Hanging with the Slovenian Youth Team

Luci Hanley & Stephanie DeGeare

On Friday night we had the biggest cultural experience of our lives. We ate dinner with the Slovenians at the Elephant Hotel. At first we all just sat there staring at each other not knowing how to start the conversation. After a few minutes we all were introducing ourselves and getting to know each other. The main topic of conversation was us asking them how to say things in Slovenian. After dinner and learning a few new words, we all decided it would be fun if we went for ice cream (sladoled in Slovenian) together. After we were stuffed full with ice cream, the Slovenian girls showed us around Ljubljana. We took pictures at the famous river, bought Slovenian jewelry and were checking out the Slovenian sights and sounds. We definitely bonded and got to know one another better than we expected. They listen to the same music as us, and we actually had a lot in common. Our Slovenian roommates lost their passports so we aren't sure if we will see them in Pula, but certainly hope so. We are really excited to exchange phone numbers and t-shirts at the end of the tournament.

Sidenote: the girls who lost their passports will be meeting us in Pula, just a day late as they must go to the consulate and replace the documents - Val