Greetings from Poland!

Greetings from Poland! For those of you who aren't up to speed, John signed a contract to play for Turow, a team in Zgorzelec, Poland, a little over a week ago. For those of you looking for it on a map, it borders Germany in the Southwestern part of Poland. A bridge separates Zgorzelec in Poland from Gorlitz in Germany. We arrived yesterday and are quickly settling into our apartment and adjusting to life here in Poland.

Life here will be a bit of an adjustment from life in Western Europe. We already have a greater appreciation for what we have in the States. Our apartment itself is pretty nice so we really don't have anything to complain about.

Yesterday we walked to the McDonald's as we don't yet have a car and there wasn't any food in the apartment. We managed to order by pointing at the menu and were thankful to have something familiar to eat after a long day of traveling!

Our town has a population of only 30,000 people. So, as you can imagine, we feel a bit out of place. I suppose that people turning their heads and staring at us doesn't do much to help the situation. But, maybe the smaller city will make it a bit easier to meet people. And, the neighboring city Gorlitz has an additional 70,000 people which I hope means additional amenities and shops!

The weather is actually quite warm at the moment. In fact, I plan to lay out at the pool tomorrow while John is at practice. We will see how cold it gets in the winter... we are preparing for the worst!

Sorry we haven't done so well at keeping in touch with everyone. I always set goals to do a better job, and then generally don't meet them. Maybe this will be the year ;)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This morning we went to John's gym so he could shoot while I rebounded for him. As we walked outside there was a little surprise waiting for us in the park across the street...

The trees were lined with frost making a picturesque setting. The frost on the ground had already melted leaving the trees solely responsible for creating the white wonderland.

Suddenly it felt like Christmas time. We have already been to several Christmas markets. One in Brugge, one in Antwerp, and another one in Lille, France. And while all the markets helped get me in the Christmas mood, the frosted trees this morning took me to the next level.

Perhaps it is because I am used to having snow this time of the year or perhaps it is because we are leaving to head home in two days. Whatever the reason, I can now say that I am fully in the Christmas spirit!

Thundering Rainstorms.

We don't seem to get thunder and lightening very often over here. Or, perhaps it is just that we get thunderstorms more frequently in the Midwest. Whatever way you look at it, I miss them over here as I love nothing more than to snuggle up and listen to the rain pound against the window and watch the lightening bolts consume the sky. I also love it when the house seems to shake because of the thunder.

Call me crazy, but I love it all. Which is why I was thrilled the other night when we experienced one of our first "big" storms over here! We turned off all the lights, opened the curtains, and even opened the window so the audio effects were more real. (Well, until it started raining so hard that water was pouring into the window!)

While family and friends back at home are getting snow storms, we are loving our thundering rainstorms! I can't wait for another one. (Provided I am able to remain indoors to experience it.)