Winning!!!

     We won! We won! We won! All right, now that I have said that let me explain the whole day to you. (Sidenote: I just learned that ‘alright’ is not a word.) I think I have already mentioned on here before that I am not a morning person. Well, Saturday was one of those exceptions! I was a morning pig! In Sweden, they don’t say morning person; they say morning pig. (Sidenote: they also don’t say ‘pain in the butt’; they say ‘pimple in the butt’.) Why was a morning pig? Because I woke up to find out the fantastic news that the Cardinals won the World Series! I wish I could have watched the game, but I was just so excited that they won! (Sidenote: I thought the Cards lost game 6. I woke up 6:17am (11:17pm cst) for a moment so I checked to see if they won. When I looked up the score, it was 8-9. I was half asleep and didn’t think to make sure that was the final. Man was I happy when I woke up for real on Friday and found out that they actually won.) We had a short practice Saturday morning before the match. Daniel, our coach, picked Meghan and me up to take us to the gym because it is normally raining so he always drives us. After practice, we went up to the clubhouse for lunch. A few of the mothers made us spaghetti. (Sidenote: Swedes put ketchup on their spaghetti.) It was delicious! We took our pre-match walk, and then it was game time against Örebro.

     Set 1 was a back and forth battle. We made a push in the end to close out the first set 25-19. The highlight of the first set was a kill I had. The ball was passed pretty tight so Meghan jump set the ball drawing both Örebro’s middle and left side blockers to jump with her. She set me a ‘B’ (as we call it, OR back 1, A, etc.). I had no block and crushed the ball within the 3-meter line. Örebro’s libero was in the line of fire. Fortunately, she got her hands up just in time so that she did not get hit in the face. I am going to try to get the video of this kill because it really was a picture perfect situation! We started from behind in the second set, and it stayed that way until the end. We lost the second set 19-25. Starting off strong has been one of our weaknesses every match (and each set). Set 3 started out 2-8. We were behind for the majority of the set including 11-16 and 18-21. Örebro had set point at 23-24. We tied it up at 24-24, and it was back and forth until the end of the set. I had a straight down block to get the advantage at 27-26. I blocked the outside a second time in a row except this time the block was sent to the end line. It was without a doubt in, but the referee called it out. (Sidenote: there are no line judges here.) We won the next two points to win the set 29-27. The fourth set was the first time that we have started out on top and stayed on top throughout the whole set. We took set four 25-19 to obtain our first Elitserien victory!!! It was a great team victory with four players having double-digit points. I had 15 kills with 1 ace and 2 blocks. (Sidenote: I asked about how blocking stats are kept. I was correct that they are not kept the same way as in America. If there are two players jumping on a block, then the person keeping the stats just picks whom to give the statistic to. I am going to go ahead and say that this is completely inaccurate, especially considering that the stats for this match say that I had 15 kills in 15 attacks. What can you do?!) I was named the Player of the Match/MVP for our team again. This time I was given some purple flowers! (Sidenote: If you know me at all, you know that purple flowers are a great gift for me!) I was so proud and happy with how our team played. It felt so great to get that W!!!

      After the match, Meghan and I relaxed a bit, ate dinner, and got ready to go out. We started the night at one of our new Swedish friend’s apartment, Mattias. We were thrilled when we got there to find football on the TV. It was not futbol, but real American football! I was even more excited to get to watch the Nebraska football game. Later on in the night, we headed to a club where Sahara Hotnights were playing. They are a Swedish girl band, but all their songs are in English. I didn’t know any of their songs, but it was still a lot of fun.

I can really tell that I am settling into life in Ljungby. The line to get into the club was super long. I saw some people that I knew though close to the front, and we cut in line with them! Everyone else around us in line says, “Oh, are you the American volleyball players? You won today!” It felt so great to know that people were really excited about our team. Overall, it was a great day and night of fun with my new team!

     To view the stats, go to http://www.cupassist.com/pa/livescore/women/stats.php?year=2011&id=M_W11_12-1112.htm. The stats were not taken correctly, but the number of kills is correct. To view some pictures from the match, go to http://brightphoto.se/start/harlig-seger-for-tjejerna. To read (google translate) a short article about the match, go to http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=106&artikel=4772574.

 

Gothenburg: Con v. Pro

     We had this weekend off from volleyball so Meghan and I took a trip to Gothenburg (Göteborg). It's the second largest city in Sweden. It has a similar population to Kansas City, but about half of the square miles of Kansas City. Oh, did I mention only the Missouri side of Kansas City!? Gothenburg is on the west coast of Sweden. The trip didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked, so I made a pros and cons list to explain this adventure. ...So I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?... The answer is always the bad news first, right? So you can end on the positive. Well, that's what I did here. So enjoy the cons and pros of my adventure to Gothenburg!!!

Cons

1. It was raining and cold the whole time. It was also foggy on Saturday. (See pro 1)

2. Liseberg, the amusement park, was closed until November.

3. Poseidon was ‘at the spa’ until November.

4. Frida Kahlo exhibit didn’t start until after we left.

5. The circus show didn’t start until November.

6. The Gothia Towers’ restaurant was too expensive. (See pro 10)

7. Everything is too expensive. My shrimp sandwich, fries, and a pint of Guinness was 225kr=$37.

8. The hostel. If I listed everything separate this list would be way longer.

            a. It cost 300kr=$50 per person per night.

b. It cost 60kr=$10 to get sheets which included a flat sheet, a duvet cover with no duvet, and a pillowcase with no pillow.

            c. We had to set the room, aka the beds were standing upright on the

            headboards.

            d. The room was freezing! The heaters didn’t work. I slept in pants and a

            sweatshirt.

            e. I used a pair of jeans and a coat as a pillow.

f. It said online that it was close to the centrum. This was a lie. It is about a 30-40 minute walk.

9. Crazy Stupid Love made us lonely. (See pro 6)

10. In order to get the amazing view of the city, we had to climb 195 stairs. (See pro 11)

11. We did so much walking that our bodies are very sore. (See pro 14)

12. Since our bodies were hurting so bad, we agreed that massages would be amazing. When we just so happened to find a spa, we thought it must be fate. Wrong. The spa closed 10 minutes before we got there.

13. We never found the big fish market.

14. The Mid Season Sale was not very good. (See pro 13)

15. I have still not been able to find a pair of black boots that don’t look like riding boots, don’t have a big heel, and are under $100.

Pros

1. I had the pleasure of exploring a new city with a good friend. (See con 1)

2. Gothenburg is wayyy bigger than Ljungby.

3. I finally found a fairly cheap purse and wallet.

4. I ate a delicious shrimp sandwich.

5. We had a free ride to and from Gothenburg.

6. I saw Crazy Stupid Love for the second time and loved it again. (See con 9)

7. Ryan Gosling is so attractive, hot, sexy, you name it.

8. I ate a bagel!!! (Yes, the bagel came with lettuce on it.)

9. I had both Subway and Pizza Hut (mmmmmm stuffed crust).

10. When we went to the restaurant at Gothia Towers, we got a great view of Liseberg lit up at nighttime. (See con 6)

11. It was not foggy on Sunday, and we got an amazing view of the whole city. (See con 10)

12. We found Haga, the old part of town, where we also found Skansen Krona.

13. We went into like 6 different H&M stores. (See con 14)

14. We enjoyed multiple ‘fikas’ to take a break from all the walking. (See con 11)

15. Through all the good and bad, I had fun and lots of laughs and memories!

Elitseriepremiär

We had our first real match yesterday against Gislaved. We lost in 4 sets, 17-25 18-25 25-20 22-25. Once again, our serve receive showed to be a weakness. When we had a good pass, we were able to score. This makes it difficult for our setter, Meghan, to get the ball to me, but she did a good job of still getting me the ball as much as possible. At each match, they announce a 'best player' from each team. I got the award for our team which happened to be..... lottery tickets?! haha I have no clue why that was the gift, and sadly I don't think I even won any money. What a bummer! Our next match is October 29th at home against Örebro.

I am not completely sure what all of this means. Set indicates in what position you started the set. I have absolutely no clue what vote means. I don't really understand Points either. Serve is the total, errors, and aces. Reception is serve receive total, errors, and percentage. Attack is total, errors (such as hitting in the net or out of bounds), blocked (getting blocked), kills, and kill percentage. Kill percentage is different than the normally calculated attack percentage. Kill percentage is kills divided by total swings (ex. 11/21=.523). On the other hand, attack percentage is kills - total errors (errors and blocked) divided by total swings (ex. 11-1=10/21=.476). This is looked at more often because it takes into account errors as well as kills. Last BK stands for blocks. I am not exactly sure how they keep this statistic when it comes to block assists (where there are two players jumping on the block). I think they may just give the stat to only one of the blockers, but not completely sure. To view the full stat sheet, go to http://iof3.idrottonline.se/SvenskaVolleybollforbundet/Elitserien/Nyheter/Matchstats/ and click on Gislaved - Ljungby 3-1. You can also still watch the match at http://www.volleykanalen.se/.

Life Changing

Here is a list that I have been keeping of ways that my life is different since I made the big move to Ljungby. I don't think there is really anything profound on this list, but none-the-less my life is very different now. There is no particular order to the list; they are simply written as they came to my knowledge (or as I remembered them when I was sitting at my computer).

1. American DVDs do not work in European DVD players.

2. I do not have a cell phone. What I miss the most about this is having a notepad with me at all times. It would have come in handy while creating this list.

3. I read books all the time and thoroughly enjoy it.

4. I cook dinner almost every night.

5. I eat fresh vegetables or salad everyday.

6. I go to church, but it is all in Swedish. Although I don’t understand what is being said, it is still nice to be in God’s house. I come home after church and listen online to the sermon from Immanuel Lutheran.

7. All of my friends here are female.

8. I sleep in a twin-sized bed that is just a wooden frame with a couple springs and a mattress pad (no box spring and full mattress).

9. The light switches r upside down.  When the light is turned off, then the switch is up.

10. All cars always stop at crosswalks.

11. You can’t get a meal under $10, not even Burger King.

12. I have not driven a car since I left America.

13. You have to pay for grocery bags and shopping carts (but I learned that you get the money back for the cart when you return it).

14. I brush my teeth twice a day, floss, and use mouth wash everyday. If I have any cavities when I come home, I am suing someone.

15. You reserve seats at a movie theater, and everyone talks all during the previews! Meghan and I kept shushing them! At least movies are still in English just with Swedish subtitles.

16. American websites like nbc, cbs, fox, abc, cmt, hulu, Netflix do not work in Europe, thank goodness for ch131.com!

17. I used to easily sleep past noon everyday, but now I struggle greatly to sleep past 9.

18. Nowhere has bagels. Nowhere.

19. The water is fizzier than the soda.

20. I am an avid recycler (you get money back for it so we are collecting everything we find and saving all the money until our last in Ljungby!).

21. I drink a lot of coffee.

22. I have a Swedish bank account and a debit card with a chip, officially Swedish.

23. I do laundry every week that you have to sign up for on a wooden chart with a lock.

24. I play the M1 position, and sometimes I even play back row, which I absolutely LOVE both of those.

25. Most people don’t know my real name isn’t Jo, which they also pronounce as Yo a lot of the time.

26. I never know what time it is. I don’t wear a watch or have a phone to tell me the time so I just go about life and not worry about time.

27. There are no stop signs (or stop lights for that matter). Everyone just yields and follows the right rule. There are lots and lots of round-abouts too.

28. I help at a school once a week in an English class. I was just asked to help with an American history lesson as well (can I do a math lesson instead please?).

29. I haven’t been this long without seeing my parents ever, but we do get to Skype quite often, which I am thankful for.

30. I have no doubts about my life right now. I have lost some friends because of this move, but it has also strengthened other friendships. I still don’t know what I want to do with my life when I am finally finished playing volleyball. Of course, there are still things that I am working at to grow and develop, but as a whole, I am happy. God has truly blessed me!