St. John's University Athletics
Volleyball Postcard: Greetings From Vietnam Part V
5/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
- St. John's Volleyball Travels To Vietnam
Hi Everybody!
So today is our sixth day here in Vietnam and we played our fourth match of the tournament this afternoon. Our match wasn???t until 4 p.m., so we had all morning just to hang around the hotel, which of course I spent sleeping. Dr. Le wore us out last night with the most amazing massage ever and a little karaoke. It was nice to be able to sleep in.
We played Sri Lanka today and I played middle for most of the match. It is a new position for me and I???m still getting used to it. But it was a fun match. Something that I am really enjoying about playing in this international tournament is getting a chance to watch the different playing styles of the other countries. They dive for the ball different, the length of their spandex is different and the way they celebrate after a point is definitely different.
After we got back from our much needed western dinner of pizza and ribs, Liz [Austin], Casie [Brooks], Ruisa [Scheffel] and I went to get manicures and pedicures in the hotel spa. The ladies that worked there did not speak English and we kind of had a hard time understanding what they wanted us to do. We were taken to a type of locker room where they gave us a towel and motioned toward the shower. Since we were only getting our nails done, we were a bit confused. So we pointed to our nails. They smiled, gave us silk robes and motioned towards the shower again. So even though we couldn???t understand why we were supposed to change clothes to get our nails done, we did anyway and then they walked us upstairs to a lounge. There was food and several TVs. They sat us down in reclining chairs and brought us drinks and fruit. It was very different from a manicure and pedicure in the United States because they didn???t even paint our nails. It was just another new experience here in Vietnam and it only cost $4 USD.
Well, it???s getting late and we have another important match tomorrow, so I???m off to sleep. Before I go, I want to say hi to my mom, my dad, my sister Makena and my little brother Riley. I love you all and can???t wait see you!!
We still have over a week left here so I am really excited for everything else that???s been planned. This really is the experience of a life time and we are all really enjoying ourselves and soaking it all in.
Good night!
Alanna Rutan #19
