I will attempt to sum up the end of my adventure in the land of clogs and windmills. The big news: we made it to the finals, which consists of a best of 5 series of matches (think baseball series). We went down 2-0 and then my Dad and Stepmom showed up in town to boost our luck. We won the next 2 matches only to lose the last in a heart breaker at home (pictured is our last drink as a team). It was a great run though and I would do it all over again if I had the choice, of course winning this time would be a better end to the tale.
With the season over, I took some time to travel to see my ol' buddy ol' pal and sister in burnt orange blood, who was playing in my favorite country, Italy! I got to spend a few days with the amazing Paaaoooo! I took in all the sights and sounds and of course tastes of Italy that I love so dearly. This means I walked the back alleys for hours and stuffed my face with more pizza, pasta and gelato then should ever really be eaten in a 4 day period. I got to take a day trip to the charming city of Verona (pictured where I scored big on a gift for some special people, but I can't reveal that here, at least not yet. Believe it or not 3 months later and they haven't received it yet, but for good reason (stay tuned if you wish). The city of Romeo and Juliet was wonderful and I hate to sound cliche, but you know it really does have quite the impact on a young girl's heart. Lastly, I was able to see my lovely Lauren play in a match and enjoy a delicious Italian meal with wine to compliment before heading back to the great NL.When back in my little town of Oldenzaal that I had called home for 9+ months, I began my major task of packing. This particular event is one that I have come to master after two years of moving my life overseas. I get the age old question from every new player seeking the career of sports overseas: "How do I pack for 7+ months?" All I can say is that you learn as you go. My first year I didn't bring enough and then on my Christmas break trip to home I brought way too much back to Switzerland. This created a serious issue when packing to come home last summer. This year I was a master and packed as needed as well as allotting space for gifts and personal purchases on my travels back home at the end of the year. This meant I didn't have to leave anything behind in the Netherlands unlike my year before.
I flew home May 15th to Dallas, Texas to visit my Mom, Brother and the gang. The weather was warm and it was so great to have some authentic Tex-Mex! It is just not the same in Europe. Then came the daunting task of unpacking the last 9+ months of my life. Just to repack a short week later for my usual summer travels to home sweet home California.I arrived in California May 21st and after a couple days of relaxation paired with reconnecting (my brother and spoiled puppy pictured), I started the adventure of job searching. Most of which consisted of browsing craigslist and emailing resumes. It was simple enough and let me tell you, not everything on that site is even remotely legit. I received a few strange responses and phone calls. For example, the part-time nanny advertisement that turned out to be "for a perfectly healthy grown adult who just desired to be treated like a baby" I'm sorry? What? Then there was the massage therapist position which included all training paid for by the company. When I got a call back the guy kept inquiring if "people in my life, such as friends, family or roommates, would have an issue with this line of work" What does that mean? Something illegal is what I assumed after I asked him for the full business name to look it up and he hung up on me.
For those of you that do not know, I did find a job. Yippee!! It all happened rather quickly and everyone around me told me that was virtually impossible in today's economic situation. I just said my thanks to God. Let me start at the beginning: I sent out an email to an Ad on craigslist for a part-time assistant position. I received a phone call that same day to set up an interview for the following day. An hour after the interview I got the call to come in at the beginning of the following week. Whirl-wind, story of my life! Then to top it all off a month later they asked me to come on full-time.
Needless to say I am enjoying it at Next Level Fitness in Southern California and if you are interested in any personal training sessions please let me know. I won't be the one training you, but I know some people who are masters at butt kicking.
Who knows where life will lead me next? Lord knows I look forward to it! (Well except for the running of this hill pictured) Thanks for reading <3
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