Full Court Press 4

Sorry i have been out of touch. Here's the latest from Full Court Press....


Playing overseas is a wonderful experience. Its opened my eyes, expanded my thoughts on everything from politics to what I want to do with my life, and changed my perspective of the world. My world, that was once limited to life in one country, with one language and one way of doing things, has opened not only to Greece but to a way of life that embraces differences, challenges, and new ways of looking at things. Its made me live a life full of the ideals that I once could only intellectualize. I knew the world was bigger than America, I knew that cultures were different, I knew the dangers of narrow thinking, of ethnocentricity. But I also knew that I can’t possibly know until I live it. Because reading in a book, discussing it during class, and seeing the world through a television doesn’t begin to teach you the lessons that total immersion offers.


But as I’ve said before, it isn’t easy. It isn’t a vacation where you settled into comfortable lodging every night, falling asleep with dreams of the next day’s adventure. Where you take pictures sipping wine with the locals and drinking coffee on a cobblestone street, the sun shining down on your face, not a care in the world. Not that I haven’t done these things but it isn’t happy go lucky all the time, nothing but great memories. Its life, the normal ups and downs but without your normal world around you. Support systems are distant, in another country, another time zone, and new support systems are distanced by different thoughts, language, values. So its all up to you.

Slowly though you adjust. The sad thing is that most people don’t make it that far. Sometimes they have a bad situation and have to leave (an abusive coach, a team that doesn’t pay etc.) but many times they just don’t know how to make it. And I hate seeing that because I know how tough it is in the beginning but I also know how wonderful it is if you can make it through that. There are still tough days, like I said, its not vacation. But overall, playing ball overseas is incredible. Its this experience that even as I am doing it, I can feel myself filling up with substance. Every day brings life anew, every morning the prospect of a new experience that will shape my outlook on the world. Where in the beginning the diurnal anxiety that comes with culture shock made me long for a more prosaic life, I now live with an appreciation for making the uncomfortable livable. And how I wish I could reveal those lessons so that others would see the rewards that await.

But no one can describe the ineffable so I’ll simply describe how I came to love it here. There isn’t a magic formula and there isn’t a certain type of person that necessarily loves living in foreign country. There are introverts and extroverts, intellectuals and people that don’t know anything but being an athlete. People either make it or they don’t and it isn’t necessarily because of their personality. That being said, I have noticed that the people that are the happiest overseas do certain things.


Get out of the house

A place like Athens can be intimidating at first. Taxis can be difficult to get especially if they are on strike, the drivers are rude sometimes, many don’t speak English, and they very well may yell at you if you get lost and leave you on the side of the road at night in a strange neighborhood. Not very reassuring if you don’t know your way around and don’t speak the language. Going out can kind of be scary, not because of crime, but because not being able to get home is not a fun feeling. Have you ever felt that way? I mean literally, not having a parent or friend a phone call away. Trust me, it doesn’t make you anxious to leave the house. However, to stay sane you have to zip up your jacket, bear the elements, and embark on journeys that may be uncomfortable at first but at the very least will give you a good story and something to look back on.

Make Native Friends

Greek people can be rude if you don’t know them. They bump into you on the metro, they cut you in line at the grocery store, they won’t stop for you on the street, they are liable to yell at you for what seems like nothing, and customer service is not their specialty. It can make things uncomfortable but these things, that Americans would consider rude, are just cultural differences and you get used to them. That being said, if you know a Greek person they will make keeping you happy their life goal. They will take you into their home, feed you until you can’t move, bring you gifts, cook you brownies, and take you and all your family visiting to a taverna and not let you even leave the tip. I’m telling you, they will give you the shirt off their back just to make you feel at home, to make you love their country as they do.

So making Greek friends is important. They will show you the city, bring you to their house for holidays, and show you real cultural experiences that you can’t sign up for at a travel agency. They teach you the language and explain cultural values. They’ll take you to places that aren’t listed in your tour book and give you hours of conversation, comparing countries, languages, and cultures. Its endlessly interesting. Greek people have made my experience special, without them Athens would just be another busy city.

Make American Friends

I love Greek people and I love Greek culture. The food, the music, the coffee, I enjoy it all. But I am still American and I always need to feel connected to my home. American friends give that balance between experiencing the new but holding onto the old. Its important to have that time around people that know where you are coming from, understand your nuances, your slang, so that you can completely let down your guard from time to time. It is more wearing than you realize to be away from your culture and being around Americans melts that stress away.

Do American Things

I remember being at a pay phone last year calling home late at night. I was miserable, wondering what on earth I had gotten myself into. I had just finished another yelling session that we called a practice, cars were honking on the road, people were talking on the street in a language I couldn’t understand, and I had never felt more alone in my life. I was trying to adjust, reminding myself how lucky I was to be playing pro ball when I started bawling to my older brother on the phone. He lived in Japan for two years so no one understood better the effects of cultural shock. He comforted me and told me not to try and immerse myself totally and completely. “Go see an American movie,” he said. So that night I plugged my laptop in and watched “Pretty Woman” and marveled at how America, and Hollywood Blvd., had never looked so wonderful.


See the sites

Everywhere in the world has something cool to see. Its nice to go to American movies and good to eat at Applebee’s if you are really missing America but its important to experience the place you are living and not block it out with satellite t.v. and restaurant décor that matches exactly the restaurant décor in anytown, USA. These things are important when you are homesick or just adjusting but slowly the place you’re living has to become your home, if only temporarily. Here in Greece the options are endless, there is the Parthenon, Roman ruins, Ancient Olympia, museums and so many temples they start to look as rare as farm houses in the Midwest. The history is amazing and I have learned and seen so much while I have lived here. Living over here to play basketball presents an opportunity to see things some people only read about in books, to stand next to things older than our minds can even conceptualize, and to miss out on that opportunity would be a shame. In addition, the history of this area, the history of the Greek culture reflects back on the Greek people of today. This has helped me immensely to understand their thinking better which, in turn, helped me to appreciate them and accept them with less criticism.

Find a hobby

Its extremely difficult to know how to occupy your time when you have never had any free time to occupy. This isn’t college ball with classes, weights, treatment, practice, film, and homework everyday. With some exception we only practice for two hours every evening and rarely travel. That gives you all day to do whatever you want. I love it now but boredom which leads to loneliness which leaves to homesickness, was my worst enemy at first. It hangs on you all day as the hours drag on. But if you can find things you like to do, time is on your side and the days go by filled with things you enjoy and you’ll thank your lucky stars you a have a job that allows you the freedom to do these things.

Get used to “me” time

Living overseas by yourself definitely teaches independence. In college, I barely went to Target by myself and I not once did I ever have more than an hour in an empty house. But now I live by myself, I go out to coffee by myself, to movies, dinner, shopping. It isn’t to say that I don’t have a social life its just a little different when you live in a foreign country without friends close by. I go out with my Greek friends some or I meet up with my Americans for a movie or dinner but typically I have all day to entertain myself. What was once a curse is now a blessing. I love “me” time and going out for coffee in the sunshine with a good book doesn’t feel lonely at all, its just relaxing.


All in all, living overseas is a huge adjustment. Mostly it just takes time to get used to a different culture and different lifestyle. Being taken out of your comfort zone really is difficult but can be an awesome experience as well. As I said before, there are some situations players find themselves in that are miserable and nothing can be done but pack up and leave. But assuming that circumstances are somewhere close to normal, and I use that term loosely, playing ball overseas can be a rewarding experience if only given the chance.