Missing my 2nd home!

Today has been a rainy day here in my hometown. It made me think of Cloppenburg haha! Even though I hear right now the weather is lovely in Germany, the weather today made me miss my 2nd home so much....
Luckily tomorrow will be sunny and hopefully my nostalgic mood will have lifted.

I just got back in to town after a nice week long vacation in Mexico...below are some photos of the trip I took with my family...I had so much fun relaxing on the beach and drinking Margaritas ;)
That is pretty much all that is going on right now...I just got back from the trip and then went right back to coaching/training the teams. I am currently working with 5 different teams. The ages range from 9yrs old to 16yrs old and they are all girls teams so far.

I have started taking a Zumba class on Wednesdays for fun! It is a Salsa dance workout class...HAHAHA! :)

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying watching the Women's World Cup...I know I am...I wish I was there in Germany to go to all the games :)

Miss everyone lots!

KAT

Update!

Not sure if anyone is following this blog still....but I figured I would put an update on here...

I will not be returning to Cloppenburg to play soccer (it was the most difficult decision I have had to make and sometimes I still wonder if it is the right one) ...in fact I wont be playing soccer anymore I don't think....I have been thinking about potentially retiring from my soccer career.

I have thoughts everyday about Cloppenburg and all the amazing people I met there and I get sad....I really do. I miss it terribly. I still slip up and say things in German to people around town here in Roseville, CA. It is funny...they look at me so weird!
I also put a basket on the back of my bike....it is not so common to ride bikes to stores or have a basket on the back of your bike...at least not in my hometown....so I am trying to bring little pieces of Germany to people here :) I love Germany so much it is hard not to.
Since I have been home I have been able to visit with most all of my family, enjoy some lovely warm weather and go to Lake Tahoe....just a beautiful place to visit.

I was thinking about keeping this updated with how things are going with me here and also I plan on following the BVC damen next season...I will write about it....but only if people let me know if that would be something of interest....otherwise I wont keep posting on here...
I thought it would be fun and a way I can keep in touch with people....I truly miss everyone and the town so much.

I am hoping to get to back over to visit for a 3 week trip in April or March and see everyone and watch some games of the team!

Hope all is well in Germany and everyone is healthy and happy! :)

Miss you all lots!

KAT

Tschuss Deutschland!!!

Today is my last day in Germany...tomorrow morning I head to the airport very early in the morning to begin my long day of travel back to my home in the US.

I don't know at this moment if I can truly express the way I feel...I have such mixed emotions and I believe it will be easier for me to write my "Thank Yous" to people once I am home and less emotional. I've already cried a couple times today saying goodbye to people.

I am not certain on my return to BVC, but that will be officially decided by ME in the next week or two.

I wish everyone the best and I will be writing again soon,...once I pull it together :) Ha!

- KAT

BLESSED!!!!!!

Last night and today I celebrated my 28th Birthday here in Germany. I have to say that it was more than I could have ever imagined. I have truly met people here that will be lifelong friends of mine. Whether or not I play in Cloppenburg is undecided as of right now, but I truly believe if I weren't able to return to play next season, I would have friends for life here.
I had the best birthday and I just want to thank those special people who were a part of it ... I had friends share drinks, cake, tractors, pigs, car rides, hugs and laughter with me...I also received so many wonderful text (sms) messages and facebook messages. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I am the luckiest girl ever!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR MAKING MY BIRTHDAY SO MEMORABLE!!!

I only have 12 days left here in Cloppenburg. I am so excited to see my family, but I am experiencing so many mixed feelings...I will miss everyone here in Clp terribly.

-Kat

Below are some photos from a great 28th Birthday!











Yes! I drove a tractor and held a pig....1st time for everything! :) Why not in Germany!!!

BVC Damen stay in the league!!

CONGRATS to the BVC women's team!!! I'm so proud of my teammates for their hardwork and friendship...I want to thank the support of the community of Cloppenburg and the fans for welcoming and supporting me here. Thanks to the BVC club members, coaches and everyone that helps run the club. I have truly never been a part of such a great team and community of soccer fans! My time here in Germany has been the most amazing 4 months of my life and I would never trade it for anything.
I leave in 17 days ... I feel so excited to go home and see my family and dog....but I truly feel like I'm leaving my 2nd home and family (the people I've met here have truly become family to me).


- Kat

Update!!

Hallo!!

Just to update everyone...things have been going pretty well here in Germany! :)

I'm still loving where I live, the people and the team...We won our game this past weekend on Easter Monday (Oster Montag)! --Hopefully I spelled that correctly. This was an important game and the team really came together and gave a strong effort to win the game. We beat Gutersloh 2-1 and were so excited to get the Win to secure us for relegation play. Tanja Baumann had her birthday that day and was able to give herself a birthday goal! It was so SUPER! :) Kim Schlosser another teammate finished a great ball. Another teammate who is currently recovering from knee surgery had her birthday that day as well...so it was great for our team and the birthday girls! :)

This coming weekend I will not be playing. I am currently injured more after this weekends game. I've had some issues with my foot and it is feeling pretty bad right now. I am thinking with some rest and smart recovery I will be good to play in the relegation games. I am looking forward to watching my teammates this weekend and screaming my head off in their support :)


It is getting much easier for me to understand German when I hear people speaking it...I can understand much more than I can speak. Each day I get a little better with the language...at least I think...most of the endings are incorrect, but I get the idea! HA!

We just celebrated Ea ster here...it was so nice...I was so excited to see the Easter Fires here in Germany. That is so mething different from the USA. Here they have these bonfires all over. We went to one in a smaller village close by and the fire was HUGE...after a little while of being at that bonfire, we went over to a friends house and had dinner while sitting by their bonfire...they found anything they could to burn: old desks, a couch and even a horse trailer....YES! hahaha!

I only have a little over 20 days left here in Germany before making the trip home to see my family, friends, soccer family and my little dog! I miss everyone so much in the US, but I am really getting sad about leaving Germany :(
Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and all is well back home.

Time goes by so quickly...

We are coming up to the end of our season ... we have two games left. We play the Sunday after Easter and then the following Sunday. These are both MUST WINS for us...

So everyone send good vibes over to Germany on those days! ;)

Not too much has been going on...I was able to go to a school here in Cloppenburg and watch a friend teach her classes. It was a really cool experience to see how a classroom and school is operated in another country.

A few differences:

- teachers switch rooms
- teachers purchase ALL materials with their own money
- classes are 45min long
- students are really anxious to raise their hands and answer questions
- the walls are bare to reduce distractions

That's all I can think of right now ... but it was a great experience and a lot of fun :)

This whole adventure is coming to an end in about a month. I can't believe how fast time flies.

Right now, I am focusing on training everyday during the day, studying German and preparing myself to kick some major butt in our last two games! :)

I hope everyone is doing well. I miss everyone so much, but I am loving it here at the same time!

- Kat

Visitors to Cloppenburg and Game Day Tomorrow!!!

This past week there was a group on a Euro Soccer trip here in Cloppenburg. They were from Williamsburg, Virginia. We met them at the men's game on Friday and then trained their U13 girls team the following day. It was so fun to be with a group of young soccer players again! I love it :)
The kids, parents and people in charge were all great and it was a fun week getting to see them and have Americans in town :)
I hope they had a great time here in Cloppenburg and the surrounding areas they visited...I know I had a good time!


Well ... tomorrow we leave early in the morning for Magdeburg! We are looking to come away with a good win tomorrow :) I will let you know how the game goes!!! Wish us luck!!!

-Kat

Long Time No Post --- Part 2

Ok...so if you haven't read Part 1 yet, you may want to scroll down the page prior to reading this post :)

...sooooo, lets see where I left off...

After being in the hospital and hitting my head, we were unsure at the time what had happened and I had an MRI scheduled for a few days later. I was not allowed to practice and therefore my coach and the powers that be allowed me to go with my mom to Berlin for a couple of days!!!
What an amazing trip that was ... there is so much to see and do in Berlin. There is a lot of history. I have TONS of pictures to share, but I will only post a few for now...We went on a bus tour and got to listen about the history and rebuilding of Berlin. My mom and I went to the checkpoint charlie area and went through the museum. What an interesting/scary history to read about...








We also went to an AMAZINGLY LARGE chocolate store...as any of you who know me well can imagine ... I was in HEAVEN!!! I loved it ... there were cool chocolate statues of the monuments from around the city...see below, so cool:



After returning from Berlin, I was cleared to practice again...so my mom decided to go on a trip by herself and went to visit Amsterdam. She went to lots of museums and the Anne Frank House. I am looking forward to checking out Amsterdam myself. I think I may be going soon...the next time we have time off of training maybe!

Once my mom returned from Amsterdam, we had a test game the following day...we played against FCR Duisburg and they were a great team. I believe they have 4 National Players that will be participating in the World Cup coming up in a few months. It was a great experience getting to play with players on a national team from another country! :)
My mom had to leave the very next day :( I took her to Bremen and we said our goodbyes...with a few tears...





It was so nice having my mom here in Germany with me for a couple weeks. I'm pretty sure she had a great time and loved Germany a lot :)

This week I am focusing on getting rid of this cold, training hard and kicking butt in our game this weekend. We play away against Magdeburg and it is a must win. We will be having a group of fans going with us and I think it will be a great thing for us ...

I plan on writing an update after that game...so I hope everyone enjoyed hearing about the past two weeks ;) Wishing everyone well and I will write again soon!!

-Kat

Long Time No Post --- Part 1

For those of you out there that follow or check in with my blog...my apologies for not keeping it up to date!!!

It was a busy past couple of weeks for me. I was fortunate enough to have my mother visiting me in Germany and we had a blast!!! :)


I'm currently laying in bed sick with a cold. I woke up this past Sunday morning with a sore throat and it was a little worse on Monday. I'm starting to feel slightly better and have been in bed resting all day. I have a feeling tomorrow will be much better after today's rest! Anywho...so here we go...while I lay here in bed lets see if I can remember most of what I did while my mom was here in Germany!!!

My mom got here the day before I played the worst game of my life. I felt really bad that she has to watch me play so poorly ;) Anywho...after the game in the evening we were invited to our goalkeeper coaches' house and got to try all the traditional German foods. We had schnitzel, sausage, kraut, and other stuff that was delicious, but I can't remember the names!! haha! We also had Bavarian custard and ice cream as well as a variety of alcoholic beverages ;)






Mmmm...what a tasty and delicious evening that was ...

For the first few days my mom was here, we mostly relaxed and took in some sights around Cloppenburg. We shopped a little in the city, had lunch at the Bakery, rode bikes around town, went to the sauna and also saw the open air museum here in town called, Museumsdorf.

(funny note -- watching my mom ride a bike in Cloppenburg was very entertaining for me ;) LOVE YOU MOM!!)






After spending time seeing Cloppenburg, we decided to head off to Hamburg on our day off from training and check out the sights there...sadly Caitlin was sick at the time, but Jackie and Chelsea joined us on our trip to Hamburg. We did LOTS of walking and window shopping...ate ice cream of course, saw the Reeperbahn (pictures I can't post because of potential young audiences to my blog) and we had a lovely dinner and an amazing hotel/bar called Upper East!! What a fun short trip that was :)







Ok...so that was Hamburg...then when we got back, we had training and the following day a teammate of mine invited us to her hometown of Papenburg to see her home and also see what her town in known for, building cruise ships...this was a pretty cool sight to see. I had so much fun seeing how massive everything was and it makes me want to go on a cruise so badly now!!





We played a game the next Sunday and I was glad my mom was able to see another game...and not only see the horrible previous one we had played ;) haha! This time we played against Turbine Potsdam II and did very well. I scored a goal and was so excited my mom was able to see that :) Our whole team played so well and really worked hard. Sadly...during the second half of this game I lost vision in my right eye and was taken to the hospital -- OF COURSE right!! I know...I was so irritated and didn't know what was going on...everything has come back ok, my vision is good and I am good to go...





OK...so that was WEEK #1 of my mom being in Germany...

-Kat :)