summer sun.... sometimes

The month of June is gone, and I can't say I miss it.

I spent the first half of the month working, writing a chapter for my thesis, and training for badminton as much as possible. This period of time was largely unremarkable, apart from the fact that I moved to different (cheaper!) housing for the summer. Now I am much closer to the gym and city center, and even slightly closer to work as well.

Then I went to Geneva, Switzerland to play in the European University Championships. We (six of us from UCC) were representing Ireland--yes, that means I represented Ireland internationally, and yes, I do find this hilarious.

Go Ireland! Go America!

We didn't win by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't because we are intrinsically worse players--it was more about training standards and experience. And we played our best, so no complaints really. I lost both of the two singles matches I played in three sets, won a mixed match, and lost another mixed in three. All things considered, it was a fantastic experience. The courts were perfect, we had umpires and line judges and electric scoreboards, and there were even free sports massage therapists.

The upside of not winning a whole lot? More time to do fun things. Like swimming at a beachfront resort. And catching a boat across Lake Geneva to a French village, Yvoire. We also made friends with the team from Bath (England), with the Germans, and with Cyprus (not the whole team from Cyprus, just the one girl who spoke English who we nicknamed Cyprus). Most importantly, I was with my teammates all the while--and UCC was definitely one of the closest teams, if not the closest.

Now I'm home for just over a week, and then I fly home to Cali for a two week visit. I cannot wait.