New York City.

Thursday.

When my alarm went off at 7am on Thursday morning I was up in a flash. I couldn't wait to load the bus and get away from University for a weekend of hockey in Philadelphia and New York with the team. I made sure I finished all my assignments so I could relax and completely focus on our games.

A team of sleepy eyes dragged themselves on to the bus, teddy bears and bursting travel bags at hand. As always, we were welcomed with a choice of bagels and cream cheeses for our traditional travel breakfast. After one (or two) bagels, we all tried our best to find a nice comfy back breaking, neck twisting position to get some extra sleep. One restroom stop, a lunch break, 6 hours and another bagel later we arrived in Philadelphia.

Hovering in the lobby with bags hauled over our shoulders, we await our names to be called out along with our room number and most importantly, our roommate for the weekend! With a double bed each and with what feels like hundreds of pillows, we all enjoy a weekend out of the dorm beds. But before long we're loading the bus again and heading to our pre-game practice.

Friday.

On game day, we start the morning with foam rolling and stretching which is followed with a team meeting where we will watch video on our opposition and discuss tactics for the game. Our first game of the weekend was against St Josephs. The game wasn't the performance we wanted but we came away with a 3-2 win. After the game we have the joy of locker room showering. Usually the communal showers suck, with weak water pressure, broken shower heads, people yelling for shampoo and the occasional break out of song. Back on the bus we kicked back for a 2 hour journey to New York. Freshman had the honour of participating in 'Bus Karaoke', a very funny UMass tradition. Even the coaches and athletic trainer joined in! On the way we drove past the night time skyline of New York City and upon arrival were greeted with 4 large pizzas. A team of hungry hockey players easily demolished the pizza party in less than 10 minutes.

Saturday.

After breakfast we all jumped in the pool for recovery. Plenty of splashes, laughs, bombs, and whirlpools later the UMass wannabe synchronized swim team is done! After the complications of ordering lunch for over 25 people in Panera, we eventually are all fed and shipped back to the hotel. That afternoon we ventured into New York City to do some shopping and explore the city. Surprisingly, we managed not to lose anyone and we all made it to the restaurant on 7th Ave for dinner. We chose from a range of dishes such as crab cakes, salmon, steak, tuna burger, sea-bass or tacos. Before we knew it we were back on the bus heading back to the hotel, getting an early night for tomorrows game.

Sunday.

All packed up and ready to go we left for the game at 11am. The field was surrounded by skyscrapers and American flags in the outskirts of New York City. Lined up on the field, we listen to the national anthem belted out before the game. Team huddle, deep breath and coaches last words of wisdom. Then it's game time. We battled the whole game with Columbia, a non-conference team. With an encouraging start to the game we quickly gained a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, we failed to hold on to the lead and conceded 2 goals within the last 6 minutes of the 1st half. With many nail-biting moments and some tense goal scoring opportunities we couldn't add to the scoreboard and suffered a 3-2 loss.

A disappointing bus ride back to Massachusetts followed as we really wanted that second win. Even though we didn't get the result we wanted, it was a great weekend filled with memories. With plenty to learn from and lots to work on this week in practice, it was a fun weekend that I'll definitely remember.

Here are some pictures I took whilst we were in New York City...

                   

 

"There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless."

- Simone Beauvoir

Ciao, 

Hannah x

Travel The World.

There's nothing better than packing up your suitcase and traveling by car, train, boat or plane. Whether you are exploring somewhere completely new or returning to one of your favorite places, in my eyes, there is nothing more exciting.

Traveling is definitely one of my favorite things to do. I love every part of traveling with both my family or friends. Unlike some people, I really enjoy packing my case up the night before, organizing all my flight essentials and waking up early all excited ready for the drive to the airport. Airports. Oh my god. I love airports. Weird, I know. Most people (especially my Dad) find airports very stressful because of the long lines, making sure your baggage is the right weight and having to go through the hassle of security. I literally love everything about airports, people watching, shopping, getting some food and the general build up to the holiday!

Even though traveling is just really fun because usually you're on vacation and have time to relax I love visiting new places, exploring new cities, tasting local cuisine and embracing different cultures. I'm studying Journalism at University and I hope that one day either my career in writing or sport will enable me to travel the world and continue to visit new countries. In the mean time, here are my 3 favorite places I have ever travelled and 3 places that I have never been but really want to visit.

My Favorite Places...

1. Australia

I've been lucky enough to go to Australia 4 times because my godfather and Dad's best friend lives out there. Ever since we first visited, we all fell in love with the Ozzy lifestyle. I have been to most places along the east coat of Australia because we road tripped from Melbourne to Cairns over 6 weeks. The country is so laid back and relaxed with absolutely stunning cities, breathtaking nature and endless golden sandy beaches. No matter where you go there is always something fun to do and you're always surrounded by super chilled out, friendly people. Australia is definitely somewhere I aspire to live one day. We are going back to Oz this year for Christmas and New Year. I absolutely can't wait to visit our family friends, kick back and relax whilst exploring new places Sydney.

2. South Africa

I spent 2 weeks in South Africa in 2013 to conduct voluntary conservative research in Kruger National Park and then travel to Mozambique to scuba dive and analyze the sea-life in the surrounding oceans. Spending time in South Africa was completely liberating and completely changed my perspective on conservation, poverty and what our real priorities should be. During my time I was honored to see many animals in their natural habitat such as huge elephant herds, hippos, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, zebra, baboons and many more. I also gained my PADI diving qualification and got to dive with the most colorful fish, manta ray and different species of sharks. I definitely want to return to South Africa to Safari and would recommend it to everyone.

3. France

France is a country we used to visit numerous times a year when I was younger. We spent most summers and Christmas' there but recently we haven't been going as often. This summer though, we returned to France and I really enjoyed it. It made me realize that Europe is absolutely stunning and you don't have to go on huge long haul flights to embrace such diverse cultures and beautiful countries. Whilst in France we were able to take a short train ride to Monaco, Monte Carlo. France offers so much from the romantic, upbeat atmosphere in the city of love, Paris to the scenic mountains and vine yards in the South.

Where I Want to Travel Next...

1. India

One part of the world that I haven't ever visited or travelled around is Indonesia. I've been to most of Europe and travelled around both America and Australasia. So I'm really eager to explore countries such as India. There are so many reasons why I'd love to visit India, such as the diverse culture, exquisite cuisine and it's natural beauty. 

2. Thailand

I was never really that interested in visiting Thailand as it's commonly perceived as a dangerous country, ridden in diseases and unhygienic conditions. However, many of my friends have spent their gap years in Thailand and it looks absolutely stunning. Regardless of the horror stories, there are many beautiful parts of Thailand to be explored, away from the polluted streets and rivers. I'm also in love with Thai food, so I'd like to experience the local cuisine myself.

3. Maldives

I can't deny that I would love to spend a few weeks relaxing in the Maldives. I can't think of anything better than kicking back in a cute little hut, suspended above the clear blue sea, in beautiful weather! As much as my Mum and I are dying to visit the Maldives, my Dad isn't so keen as he's convinced it's threatened by tsunamis and tidal waves...... Guess the Maldives can wait until my honey moon then!!!

That's all! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it even though it was a longer post. I would love to get any feed back, so if you enjoy the blog or have any suggestions for the future definitely let me know! 

Ciao,

Hannah x

Season Starts.

It's the weekend, finally. Firstly I want to apologise because I haven't been keeping up the blogs as regular as I wanted. I do plan to make them much more frequent, but everything is a whirlwind over here right now!

Since the last post I have now settled into my permanent dorm. I'm sharing with another girl on the Field Hockey team, Hailey. We all share with athletes in freshman year as they are able to understand the demands of being a college athlete, having to go to training, having games, getting plenty of sleep and 'trying' to eat healthy...etc! I'm even luckier than Hailey and I share the same sports schedule as we're on the same team :)

Most people living in my halls/floor are college athletes, such as baseball, soccer, crew and softball. It's really easy to socialise with other athletes at university as we all have a common ground. Obviously there are 'non-athletes' living with us too, who are (mostly) all really nice. I recently learnt an 'Americanism' for people who aren't athletes at college...they refer to them as 'NARP's) Non Athletic Regular People. Haha! Isn't it great?! Definitely need to introduce that in England!

We had a long bus journey to Maine to start our season! A good 5 hours at least each way. We stopped to cook and eat fresh lobsters for dinner followed by ice cream for pudding. Also the UMass tradition took place on our return. The tradition is that every new person on tw team has to stand at the front of the bus with big headphones on, and sing a song of ther choice through the microphone. I'll spare you the videos...they were all horrendous haha! Obviously I sang One Direction as the team all hate them, I have no one to share the 1D love with! Argh! Haha!

So far we've had a solid start to the season, with 4/4 wins, 3-2, 2-1, 6-0 and 3-0. We are ranked 14th and in our second game we beat Michigan 3-2, who are ranked 9th, a great scalp for us! I'm so honoured to be playing for UMass and I have been given pitch time in every game so far which I'm very appreciative for. I even scored my very first collegiate goal from a penalty corner against Lowell, which was obviously an amazing feeling as I didn't expect to score at all this season haha!

The hockey is going really well, we're practicing from 2.45-5.30, 6 days a week, combining video analysis and lifting also. As you can all imagine I'm loving life playing so much hockey and wing in this team environment, it's the best.

I keep remindig myself that I'm actually here to get a degree also, it still doesn't feel real, I have to pinch myself. A lot of the time I forget I'm actually in America! Classes have started now, so I'm getting used to my schedule and lectures, and trying not to get distracted in class by these American boys hahaa... I've decided to major in Journalism, specifying in Sports Journalism with a minor of psychology or sociology.

This past week I have been having some difficulty...language barrier and all. You wouldn't have thought I'd have trouble with translation, but communication with some Americans has proved problematic at points. Never have I ever had issues with pronouncing my name, yet here it's mind blowing, purely because I actually pronounce the 'a' in Hannah, whereas they say it as if its spelt 'Henah'.

The small difference of how I pronounce words in comparison to the yanks has been a repeatitive problem. This is a conversation I had in the dining hall today with a member of staff...

Me: "Where's the buTTer please?"

Staff: *blank face*

Me: "the buTTer?" *signals to bread*

Staff: *looks like I'm speaking Chinese*

Me: "Do you have any buTTer?"

Staff: "What is that?"

Me: "The stuff you put on bread..."

Staff: "OH, you want buddaahhh."

Just by actually pronouncing my T's, I nearly require a translator!!!

We have another game tomorrow against BC, and should be a tough one. We're on a 'roll', in a winning swing and ready for a battle on the field tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, but right now I'm desperate for a nap! So I'll just add a bunch of pictures for y'all to peak at ;)

Ciao,

Hannah x

The Big Apple.

Just a few pictures from our stay in New York, the city that never sleeps!

Times Square.

Broadway.

9/11 Memorial.

Brooklyn Bridge.

Times Square.

Yankee Stadium.

Central Park.

Next stop, UMASS!

Hannah x

What Do I Pack?!

Holaaaaaa

 

With less than 4 days before I leave for America, I figured today was the day to start packing. If you know me at all you will be familiar with my packing procedure. If not, here is how it usually goes.



1.  Realise I should be packing, but instead head to the fridge.
2. Procrastinate for hours until I have very limited time to pack.
3. Suddenly everything turns into a mad rush.
4. Chuck/stuff/squish/push/squeeze/throw as many items of clothing into my bag as possible.
5. Leave feeling very disorganised, knowing I have forgotten something. (usually my pyjamas)

Now you would think that after 9 years at boarding school and travelling up and down the country for hockey nearly every weekend I would have become a more efficient packer...no, nope, not at all, incorrect. Far from it actually.

 

However, this time round I thought I needed to get my game together and alter my packing method...giving myself a whole 4 days, hmmm.

 

Seeing as I am travelling across the world, approximately 3154 miles (that's 5076 kilometres for you Americans!), and staying there for the best part of 4 years, my parents have sacrificed one of their suitcases so I can have two. Which 'should' give me enough room...

I started my packing by going through ALL my clothes and making two huge piles, one pile consisting of what I wanted to take to America, the other, ultimately, for the bin. I had to repeat this initial process multiple times before I had a suitable amount of clothing in the 'America' pile.

Lets just say I kind of under-estimated how difficult packing was going to be. I need clothes to cover all seasons and weathers, from boiling temperatures to heaps of snow, blustering winds and so on. It is SO hard to prioritise clothing. Sympathy, PLEASE?!

 

I found myself going through old clothes thinking "What if I need it for..." and "I could wear it with...", even though I haven't worn it in years! This resulted in me having to be extremely disciplined and brutally throwing away clothes I wanted to take with me. Wahhhh :'(

I figured I'm not going to die without all my clothes and shops DO exist in the USA! However, this did not stop steps 2. and 4. from my usual process occurring. I am still no where near finished packing due to my procrastinating. My procrastination included: eating, sleeping, candy crush, YouTube, eating, tweeting, singing, eating, dancing, YouTube, TV - Location Location Location ;) and more eating. I even went for a run!? And then ate again...

Anyway, I have finally managed to zip up one of my suitcases after about 10 minutes of sweating, pushing, pulling and squishing it to fit. My other suitcase however, probably won't get closed until 5.00am Tuesday morning!

I'm slightly nervous that I will forget something really important...passport Hannah, passport!! I am also pretty sad that I can't take particular things with me which carry sentimental value because they are too big/heavy or won't fit.

But believe me, I am taking as much as possible haha!

I'm pretty sure step 5. will also remain the same. I guarantee I will leave home feeling super disorganised and knowing me, I probably will forget my pyjamas!!
 

 

Anywayyyyy this is already longer than I planned! So I will stop rambling on! In the future some of my blogs will be similar to this, some will be a picture or even just a video, so there will be a good variation :)

That's all for this blog folks! Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if you did :) Even though packing is a right BORE, it has increased my excitement levels by 100% because it is all feeling so real now!

 

YAY!

 

Ciao,

 

Hannah x

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