By Eve Rackham, setter from University of North Carolina
Wow, what an incredibly long day! Let me start off by saying a quick hello to all my family and friends back in the U.S. I miss you all so much already.
After arriving in Munich at 7:30 am, our group out of Washington DC sleepily made our way down to the pick-up spot (Burger King) for what was the beginning of a very, very long first day. Around 10am, some of the other girls arrived from Atlanta, and they joined us at the Burger King. At 10:30, Cory arrived and explained that many flights out of the US had been delayed due to the bad weather, therefore a couple of girls would not be in until the following morning. We waited for a few more girls to filter in and then finally around 11:30 am, we left the airport.
Our next destination was our sports hostel, which also was home to the 1972 Olympic Village for the rowing events. The rooms were small but beautiful and surprisingly comfortable. After dropping off our bags, we quickly boarded the bus and left for the Dachau Concentration Camp. While this was an extremely educational experience, it was also very somber and seemed to put life in perspective for many of us.
We left the Concentration Camp and headed back to the hostel where we quickly changed clothes and walked over to the gym, which was conveniently located on site. We had a light short practice and then went back to our rooms. We had about 20 girls and only one court, but it was nice to get to know the girls that we'll be playing with and get some kinks out from the flights. We went over European rules and got our teams set for the night as well.
Around 5:30 pm, we all left the hostel and boarded the bus. The coaches had divided the group into 2 teams and we were off to play one match a piece before the day was done. Everyone was so tired at this point, but I think the volleyball really helped. We found some new energy and both teams came out victorious. My team played Dachau from the German 2nd Bundesliga (home of former Long Beach State player Kessie Doering) and the other team played SV Lohhof, also from the 2nd German League. It was great to see foreign competition and get a feel for the different style of play. The winning seemed to really rejuvenate all of us, and it was off to a late dinner from the gym.
We ate at a small Italian restaurant in Dachau, which was very cozy. Everyone is getting along great and many new friendships have already been made. We have so much ahead of us, but after this long day, we are all ready for a good night’s sleep. We look forward to the opportunities which lie ahead and are extremely grateful for the experience.
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