Last few weeks!

Hello world!

Well...It has been a little while since my last update! I have posted a couple of times regarding the game of the week this past weekend (which the Jaguaarit won 34-28! YES!!) But I havent caught you all up on the highlights of the past couple of weeks.

As you probably can figure out James and I made it safely back to Finland from our southern European adventure. The remainder of the trip was rather un-eventful, from Andrew and James standards, but none the less exciting. We rode on a train from Pisa to Bern, Switzerland and saw some incredible scenery. Upon making it to Bern, we naturally had no idea how to get to the hostile, and had about an hour before the front desk closed. Although we made it a little too close for comfort we were able to see some sweet castles and an awesome skyline before heading to bed.
When we got up the next day we boarded the first train we could to Munich, which was without a doubt my favorite stop on the trip. For the first time all trip, we were actually able to locate a free tour, and that made the trip awesome. The guide’s name was Mark, an Irish student who just “Loved Munich!” and did tours for free, just living off of tips. I have to say, he made the trip by telling us all about Munich’s history. A bit of a history nerd myself, it was incredible to see some of the ancient buildings dating back to the 1500’s and learning all about World War II. As many of you may know, Munich was a hotspot for the Nazi party, and the city is filled with WWII history. We saw all kinds of memorials, which aren’t the typical type of memorial that you might see other places, considering they are rather small and not noticeable. The people of Munich desired to put up over 120 smaller more un-assuming monuments for the victims of the Nazi party in order for people to have a deeper appreciation for all of the suffering. I would not have even noticed them if I was not on a tour, but that is the monument’s design. Mark explained that this is because many monuments all over the world are just big buildings that aren’t truly appreciated, and in no real way portray the suffering that went on. An interesting idea I thought, but none the less affective. When Mark showed us some of these small monuments, such as golden bricks on a building wall, or small German signs on street corners, I truly gained a whole new appreciation for all of the suffering during WWII. Mark also showed us a picture of Munich immediately following WWII, and that was another shocker. It brought me back to when we were in Lithuania and saw the concentration camp, a feeling of appreciation for my safe, democratic upbringing. I recommend that if you have the chance, take a stop in Munich not only for the beer, but also for an awesome history lesson.

It was after I returned from Munich, and was talking to my girlfriend Megan, that I had less than a month remaining in Jyvaskyla! It has flown buy! I have had an awesome time…But I must say I miss Megan! Her and I have been apart for about 8 months, and I am looking forward to a soccer filled fall in which the bearcats win the NWC and I get to spend some quality time with the lady friend!!! However, there was still a trip to London and three more games before then!

One week after getting back to Finland, James and I finished our traveling by heading to London to meet my brother Braeden. After another crazy experience in the airport, where James and I waited for Braeden with some type of religious group that was singing praises with bongo drums and dancing waiting for their holy one (An old man in a wheel chair) Braeden came out of the gate and we were able to show him his first European experience. Using the metro, and being led by our “Metro Master” (James) we were able to cover many of the cities sites in a day, before catching an overnight bus to Edinburgh, Scotland. Waking up in Edinburgh, Braeden, James, and I enjoyed a hearty Scottish breakfast and walked around seeing many of the sites throughout Scotland. An awesome experience, and I have to say it was a blast hanging out with my little bro, who was a trooper all weekend. He flew to London, and jet lagged like crazy traveled to London and Scotland with his only sleep being on a bus and at an airport (our flight was early the next day….so we stayed in the airport) before going back to Finland.

Once there, the Jaguaarit prepared for the Turku Trojans, a team that we had beaten before. This would be no easy win, considering they had improved throughout the season and were poised to get another win. Well, that win didn’t come against us…as the Jaguaarit held an opponent under 100 yards rushing for the first time all season, and picked up the win 34-28.

Braeden left yesterday, and I really hope that he enjoyed his experience! We have two weeks remaining in the season, and they are sure to be tough games. One against the Butchers and the other against the Border Knights, two teams that we have lost to already. But the Jaguaarit have improved, and I am confident that if we prepare properly we can give both of these teams a run for their money!
I apologize for no crazy stories in this blog! I just thought I would get all of you caught up on how things are going!!!!

God Bless Everyone!!

Time of the game!

Game time at 8:30 am pacific time and 18:30 in Finland!!!

Game day!!!

Hello world!!

In case you were wondering...James and I returned safely from our trip! We will have updates from that coming soon! But I wanted to tell you all about the game tomorrow!!

The Jaguaarit are heading to Turku to take on the Trojans for the second time. We were able to pull of the win last time, but it is very difficult to beat a team twice. We have had some time off to heal our injuries, so hopefully we will be ready to go!

But the best news is that the game is live on the internet! That is right! Game of the week!!! Check it out at this link:

http://www.sajl.fi/media/netti-tv/

Enjoy! More updates to come soon and God Bless!!!