Aug. 17, 2001

Valkenswaard, Holland - Another beautiful day here in Holland. The weather is clear with the temperatures in the high 70s, perfect weather to train in. The team was up and at it early again this morning at 8 am for another two-hour practice before heading out to visit the city of Hertogendenbosch.

An interesting situation developed this morning at practice. A older gentlemen arrived at the field riding a lawnmower and began to cut the outer edges of the field around 9:25. We had the field until 10 and we were sure that he was not going to continue to cut the field while we were practicing on it. Well, we were dead wrong. At his slow methodical pace, he circled the field, with each lap closing in on the practicing players. I stopped him on three occasions and tried to explain to him that we had the field until 10 and asked if him could wait until then to finish. One problem. He didn't know English. Despite that, he understood what I meant but didn't care and kept mowing, kicking cones out of the way and finally getting hit with the ball during the end of the practice scrimmage. A funny situations seemed to be getting more serious as he closed in on the players, but fortunately practice ended before he ran over anyone. He was a persistent guy I must say and if definitely showed what can happen when two people cannot communicate.

The trip to Den Bosch took longer than expected because of traffic -- yep, that's right, Holland has some bad traffic just like our Long Island home. Hertogendenbosch was a beautiful town with streets that wound their way through the village filled with shops, pubs and places to eat. Many of us have began to buy gifts for our loved ones at home, little items that will bring a taste of Holland home to the States.

Observations. People in Holland ride bikes everywhere. They have their own lanes, own traffice lights, ride at a fast pace and may be even more prevalent than cars. The cities that we have visited are not car friendly and lend themselves to walking and bicycling. As a result, we think that is one of the reasons that the Dutch all seem to be in shape. That, and the fact that their meal portions are small . . . traffic lights here do not hang over intersections. They are mounted on posts on the side of the road only eight feet high . . . All the cities are very well marked. There are street signs everywhere and it is easy to get arounds . . . Again, the cities are SOOO clean. It is almost like someone sweeps up at night. As an American, it makes me a little self-conscious to see this as many of us back home do not care to keep our towns as clean as they do over here . . . the beauty and setup of the towns makes you want to get outside and walk, bike or run . . . the team feels good and is focused on soccer. Being away from home, they are also getting a chance to spend a great deal of bonding time together and that should bring them home a closer bunch than they were four days ago . . . our hostel is like being away at sleep-away camp. We have five rooms for 27 people. Everyone is housed in bunk-beds in rooms along one hallway. It makes for very tight quarters and it is easy to hear how late everyone stays up---especially last night. The hostel has a big common area with tables and chairs and a cafeteria next to that. We can play darts, ping pong or just hang out. Amazingly, all of the hostel workers go home at night, leaving the place unguarded . . .

A note from Jenny Fontanetta "It is wonderful to experience the culture of another country. There are some good late night team-bonding chats that have gone on here and there are plenty of bikes to go around. It has taken some getting used to the Dutch currency -- the Guilder. I am very excited about going to see Ajax play on Sunday in Amsterdam and experience more of Europe. Our team looks good and the freshmen are good additions. The food has been good and they people are very friendly - except for the lawnmower man today!"