SacramentoMonarchs.com recently had a chance to catch up with Chantelle Anderson who is currently in Pécs, Hungary playing basketball with MiZo-Pécsi VSK.

Q: What is it like being in Hungary?
A: I am having a good time in Hungary so far. I had heard a lot of horror stories about players going overseas, but this is definitely not one of those. The team and the organization are treating me really well. I was scared that the girls weren't going to talk to me, or that no one would speak English but that's not the case at all; everyone is extremely friendly and mostly everyone that I interact with on a daily basis speaks English. The food is really good :). I'm excited at this chance to be on my own for seven months to work on me as both a player and a person. So far so good.

Q: Is the Hungarian language an issue for you?
A: Obviously I don't speak any Hungarian so sometimes it's difficult. My teammates help me out and like I said, most of them speak English; all of them speak at least a little. Thankfully my coach speaks very good English so there is no problem there. Sometimes in the heat of the game, my teammates will say something in Hungarian and I won't understand them so I have learned words like switch and help.

I've also leaned how to say numbers 1 - 5, hello, thank you, yes, no, butter, water, let's go ladies, and let's try. So I'm doing pretty well. When I need to know how to say something in Hungarian, I ask a teammate. Sometimes they will just tell me how to say stuff because they know I will try and remember. Overall, I would say that language is not really an issue.

Q: How is your team, MiZo-Pécsi VSK, compared to the others you play against?
A: Well, this team has won the Hungarian League Championship for the last seven years, I think. We are looking to be one of the best, if not the best team in Hungary again this year. We also play in the Euro League, which is the best league in Europe. Many of the WNBA players play in this league. We have already played against WNBA players Margo Dydek, Chasity Melvin, Elaine Powell, Kamila Vodichkova, and former player Maria Steponova. We play against Taj McWilliams' team on Thursday.

I know that Yo and Ticha are also playing in the Euro League, but they are in the other conference so we won't play their team unless we make it to the playoffs.

Our conference in the Euro League is the strongest (kind of like the Western Conference top to bottom in the WNBA) so it will be hard to make it to the final four and win it, but so far we are 2-0 against Euro League opponents, so, so far so good.

Q: How often do you practice with the team and for how long?
A: We practice five to six days a week, depending on the game and travel schedule. Two or three of those days, we practice twice a day. When we practice twice, the morning is a shooting practice mostly for an hour and a half to two hours and the evening is a normal practice for two hours. As we start traveling and playing more, I’m sure we will practice a little less.

Q: What is your role with the team?
A: I play a lot with this team. I have started at center for all of the Euro League games and a couple of the Hungarian games. The games that we are expected to win by 20 or 30 in the Hungarian league, I don't start and play about half the game. The role that I play here is more like the role that I played for my team in college. They expect me to score and play good defense on the other team's center. My coach here is really after me to rebound so it is helping me get conditioned to go to the boards every time as Coach Whiz would say :). They understand my situation and are really trying to help me get better. It feels good to have so many people around me that have this amount of confidence in my game and that makes me play that much better.

Q: How does the game of basketball in Hungary differ from the play in the WNBA?
A: Well, in the Hungarian League, there are not a lot of true post players. Many times, I have to guard a guard or a forward so it is really helping me work on my perimeter defense. In the Euro League, there are a lot of posts, some of them whom are WNBA players, so I also get to work on my post defense as well. It's a good mix. Since a lot of the players in the Hungarian League are smaller than I am, the refs let them do whatever they want so I really have to work on finishing even when I get fouled because a lot of times they won't call it. I'd say the level of play in the Euro League is somewhat similar to that of the WNBA, almost.

Q: What is a typical day for you while you are in Hungary?
A: It's pretty boring, relative to the life I'm used to in the states because one, I just got out of college and you know college is pretty crazy, and two, because I don't really know anyone here. On a day when we only have one practice, I get up between 11:00 and 12:00, and go to lunch with Albena (a post player from Bulgaria) and Ali (a guard from Australia). We go to one of two restaurants that are team sponsors so we all get to eat for free. After that, I come home and either watch TV, read, write, get on the internet, or play computer games. Then I go to practice around 5:00, get home around 8:30, and do any of the things mentioned above.

There is an American guy named Chris on our guys team so a lot of times he'll come over or I'll go over to his apartment and we'll watch a movie or listen to music or something. He's cool and I’m so glad that he is here because I don't have another American on my team.

I go to bed late, as usual, around 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. I don't know why, but I've always been a late night person. On a day when we have two practices, I just get up earlier and definitely take a nap in between. I talk on the phone a lot too because it is kind of lonely over here. I don't even want to see my phone bill!!! Overall though, I'm having a pretty good time.

Q: Do you have any funny stories or things that have happened to you since you've arrived?
A: No funny stories really. It's been pretty uneventful in that area, but I'm sure I'll have some when I get back.

Q: What do you do when you are not playing basketball?
A: I read a lot. I love to read, even when I'm not over here. My goal is to read the entire Bible while I'm here. I also have some other books that I alternate with just for fun. I listen to a lot of music too. Thank goodness for the music on my computer and my cd's.

Thank you also to the fan that gave me the Green Mile DVD because Chris and I watched it the other day and he loved it (he hadn't seen it yet)! I also got a book from a fan named Sharon Bradford. It was the Dr. Seuss book "Fox in Socks" that I read at one of my Read to Achieve appearances. It's a tongue twister book so I've been practicing and really enjoying it. Thank you!!! I have also decorated my apartment with picture collages everywhere so that was fun too.

Q: Do you have anything you especially like in Hungary (food, music, etc.)?
A: I love the Hungarian food. Actually, I can only say that I love the two restaurants we eat at and one of them is Italian food, but the other one is Hungarian and it's really good too. I was relieved to find out that the food was good here because that was something I was worried about.

Q: Do you miss the United States?
A: Yes, yes, yes!!! I definitely do! It's not that I am not in a great situation here, because I am, but I don't think anything can ever take the place of home. The first thing I'm going to do when I get back is go out with my friends and just kick it!!!

Q: Will you get to come home for the holidays?
A: Yes, I get to come home for Christmas for a few days. Then I come back here (to Hungary) until May.

Q: Anything else you want to share?
A: I want everyone to know that my toe is doing a lot better. It hasn't been bothering me at all, thank God, so I get to go all out in practice and in the games with no pain FINALLY!!! That is a huge plus and makes me even more confident in my quest to come back better next year!