The Daily Grind

So…here I am, 2 days into my Serbian Adventure. I thought I would share with you a little about my daily routine. It is not glamorous, by any stretch of the imagination, so if you are squeemish, you might not want to read on! ;)

As I said in my last post, the “hotel” we are staying at is very basic. There is running water, and the electricity works, but that is probably the extent of what one would call “amenities”. My roommate has still not arrived, although each night when I go to bed, I half expect my door to open part way through the night, and some strange girl to walk in. Funny thing is….that can’t actually happen because there is only 1 key for the room. Every time I leave the hotel, I must drop my key at the front desk, just incase my roommate arrives because otherwise, she can’t get in. It would almost be a shame if she came now, because I have been slowly spreading out all over the room. When I first got here, I used only half the room, half of the 3 hangers in the closet (I took 2, obviously) and half the counter space in the bathroom. I even put a couple of bags under my bed to conserve space. Now….forget that! I have all the space, used all the hangers, and I have even turned her bed into my drawers. I have a pile for each type of clothing…T’shirts, shorts, long sleeve shirts, etc. It’s working out very nicely.

Let’s talk about my room for a minute. The first time I used the bathroom, I had to run down the hallway to ask Silviu how to flush the toilet. I am not a stupid person, but I have never seen a flusher like this. It looks like a plastic key. I tried to push it in, turn it, pull it out…nope…nothing. Apparently, you have to yank it down hard…ok…that worked! Problem 1 – solved.

Second problem - charging up my computer. There is only 1 plug in my room…I am not kidding you. It is the plug for the TV, the computer, my straightener, my phone (which doesn’t work but I need the alarm clock), my camera, blowdryer…everything. So, I can not watch TV and straighten my hair, or charge my camera…only 1 thing at a time here. Painful. There is a solution though, to this problem...it’s called…suck it up!

Third problem – phone. Like I mentioned, my phone doesn’t work here…so much for an international Blackberry! I have gone to 3 places asking for a phone card, but they don’t actually exist. That’s OK though, because I’m not sure if one would work anyways because I actually have a rotary phone in my room. You remember those ones that your grandparents all have where you stick your finger in the hole and move it around in a circle to dial each number. I’m not sure that a calling card would actually work with one of those phones! I have managed to find the phone number here, but apparently trying to get through is a complete crapshoot because only 1 of the 3 ladies who works downstairs are able to speak English, so when you call, sometimes you will get through, and another times, according to Alain, you will end up waking someone up in whatever room they put you through to. Awesome!

There are also some interesting things about Serbia that I have observed while being here.
1. The doorknobs don’t turn. There are knobs, but they don’t actually turn. In the center of the knob there is a button, and you have to push it to get out.
2. The light switches are level with my knees, ok…not my knees, but definitely my hips. I’m not really sure why that is.
3. The bathtubs are so high. I actually banged my knee the 1st day and now I have a bruise.
4. Everybody smokes, and I mean everybody…and they smoke everywhere. Even in the mall
5. There is no common courtesy regarding cell phones, if you have one, and it rings, answer it – no matter where you are. I got a massage today at the gym and halfway thru, and I am not even kidding you, the lady gets a phone call, and she answers it! I know…not in Canada!
6. The public transit is all free. We were really excited when we got our accreditation and they told us that we could ride for free on the buses and tramps…yeah, great…everyone rides for free.
7. This might be the loudest country I have ever been in. Nobody talks, they yell. When they drive, they honk their horns all the time, and at everything. I can’t sleep at night with my window open because people are yelling all night. It’s crazy!

Well, that’s all I have for now. We are getting our appointments tonight for tomorrow, so that is something to look forward to.

Travelling to Belgrade

Well….I’m not really sure where to start.

I will start with my trip here. I left Vancouver at 8am on Friday morning and boarded my plane to Toronto. Unfortunately, as this is not an official FIFA tournament, I was not flying 1st class. What a difference, and at this point, completely worth the additional cost, as long as someone else is paying the bill!  I arrived in Toronto at 3:20pm and went to my new gate to board my flight to Dusseldorf, Germany. I meet Silvu Petrescu in Toronto (FIFA referee from Canada), and we travelled the rest of the way together. It was so great to have a travel buddy, especially someone who is 6’4 and about 200lbs….he’s my travel bodyguard! The flight to Germany was 7.5 hours long. On the flight I watched “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “Last Chance Harvey”. Both were “mediums”…not that great but OK. I tried to sleep, but only managed about an hour.

We arrived in Dusseldorf at 6:30am and had to wait for our flight at 12pm. The hard thing was, because we were so early, nobody seemed to know where we were suppose to go to get our tickets for our flight to Belgrade. We spent about 3 hours walking around, asking people, staring at the flight board, and hoping that there was a flight to Belgrade at 12pm. Our airline was JAT…whatever that is, and nobody had heard of it. Finally, around 9am, our flight information came up on the board and told us which counter we had to go to. That was soooo exciting because it gave us something to do. So…we did it….we walked right over to that counter, which was still closed, and we stood there! First ones in line! We stood on that spot for an hour, until someone came. We checked in and got our boarding passes and went to find our gate. Once we got to the gate, C41 we found out that our flight had been postponed until 1:40pm, another 2 hours to wait. Then they changed the gate 3 times…C41…C35….C40. That was actually pretty funny to watch….everytime the gate was changed, someone would come back and tell their friend, who would just stand up and leave. This created some confusion amongst the others who would then scramble around, trying to figure out what was going on. Once they figured it out, a loud yelling discussion would ensue, which was followed by everyone getting up and leaving. Silvu and I were always the last to clue in, because this was all in Serbian so we had no idea what was happening. It was actually very funny. Especially because this process happened 3 times!

Finally at almost 2 pm, after sitting in the airport for 8 hours, we boarded our flight to Belgrade. Thankfully the flight was only 2 hours long, and we arrived in Belgrade just after 4pm. When you consider the time change of 9 hours, which made it 7am in Vancouver, I had been travelling for almost 24 hours. It was a long day!

Once we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by 2 members of the organizing committee who quickly whisked us through customs, and to get our luggage. Now, as you know, I have not had the greatest luck on my last 2 trips with my luggage. On the first one, my bags were lost on the way there, and on the second, my bags were lost on the way back. So, as I stood there waiting for my bag, I was fully expecting for it NOT to come. But it did! So excited! What a great start to the tournament!

We next went to the Athletes Village to get our accreditation and uniform package from Team Canada, and then we were off to our hotel. Actually, let me put hotel like this….”hotel”. Now, I know I have been a bit spoiled in the past, and I am from a fabulous country, but this is definitely a huge stretch for me. It is almost like we are staying in a dormitory that allows smoking in its rooms. There are 2 single beds in each room, and a 10 inch screen TV that may, or may not work, depending on the day. The one bonus is that there is free wireless internet, but only if you are on the second floor at the front, or in the lobby. I, of course, am on the second floor at the back. My roommate is from South Africa, and has yet to arrive, although someone said today, that she may not be coming. I have no idea, and neither does anyone else.

I know that people think that being an international referee is glamorous, but I can definitely tell you, that is not always the case. This is going to be a very interesting experience…probably a lot more like an adventure than anything else. I will keep you posted.

A New Adventure Begins

Well....here we are on the eve of a new soccer adventure. I am just in the process of packing my suitcase for my trip to Serbia. I have been invited to attend the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia and am really excited to represent Canada. Also, this tournament is a bit different than the other ones that I have attended because it is not soccer specific. In fact, I think it is almost like a University Olympics as there are many different types of sports (ie. gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, athletics, water polo, swimming, tennis, etc). I am hoping that I will get a chance to attend a few of these events.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate packing? I can never make up my mind as to what I want to bring/need to bring. I also end up bringing too much, and then when I get there...I always wish that I had brought something else. Ugh!

I am also not super excited about my travel to Serbia as I am flying through Toronto, then to Dusseldorf (where I have a 6 hour layover), and then finally to Belgrade. I leave Vancouver at 8am on Friday, and arrive in Belgrade at 2pm on Saturday. It's definately going to be a long trip. I am just praying that my luggage arrives with me this time! Oops, probably shouldn't have said that...pretty sure I just jinxed myself!

I don't know what my internet access is going to be like over the next 2 weeks, but I will do my best to keep everyone updated!

Enjoy the start of your summer

Michelle