CNU Alumna Chelsie Schweers ('11) is giving CNUsports.com an exclusive look into her professional playing career in Athens, Greece. Her blog It's All Greek to Me is a weekly entry to the Christopher Newport Athletics website, detailing her endeavors abroad both on and off the court.
At home you always yield to pedestrians. Well, I have discovered that must just be a USA thing and does not apply in Athens. Since you can pretty much drive and park your car anywhere, if you are a pedestrian, you better be alert and be prepared to move out of the way at all times! My apartment is in the city and from what I have seen; there are no designated parking lots in the city. Because of the chaos on the streets, very small cars, motorcycles and mopeds are the transportation of choice. Even so, the streets are always jammed up with parked cars.
Speaking of the roads, I've got a pretty crazy story. Earlier this week my roommate and I decided to go to the mall after practice. We were in a bit of a rush because it was 8:00 p.m. and during the week, the mall closes at 9:00. We flagged down a taxi right outside the gym and my roommate explained to the driver where we wanted to go. It's only about a 15-minute ride to the mall and half way there the road splits forcing you to bear left or right. Our driver wasn't paying attention because he kept going straight and ran over top of the median. He then slammed on the brakes; however, it had been raining so the taxi slid and hit the curb. At that point we wanted out of the taxi but we were still on the highway so he kept going. The taxi was making all sorts of noises and you didn't have to be a mechanic to know they weren't good noises. When he got to a place where he could pull over, we both said “let us out!” Incredibly, he was still trying to take us to the mall even though the 2 front tires were flat! Although shaken up a little bit, we were still anxious to get to the mall. We flagged down another taxi and in a matter of minutes we were on our way. The second taxi driver was more alert and we arrived safely at the mall with all four tires still in working condition. :-)
As you may have heard, riots recently broke out in Greece as a result of Parliament's approval of an unpopular bill that was passed to deal with the debt crisis in Greece. Most of the rioting took place outside Parliament which is about 2 miles from my apartment. One of my teammates wanted to take me to a particular sports store in Athens that she thought I would like. The store was in downtown, not far from Parliament and when we got there the whole first floor of the store had been looted and they were obviously closed. The streets were filled with trash and debris and we saw many of the buildings that had been burned during the riots. It's a tough time for people over here and although I have not been personally affected by the riots in Greece, it is hard not to be affected by the sights of the aftermath.
This was a big week for my team as far as the rankings go for the play-offs. We played the number 4 team on Wednesday and we were ranked 5th. Only the top 4 teams go to the play-offs. We were also going back to the gym where the riot broke out my 2nd day in Greece. About 100 police officers escorted us from our gym to the gym where the game would be played, which is only about a 10 minute bus ride. It was comforting to have all the security because I was a little nervous about going back to that particular gym. Everything went smooth and we got inside without any incidents. Unfortunately, though, we trailed the other team all the way into the 4th quarter. We were down by 15 and could not afford to miss a shot. We came back and scored 30 points in the 4th quarter to get the win! I hit 3 big shots in a row during the 4th to bring us within 3 and from there we just took over! I played 22 minutes and scored 11 points. I was still struggling with shooting the ball. We are now 4th in the league and on track to qualify for the playoffs!
I didn't have long to think about Wednesday's game because we had another game on Saturday. The game Saturday wasn't as crucial as the game on Wednesday because the team we were playing was in the bottom of the league. I didn't know until game time that this game would be my first professional start! We took control of the game from the beginning and never looked back. I played 22 minutes and scored 29 points. I shot 5-9 from the 3 point line and 7-8 from inside the arc! This game was great for me in terms of getting in a rhythm and shooting the ball. The style of play is different from what I am used to and with each game I am learning and adjusting my game. This coming Saturday we play the team ranked #2 in our league. I will be focusing this week on playing tough defense and learning the game plan for Saturday. Also, this Saturday will be my first time competing against someone who plays in the WNBA.
Once again I am amazed by the amount of support I am getting from everyone back home and I love every bit of it! I look forward to letting y'all know about the upcoming week and hope my team can keep our winning streak alive. Life in Greece is going great!
