Brittany Wilkins <><: February 2011

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Off again to the land of the Swiss Alps, Cheese, and Chocolate!!!!

The Alps welcome me back to Switzerland!!!!!

Switzerland: I was supposed to get on a plane to head back to Belgium on January 2nd, however, I found out that my team in Belgium ran into some issues getting my work visa figured out with the government. Unfortunately, that meant that I couldn’t return to Belgium for the 2nd half of the season, which I was very disappointed about. Thankfully, within 24 hours, my agent was able to find me another job for the second half of the season with a team called Riva Basket that was located in Chiasso, Switzerland and right along the Italian border. After playing in Switzerland a few years agao on two different teams, I was excited about a chance to go back because it was with a completely different team and in a new part of the country. I got offered a job on Friday, negotiated the contract Saturday and Sunday, the plane ticket bought Monday, packed on Tuesday, and I boarded a plane to Milan, Italy, on Wednesday January 5th. Things move fast in the basketball world and within 48 hours I switched teams, and had to switch gears to a completely different league, country, and language. I am starting to get used to this, however, it can be exhausting. The one sure thing in my life that I have been able to cling to throughout these experiences is my faith in God; I know and trust that God knows what He is doing. I landed Jan. 6th on Thursday, practiced with the team Friday, and then was on the road 5 hours through the Swiss Alps for our first game against a team near Lausanne. We won by 8, so it was a great positive start for me with the team. My first week was good, with some rough patches of homesickness and discontentment in being in yet another new place, but for the most part good. I guess I have come to the conclusion that the way I seem to grow the most as a person and in my faith is when I face new challenges. This is one of those times where I didn’t know my future but was trusting that through God’s faithfulness,He would take care of me. He always has and always will :) So anyway, I played Saturday and Sunday in my 2nd and 3rd games with the team and we won both!!! Since arriving, I am 6-2 with this team and feeling good so far! I felt blessed to have my dad visit for 2.5 weeks and have lots of visitors in February, March, and April too!!! I am looking forward to seeing more beautiful sights here in Switzerland and parts of northern Italy over the next 4 months of this crazy adventure that God has called me to in life :)

Me with the castle and Alps in Gruyeres, Switzerland

Teammates after the Swiss Cup Final against Helios

I live 2 minutes from the Italian border, near Como, Italy!!

From left: My roommate Traci, manager Filippo, President
Francesco and Me!

Got 2nd place in Swiss Cup

Beautiful Scenery in Switzerland!!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Christmas 2010 in Nebraska!!

Christmas:

As I said before, I was supposed to fly out December 20th for home. However, due to the weather, my flights were cancelled twice and wasn’t supposed to leave til Dec. 24th. I was persistent and called the airline about every 3 hours to see if there were any cancellations and as I was headed to bed around 11:30 that night of the 22nd, I thought, I will try one more time. So I did, and the lady was like, “I can get you a flight at 10:30am tomorrow morning, do you want it?” My eyes teared up and seriously was the best gift I got for Christmas. When I reached the States on December 23rd, I was exhausted but thankful to be in Nebraska. It was nice to celebrate Christmas Eve with my Dad and Grandpa, Christmas day with my Dad, brothers, and their families, and the 26th with my Mom’s side in Omaha with my cousins. I even got to help get some cattle in that got out on Christmas!!! Man, the joys of home :) I also made a flying trip with Elizabeth, who flew in from Michigan, to Colorado where we met up with mutual friends we met in Europe, and I enjoyed coffee and snow shoeing with Ada, one of my best friends from college, whom I spent a whole 30 hours with on the trip!!! It was a fast trip, but really encouraging and worth the 16 hours of driving :) I was able to enjoy time working out with my Mom, fixing fence with my Dad, watching Toy Story 3 with my niece and nephews, and time with my Scramps at the nursing home. I ended up celebrating a quiet New Years Eve at home by drinking a Belgian beer with my dad, reflecting on the year 2010, and heading to bed shortly after midnight. It was a great time at home as always and tough to get back on a plane for Europe, but after almost 5 years of leaving, the goodbyes are still hard. But I was excited for a new adventure in year 2011!!!!