Tophockey

De "Blauwe Gazellen" bericht van: Heather McEwan (HGC Dames 1)

18-6

Hello new HGC family, 

My corona experience has been a bit of a different one, having travelled to 3 different countries during the peak of corona. I do count myself lucky to have been able to get out when I did, but even more lucky that I am coming to play for such a great club.

After narrowly escaping lock down in the UK, I got on the last flight out to South Africa to stay with my family for our lock down there. Daily life in South Africa consisted of a lot of exercise outdoors, DIY, baking, Braai’s/BBQ and chasing monkeys. It was so good to be home and spend quality time with the family but by the end of lock down and another month went by, the uncertainty of what was going to happen next started to creep up on me. I had been put on Furlough by the school that I taught at in London. But I still needed to get back for the start of Season as South Africa had still closed its borders. 

Luckily I managed to get back on a repatriation flight through the British Embassy. And so the long 48 hour journey began, being police escorted to all the way to Johannesburg and the airport, face masks had to be worn at all times and you were constantly being sanitised. It was a journey I wouldn’t forget. Thankfully I did it with my sister and her family that were also making their way back to Scotland.

After arriving in the UK I then needed to somehow make my way to Holland. Finally, on Tuesday I arrived safely in Holland and was shown to my new home for the next 2 weeks by the lovely Marc and Andries. 

I must say that with all of this travelling and temporary living my routine has been completely out of order. Managing to stay on top of all this change has actually been a lot harder than I thought it would be. It takes its toll on you both mentally and physically. Being a strong routine and home girl, I’ve had to find small ways of keeping just a basic routine in place, like exercising at least once a day or having a really good breakfast and then making sure I keep in contact with those close to me so it still feels a bit like home. But what I’ve learnt the most from this whole experience is that there are gonna be days were you reach your threshold, so be kind to yourself, and trust that everything is going to end up exactly how it’s meant to.

And HGC is exactly where I am meant to be. I  can’t wait to get on the field and train with the girls and bring some South African/Scottish vibes. 

Looking forward to meeting you all very soon,

Heather x