Update from Norway 9/1/2022

​Hilsen fra Norge!
So far, my experience in Norway has been enjoyable.  The town that I am in is very far North, so traveling here was definitely exhausting.  I flew from Toronto to Copenhagen (Denmark) to Oslo (Norway) to Harstad (where I am living).  It has taken me some time to adjust to the time difference.  Norway is 6 hours ahead of Buffalo so the first week has been an adjustment and I have been pretty jet lagged.

Luckily the training sessions are very intense so I've been tired and have been able to get into more of a normal schedule.  I haven't found the language barrier to be too difficult, most people here speak English or at least can understand it.  My coaches and teammates do speak in Norwegian at times to each other, as they can speak a lot quicker in their native language.  They are very good at making sure I understand what is being said though.  Unfortunately, I was not able to play in the first game since being here, as I hadn't received international clearance from the U.S. Soccer Federation.  I was just notified yesterday that I received clearance so I will be able to play in our next game on September 11th.  The coaches are very knowledgable and welcoming.  They have done a great job at helping me get accustomed to the team and in the mix quickly.  My team has lost 7 starters over the course of their season due to injuries or transfers, so right now we have a very young team.

The system works differently here as they do not play college soccer.  WE have had to pull up some girls from Medkila's reserve team, so we have some players who are in high school and college on the team.  A lot of young players make for a very inexperienced team, but the team is very hard working and is focusing on their goal of staying in First Division.  The ninth and tenth place teams will be relegated to the second division for next season sou our goal is to work our way up to at least the eighth spot.  We have 7 more games left in the season so hopefully I can help out as much as possible! 
Being on a team who is in last play in a division is very different from what I am used to in Buffalo, but I am excited for the new challenge and hope to be a valuable asset to the team.  It is very cool to see professional soccer (futbol as they say here) in another country.  There are many differences to soccer back home, but at the end of the day the game unites us all and despite the different backgrounds, experiences, and languages, we are able to come together for Medkila IL.  I am looking forward to the rest of my adventure here in Norway and will update you all again soon!