"Yeah, well today is a holiday for us and we came to class"

Today is Thanksgiving. That means absolutely nothing to us. Except for in class today when the three boys from Turkey (yeah, hilarious on Thanksgiving) claimed that tomorrow is a holiday and they will be missing german course. THEN we didn't hesitate to point out that today is in fact a holiday in our world. In reality though, all that it means is that it is the day after Osier's birthday (22).

There hasn't been a post in over a week because we didn't play a game until last night, after our game in Wels was officially cancelled last Saturday. Again we travelled to Sopron, Hungary to take on one of the teams there. (Please see the previous post titled "Fun and Games...yes real games" to read about the first time we met this team). The previous meeting with this team ended up being one of the most frustrating games I have ever played and resulted with a UK Flames 2 point victory over the host. Since then, I would easily say our team has gotten 100 times better. I can't say that for the other team. The numbers in our camp were dwindled...from work and sickness. So playing with 8 players, we took a 3 point lead after a sluggish first quarter. The second quarter was equally difficult, as we struggled to find offensive production from anyone other than Osier, and I was still getting used to that evenings position, which was at the point guard.

Clearly the mineral water and the carefully planned pre-game meal at Burger King kicked in right before the second half. Any shot that hit the rim found the decency to go in. At one point I actually tripped over my own feet, caught no air, chucked the ball up to the rim, and barely caught myself in time to see it roll around the rim and fall through the net. This similar scene happened about 15 times for me on the night and about 10 times for Osier...it was insane. We combined for a cool 61 points...which is 4 more points than the other team scored total (23 for Os#10 and 38 for Me#4). Our group of players played an overall good game, and we made the team look much worse than they actually were. One of the infamous referees from the previous meeting was back, but made a total of 3 calls all game (2 were right at the beginning, followed by an earful from yours truly). The final was 86-57. This brings our overall season record to 7-3, including these two exhibition wins over Sopron and we remain tied for the second position in the AWBL. Our next game is on Saturday and we play AT Graz. That is where Arnold Schwarzenegger is from BTW.

A little about German Course: We go EVERYDAY for 4 hours. The first day of class was interesting...he began speaking in all german. After and hour of Osier and I looking at eachother blankly, we approached him during the break and informed him that our German was very limited. Like, VERY limited. So he restructured the lessons...much to the dismay of certain students. One student (named Mustafa...yes really) was completely opposed to the level of teaching in the class and made a scene before proceeding to leave and never return. 1) Sorry Mustafa, this is the lowest level German course available. 2) Good riddance. You suck anyways. At this point, which is almost two weeks into class, I am feeling more confident in my German spreching skills (that was meant to be Germenglish). One day I will explain how difficult the language actually is, but for now, I pick out words and phrases and ask and answer questions. Give me a few months and these posts will be in German...get your online translators ready.

I had a visit from two of my best friends the past few days. Other than the first two nights (jet lag and no desire to hit the town) I had a fabulous time with them. Their visit really made me miss home and wish for a chance to get home sooner rather than later. And they came bearing gifts for both me and Osier. My dad stocked them up before they left and they met Osier's mom on the way to the airport to pick up her stuff. Last night after our game, we went for mexican food. YES. Mexican food. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I had chicken enchiladas and Osier had fajitas. We will be returning there in the near future, but I have definitely satisfied my constantly intensifying Mexican food craving for the moment. (It's definitely no G-Mex Taco Tuesday, but it will do) Now, if only I could find a Panera...

But on the subject of food, go have some Thanksgiving dinner for me. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Mashed potatoes. Green bean casserole. And just know I am thankful for everyone who has read my posts and who cares even a little bit. Sorry no pics this time! But I AM typing this on my brand new Mac computer!