First Day

Well I finished my first full day today.  Yesterday was pretty full of introductions to people and places.  I met a few of the players and the groundskeeper.  I was given a tour of the club's complex and then taken to dinner for a nice traditional German dinner that involved sausage, some kind of curry sauce, french fries, and mayonnaise.  It was delicious!  We also had a couple beers followed by watching some of the Orioles/Tigers game on MLB.TV.

Today was fairly busy also.  I went to try to get my visa worked out, only to find that they don't want me to try it until June when my current stay will soon expire.  I got a nice tour of downtown Hannover though which was nice as well as a taste of the famous doner which is a Turkish food sold all over Germany.  Very delicious, although, like all of the other food here, it is pretty heavy.  Then I had practice with the Jungens (about 13-15 year olds) with Nils helping me out.  They are a good group of boys and while some are pretty good ball players already there are a few that can use a little work!  They are a great group of kids though and seem ready to work hard.
Next was practice with the three men's teams.  This group had some newcomers as well as some more experienced players who really know what they're doing.  It is also a good group of guys who seem eager and willing to learn and work hard which is great to see.

After practice I went over to a player's flat to watch the Shanke vs. Inter football game.  Not being a big football fan I was only going to get to know some of the guys better but was pleased to see an exciting game where Shanke won 5-2!  Inter was also the team that just beat Bayern Munich which is supposed to be the best team in Germany so that made it even more exciting!

Now I am off to bed with the softball team's practice tomorrow!