A Start to 2 season’s

Happy start of the NFL season to you and yours. It is a dreary Thursday morning here in the D-Land, perfect actually for a football game. Jen has been off to work for a few hours now and I thought it prudent to get out of bed and do something with my life. Without further ado, another blog from Jen and Jordan in Deutschland 2.0.

Saturday marks the start of the handball season for both our teams. This is very exciting considering handball is the reason we live here. I am very excited about our team’s chances to do well this year. We have had a very good preseason and for the moment, almost everybody is healthy and on the same page as to the things we want to accomplish and how we want to go about getting those things done. We finished our preseason schedule last weekend with a 3-day tournament. We lost our first game against a Div. 3 team but went on to beat a team in our division and than handily dismantle a team in the division below us. Our 2-1 record landed us in 2nd place and we won 300 Euros for the club. Hooray. Practice tonight and tomorrow leads us into our first game Saturday, away, against a new comer to league. Our opponent was first in it’s division last year allowing them to move up to our league for this season.

Jen’s team finally has most of its pieces in place and has been working hard to prepare for the opener. They have been practicing every day since Jen arrived, sometimes twice a day. Jen is super excited to start playing. She feels like, at the moment, she has a lot to improve upon to be as good a player as most of her teammates but she looks forward to continual improvement. For those of you who know her, you know she can’t stand not being as good as somebody else and works harder than everybody else to make herself better. I expect she will see good amounts of playing time regardless; her coach likes her and her enthusiasm and determination. The start of the season will bring lots of answers about playing time and how good our teams are.

In other, rather sad news, I was forced to depart with a friend last week. I had not shaved my face since we moved over, August 1st, but we had team pictures and both my wife and my coach begged me to get rid of it, so I caved. My big, furry kick Canada’s Ass Beard (CAB) will not be as big, furry and intimidating as it would have been. I’m sorry.

Some good news, however, on Monday, Hans and I drove down to the Heidleberg area and met up with six other Americans to discuss getting together and practicing/playing as American’s in preparation for Canada. Mark Ortega, along with Carsen, Justin, Alex, Chris, Gabe, Hans and myself have agreed to meet as much as possible to train. Mark is currently working on getting us gym time and has verbal agreements from some other American’s (Gary Hines being one) that they would come when we can set up a couple of practices and scrimmages against local teams. This is very exciting. Hans was also able to set up a tryout with a team in our league for Mark and Gabe, who are currently in negotiations with said team. Everybody seems to be adapting to Germany pretty well and I believe almost everybody is set up with a team or at least a situation where they can receive proper training.

I would like to take a moment to express Jen and I’s gratitude to the Self’s. We have been staying with them for over a month now and without them, Deutschland 2.0 for the Fithian’s would not be possible. They have continually helped us in getting us to where we need to go, they have helped us with paper work and bank accounts, Visa’s and work permits. We grub all their food, I drink all Ken’s beer and we use their home gym daily. Internet and TV are swallowed by us as well. And they have asked for nothing in return. We are so thankful for the Self’s, and just wanted everybody to know what they have done and continue to do for us.

Nobody dreams of owning a Fiat Punto, trust me. But everybody wants a car, especially when you are relying on somebody to always get you places. Our prayers were answered last week, Jen came into position of a Fiat Punto as part of the deal with her team. She has only gotten lost a few times (No GPS yet), but it has been wonderful for her to be able to drive to work (25 minutes one way) and to practice (45 one way) on her own. Her manual driving skills have all come back to her and she only managed to back it into the field nearby where we live once. I was more than happy to put on my boots, push her out and go back to bed, because that’s what loving husbands do. She has been working a week and a half now and loves it. Through her stories of the kids and the kids actions, we have nicknames for a few that she uses at home to relate stories to me. The Pee’er made it through the day yesterday without soiling himself, but he hasn’t got the aim or shake part down yet. The Cryer misses his mommy and daddy less and less. The Band-Aid still hasn’t taken off the cover of the scrape on her chin but she also has a new one on her hand. I can’t wait for Jen to get home everyday a. because I miss her (points) and b. because she always has a funny story to tell.

One frustrating thing is how slow the Germans move. Even with help from the Self’s and the relocation company Jen’s work hired on her behalf, we are still waiting for Jen’s work permit and other legal documents. Without them, she can not get paid from work or from her team and she cannot legally sign her contract with the team either. We are in a waiting pattern right now, last we heard it will be another 4-8 weeks to process everything, we can only hope it will be a lot sooner.

All in all things are going pretty well. The season starting on Saturday is very exciting and kind of the end-all as to why we are here. A month of preseason is over and we are ready to go. Hope everybody back home had a fine Labor Day weekend. Go Bronco’s!! Tebow 4 Life!