opening game, the making of friends, & clubhouse dinner

monday, sue was planning on getting to us somewhere around noon, but with the way the buses were going, that turned into 12:30, turned into 1, etc.  eventually ben & i decided to lay down for a nap while we waited so he could get some rest for the game, and we could just kind of relax for a bit.


we get a text from her when she's down the street, get up, and head that way.  just as we catch up to her, she shows us a shopping bag with a KETTLE!!!!!! ben & i are by no means cheap, but we couldn't find a kettle that didn't mean paying a million dollars, and since we're not making lifelong investments while we're here, we couldn't really justify paying 50-60 euros for something that may or may not come with us when we leave.  somewhere in passing, we had mentioned it to suz, because she found a deal on one & bought it for us! such an amazing house-warming gift... we're so used to downing tea & coffee by the gallon, so it was seriously such a practical, amazing thing for her to bring us... i'm thankful for it about 6 times a day while i'm enjoying my teas & coffees!


we head up to the apartment, put the kettle on and chat for awhile.  after a bit, i make dinner (nothing fancy by any means, as we have to go grocery shopping) and we eat before heading out to the game.


until now, the only other girlfriend/wife i've met was the one of a serbian player, who barely speaks english.  their daughter, nina, is somewhere around 9 months i think and is the happiest baby i think i've ever seen.  as lovely as she is, it's very difficult to build a relationship with her because of the language barrier.  before tonight's game starts, though, we meet one of ben's teammate's wife & daughter.  eboni, kevin's wife, is somewhere around my age and from california, where i lived for a year and a half.  perfect!  finally someone i have something in common with.  irie, their daughter, is going on 2 soon, and is absolutely adorable.  she's got just enough of an attitude to keep her interesting, but warms up to you & is such a little love bug.  i'm thrilled at the thought that we might finally have people to hang out with!


the game has its ups & downs.  ben starts, but doesn't see much playing time... we chalk it up to it being his first game as a rookie, but are all somewhat nervous/upset about what the implications could be for the season.  at halftime, irie met nina, and gave her a kiss on her hand.. as well as sharing her half-eaten cookie..... so freaking cute.

they won, so we are all invited to go with the team & the committee to a dinner at the clubhouse, and do a pretty good job of keeping our heads up.  one of the guys on the committee finds out that i'm vegan and orders up a frenzy of greek vegetarian foods for me to try: baked mushrooms, peppers, salad, the works. petrou, the guy who takes care of the team equipment and stuff, teaches me how to eat it like a greek: drown it in oil and squeeze a lemon on top.  absolutely amazing. somewhere in the middle of dinner, sue got a terrible headache and had to leave the table to go get some fresh air, so ben & i kind of rush to eat and dismiss ourselves to take her back to larnaca.  truth be told, i was starting to get a headache myself, so it was good timing.


we get in the car and head back to the apartment to pick up her stuff before we head back down to the hotel, and my headache is getting MUCH worse as hers gets better.  i almost stay at the apartment and let them go on their own, but don't want ben making the return trip alone, so i stay.  as we make the trip down, i have my head in my hands covering my eyes from any bit of light, and occasionally a hand over an ear to make an attempt at blocking out any noise from their conversations. absolute agony of a migraine in the making.  by the time we get to the hotel, i'm visibly sick, and need a pit-stop in the restroom before attempting the return trip, which is absolutely no better.


we get back home, i crawl into bed, and don't get out for approximately 24 hours.  


tuesday is a day off from meeting up with sue, so i literally stay in bed for the majority of the day.  the one good thing about the day, though, was the sunset!!

xox k