Visitors in Europe: Mom & Dad Visit!

Mom & I on one of our many walks during the week.

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  It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's a special time. Whether it'd be friends or family, anytime someone comes to Europe for a visit, it's always marked on my calendar with bright colors and multiple exclamation points.

  Coming from the States to Europe is a difficult trip to make. It's not cheap, it's a LONG day of travel (especially when coming from the Northwest), and it requires a decent amount of vacation time to make the trip worthwhile. So I understand; it's a major commitment.

  Last week, I had my parents visiting me in Dunkerque. Both of them, at the same time, for the first time since my second season in Italy (2005, for those of you keeping track).

Dad & I in Bruges.

  While having visitors is always a great time, it also presents a few challenges as well. I'm in the midst of my basketball season, and that doesn't take a pause just because I have visitors in town. I have to find a balance between entertaining, and continuing to be prepared to do my job. I have to try to keep my legs rested, but you don't want your visitors to be bored. So many times, I end up on my feet a whole lot more than I'm accustomed to.

  Though, I can tough through having tired legs during practice, if it means a few familiar faces come for a visit.

What to do?

  If you have the opportunity, you take your visitors to the best sights around your area. If you happen to have a little extra time off, you might be able to travel a bit further outside your day-to-day radius.

Dunkerque harbor.

  But your week continues status quo. You are at the mercy of your coach, and your schedule. When my parents were here last week, we had practice two times a day most of the week. So I went to work, came home, and then tried to get out and show them something around town. And then went back to work a bit tired.

  With not much free time during the day, it made entertaining somewhat difficult.

  On my off day, we enjoyed the sunshine on the beach, and drove to the Belgian town of Bruges when I had a free morning during the practice week.

  For me, here in Dunkerque, I have it easy. When in doubt, go to the beach. There is always something to interesting to watch. You can always go for a little walk, assuming the weather is just a little bit cooperative. 

  But also within driving distance are Bruges, Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, and London (though, that's a bit more tricky to travel to).

Game Day
  When game day rolls around, it's even more exciting when you have family/friends in the stands. It adds a little bit of pressure because you want to play well. Having people from home in the crowd makes it feel more real, or count more for you on a personal level. 

Early morning walk!

  Many times, no one from home sees any video, or pictures, of your games. With people in the stands cheering for you, it feels a tad more important because they are there in the flesh. You can't just dismiss the game with, 'oh, it went okay...' and then change the subject when Skyping. Your family and friends are there, and can judge for themselves how the game went, and how you played.

  It's kind of like: "If a tree falls in forest and no one is around..." Here it's: "If you play a game, and no one from home sees it..."

  So you want to perform well, and give your friends or family a good show.

  You always look forward to visitors coming. It gives you something to put on your calendar to look forward to (besides the weekly Saturday games). But the time always goes entirely too fast. 

Bruges, Belgium.

  It's fun to show friends and family a bit of your lifestyle and your day-to-day life abroad. I don't find my days too exciting, but it's fun to show them the things you have to adapt to while living in a foreign country. And it's always nice to have them meet your teammates, see the streets you drive everyday: it gives them a reference for when you say, "I'm going to the store" or what the gym looks like when you have practice.

  I am always very thankful when family and friends are able to visit, and never want to take it for granted. I love being able to share my experiences in Europe with them, and spend some special time with them.

  If you're ever in the neighborhood, my door is always open!

Dunkerque.

Bruges. "The Venice of the North."

At the dunes.

At the dunes.

WWII bunkers. Just a mile down the beach from my apartment.

 A pretty rainbow one afternoon.

Always something on the beach.

The North Sea.

Atop the dunes.

Life A, to Life B

It'll be several months before this happens again.

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  I often joke that I lead two different lives. One where I am home in the US, surrounded by family, and when given the opportunity, close friends. And the other, where I am more or less on a solo venture in a foreign land, keeping as close of touch as possible via the Internet.

  You can also call it going from vacation mode to work mode. From living in the US, to living in Europe.

  The end of August, most years, marks the transition period from one 'life' to the other. Depending on when my contract requires me to join my team for the new season, I pack my life into two suitcases (for the next seven to eight months), and jump on a plane to cross the Atlantic.

  For me, the most difficult time is the last few days at home and the first few days back in Europe. You anticipate leaving, with a little lump in your throat. You have difficult goodbyes to say, and you know that your life is about to make a drastic turn. And the last days always seem to pass far too quickly.

Bright, sunny beach days make for easy adjustments!

  It's not that you dislike returning Europe, and eventually returning to 'work'. But it's a change. No matter how many times you hop across the pond, it's a huge adjustment. Both emotionally and physically. Even if you might be returning to the same place as the previous year (like I am doing this go 'round), there are always adjustments to be made.

  You're anxious to get to your city, get settled, and get things started with your new team. And you can't do that until you actually set foot into your second home.

  This year, the adjustment was made a little bit easier since I'm back in a familiar place. I know the roads, I know my coach, I know the city, I know some of my teammates, I know where the stores are and when they close. I know exactly what to expect, both the good and the bad. There's something to be said for a little familiarity, isn't there?

  Even with a little familiarity, I still have to make adjustments.

Life B includes exploring the beach -- A blue jellyfish!

  Most obviously, jet lag. A nine-hour time difference from the West Coast always is always like riding a roller coaster. It usually gets better with each passing day, but at a slow pace. I go from my eyes popping open at 4-5am and falling flat at 3pm, to begrudgingly rolling out of bed at 6:45am (because my body won't let me sleep any later), and barely lasting til the day's end. You gradually sleep later and later each day, but it's a slow process.

  Now that I've been in France for a little over a week, the jet-lag is a distant memory.

  As I got myself settled into my apartment, I had to wait several days for the most important thing to a basketball player overseas: the internet connection.

  Until the internet's up and running, you feel a little disconnected. You can't talk to family and friends the way you would like to, and keeping up with daily news is a little difficult as well. Though I can say I'm more up on British news than I've ever been, thanks to my morning 'BBC Breakfast' show on TV.

  So life is in a bit of limbo til you get things how you want them. You just hope the limbo doesn't last too long. 

  Now with the Internet working, jet-lag gone, and my apartment set up, I can focus 100% on the thing I came back to France to do: play basketball. I can get into my daily routine, and live.

My little red car in Life B. No speeding tickets please.

  I can get to know my new teammates, and re-connect with the old ones. I can start to make adjustments on the court as well.

  The first week playing basketball is always a tough one for me. My legs feel like they're still somewhere on a plane in the sky. So until I get my legs back under me, I'm a little out of sorts on the court.

  Your body also must adjust to the daily wear and tear of playing basketball. Even though I worked out hard during the summer, nothing compares to two-a-day practices, and the pounding your body takes on the court. So the first week of practice, no matter how well-prepared you are, is one with plenty of body aches and sore muscles.

  Slowly but surely, I'm easing back into 'Life B'. Luckily, we have five more pre-season games to play, including a tournament in Strasbourg this weekend, til things start counting for real. The regular season starts September 29th for DMBC Dunkerque, so there's still three weeks to work out the kinks.

  It's been a fairly smooth transition for me back to the North Sea so far, hopefully a sign of things to come!

Kite Surfing in Dunkerque (videos)

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  Cold and windy day on the beach means it was just as busy as usual! The North Sea was jammed packed with kites and kite surfers in front of my apartment this afternoon. So I wanted to get outside and take some video for you all to see. As you can hear, it was super windy! I had some brilliant commentary to go along with the video, but the wind over-powered my voice. :)

  I tried to follow some individual surfers in the second video, so you could see what they do. A little bit hard to see, but you get the idea!!

  Anyone want to come try???