I’m glad I can check in with everyone. Wow, this is my first time overseas and I can already feel the difference. During my last few days before I left for Poland, I made sure that I ate all my favorite meals in Nashville before I left on the 21st of October. Chipotle was my first stop, next was Hattie B’s (they’re famous for their hot chicken) and lastly, I went to San Antonio Taco Company for some of my favorite tacos with queso dip.
On the day of my flight, I wasn’t really nervous to travel, as it hadn’t really settled in for me that I was heading overseas yet. It became real when I boarded the plane for my nine hour flight from Chicago to Germany. I had never been on a plane for that long, but thankfully the plane had movies and TV shows to help pass the time. Our flight attendant announced the cabin doors were closing, and I knew that was the start of my six-month journey.
I arrived in Germany and had just under an hour to board my flight to Wroclaw. I landed in Poland where our strength trainer, Nihow, helped me with my bags to go meet the staff at our arena. Once we arrived, I was introduced to our head coach, assistant coach and general manager. They were very friendly and helpful with my arrival. When I got to my apartment, I had an hour to rest before I went to go watch my teammates play against Artego Bydg. They won the game and the atmosphere was very exciting.
The next few days Brittany Boyd (point guard for the New York Liberty) and I had a few doctor visits before we could be cleared to practice. Once we were cleared we were ready to get to work. I really want to be an important part of this team to help us have a successful season.
On November 1st we traveled to Bourges, France for our Euroleague game. So far, this has been the longest travel day we’ve had, as we arrived to our hotel in Bourges at around 4 p.m. There wasn’t much time for rest because we had practice later on that night to prepare for Bourges. I’m beginning to learn even more now than in the WNBA, that you will have quick turnarounds for games and practices here.
Enough about basketball, I have to talk to you guys about the food! I thought it was going to be a hard adjustment, but it hasn’t been bad. The main thing I’ve been working on doing better with is cooking every night. I must say that we have made some pretty good dinners so far. I know I’ve been here for a few weeks, but I haven’t tried a traditional Polish meal yet. I’m waiting to go to delicious restaurant so I can get the best Polish food Poland has to offer.
– Izzy