May 23, 2009

PULA, Croatia - Hey Tar Heel fans, and hello from Croatia! Today was another incredible day on this amazing journey. The morning started off with breakfast as usual, and then we did some sight seeing. We went to down town Pula where the streets are filled with original stone from the 4th Century and the Roman Empire. There were so many neat artifacts that included columned buildings, beautiful churches, and my favorite, the last remaining Roman Coliseum still in use today, the Pula amphitheater. After we toured the city we had some free time. There were so many remarkable museums and eclectic shops to get lost in, the morning flew by.

After our very obvious tourist festivities (it's hard to miss 40 tall individuals, all with cameras, walking in a herd) we had some R&R time at the hotel. Some wanted to take a dip in the Adriatic Sea and others wanted to catch a quick nap.

Then it was time to get down to business. We headed over to the gym to prepare for our match against a Croatian club team, OK Pula. After watching some local girls practice handball in the gym when we first arrived, Travis (Filar) and some of the team decided to try out their sweet team handball skills. Watch out team handball world, Travis Filar is the next MVP.

The match got off to a quick start and we never looked back. The team played great and we defeated OK Pula in all four of the exhibition games that we played. One of the highlights had to be when Shelbey (Bleke) went up for a ball, swung and missed, and then the ball bounced off of her head and on to the opponent's side for a kill. Point Heels!

Today was an exciting day and I know that everyone is looking forward to more adventures in Italy. We are all very eager to see the sights and to take on the Italian Junior National Team. It's hard to believe that this adventure is winding down, and we're about to take on our last country. So long from Croatia and GO HEELS!

-Erica "E Behm" Behm, #2