June 7, 2008

Yesterday marked the final day of volleyball practice and competition, and from a medical standpoint, this European experience had been pretty uneventful (just the way I like it), or so I thought. During practice yesterday morning, just when I thought the team would be injury-free, one of the girls suffered an ankle sprain, leaving the team one player short for the final volleyball game that night, a perfect time for my volleyball debut... a trainer is always willing to help whenever needed.

Despite my efforts to become part of the rotation, my athletic ability (or lack there of) was not needed on the court that night. The team played well and won their games without my setting/hitting/digging skill... sigh. I know what you're thinking, and don't worry, there's always next season.

Back in January, I remember asking Sinisa about the trip to Croatia. I was full of questions; if there were any definite plans yet, how many teams we were going to play, how many cities would we visit, are we actually going? etc.

In a very straight-forward and direct "Sinisa-esque" way, he responded by saying, "We will play a lot of volleyball, and the staff will retreat out to my parent's country house and go hiking." Hmm, I'm not going to lie, I was a little perplexed by his answer. I was hoping for a little more detail, and what was this talk about his parent's house? But as I do a lot of the time here, I just smiled, nodded, and went on my way.

Since that day in January, I have heard many stories of the country home, or what the volleyball staff has termed the "Shire." Sinisa takes every opportunity to bring up and talk big game about the Shire. Myself and the other coaches had VERY high expectations for the `wonder that is the Shire' and we were all extremely anxious to go. So on our most recent day off, the time to go to the Shire finally arrived. It felt a little like Christmas morning! At 8 a.m., the staff loaded the bus to make the hour and a half drive out of Zagreb, into the country, to get to the Shire.

Let me just tell you, the Shire was all we were promised it would be and more!! An arch arbor covered in beautiful roses began the ascent up a set of stone stairs leading to a quaint home which sat upon a small hill. On the hill, looking out, all you can see is rolling pastures, blue skies, and rustic farm homes scattered here and there.

My words don't describe how absolutely beautiful the Shire is, so, to get a better idea, go up to the second floor of the Wilson Center to the volleyball office and ask Sinisa to draw you a picture of the Shire. He's a very talented artist! His drawing will give you a much more accurate mental picture.

Sinisa's family greeted us with smiling faces, open arms, and incredibly delicious food. The day was filled with conversations consisting of Croat-glish, the American's trying to speak Croatian, and the Croatians speaking English (very well might I add), talk about two worlds colliding!

And yes, we went on the hikes that were planned back in January. The second hike was my favorite. Sinisa and his brother Sasa, took us up a dirt path to an old church and beautiful chestnut tree. My descriptive writing skills cannot do what I saw at the top of this hill justice, so I'm not even going to try. Let's just sum it up by saying it was like a little piece of heaven on Earth... no seriously. Unfortunately rain cut out hiking for the rest of the day, but it gave us the opportunity to visit with Sinisa's family and friends, and eat more food... it's always about the food.

The only thing that could have made this day better would have been if we got to stay longer, and trust me, I petitioned to stay longer.

Unfortunately, I was rejected, and we left that same night to go back to Zagreb. I would like to give special thanks and shout out to Mira, Momo, brother Sasa, Nana, and the rest of the Momic family for a perfect day. Your warm welcome and hospitality made this trip so special to us. Without your hard work, our European adventure may not have even happened. Thank you so much for everything you did, and for all the wonderful memories we will all take with us. We will be back soon. I'm not kidding!

Hvala Pula! Hvala Zagreb!
-Becky

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