Still The Cheesiest

*We are currently in 2nd place in our league! There are actually 3 teams that have 10 wins and 3 losses, but we have the most points (crazy system, don't bother trying to learn it) out of the 3. We are only 3 points behind Soumagne, the leader, and if we beat them, then we are tied. If we win this division, then our club moves out of the top Southern Belgium league and up to the All-Belgium league next year. Granted, we need to win the rest of our matches as well, but things are looking good!

As if I could not be more prophetic; I opened the blinds today and, of course, it was snowing. Then when I tried to take a picture of it with my webcam, of course, it stopped. But I swear, it snowed. I also learned today I will need to be a watchdog when it comes to receiving mail because the delivery guy put the package notification in my neighbor's mailbox. Good thing I stepped out into the snow to flag him down in my pathetic French. Amen for the box, though! Thanks, Marc!

The first Kraft Mac n' Cheese fest in Belgium? SO GOOD.

Doing online classes while in a different time zone is to my advantage right now. Most of my assignments are due in the morning PST, so that 7am deadline today was really...4pm! I had plenty of time to start, edit, and finish my paper. Not so intimidating anymore, are ya?

I bought my first multi-voyage bus pass today. I almost didn't gather the courage, but something like bravery did come over me as I stepped up to the ticket window with a long line behind me and asked the man if he spoke any English. He did speak some, but I didn't really know what ticket I was buying, so that made it much more awkward than it ever needed to be. I kept saying "10" in French and holding up both hands, and he was like, "What line?" And I just kept saying 10. Finally, he somehow understood I wanted more trips than one, and said, "Oh! You want 8 voyage pass?" 8, not 10 - good to know.

Mastered MY bus stop today. It gets me to the train station directly, it's a 3 minute walk from my apartment, and now I have 7 more trips until I need another pass. It's especially helpful that the line starts where my home is, and ends at the station. So no more having to guess where to stop. I also explored the train station quite a bit more, for instance, making sure I knew where the platforms were, what time certain trains leave, and how much they cost. I do not need to know any other lines, so this is a huge step toward never having to drive my car.

I am now fully loaded with supplies, and there is some semblance of organization to my stuff. I am finally able to throw away the two practice t-shirts from college that I had to bring with me for the tour. Those shirts were so disgusting; they hadn't felt clean since after the Dominican Republic trip in 2007, and I am convinced they smell a little bit worse with every wear. I thought about hanging onto them for the rest of this spring at least, but then I looked at the new shirts Marc sent, and was like - WHY do this to yourself? 

Goodbye t-shirts, thanks for getting me this job. 

You're welcome for spreading your ashes over Europe. 

Peace.
 

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The Smell of Fresh Football

Last night we won in 3; 25-15, 25-16, 25-16, against the worst team in our league, and without our two tallest players (week off for injuries). The second set we were down 10-0 (could not serve receive to save our lives), then came back and outscored them 25-6. Ouch. I should have access to game footage Monday or Tuesday, we'll see when it gets posted.

During the JV match before our game, I saw "pursuit" actually work for the first time ever! We dug a ball past the referee and over/out on the other side, a player ran around the official stand and passed it back between the antenna and official, and then we free balled it over the net! I was in shock. I also got to play outside hitter in the JV game, and my coach now wants me to jump top spin serve in matches - that's new. I just pretend I'm demonstrating a jump serve to my team and/or campers, and that makes it work every time! This victory makes us 3-0 so far this half of league, and the league leader lost their match, which puts us now in 2nd or 3rd place - I'll let you know when it's posted.

Today I had to drop Martina off at the airport in the early morning (this is why I really needed to be able to drive). I made it back to the apartment alive, and I have to pick her up again on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to it.

But because my coach knew I would be all alone in a foreign country today, he invited me to have lunch with his family, then go to a local football game. No way I was passing this up, especially since the high today was 26 degrees Fahrenheit (Celsius describes this as a lovely -3, and weather.com says it actually "feels like" 18 degrees Fahrenheit - awesome). We also briefly went through the Charleroi Sunday market, and I will definitely be going back to that. Too many tags said 5 Euro to not make that a priority.

Alfred, Stella, Olivier, and I went to Grandma's house for lunch. I met my first French cat today, and I'm hereby referring to it as the Aristocat. Olivier and Alfred warned me with charades that the Aristocat would pretend to be nice, then lash out its claws because it was crazy. Well, the Aristocat was definitely crazy, as in crazy in love with me petting it. It climbed up on the cabinet, the chair, and would have jumped the table if Alfred had allowed it. Tanya and Jenn, you would have loved this Aristocat - beautiful gray coat with white socks and neck, very fluffy and soft! All you cat and Aristocat haters can go touch some smelly dog and let it drool all over your hands.

The football game was great, mainly because some cool stuff actually happened. First of all, Olivier's team won 2-0. I even caught one of the goals on the second video below. The first video just gives a general feel for the atmosphere. Keep in mind this is Division 3 Belgium soccer, the stadium is small, and don't forget the temperature outside, yet the fans still manage to fuel the energy. I only had the slit where my eyes exist showing the whole time. My scarf was over most of my face, initially because of the temperature, but quickly changed reasoning to avoid inhaling all the secondhand smoke. There was almost a fight, a player did get ejected, some guy did a flip kick (technical term, I'm sure), and on a penalty kick, the kicking player instead did a sideways roll to a player next to him who left-footed the ball into the goal! I don't ever watch soccer because it is outside (either too cold, like today, or too hot, like Redding), so these were all very exciting occurrences in my life.

Euros yell louder than Americans. I see it at every sporting event regardless of acoustics. And for a fact, those of you Americans who think you are all that and a bag of chips because you tear refs to pieces? Get a life. These Belgians out bark you in one play, and they stomach their beer better, too. There were two specific highlights of the game for me; 1) when the opponent's team subbed a player out, all the fans started yell-singing Auld Lang Syne - in French, and 2) the bugle player and smoking drummer just kept doing their thing the whole hour and a half. They even were playing "When the Saints Go Marching In" at one point, but who knows if it is the same song in French. Sometimes, I definitely felt like I was marching into battle, I mean, come on, a bugle and drums? Classic Civil War reenactment accessories.

We also went to the men's volleyball match in Farciennes; it turns out Olivier's wife, Veronique, is the coach. There is a lack of political correctness over here, and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not so good. This time, it was really cool to watch a regular woman coaching a men's team, aged from mid-twenties to maybe early-forties, and not have it be some crazy freak situation. I think for volleyball, it is much more normal for a woman to be the coach, regardless of the players' genders, but we still see mostly men coaching men in any sport as "normal." In Europe? I don't know if anybody really cares, as long as you know your stuff. I wonder what will happen first; a female NBA head coach or a female USA president?

I have discovered a new fear of mine, but at least it is much more rational than having my fingers run over by roller skates. I was handling the everyday-we-hang-out-at-the-bar thing just fine, until one day, it was unusually crowded. And with the crowd came people trying to move from one side to the other, all with beers in hand. I have a severe fear of spilt beer (rhymes really well, maybe it will resurrect on this blog as a song). Every glass is filled to the brim, people are walking around not paying attention, bumping into things and each other, beer is sloshing everywhere - AHHHH!!!! So now my bar activities have increased to three, the first two I have already mastered: 1) "No, merci," 2) people watching, and must now practice 3) strategically anticipating and avoiding beer spills.

My French is coming along awkwardly, but Alfred told me tonight "In 3 months, you speak French." That's encouraging, coming from the guy who teaches it! I am now sort of able to piece together random words and the listener can sometimes figure out what I'm trying to say. In English, it's something similar to "I buy ticket to Brussels on train station Tuesday." Doesn't sound too bad, except I was really trying to ask, "Can I buy my ticket to Brussels when I get to the train station, or do I need to buy it in advance?" Other phrases have come out something to the effect of "Plane, Martina, Wednesday," "She, bird. Gift for you," and "Soumagne no win. Girls, Yvoir SMS Martina." Don't worry; most of these stammered words are accompanied by exaggerated hand motions and sound effects.

Tomorrow I hope the package Marc sent arrives! I have lived in one pair of jeans now for over 3 weeks! Yes, apparently it is possible, but I don't need to prove it for any longer. After I hope my life supplies arrive, off to more exploring, if the cold lets up at all. At least it isn't snowing. Yet.

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Oh, The Places You Will Go!

I bought my Eurail pass today! Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. It doesn't quite seem real that I will be going to all of these places, but that's what February-April holds in store for me! The part I'm looking forward to the most? Hopping the German border into Salzburg, Austria, and going on The Sound of Music Tour. Dream come true, and I will definitely have pictures from that event, most specifically on the Do-Re-Mi steps, as my friends and I like to call them. If any of you would like to join me on any excursions, please let me know!

Thought I had bought a mocha mix at the store, turns out to be hot chocolate - score! Today I finished a movie I started last night on YouTube, called "Midnight Bayou." The only reason I even knew about it was because it was on in French at Alfred & Stella's house during our French lessons, and it looked creepy and maybe even good. My final review? It's a Lifetime movie. That's all you really need to know. It's freakin' weird when the key words are: murder, reincarnation, New Orleans, and Cajun housemaid.

Yesterday we practiced driving again. It went better. It had to, being that we never left the parking lot. But really, I think I only stalled 7-8 times (Martina, feel free to correct!). My biggest issue is going from being stopped to going forward; you know, first gear. So if I never have to stop, I will be totally fine.

But TONIGHT, we went all-in and I am not lying, I drove all the way from Farciennes to the Charleroi airport and back to home in Jumet. In a 20 minute drive, I only stalled two times, and missed only one green light on a hill. This means I survived 5-6 roundabouts, 5-6 actual stops, and made it all the way to the 5th gear IN THE DARK. All this goes to show is that Martina is a very good teacher, even if I did also have to learn Czech terms to make the magic happen.

I checked my Simpson email today for the first time in a month. Let's just say I went through and deleted the emails I knew I didn't have to check, and when I was finally done with that, I had 59 new messages still. It was a long day of corresponding and explaining and recruiting. Then when we finally went to training, my ultimate pump-up song was on the radio again: do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do--Barbra Streisand. I never expected the lady with the big nose to make such an impact on my game.

Tomorrow we have a home match, though, which means loud fans and good food! I will post game clips as soon as I find them again, and will be sure to describe the game as best I can.

Until next time!
 

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Let's Go Drive a Car...

On Belgian roads of tar; let's go drive a car, and send it stalling! Up on a hill somewhere, up where the cars aren't there, oh let's go...drive a car!

We went to the bulk grocery store today. But if you only want one of any bulk item, you are actually supposed to tear it open and take out just one. True story. If only shopping at Costco were that simple. I wandered toward the front of the store to make sure they took credit cards, and I was so sure they did. We proceed to check out, and voila! No, we do not take Visa or MasterCard. Super cool.

Martina contributes all her cash, and I toss in my 3 Euro, and we only have to put back one of my Sprite Zeros. As we are loading the goods into the back of the Euro car, I go to hand Martina a large jar and put it right in the strike zone...and we have a ground jar to mid-center! For those fleeting seconds, my thoughts went as follows:

1. AH it's going to shatter on Martina!
2. AH AH it's going to shatter on the shopping cart!
3. HEY! Maybe after 3 bank shots off the cart, it might not break after all...
4. WOW, so that's what compote puree looks like on pavement. Peachy.

A special shout-out to Avril Lavigne for publicly asking why I had to make things so complicated while we were wandering about for an ATM.

I don't think the number "10" accurately describes my now second time attempting to drive a manually operated vehicle. While appearing to be a somewhat modest goal at the beginning, I now sound downright crazy. If only it was as easy as flying a kite (wait, my kite was always dragging on the ground), and I came down with a case of Mary Poppins' practical perfection, then I could possess the 4-limb coordination necessary to make the car GO.

Everything went relatively okay, until an 5-way intersection on a small hill that I believe we were at for at least 5 minutes. The cars behind me finally just went around, and Martina and I switched seats. All I know is at this point, my left quad is screaming at me for negligence. After 2 surgeries, 2 cortizone shots, and whatever else has happened to my left leg when I haven't been looking, I don't know if me and the 5-speed are really meant to be. But the biggest issue I have with a stick-shift car is I have to worry so much about keeping the machine working, that driving becomes a low priority - AKA the definition of safety. Coming soon: Swags stalling on a street near you. Bound to be a huge hit, let's just hope not with another car.

Got to go to the beautiful Pizza Hut today! I found out that a Hawaiian pizza in Belgium includes mushrooms and onions, as well as having a slightly altered crust. The Pizza Hut was a full-fledged restaurant, though, and a waitress seats you and everything. Martina and I even got free soda while we waited for our take-out box. Well, at least we think the lady said it was free. We all know soft drinks are way overpriced (water, air, and sugar, come on!), so this was then perhaps just our small way of trying to even out the ways of the world.

Our manager, Daniel, addressed our team tonight after training. He wanted to let us know we have gained 2 new sponsors, and he had a brochure for one of them for us to look through because we will be hosting some kind of Mary-Kay-come-to-my-girlie-party-and-buy-crap-you-don't-need for all the girls in the volleyball club. It's all swanky lingerie, and we're supposed to market it to the rest of the girls in the volleyball club, you know, the 12-16 year olds. Aside from the moral absurdities, the cheapest items are the underwear, and they are 10 Euro each. $13 underwear is not going on my body, and should be beautiful enough to display on the living room wall. Every dainty and gentle sweetness of my essence is, oh, so delighted to anticipate such a charming social!

Please let me know if any of you are interested in making a lingerie investment. I learned a Czech word today! Spojka (pronounced "spoy-kuh"), spojka, spojka, always spojka! Look it up on Google Translate, and then you can maybe guess how I learned it.

Despite a day of disasters, I'm not dead! And neither is Martina! It has come down to that, hence we have all been a great success.

Love,

The American Who Can't Drive and Likes Sandwiches with Water
    

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New Kind of Clean

Today was spent doing quite a bit of research on my travel situations. Thank you, Mom, for reminding me of Rick Steves, as his website is super detailed and it might take me the rest of the spring to get through Belgium now. I only have 2 1/2 months left to do as much as possible, so I need a GREAT plan! I did plan a trip to Trieste, Italy, in a couple of weeks, so that is random and awesome. I literally just searched every city from Brussels-Charleroi during a free weekend on the airplane website, and 5 cities in Italy were the cheapest options.

So while, yes, I did have Milan and Venice as options, I chose Trieste. I looked up all the average temperatures for the time I'll be there, and Trieste had the highest. Plus, it's on the beach, and it is not the place every tourist will go to. Which probably means not as many people speaking English, but the art of mime is universal.

Tonight we went to Namur to train with another team, and that was fun. A couple of the younger girls were really excited about asking me questions in English. They wanted to know if I played on the national team in the USA - so tempting to say "yes." One of the girls wants me to help her brother's report on the Mardi Gras, and she also wants me to edit her papers for English class. The team had Polish, Czech, and Belgian players on it, so it was cool to see even more cultures interacting with each other.

After training, typical showers were in order. Except this time, why was I coughing?! Oh wait, that's not steam, that's SMOKE! The Polish women enjoy a cigarette after training, and why not, considering the mix of water, steam, and smoke makes for a killer combination. It was my first time cleaning myself with secondhand smoke, though, so for that new experience, I thank them. Then 3 of the women wanted to get dropped off somewhere, so the 5 of us got into our 2-door awesomeness of a Euro car. To put it into perspective, I was the smallest; by height at least 3 inches, and by weight, at least 40 pounds. We had so much space, we did not know what to do with ourselves.

Tomorrow is my first driver's training with Martina. My goal is to only stall a maximum of 10 times.

There is American and/or music in English everywhere. The warm-up music is the same as any USA college team. When I feel like the only American in the world, I hear my famous pop star friends talking to me. Taio and Ke$ha - thank you for your great wisdom and attentive company. The DJs speak French, then Taylor Swift comes on. Then after Taylor, Nicki Minaj.

But don't forget the ever-present techno; it peppers itself in here and there between the American hits. On the way to the game, I heard my new favorite song on the Belgian radio. I dare you to enjoy it as much as I did. Or to at least ask as many questions.

 

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Game Clips from January 15!

I'm #12 and Martina is #11 on the team with the blue libero.
Make sure you turn the volume up really loud so you can get the full effect of our jammin' fans!
  

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Discovering Charleroi & Such

My lovely Charleroi was voted "Europe's Most Depressing City" in 2009. I am so glad I can bring my own version of sunshine to it.

My roommate dropped me off in the heart of the Lower City in Albert I Square at a cafe. I have mastered the ordering of "Chocolat Chaud" and "croissant," mainly by pointing at them on the menu. After I enjoyed these massively overpriced items, I stepped outside into the 35 degree air. Martina had said down this way was this and down that way was that, but did I remember which was what? No way!

I walked down and around the square and found McDonalds, then realized the river was whichever way I was going. Once I found the river, I found the huge Charleroi Sud train/bus station. Once I wandered to and from one side, I then found the "Tourisme" sign and found an entire wall of free maps and an English-speaking person. She showed me how to map my way to Charles II Square (the main hub), and I was armed and prepped for the task. After I paid 55 cents to use the bathroom, I crossed the river again and began my ascent to the rest of the Upper City.

The rush and thrill of sighting an H&M and Foot Locker made my day. Of course, when I finally did reach the main square, it was disappointing to see the huge fountain is out of commission for construction, and the huge belfry is only open to climb like twice a year. But the Basilica did provide a nice escape, and the lady inside was beside herself that an American liked the mosaic at the front of the altar. I found a fast food place where the insanely large amount of French fries was served, and the entire inside had paintings from Disney movies. I sat under the fairies from Sleeping Beauty.

I managed to find my bus stop and get on my bus. But I passed the stop I was supposed to get off at, so I got off on the next one. I walked in what I hoped was the right direction, and within 5 minutes knew exactly where I was. Bring it, Jumet! I got your number!

Today was just relaxing time. Last night I didn't get home until 1:30am because I stayed in Mont-Saint Guibert with my coach and one American friend from another team, Ryan. We actually got to watch the Bears/Packers REAL football game in the gym's pub, and out of the 25 people in the bar, I knew the 2nd most about football.

I drink a lot of Sprite these days, mainly because everyone wants to get me a drink, and when I have said "water," they think I'm joking. The "Sprite" answer is just as disappointing to them, but at least they know I'm serious and the Sprite shows up. It might be a sin that a non-alcoholic ended up in Belgium, but at least I readily enjoy the chocolate.

Totally enjoying this gift of a vacation!!!

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Meet Me in the Gym...

I am the new American setter for the Volley Club Oxyjeunes Farciennes. We practice on Wednesday and Friday nights only. Thursdays are just for fun with two young men's teams. We play matches on Saturday or Sunday each weekend.

Just a few changes...
-can't play any ball off the ceiling or wall
-can screen the server
-have 2 free timeouts, at 8 and 16 points
-can't enter court until whole timeout is over and horn is sounded
-no line judges
-can only sub in-and-out once in each position
-libero can't serve
-must approach sub line with the player's number card
-have to check our jerseys in with the official

My team's ages range from 18 to 35, and about half of them can handle some English. But they are all very kind and are serious about their volleyball. So are the fans - every gym I've been to so far, including a men's match, has some kid hitting a huge drum to lead cheers. Definitely have entered a new world of volleyball!

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Welcome to the Kissing Zone

It all started on January 12, 2011, at 4:00am for me, with a quick wake-up and into a taxi for the airport. My flight to Brussels was early, but comfortable as the plane wasn't full and I had my own row of seats. Once I landed, I was unsure about who was picking me up, so I sat by the exit for about 15 minutes. There were two men and a woman talking and who kept glancing at me, so I kept glancing at them, and finally one of the men approached me and asked, "Miss Swagerty?" in a French accent. The two men turned out to be the coach and manager, and the woman, Martina, was introduced as my potential roommate. We drove from the Brussels-Charleroi airport to get Martina's car and started driving to the apartment.

Martina (she is Czech and speaks pretty decent English) and I talked quite a bit, then went to lunch with our Coach Olivier. We ate at a Belgian cafe in Charleroi, and had a fun time trying to figure out what the "aubergine" on my panini was because neither of them knew the English word for it, and I didn't know what it was by eating it - turned out to be eggplant! The rest of the afternoon, Martina and I went shopping and I moved all my stuff into the closet at the apartment. At 7pm we left for training and arrived in Farciennes at 7:20. As soon as we walked in, the men and women players began greeting each other, and I realized we were in the kissing zone. The gym has a bar in the front hallway, and my coach and a photographer came out, gave me my uniform to wear, and wanted a picture of me in my uniform in the bar. I am the first American woman to join their club, so I am "the news."

Before training even started, Coach Olivier had debriefed the team in French for about 10 minutes, telling them I would be the starting setter before I had even touched a volleyball. My team only had a real setter for their first 2 games, then their opposites had been setting the whole time, so they were very excited to have me there. The women were all really great, and several of them at least knew the word "superb," so figuring out what sets they wanted was not too difficult.

After training, the manager wanted to speak with me, and they offered me a contract, which includes a car! Of course, now I not only get to learn French, but also how to drive a stick-shift! All the men, women, coaches, physical therapist, etc., hang out in the bar after training for at least an hour. We had some great laughs about maps, and nobody understands why I love drinking water so much. Martina and I went over to Coach Olivier's parents' house after this for dinner - it was already 11:30pm! His mom made us delicious spaghetti while we watched CSI: Miami in French. Tomorrow I meet with the press, have my first French lesson, and go to optional training with the boys' teams Coach Olivier also coaches. Saturday is our first match together, and we have a chance to do really well in league. It was a great first day, and I am excited to be the latest addition to Volley Club Oxyjeunes Farciennes!
 

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