Don't be too alarmed by the title, but the first few days in Poland have been fluid if not chaotic. It started with our travel day, and unfortunately did not stop there. Being non-Olympic boats, the light 8 and light pair were allowed to book their own travel. Four of us (Andrew Diebold and Skip Dise of the light 8, and my pair partner Alex) flew out of Boston, on different flights, had changeovers in Europe, and took trains from Berlin to Poznan. The flight that the other three were on got delayed, so I was on my own from Boston to Poznan. A couple of naps and a few time zones later I was in the Poznan Glowny train station with three bags and no idea how to get to the hotel. Disregarding my parents' advice to "not take rides from strangers", I eventually was escorted to the Sheraton by a regatta volunteer who luckily recognized my USRowing polo.
After a few deep breaths and a long nights sleep I convinced myself that it would be smooth sailing the rest of the trip. We hit another minor roadblock when Andrew Diebold hurt his back and was unable to practice in the light 8. Alex then had to jump into the 8 and fill Andrew's shoes for a few practices (and still had to practice the pair after the 8 practice). Thankfully Coach Volpenhein suggested that I row in the 8 a couple of times so as not to lose touch with the water, and also cut down on Alex's water time. So, as of now, 10 guys are rowing the lightweight 8.
Circumstances at any regatta are never going to be perfect. You have to adjust accordingly and do the best you can with what you have. If nothing else, the last few days have been a good exercise in that regard. Don't feel too sorry for us, Alex and I had a good row in the pair this evening and are feeling good going into next week.
Oh, and I learned my first Polish word yesterday with the help of Kenny McMahon of the light 8: okna: it means window.
Go USA!
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