Upon getting cut from the Indiana Fever training camp I signed my first overseas contract to play for Mainland Pouãkai, a professional team in Christchurch, New Zealand for their inaugural season.
3 flights and 22 hours of travel later, I officially arrived. Fortunately, the longest flight of 13 hours wasn’t horrible thanks to NyQuil.
Now, a week in and I am starting to feel more comfortable and am getting my bearings. Besides the daily workouts and lifts I’ve been able to try a few different restaurants, go to the Saturday morning farmers market and try the best French onion soup, enjoyed a walk on the coast, and enjoyed a night out with my new teammates. Everyone here has been incredibly welcoming and loves my "foreign" accent.
On Sunday, the team traveled 3 hours south to Oamaru for our first preseason game. We won 66-50 and it was good to get a practice game under our belts before our first real game on the 29th. I will post a link to the games as soon as I have one :)
While in Oamaru I was introduced to a new sport, Netball. Apparently, it is very popular in both New Zealand and Australia. The sport itself is similar to basketball; however, there is no dribbling, the ball has to be passed within 3 seconds, the basket has no backboard, and each player has designated areas in which they can play.
Things I’ve learned:
New Zealanders are very friendly except when driving on the wrong side of the road.
Kia Ora means hello.
You pay for gas inside the gas station AFTER you pump.
Coffee tastes wayyyy better since there is less sugar. A size small in America would be a size large in New Zealand.
Netball is an extremely popular sport here.
My goal with this website and blog is to keep family and friends updated with my overseas experiences through weekly blog posts, photos, and game links. I’ll be here until September 1st before I come home to Charlotte for three days to regroup and prepare for my European season. I’m almost done with that contract and can hopefully share my next location in next weeks blog.
Let me know if there is anything you'd like me to share more of and if you have any recommendations of places to see while I am here!