The following is a letter from Kyle Masterson to his family shortly after landing a job in Sweden from the tour. While Kyle is one of the lucky ones (to have landed a job) he also does a good job illustrating some of the many nuances of the tour, post tour travel, and assimilation to a new team, community, and country. I’m including the letter here in the journal from a mostly entertainment angle, but I do want potential tour-goers to recognize that there are many frustrating moments on and after an Exposure Tour, so its best to come over with your expectations well in line. A good attitude, an open heart and mind, and buckets of patience are needed to see yourself through the tour and either on to a team, or more possibly for many, back home. Thanks to Kyle for sharing.
From: k masterson
Subj: Alive in Sweden
I'm alive in Sweden. Finally, I'm in my house after quite a busy day.
I had to wake up at 7:00am to go to the Metro to get to the Madrid Airport. I figured the Metro would be dead at 7:00am on a Sunday. OH MAN was I wrong. Apparently 7:00am is like 1:00am anywhere else and I had to deal with every drunk and hungover person in Madrid. It did make my train ride rather interesting! So I took my 3 different trains and finally got to the airport at 8:15 or so, 2 hours before my flight.
I walked up to the airline counter to try to tell them that I'm checking in for my flight to Sweden, and of course no one speaks English. So I try to speak to them in Spanish, which doesn't work either. So, here I am with no idea where I am supposed to go, or basically what the hell is going on. Therefore, I decided to use my backup plan.
I had discovered "my backup plan" on the second day of the Bring It August Tour, that is, when in doubt, find a good looking girl who speaks English and everything will be taken care off.
So, I found a beautiful girl who was from the U.K. I approached her and I told her that I had no idea what I was doing and asked if she could help me. She smiled and said of course. She went up to some guy who worked there and spoke to him in, I think, Italian, but I don't really know. And next thing I know I'm at the front of the line of 200 people, as well as the front of the security line. I don't know if she told him that I was a celebrity or if I was mentally challenged, but I don't really care, because I just skipped by hundreds of people. So my awesome plan worked!!
I boarded the plane for a 4 hour flight to Sweden. In Sweden, I
collected my bag and went through customs. As I entered the lobby I immediately saw my coaches who broke out into huge smiles and came over to give me hugs. They told me "Welcome to Sweden" and asked me what I wanted to do before we started our activities. I said, I wanted to see the gym, my house and the town. From there it was about an hour or so drive to Tierp.
The scenery in Sweden is beautiful; a nature lovers dream. I'm sure the fall here is even more amazing. The scenery is similar to driving to Penn State University. As we got into the town of Tierp, Andy, my coach, says we have to stop at his house to get the keys to my house. We walk into his house and I meet Helen, and their 2 daughters. She asked if I have been to my house yet, and I told her no. She broke out into a big smile and said something to Andy in Swedish. We then started walking to my house and there was no one on the street. Before we arrive, my assistant coach, Martin/Magnus (he called himself both so I don't really know what to call him yet) said we had to stop by his dad’s house to pick up a chair or something. So, in I walk and his entire family is there. This is when I came to the conclusion that Swedish people are the nicest people in the entire world. They are totally friendly, and will do anything to help you. His dad asked if I had been to my house yet, and he had a big smile on his face. I told him no, and he laughed and then started speaking Swedish. So this is when I used my Big10 education and realized something was up with the stop at my house.
We finally got to my house and as we were walking up the stairs, both coaches were laughing and talking in Swedish. Right before we walked in they asked, "so what do you think of our town?" And then they swung open the door and said, "now what do you think of it?" Inside my house was the entire women's volleyball team, and they all screamed welcome and came up and give me a big hug. Not only did they spend all day in my house cleaning and setting up things they bought from IKEA, but they also made posters and signs for me. They went grocery shopping, bought me all new glassware, and did the dishes. And yes, they are all drop dead gorgeous!
My house is AWESOME! I have 2 bedrooms, a living room, a full size kitchen, a huge bathroom, a walk-in closet, and a washer and dryer (thank God). So after I met the women's team (can't pronounce any of their names yet) and put my bags down it was time to see the volleyball court. As we walked to the gym there was still no one on the street and my coaches said it's because it's Sunday.
As we walked into the gym and I turned the corner I realized why the streets were empty... They were in the gym waiting for me. There are signs everywhere saying Welcome Kyle, Welcome to Tierp and Welcome to TierpVolley. I was overwhelmed at seeing the townspeople standing and giving me an ovation.
The warmth of this town is indescribable, so I won’t attempt. I simply will move on to dinner. We went to a pizza/pasta place. There were about 20 people in the place when we got there. All of a sudden, one by one, people started coming in and up to the table and talking with my coaches. They laughed and said sure he would love to. So I had to stand up, and they would all just point up at how tall I was, and then point down at my feet and then take pictures with me. I probably took 30-40 pictures with different people and had to sign a good 20 autographs. The coaches said that everyone in the town will know me, so get used to it.
I finished eating and came back to my house. 3 of the girls were still there working on my house. When they finally finished, we watched VH1; first time I've seen anything English on TV in about 2 weeks.
Everyone here is super nice, and beyond helpful. They are making sure that I am comfortable and have anything I need. The town is small so everything is a 5-10 minute walk. I guess I will be thankful for that in December. The gym is about 600 meters away from my house, and one of my other coaches lives 300-400 meters away.
Well, I would love to keep writing this email, but the girls just made me more food and they are finishing up my laundry (I like it here).
