Kimberly Busateri recently traveled to Athens, Greece, to compete with a U.S. women’s volleyball team. She and two of her former teammates, Sam Siehr and Hannah Council, were offered the opportunity. “I believe it was picked based on stats from the season,” she said.
Experiencing the Athens Culture
This was Busateri’s first time traveling outside the country, and she was surprised by the warm welcome in Greece. “Everyone was super friendly and helpful. I was surprised by how many locals spoke both Greek and English,” she said. Busateri also explored the local cuisine, trying various dishes. “I liked most of the food, but I’m not a big seafood eater. I probably disliked squid the most,” she admits. Outside of volleyball, Busateri made new friends in Athens. “We sent postcards to everyone from our home states when we got back; we plan on keeping in touch,” she said. Busateri reflects on the competition and describes her experience as exhilarating. “Playing internationally was exciting. The competition was tough, but my teammates were super friendly, and at the end we learned a lot from the teams we played,” Busateri said.
A Long Journey
The flight itself was very long; Busateri had to take two flights to get to Athens, totaling about 15 hours of travel time. The return trip was even longer; instead of two flights, she had to take three flights and had to stop in Thessaloniki, which is 55 minutes away from Greece. This extended her travel time to about 18 hours.
Busateri shares that coming into the upcoming women’s volleyball season, she’s excited to bring what she has learned back to the team. “I learned a few things about myself as a player that I want to bring back for our next school season to better myself and my team,” Busateri said.
