[Merged Thread]NYT: Overseas, lost in transition -- feature on Hartley & McBride

[Wonkster]

... Then, there's always Rosetta Stone.

Good luck with Rosetta Stone. Hungarian is not an Indo-European language, despite its geographic position in the middle of Europe, so there's very little to relate it to any language you'd be likely to be familiar with.

Vienna, on the other hand, is one of the treasures of the Old World.

 

[Striper69]

Yeah, the article kind of blind-sided the girls. It took place right after they had arrived there and they were still trying to adjust to their new lifestyle. Give 'em a break!

I posted about what it was like for me cause I hope they try to visit the other countries. It's great that they're experiencing it together. Maybe they can travel a bit together and share the experiences.

 

[Striper69]

Good luck with Rosetta Stone. Hungarian is not an Indo-European language, despite its geographic position in the middle of Europe, so there's very little to relate it to any language you'd be likely to be familiar with.

Vienna, on the other hand, is one of the treasures of the Old World.

Beautiful place. I loved visiting it and have fond memories of it.

 

[hoophuskee]

Actually the article states they had an opportunity to play on separate teams but came to Sopron because of McBride. I took that to mean that she was taking a pay cut to be with McBride.

I couldn't disagree more. From the article below in italics I took out snippets -- all of these imo no way suggest "they took a pay cut." Even the comments they make that they wanted to be together- imo does not suggest that just because two close friends wanted to go together that it also means they were taking a pay cut.


Hartley and McBride, both 22, completed their first W.N.B.A. seasons in August, and made the trip to Sopron to try to maximize their on-court earning potential . . .

“Everyone’s like, If you want to make money, overseas is where the money is,” said Hartley, whose W.N.B.A. team is the Washington Mystics.
Internationally, players regularly earn more than double that playing for teams that are often financed by local governments and private sponsors, or through funds shared with more profitable soccer club partners.

Boris Lelchitski, an agent for Hartley and McBride, said smaller towns often had the best women’s basketball teams because they viewed them as a source of pride and would “gladly afford those teams out of the budget in the town.”

But for Hartley and McBride, who, as W.N.B.A. rookies, had salaries that were among the league’s lowest, the extra money available from playing in Europe was difficult to eschew, even though other players had negative experiences in Sopron.

 

[Striper69]

Good for them if they're making more money.

I just hope they take advantage of being able to work in Europe.

Once they get used to using the currency (it's tricky cause other countries use other currencies or do they all use the Euro now?). Use the rail system and learn to recognize certain signs they can travel all over Europe pretty easily. You don't have to be fluent in every language cause there are people in every country who can answer any question you might have.

Once I got left at a ski resort in Switzerland and was snow-blinded to boot. I stood at the entrance of the place and a nice lady asked what was my problem. I told her and she took me down into the town and even paid for my room at a hotel (I spent all the money I had cause I thought I was going back to the base that night). That's how some of the people are over there. She said "Don't worry. I'll take care of you".