So I have made it to Spain. Again. And I say that because, I was here not so long ago in Benidorm, which is about 6 km away from my new home here in Finestrat. Back in 2007 I trained with the Benidorm team for about 3 weeks, before they opted to go with another middle. Fast forward to now- two years later, I am back and signed with a team called Cala de Finestrat. What a difference right? Since 2007 I have torn and rehabbed my rotator cuff, won the German Cup, torn two ligaments in my foot, won the 8th place tourney in Finland, and won USAV nationals while garnering all-tournament honors. I am the testament for ups and downs. Ins and outs. So don't count me out ever. I am Built Ford Tough for a reason.I have been here for about three days now, and I think I might be falling in love with this town and their way of life. Siesta is the greatest thing invented right behind lasagna. I live with my teammate and fellow American Lindsey Stalzer (she's real cool) in a three bedroom apartment (it also has 1 & 1/2 bath). Step outside onto our front patio, and it looks like a scene from the Bourne Ultimatum starring Matt Damon. Yeah the one where he is jumping from building to building. Step outside onto our back patio and you can see the most beautiful view, just like something straight off a post card. This view is equipped with a huge mountain, with hills and houses and green landscape. Look a bit further and you can see the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Its only 8 km away. It sucks we have to walk up three flights of stairs to get home, but the view is well worth it. Outside, the streets are made of bricks and everything surrounding it seems sort of romanticized. Sometimes I really feel like I am living under the Tuscan Sun.
I have practiced about four times and let me tell you, it has not been easy. Yes, I did take two weeks off to have my wisdom teeth extracted, but still no excuses right? The heat is so intense, I am seriously tired before I even get started. Water is critical here! I do believe it gets to be about 90 some days. My teammates are very nice. There are nine of us. Two Brasilleras- Katia & Dani; Five Spanish- Ainoa, Rebeca, Lara, Maria & Ana; and lastly us Americans. Right now practice seems to focus on conditioning, which is good and bad. Everyday I feel like I am coughing up a lung, but it will go along way further into the season. Tomorrow or manana en espanol, we have a "friendly" match against another team here. Very excited to play and train. I know there is a lot of good competition here in Spain this year and I welcome that. If you wanna be the best, you have to surround yourself with the best and compete against the best. I asked for this and I am going to get a good helping of it.
Overall I am just excited. This experience is amazing and I don't want to take anything for granted.
Till next time, I am going to stay strong because I am ... BuiltFORDTuff!
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