Farewell Australia.

"See ya' later!!!! Love you, Thanks for everything, It's been real!!!"........"This is so real"

In order to thank & farewell our families and friends we had a function last Monday night before we departed. We were addressed by Socceroos captain Lucas Neill, Sports Minister, Senator Mark Arbib and Matildas great Cheryl Salisbury- they collectively spoke of dreams and seizing the moment, appropriate timing.

On route to Deutschland.

Upon reflection- including media, farewell functions and final good byes it was a whirlwind couple of days.
Last Tuesday afternoon we boarded our 8-hour flight taking us via Singapore, didn't mind the slight delay- planes need fuel :) Having re-boarded several hours later we flew another 12 hours to land in Frankfurt. We collected our bags and boarded a bus two hours north-east to Gottingen, smack-bang in the middle Germany. Upon our arrival at the hotel we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of media and 'Aussie Fans'. Young Germans were chanting and waving Australian flags. There was a small group of musicians playing the ever so familiar tune of Waltzing Matilda. Cute? Yes! Delightful start really.

Settling in.

Over the past three days we have been trying our hardest in dismissing jet lag. My own analogy of it all being a state of mind is being severely tested. Throughout my travels I've always tried convincing myself that you are where you are. As soon as you accept this, you're fine. Well...that's a theory, however in practice... adapting to time zones is most challenging. Especially when your body has to be in peak condition for training, recovery and stabilse our collective constitutions... We are all very glad we arrived with plenty of time to adapt.

Whats been happening.

Training wise- Our pitch is relatively close to our hotel. We climb on to the bus around 9:45am each morning. The grass is thick and quite lush. Apparently the club team was kicked off 6 weeks ago in order to prepare it for us :) Not sure how happy the club was but the quality of the ground is fantastic- so we are not complaining. We return for recovery then lunch and most afternoons we have some form of strength training or pilates.

Off the pitch- A small group of us were asked if we would like to go help out with an english class. Year 11 students who had been studying english. They were quite fluent and knew a great deal of Australian history. They asked serious questions as well as a few light hearted ones. It ended up being a fruitful conversation about schnitzels, beer barbeques, crocodile dundee, teenage partying, and night clubs. All the fun stuff ;)



To look forward to...

The young kids blaring the music down the hallways. Ok, i'll admit... Justin Beiber is a little catchy :)

Food is amazing! there are about 10 different choices of muesli each morning. True.

We play Mexico Tomorrow night...

Also, this Wednesday we get to watch our staff take on the Mexican staff in an international friendly ;) This will be fun...

Until next time this is me and my chase.

Why not ponder yours...

Ships. Chasing Leather.