MAY I INTRODUCE... THE PROTEAS CRAZY BUNCH

waiting for practice to get started

one of our pointguards...
I need to make sure to be on her good side, if you know what I mean ;)

Well, these two girls thought they pulled a fast one ON ME,
but they don't know who they are messing with.
The German usually gets the last laugh ;)

FROM and ESPECIALLY FOR THE "LIL ONE"

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember her name :)

She doesn't need her name up in lights
She just wants to be heard whether it's the beat or the mic

It's not about the salary.
It's all about reality and making some noise, makin the story ;)

Never concerned with status but still leavin them star struck
Put it together herself, now the picture connects
Never askin for someone's help, to get some respect!!
She's only focused on what she "wrote", her will is beyond reach
And now when it all unfolds, the skill of an artist.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES...

At this time last week I was sitting at church in Southern California, and today I am sitting in a hotel lobby in Glyfada, Greece. It's strange how unpredictable life (as a basketball player) can be at times.

Looking back, I've had a lovely week so far. The team has really tried very hard to welcoming to their country and their "club's family".

Yesterday we had our first game, it was on the road in Volos... it took us 5 hours on the bus to get there, and I am happy to announce that WE WON!!! It was nice to compete again after having resting for over a month now. The score ended up being 59-70. For boxscore click HERE.

Alright, off course I have been taking pictures like crazy... BUUUT I left my camera upstairs... aaaaand I am way to lazy to get up out of this chair now... lol... so I promise that next time I will post some pictures.

Now I am going back upstairs to my room and turning on some episodes of
this show has filled my last couple of days with laughter and enjoyment... I love it!
Alright everyone, have a nice Sunday and I will be back soon.
Lots of love,
LINDA

DAY ONE IS OVER WITH...

... and I was NOT disappointed... except by the rim in the gym.. hahaha... it seemed to closed up every time I attempted to shoot on it.. hahahaha!!!

This evening at practice I met my team for the first time, the coaches, president and some people from the management. Everyone here is really nice here.

FUNNY STORY about how I got to meet one of my teammates today: this morning after breakfast I decided to step out of the hotel and check out the beachside a little bit, when a girl in running shoes and an ipod all of a sudden stood next to me at the crosswalk... we looked at each other, and she said "Liiiiinda?"... and I said "Eeeemily?" That's how I met Emily Fox... she was on her to way to get her morning jog on.
Well actually inofficially we have "met" before, because when I was doing my research on Proteas I had looked up Emily and Ashley on Facebook to ask them a couple of questions about the club, etc. And obviously they said the right things to convince me to come here :)

The names of my other teammates is going to be a little bit more difficult... I'm just not yet used to Greek names and their pronounciation...  in Turkey it took me 2 weeks to understand and remember the names of my teammates.... but now I can name them all from Nalan, Nevriye, Murat, Serhan, Mustafa, Nilay, Saziye, etc.... and it's going to be the same with my Greek teammates... as a matter of fact, I just wrote all of their names down, and I am going to go to my room now and study!!

On that note, I wish everyone a good night.
LINDA

BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT

Because my contract was so "spontaneous", when I arrived yesterday, I was put up into a hotel here in Glyfada... It's a normal procedure as the team has to look for an apartment for me now.

So when I came to the hotel, I had to make a choice: either get a room with direct WIFI-access or one with ocean view... Guess which one I picked?!

Needless to say, the doubt that I had last night while I had to sit in the lobby during the late night hours to be online was erased!

And just as my decision to come here was based on faith, I pray that my stay here will be as beautiful as this view!!

MADE IT TO ATHENS

If you haven't heard it yet, I decided to come to Greece to play for the remainder of this season.

A.E.O. Proteas Voulas that's the name of my new team, and we are going to strictly compete in the Greek league... no EuroCup, no Euroleague, which will definitely be a change for me.Our first game is going to be this Saturday...but hey: first things first.

Tomorrow I am going to see the city (I arrived at midnight, so I it was dark), meet the team, and have my first practice.

I am very excited about it... the teammanager Elias picked me up today, and he set a good and friendly tone!! I don't expect anything less from the other people in this club now: NO PRESSURE!!! ;)

Alright everyone, I got to go to sleep... and as I've learned in Greek today... "Kali Nickta"... well I learned how to pronounce it, not spell... hahahaha.

Sweet dreams from Greece!!
LINDA

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!