It was a bittersweet end of our season as we lost in the finals 53-57 to the American International School of Zagreb. Their star player scored 44 points, including all of their 15 points in the fourth quarter. He will be playing for South West Oklahoma State next year on a NCAA Division II scholarship. The boys played great all weekend, winning four games including defeating the host school, the International School of Latvia in the semifinals in three overtimes. We had a super season with 14 wins and 6 losses, matching last year’s record. We also won the Sofia, Bulgaria Invitational Tourney last month. We will be losing our leading scorer and a good rebounding forward, but everyone else will be back. We will also get some new players coming into the team. We should be strong again in 2011-2012. It was a very enjoyable season and I would like thank the players, Coach Sands, Athletic Director Damian Hart, for their efforts and cooperation. I also want to thank Nadia and my family for supporting me with the extra time I put in with the team.
I am in Latvia this week for my team’s basketball tourney with the Central & Eastern European Schools Association (CEESA). There are 8 teams competition for title. This is my first time in Latvia, which also marks visiting all three of the Baltic countries, Lithuania , Estonia, and now Latvia. Latvia is 56 degrees north of the equator.
Like many of the small countries in Europe, Latvia was not independent for most of its history. The Germans, Swedes, Lithuanian/Poles, and Russians, all at some time had control of Latvia. For most of my life, Latvia was a dotted line, pink state of USSR, and called LatviaS.S. They finally gained their independence for good in 1990. I was reading about this time in their history, and it was amazing to read that everyone from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, joined hands and formed a line going through all of the capitals of the Baltics. There still are Russians here and I see many Russian signs. We are staying in Jurmala, which is a resort town, that many for Communist bosses from Moscow had summer houses on the southern Baltic shore.
I asked two Lithuanians what is the relationship between the Latvia and Lithuania. The Lithuanians view Latvia as “the little brother” because their languages are very similar. It is probably the same relationship as Argentina has to Uruguay. They also said that the Latvians are more German than the Lithuanians, and Protestants instead of Catholics (Polish influence). The Latvians seem to be very quiet and tall. They are light-skinned with a variety of hair colors. The town of Jurmala looks like a northern Michigan town, with its tall pine trees and big snow banks. I walked out to the beach. It must be nice in the summer. It is under ice right now, out to about 100 meters from shore. Hockey is big here and the Riga professional team is in the playoffs right now in the Russian League. The gymnasium we played is beautiful. It is mostly made of wood, and with the snow and pine outside the window, it really felt like a ski resort.
Our Hotel - The Jurmala Spa Hotel
Another aspect of the Baltic countries that I find fascinating is paganism. The Latvians were one of the last European people to convert to Christianity. Today, there are many folk traditions and actual worship in the manner of the pagans. Many Latvians believe in spirits of nature, etc. If I lived here, I would definitely want to learn more.
After two days here I am getting to get a better feel for this part of the world. The topography and forests of Finland, Estonia, and Latvia all are similar to northern Michigan. The architecture is really interesting with a combination of modern and old wooden homes. I could easily live in any of these countries. The only point I don’t like is the Latvians and neighbors are very quiet people that it takes a while for them to open up.
I have two more days here and I plan to go do some sightseeing after the finals.
We had a nice weekend in Belgrade. The snow was melting during the day so we were making Easter Island-like snow balls. I see the appeal of ancient people and moving huge objects.
On Friday night Nadia and I went out to dinner at the Iguana Restaurant. The restaurant is on the Sava River in a refurbished warehouse/dock. There are a couple of restaurants, clubs, and shops nearby. They had live jazz music which was a great way to spend a Friday evening.
We then went and saw the Academy Award Winning “The King’s Speech” after dinner. I struggled with stuttering for much of my youth so I could really empathize with King George. Stuttering or stammering is very misunderstood. It is hard to describe to someone that never had the problem. In the movie, King George’s therapist worked on “rhythym” by getting him to sing or use profanity to gain fluency.
I went to speech therapy for years in my schooling, and was helped by Mrs. Kathy Campaign, the speech therapist at my local school. She got me to speak slowly and read aloud to gain this ryhthm. Even today, I read aloud before I speak publicly to help me. I read where most people outgrow this and I am glad that I did, but I still have to be aware of my speech, especially when I am nervous, or tired. I am still amazed that I do a lot of public speaking in my job. The movie cut out the real bad stammers of King George to make the film bearable. It gave a truthful view of stuttering and I am glad the film won. I would also like to thank Mrs. Campaign for her work with me. I saw her about ten years ago when subbed at my old high school and it was good to be able to thank her in person. She is now retired, but she really helped me. I still use her techniques today. I am happy that none of my children are struggling with it.
On Saturday we had that Balkan/Slavic/Eastern European treat called “sarma,” which are cabbage rolls. The Serbs got the dish from the Ottoman Turks. In southeastern Europe, they use sauer kraut, or fermented cabbage instead of regular cabbage. Inside is a combination of beef, bacon, and rice. It is served with sour cream and it is a winter and Christmas dish in Serbia. I love it and our friends Claudiu and Vesna, invited us over for Vesna’s Romanian mother’s version. Absolutely delicious!
Above is the photo from the Iron County Reporter the newspaper from my hometown in Michigan. Friends and family of my mother, Yvonne Kralovec, established a scholarship in her name. The award is presented to a West Iron County female athlete each year to be used for university study. Desi, the first award winner, will be playing volleyball in university. It is great to see my Mom’s close friends, Marsha, Bernadette, and Sharon, awarding the scholarship. They worked hard to raise funds for the scholarship and they serve on the selection committee. Thanks to them and everyone who helped out.
I am very happy to see the girls of West Iron still benefiting from my mother. She devoted her life to sports and youth and her 42 years of basketball coaching in West Iron County was quite an accomplishment. Although she is gone, her legacy lives on through the players she coached. Both Bernadette and Sharon are former players of my mother.
That is one of the reasons that I am coaching basketball today. I went to many of her practices while growing up. I thought of this Thursday night, when I brought Oliver and Owen to my team’s practice. When we were leaving the warm gym, heading back to the car, it brought me back 30 some years, to when I was running from the old West Iron Middle School Gym (the former Stambaugh High School) to our Matador.
I don’t think I’ll be going for 42 years, but I hope to make a difference like my mother.
The snow and cold weather continues here in Belgrade. I am pictured outside yesterday afternoon on the grounds of the high school on duty. There is about 6 inches on the ground and yesterday it snowed again. This is unusual for March for Belgrade. Highs are usually in the 50s and it is normal to be above freezing. Right now it is 28F and overcast.
I am liking the cold temperatures, especially for running. The snow makes Belgrade look nice and temperatures around the freezing mark are not really that cold.
The basketball season is finally winding down for me. We completed our regular season this week with a 10 and 5 record. We now leave for the CEESA Tourney in Latvia next week to complete the year. Everyone is doing well. Nadia has report cards this weekend to work on. Owen learned another song on the guitar (When The Saints Go Marching In). Ocean is enjoying “cooking” in her toy kitchen, yesterday she invited the nanny to lunch. She is carrying around her Hello Kitty purse everywhere, even to the bathroom. Oliver is always looking to elicit a laugh from Nadia or I – he is quite the character.
We are all looking forward to a nice quiet weekend at home. I’m hoping the toboggan hill is in good shape for the kids. I am making a cameo appearance in the One Act plays this evening and Saturday at the school.
“March Madness” is a nickname referring to the end of the basketball seasons. The American universities and high schools complete their seasons in the month of March. I am a coach of the high school boys’ basketball team at the International School of Belgrade. March Madness started a bit earlier for us as we won the basketball tourney this weekend. It was hosted by the Anglo American School of Sofia, Bulgaria. We played against four private schools in Sofia over two days of competition. Yesterday afternoon we defeated the Sofia Christian Academy in the finals, by a score of 53-49. It was a great weekend of basketball and besides having fun, we improved as a team. We are preparing for our Central and Eastern European Schools Association (CEESA) basketball championship in two weeks in Riga, Latvia. The Dragons are now 9 wins and 5 losses for the season. We have 2 more games and then we are off to Latvia on March 9th.
Ollie With the Trophy
I also made is a father-son weekend by taking Oliver on the trip. The little guy was a trooper and was patient during all of the games. We went to Burger King three times and swam in the hotel pool. He would sit on the bench next to me and draw pictures. I would then have to run him out to the school’s playground between games. He was a fan favorite there and everyone knew his name. He is a charismatic little fellow with a ton of energy! It was nice to be with him alone and not with his brother and sister. Oliver kept wanted to get food or toys to take back to Belgrade for his big brother Owen.
After this summer’s World Cup Soccer epic game between the USA and Slovenija (I use the Slovenijan spelling) and Slovenijan Tina Maze’s duels with American Lindsey Vonn, I feel that my home country of the USA and Slovenija have a special sporting bond. It’s not fair that we have 305,000,000 more people than Slovenija. The tiny 2.1 million Slovenijans, however, are like most of the ex-Yugoslavian countries and have more than their fair share of great athletes.
I really like Slovenija. It is a strange mix of the Alps and Balkans. The scenery looks much like Austria, but the Slovenijans are more outgoing and Slavic like Serbia. The country was never an independent nation. It always was under the operation of a larger power. Most recently, it was a part of Yugoslavia, which makes sense in that they are Slavic with a Slavonic language. It was always one of the richest parts of Yugoslavia and they resented supporting financially some of the poorer areas of the federation. Before that, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and under the control of the Hapsburgs. This made sense because it bordered on Austria and has the same topography and Alpine lifestyle.
The Slovenijans I spoke with were very happy to be independent and would not change it. One of the women at the desk was extremely bright and interesting to talk to. She talked of the lack of economic opportunities in the rural areas and young people move to the capital Ljubljana. The ski resort we visited is located in the Triglav National Park. Triglav means “three heads” which refers to the three peaks. These mountain peaks are featured on the Slovene flag. There are lots of forests and parks in the country and it is one of my favorite spots in the former Yugoslavia. It was also interesting to hear that World Champion skiier, Tina Maze is arrogant.
Below is a picture of a stog which you see all over the Alps. I was wondering what they were and found out they are for drying hay in the spring. They are only used on small farms and it is a traditional way of doing it. The hay is supposed to be better and the milk and cows taste better from the small farms due to this hay. Some are double latticed, and young people are making cabins on top and converting them into a weekend home.
We will definitely be back this spring to do some mountain biking and tennis. The Alps are gorgeous and I do not get tired of them. It is also nice that Slovenija is only a few hours drive from Belgrade. We last visited in December of 2008 and you can read my blog post from then.
After leaving Slovenija, we stopped for the night in Trieste, Italy. It was our first time to Italy and we wanted to see a bit of the Adriatic before heading back to Belgrade. We had a really nice time at the Hotel Riviera Maximillian. The city itself was nice, although we spent most of the time near our hotel which was outside of town. The Hotel is a good spot. There is a beautiful walk along the coast from the hotel to several restaurants and Maximillian’s Villa. One downside is Italy is expensive compared to Belgrade and Slovenija.
The Italians were a bit offended when I spoke Spanish to them. I thought they would appreciate the fellow Romantic language, but they all insisted on English. Nadia heard that they do not want to be compared with the Spanish and look down upon them. It was interesting to learn about the city’s history around World War II. At the end of the war, the city and surrounding area was made a “free state” and US troops came in a occupied the city while it was decided who would get it. Yugoslavia got the southern part of the free state and Italy received the city and its environs. The US troops after World War II, were stationed in his villa near our hotel for almost 10 years.
Trieste for a long time was the main port for the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, and the Hapsburg Maximillian spent much time designing the villa located near our hotel. Max left Trieste to claim the throne of Mexico. The Hapsburgs were trying to spread their monarchy (mafia) to the New World. Max was eventually captured by the Republican forces and executed.
Today the city is still a crossroads of Slavic (Slovenians), German (Austrians), and the majority Italians. I wouldn’t go back because there are better places to see in Italy, but it was so close and a new country, we decided to visit. We didn’t see the plaza downtown and some of the historic buildings.
Below is a picture of our hotel that I took from Max’s Villa. You can see the concrete pillar which is the elevator of the hotel leading down to their beach.
We had a fantastic two days of skiing at the Kranjska Gora Ski Center in Slovenija. It was the perfect place for beginners with short lines, several intermediate runs, and an excellent ski school. There was plenty for the kids to do besides skiing, with a toboggan run, playgrounds, etc. The highlight was Owen, Oliver, and I making our historic first run together down a major mountain. We all took the tow rope up together and came down. The boys absolutely loved skiing and wanted to do more. I really enjoyed it and my skiing is much better after last year’s initial trip. Nadia was an champion taking care of Ocean and Oliver, getting them set up with lessons and occupied while I was with Owen.
I finished reading over the holiday break this book by 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, Jose Saramago. Saramago is from Portugal, and this 1995 novel is about a mysterious plague that turns everyone blind instantly. The book focuses on the group of people who first contracted the disease which causes people to lose their sight and see only a bright, white, light. The ensuing chaos is horrific and you can imagine how this affects society. Without electricity and water, things go bad in a hurry in a big city. The heroine of the book is the only person who does not go blind and leads her husband and a small group out of quarantine and out into the city.
I liked the book in two ways. First, I love post apocalypse, wasteland stories (Stephen King’s The Stand, 28 Days Later, etc). It is a great adventure story of survival. the other meaning of the book is a bit deeper. It made me think about how fragile our society is and what a small thing can happen and chaos and the worst of human nature comes out. I told the story to my family in the car and we had a good discussion about it. I thought it would make a good movie, and it was already done in 2008. I also want to read his book, “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ,” which is a fictional, alternative account of the life of Jesus. He was an atheist and in a strongly Catholic Portugal, he left because of official government criticism of his works. He recently died at the age of 87. In reading his biography, he came a long way, from landless peasant to Nobel laureate. He didn’t become famous until age 60.
Bill's Blog 