University of Memphis Athletics
On the Road With Tiffany Adkins
May 10, 2000 | Women's Basketball
May 10, 2000
Varberg, Sweden - Today we started the day off with about a three-hour bus ride from Malmo, Sweden to the Kosta Boda glass factory that was about halfway to Varberg, Sweden. On the bus, Coach McNelis had about a one-hour meeting with us about the first three games, and then we had a team-bonding event for about an hour and a half. During this bonding, each player had to get in the middle of the circle and tell the rest of the team something about themselves that no one else on the team already knew.
Once we reached the glass factory, we started out for about 45 minutes in the shop. There was a lot of awesome stuff and I think just about everybody bought something there. I bought a jewelry holder. After a little shopping, we took a tour of the factory and we were able to see how they blew glass into things like wineglasses, vases and candlesticks. It was really hot in there and it was awesome to see how they made the glass. There were even some guys in there that were wearing tank tops or no shirts at all, and I asked one of the ladies that showed us around if they have a lot of injuries there and she said no. I found that hard to believe with as hot as that glass was. I couldn't believe how close they let us get to the people who were working on the hot glass. I even did a little bit of filming while I was there. I also went over and saw where they were training some people for work, which was pretty funny. One of the trainees dropped the glass off the pipe and it fell to the floor like hot lava.
After we toured the factory, we had another hour or so to shop and then we all sat under a shade tree and at the "Scooby" snacks that the boosters sent with us. It was great to have some snacks. Once everyone was finished shopping, we went across the way and ate lunch. The only two choices at the restaurant were spaghetti and herring. I had the spaghetti, and ate a good bit of it until I found out that there was moose meat in it.
After lunch, we got back on the bus for another two and a half-hours. Most everybody watched Runaway Bride, but I took a nap because I had seen it four times already. After we checked into the hotel, we had some time to shower and get cleaned up and we walked to a restaurant. The food was the best we've had on this trip. It tasted a lot like American food. A couple of people even tried the ostrich.
