Colin Hammock (center) flanked by Mitch Brott and Jacob Hadley
Photo by: Brian Morse
#POLAND18: Bobcat Group Returns from Poland, Leaving New Friends and Many Memories
5/15/2018 11:16:00 AM | Football
With most of the house's exterior finished, a dozen MSU representatives finish trip
Call it #Poland18 or The Cats in Poland or whatever other catchy name comes to mind. A dozen members of the Montana State football program – including operations director Cole Moore, videographer Brian Morse, and players Troy Andersen, Mitch Brott, Wilson Brott, Balue Chapman, Walker Cozzie, Kyle Finch, Jacob Hadley, Colin Hammock, Michael Jobman and Luke May. Below is Colin Hammock's final journal entry from the trip, which concluded when the team returned to Bozeman late Monday.
It was an amazing trip, and it's good to be back! The travel part was tiring with the time changes and long layovers. We toured Amsterdam during our long layover there (Monday), which made the travel back to Bozeman that much more enjoyable. They actually fed us really well on the trans-Atlantic flights, which surprised us. It was fun meeting people at all the places we visited that wondered what an American football team was doing in Europe. Most people thought we must be playing a game and were surprised to hear we were building a house in Poland. We even had to explain what football was and why we were so big to a few people.
Our time in Poland was amazing from the standpoint of seeing new places and meeting so many wonderful people. We obviously found great satisfaction in building a home for a family that needed help, and it was great to learn a little about them. Although the family was not living in the best circumstances, they were always happy to help and seemed to make the most of what they had. The young boy in the family seemed about as happy as I've ever seen a boy his age. They even cooked us a great meal on our last day in Gliwice!
The cities in Poland are pretty different from most in the U.S. Gliwice is built around a central square that house many of the restaurants and activities. Krakow, on the other hand, has many of its interesting sites inside of old castle walls. The Polish people seem to dress more fashionably than we usually do. They also drive a little differently, with parking on the sidewalk being one oddity that is acceptable here.
We ended up playing a volleyball game with some kids who were actually really good at the game, we expected a relaxed and casual match but ended up playing some solid athletes. Volleyball is a sport they apparently take seriously in the schools around here.
We were able to complete more work on the house than was expected of us, getting nearly all of the brick walls up. It's now ready for a professional company to finish the roof, and another Habitat for Humanity group will be plastering the brick and working on the interior.
It was an amazing trip, and it's good to be back! The travel part was tiring with the time changes and long layovers. We toured Amsterdam during our long layover there (Monday), which made the travel back to Bozeman that much more enjoyable. They actually fed us really well on the trans-Atlantic flights, which surprised us. It was fun meeting people at all the places we visited that wondered what an American football team was doing in Europe. Most people thought we must be playing a game and were surprised to hear we were building a house in Poland. We even had to explain what football was and why we were so big to a few people.
Our time in Poland was amazing from the standpoint of seeing new places and meeting so many wonderful people. We obviously found great satisfaction in building a home for a family that needed help, and it was great to learn a little about them. Although the family was not living in the best circumstances, they were always happy to help and seemed to make the most of what they had. The young boy in the family seemed about as happy as I've ever seen a boy his age. They even cooked us a great meal on our last day in Gliwice!
The cities in Poland are pretty different from most in the U.S. Gliwice is built around a central square that house many of the restaurants and activities. Krakow, on the other hand, has many of its interesting sites inside of old castle walls. The Polish people seem to dress more fashionably than we usually do. They also drive a little differently, with parking on the sidewalk being one oddity that is acceptable here.We ended up playing a volleyball game with some kids who were actually really good at the game, we expected a relaxed and casual match but ended up playing some solid athletes. Volleyball is a sport they apparently take seriously in the schools around here.
We were able to complete more work on the house than was expected of us, getting nearly all of the brick walls up. It's now ready for a professional company to finish the roof, and another Habitat for Humanity group will be plastering the brick and working on the interior.
Players Mentioned
RB
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OT
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TE
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LB
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LB
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DL
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LB
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OL
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DE
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QB
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Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
