at the end of the week was the cyprus all-star game, dunk contest, and three point competition. we found out mid-week that mister benjamin would be competing in the dunk contest cuz he's kind of amazing.
when we got there, the dancers were warming up on the floor, and i seriously could not stop laughing. it got to the point where ben had to warn me that their mothers might have been the row of ladies sitting a bit down in front of us because i just couldn't stop. honestly, i thought the dancers at my college were uncoordinated, but this group brought new meaning to the whole no rhythm thing. the best bit is that eboni is a professional dancer who majored in dance in college, so we were having a pretty good time enjoying the show.
the all-star game started, and it was being played as americans verse europeans. everyone thought the americans would sweep the game... well, you know what they say about people who think. (i don't really have a smart answer for that one).
i'm not so sure this is how things happen during the nba all-star weekend, but for the cypriot one, the dunk contest was held at the halftime of the game... meaning that some of the players spent their "rest" time competing. makes perfect sense.
the whole thing didn't really make that much sense to me, to be honest. some guys were given more tries than others to make their dunks, and one was practically running the contest himself, telling the judges who to let go again, etc! it was madness! debenjamin's turn came and he did some fancy shmancy thing with the ball over his head and stuff (i'm really good with the basketball lingo). he made the next round and did a spinny aroundy thing... made the next round and did something else.. and then was the semi-finals.
my. boyfriend. jumped. over. kevin. it was intense.... i don't have a picture of it because i was videotaping, but i can just say that at the end of the video, while he's hanging off the rim, the camera is anything but steady because crazy girlfriend was going psycho in the stands! kevin basically threw the ball up in the air as ben jumped over him, B caught the ball in the air, and dunked it. it was amazingness, and it got him into the finals.
i missed his last dunk - the one for the finals - because i was saying goodbye to someone, but he got 10's across the board from the judges. he wound up as runner-up, but i'm convinced it's because the judges were having a love affair with the other guy he was against (he was the one who was practically running the competition). c'est la vie.... i was one proud girlfriend!
since i was taking video instead of pics, this is pretty much the only good photo we got from the night... ogo took it for us from the side of the court:
check out the muscles on that guy, huh?! ;) i did, however, manage to get tons of pictures of miss irie, who i am (still) completely obsessed with. have i mentioned that yet?
i think i might just keep her...
xox k
this christmas was very different from the usual, to say the least. growing up with a big extended family has always meant HUGE christmas eve dinners with like 5 courses followed by a late afternoon christmas day dinner just as big. to go from that to ben & i sitting at the kitchen table in our sweats enjoying our meal just the two of us was ... a change.
we had decided that just because it would only be the two of us didn't mean that we wouldn't enjoy a really nice meal with traditional dishes that kind of signify christmas at home. i decided on caesar salad, bruschetta, scalloped potatoes, garlic string beans, smoked salmon with garlic toasts, and pork roast. yes, for the two of us. at least there was one thing that wasn't different than our past christmases!
some of the cooking i had gotten out of the way the night before, so the majority of the day we spent on skype with our families which was amazing. we watched them open the gifts we had sent, and spent awhile just chatting like we were actually there. it was great.
finally, we decided to eat... i set the table and put all the food out, and then realized there was no way we were going to make a dent in the food!
benjamin was very excited about his pork roast!! don't worry, he didn't actually eat the whole thing right then & there!
i can't lie, though... i was pretty excited about my food, too!! ..and that i didn't have to get changed to sit down for dinner ;)
an hour later.... well, you get the picture.
...looks like our first christmas dinner was a success!
xox k
christmas eve was nina's first birthday! at 12:30, we were going to have a get-together at gloria jean's coffee. personally, i've never heard of celebrating a child's birthday at a coffee house, but it just goes to show how integral coffee is to europeans!
ben's back had been bothering him for a couple days, and he got a text from his assistant coach saying he needed to go to the trainer for treatment... at 12:30. we decided that he would drop me off at gloria jean's and then head for treatment, and come back when he was done.
when i got there, i was the only person who's first language is english. of the 7 of us, 3 were fluent in greek and 4 in serbian (one speaks both, and i can only pick out a few choice words in either). i can't lie, it was pretty interesting trying to act interested in conversations that were only taking place with bits and pieces here and there that i could actually understand and contribute to!
finally, eboni, kevin, and irie showed up, so the problem dissipated as the conversations turned more towards english. ben got back about an hour later, and the group of us spent hours in the shop while irie, nina, and semina (the 2 1/2 year old daughter of another couple that was there) colored on placemats, played with dora, and jumped up and down.
tell me they aren't the cutest?? finally, we all decided it was time to head out.
at the end of the day, it wasn't quite the christmas eve i'm used to, but no complaints here for a great afternoon expanding my comfort zone and enjoying the company of our newfound friends!
...someday, i swear i'll learn greek.
xox k
