SPAIN

9/2/10

Well, since my last post so many things have changed in my life. Firstly, I don’t live in Greensboro anymore for the first time in four years, and two, I don’t even live in the same country for the first time in my life. It’s has been quite a change for me..

My last night in the USA was spend packing and re-packing(thanks mom), and spending time with my family for the last time for a while. Friday morning I woke up and feeling pretty unsure about the situation loaded my luggage into my moms car, and we headed to Greensboro. I decided that I should have a “last meal” since I didn’t know if I would be able to buy the things I liked in Spain. So, I decided on eating at chipotle(one of my favorite resturaunts). Then it was time to head to the airport, where I said my last goodbyes, and walked through security trying to hold back tears. It was the first time that I actually understood the significance of not being able to see my friends and family for such a long period of time, this was something that I had always been able to do. As I sat in the terminal in Greensboro, I thought to myself “what am I doing?”

My first flight was to Philadelphia. That one was not too bad, but the next flight however was miserable. As I boarded the plane, I figured that I would be little cramped and uncomfortable. As I walked further back and saw my seat I almost fainted haha. It was about the size of a elementary school’s desk. I sat down, and my knees were literally up to my chest. This was not going to work, so I quickly started to look for a new seat. Fortunately I was able to find two seats beside each other that were unoccupied. This was a lot better, but still very uncomfortable. Fast-forward 9 hours I land in a sunny Madrid, Spain. Now onto the next problem, I haven’t slept in almost 24 hours, and I had a 8 hour layover in Madrid. Plus, I don’t have my boarding pass for my next flight. I am supposed to find the airline desk, and have it printed off after retrieving my luggage and going through customs. Wow, I didn’t know it was going to be this confusing, not being about to understand except about half of what was going on around me didn’t help either. Well I find my luggage, and get a cart and proceed to the terminal gate to get my boarding pass. Oh wait, of course my flight is not in the same terminal, instead it’s at another terminal about a mile bus ride away…Great! So I find the bus, load ALL of my luggage onto it, and head to the next terminal. I get there, find the airline, and get my boarding pass. Now, finally time to relax! FOR EIGHT HOURS…Finally my flight to Pamplona takes off, and I’m headed for my new home.

When I finally landed after some 20 hours of travel, I am greeted the President of the team, multiple team representatives, and the press. From there they took me to my new home, and I’m finally be able to get some sleep. As I laid there in bed, I strongly considered the possibility of going to the airport and buying a ticket home. I just felt terrible, so homesick already, I didn’t know if I would be able to do it. However, from there it got a lot better, especially when the basketball started. I met my American teammates, and they very cool and fun. They are older, so I think they can teach me a lot about being a professional in Europe. The basketball is good, we have practice in the morning followed by lifting and running, and then we have another practice in the evening. They really aren’t that tough, it’s just a lot of time in the gym. I’m not sure how long the 2adays will last, but it’s look like at least until our first real game in October. Which is pretty much a bummer for me, since I’m a fan of getting an adequate amount of sleep, or more. Today, we went running through the park, which looked over most of the historical part of Pamplona. This is where they have the running of the bulls every year. It is a really beautiful city, and there is a lot of history and culture here. I think as I learn to find my way around, and find out more about the city, it’s going to be a great place to live!

This is a picture of my arrival to Pamplona:

One of the highlights of my week was finding a store named “Carrefour” it’s basically the Spanish Walmart. There they have everything, and I’m pretty sure this is where I’ll do most of my shopping during the year. It’s so hard to get around in the city though, because not only are there a lot of scary drivers, but I’m not used to the parallel parking or the multitude of traffic circles. Spain is a fun country, but I really miss my friends and family back home. It’s funny to think about the things I have taken for granted for so many years, and now that it is not readily available to me, it’s hard to live without. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot this season, a lot about myself especially, and hopefully I’ll play well and we as a team will win a lot of games. It’s certainly going to be a great adventure!

God Bless!

If anyone would like to email me to catch up, since I don’t really have a phone to call the US…my email is sanbornmt@guilford.edu

Or you can skype me: tyler_sanborn