!

This is BC gone for now

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brandon,

glad you arrived safe and sound in Poland and had some interesting flight experiences. thankfully you didn't lose any of your luggage.

hope you'll get your apt and internet very soon.

looking forward to your pics.

Big AL

Anonymous said...

Hi B!

Glad to hear all is well. Enjoyed the laughs! Everyone misses you here. We're all busy with school, soccer, etc. Sounds like you are having way more fun, especially on the beaches...
Talk to you soon.
Love, 2nd mom

Anonymous said...

Hello Brandon my name is Tom , we talking last night saturday in Party the beach ,remember ???.My girlfriend find this blog :).You and your friends long stay in Poland????,, hevy Nice Holiday and nice blog.