Swimming Milestone #2

This Monday marked the first OTC swim practice *ever* that actually felt like a recovery swim.  I swam 1500m (including a warm up and cool down) and was never really winded even though we did four 200s at 70% for the main set.  All this can be attributed to the Total Immersion online swimming tutorials and the outstanding OTC coaches at these Monday night Mills practices.

Oh - haha - something hilarious happened at the start of this workout.  There was this little boy (maybe 6 years old??) getting out of the shallowest lane and I asked him if he was done swimming there (I knew he was - I just felt like modeling politeness for some dumb reason).  He was like, "You shouldn't swim here.  It's better practice down there where you can't touch!" LOL...  Doh!  I was like, "Okay.  Thanks!"  ...and then slunked into the kiddie lane anyway.  Ha!

It's true that it's pretty lazy to stay in the stubby shallow end of the pool, but OTC considers it the "slow lane" and I'm preeeeeeeetty sure I'm the slowest swimmer there, so......  PLUS, I rely on the floor of the pool to be there for me if I need to stop swimming to cough up a mouthful of delicious pool water or whatever (yes, of course, this still happens occasionally).  I intend to get into the deep end soon, but *that* - my dear little boy - is a milestone for another day.  ;)

The next swim goal on my horizon is to swim continuously for 10 minutes. That may entail getting into some open water soon where there's nothing tempting to hang on to....  Eeeek!  Alright.  That's all for now.  More later!

I Will Jump In Zee Pool!

After all that excruciating rest and recovery in January and February, March hit hard.  I'm finally feeling back in the groove of training.  I've reassessed my goals to accommodate a more realistic race schedule for this year (which I will post later) with a looser commitment to racing.  In the last few weeks I've had a few little triumphs in the pool that I'd like to share here if for no other reason than just to process the gains.

Since February, I've been attending a swim practice at Mills College pool on Monday nights with a group called OTC (Oakland Triathlon Club).  They typically provide a coach that gives a workout to the group (25 swimmers or so) and then walks around to give people advice.  The first week I went I was basically just told by Raileigh (the super amazing female coach) to go really easy on my Achilles and give it time to fully heal (great advice that I heeded wholeheartedly).  I took that opportunity to stick to the pulls (arms only strokes) and the Jacuzzi of course.  Ha!

At the second practice I attended, one of the lifeguards was a Mills volleyball player so she came over to give me a few pointers (hips up and push a little extra at the end of my stroke).  I also got a bonus invitation to the next day's volleyball tournament where I watched a former player of mine coach *and* a former player play.  That was super cool!

Back to the pool one week later and - I swear to God - I finally felt like I was swimming.  Like.  I felt more comfortable with the breathing, and having my face under water, and pacing myself.  Also, I was able to do a few 50s back-to-back (more or less - haha) and I can almost do a 100 now without stopping (4x down and back!).  After that swim I got out and talked to the coach and she was like, "How did it go?" and I was like, "I didn't drown" to which she responded "Your stroke actually looks pretty controlled - compared to some of our more seasoned swimmers!!!! - and you could benefit from just reaching out a little further when you start your stroke."  Wow.  I was so excited to hear that kind of encouragement from a swim coach... and it totally felt right (like she wasn't just humoring me) because that was the first night where my self talk sounded more like "Hey, you're swimming!  This is swimming!" and less like "You might drown or die or throw up soon."  Ahahaha...

Last night I had another positive development in the pool where the swim coach and president of the club, Chris, helped me discover my new swim mantra: "I'm fine". He kept yelling at me from across the deck, "You're fine!" which helped me more than he knows probably...  I'm now practicing breathing on both sides every three strokes which feels like a good balanced rhythm for me.  SO - hooray for swim coaches and lifeguards and everyone who has ever helped someone feel less alone when they are trying something new.  I definitely approach Mondays with more excitement and less nervousness now.  I already can't wait for my next time in the pool, which might have to come sooner than Monday.  Okay - double day today - so that's all for now.  More later!

Scrappy Scrap Scrapperson

Today, we beat the fourth seed in our league in a five-set nail-biter (21:25, 25:21, 24:26, 25:18, 15:12).  The fans were totally awesome.  It was an exciting match and a great way to finish off our season at home.  This was an especially momentous game for my team because we hadn't won a five-setter yet this season.

This game was also very rewarding for me personally because I was finally picking up defensive balls that (before this season) used to fall inches away from my fingertips (and then torment me for a week!).  Maguy has been working hard with me in practice to rewire my digging and diving (sometimes I would dive too soon, sometimes too late, and sometimes not at all - and almost always with the wrong arm).  I know, I know - my poor coach, right?!?!  Anyway, she somehow managed to connect a few circuits that enabled me to shine on defense tonight.  Though this match wasn't my best, it was very cool to see marked improvement in my ability to dig.  It felt so great to be on the floor scrapping together a play with my team.  And, of course, it was totally worth it for the WIN!  Yay.

The Natural

"You've got a gift, Roy.  It's not enough.  A clear mind and the ability to see from the heart.  That's real strength.  Just pick a spot and work at it.  The secret is confidence and concentration...  you got them you don't need much else."  - Quote taken from the movie The Natural

I've never been called a natural.  Ask any one of my coaches.  My athleticism has always been forced.  So, while my sister Sarah was a game-winning-goal-scoring soccer star and my sister Chrissy was landing back flips on a balance beam, I was best known for being wimpy and wiry and choking under pressure.

Coaches never recognized me for having natural talent or a gift - not once - and for good reason.  Ha!  In my youth, I saw this as a setback, but looking back now I've realized that this mindset really helped me.  I remember one time, after missing a wide-open game-changing shot, my dad took me out to a soccer field to practice my aim.  I didn't go on to score many goals after that, but this evening did teach me a valuable lesson:  "just pick a spot and work at it"

Being programmed from a very early age to believe that success was not going to come as easily to me as it did to others gave me the quiet confidence I needed to tryout for the Bella Vista high school volleyball team (despite my dad telling me "Amy, there's no way you're going to make the Bella Vista volleyball team!" Haha... he was almost right!).  I barely squeaked by with the last spot on the JV roster.  Bella Vista drew from a pretty strong pool of girls who were already playing club, so once I made the team my mission was clear:  try, fail, repeat.

For the four years that I played at BV and the two years that I played club (at Orangevale and Twin Rivers) my parents were a constant source of support.  They drove me all over Northern California to games and tournaments.  They shelled out copious amounts of hard-earned cash for club fees. They gave me pep-talks and cheered me on from the stands. They did all this probably not even realizing how desperately I needed it... Blah blah blah - I was a HUGE nerd with no friends who ate lunch alone in a bathroom stall - wah wah.  I digress!  The point is - I never expected volleyball to come naturally, but instead relied on a sticktoitiveness (which stemmed from my parents' steady support) to fuel every single inch of my progress in this sport.

Moral of the story?  Natural or not, having great parents is helpful.  And if you aren't talented don't worry about it because hard work works!  :)

The French National Team

The husband of my coach is the Head Coach of the National-Championship-winning professional men’s team in Tours and also Head Coach of the Female French National team (who has been practicing here this week to prepare for their World Championship qualification matches against Bulgaria, Croatia, and the Netherlands).  So, I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday watching the women’s French National team trainings that have been open to the public at the Palais des Sports in downtown Tours.  These ladies totally rock and inspire me by the way they play the game.  Their power and speed is just astounding!  They don’t make mistakes.  Here is me with my two favorite powerhouse players, both outside hitters:

These girls make the ball go BEAM!

Sick and Tired (In the Best Possible Way... Hehe)

Starting my sixth week of a fifteen week jump training program called Air Alert!  My body is beat, but I'm jumping higher all the time.

Also, my jump serve is steadily improving.  Maguy has helped me in practices to systematically fix one thing at a time.  First, she fixed how I hold my serving hand.  Second, she fixed how I hold the ball.  Next, she fixed the height of my toss.  Then, she fixed how far I stand back from the end line and the size of my steps.  Finally, how high my hand is at the point of contact.  Now, for the first time in my life (and thanks entirely to Maguy) I can confidently say that I have a killer jump serve.  Woohoo!

On Sunday, we lost to the third seed in our league (25-22, 25-7, 25-20).  I can't even describe how frustrating this game was...  What an emotional roller coaster!  We came so close in the first set only to totally implode in the second set - starting out badly with a slough of unforced errors and then ending in a disappointing 12 point rut (stuck in a rotation we just could not sideout).  I didn't even make it to the service line...  Competing in that third set was not enough of a consolation to comfort us from the single digit shut out.  Ugh!  After it was over, I just went to the sideline and wept.  The locker room was quiet, but I wanted more than anything to tell my team, "I'm sick of losing.  I know we can compete with these teams!"  So, I just blurted it out...  Everyone was looking at me like, "Uhh.  You're speaking in English."  Haha!  Here's what I was having trouble with:

AVOIR MARRE DE - to be sick/tired of
j'ai marre de
tu as marre de
il/elle a marre de
noux avons marre de
vous avez marre de
ils/elles ont marre de

RIVALISER - to compete
je rivalise
tu rivalises
il/elle rivalise
nous rivalisons
vous rivalisez
ils/elles rivalisent

So, the phrase would've been:
"J'ai marre de perdre.  Je sais qu'on puisse rivaliser avec ces équipes là."

I'm more fired up than ever to WIN and I believe our team is right around the corner from really performing.  This week, I'm taking Maguy's advice and tapering my double days.  All this down time is freeing me up to rest, write, and chomp at the bit...  I'm excited to have a great practice tonight and blow our rivals out of the water this weekend!

Getting Better!

Yep!  This is pretty much how I feel about my game right now!  

I am so thankful to be here improving my game with such an amazing group of people.  My coach is so incredible.  My team is - day by day - making me a better volleyball player, and I hope that by the end of this year they can say that I did the same for them.  Oh man - good things are happening!  Every practice is getting a little bit better!  Getting so much better all the time!  :)

Pizza, Sauna, Practice

Wonderful lunch meeting with Maguy today.  Today was NOT a double day, but we went to a pizzeria, so I just *had* to indulge my curiosity!  Qu'est-ce que c'est la pizza française?  It was so delicious...  I ordered the vegetarian pizza topped with tomato sauce, cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, eggplant, and olives.  Soooo good!  The thin crust was charred around the edges and soft in the middle.  Mmmmm...  An obvious fork and knife situation...

My Monday training sesh was a swim and a run.  I went to the local pool and almost had my whole workout derailed because it turns out they have a sauna!!!!  YES + exclamation points forever!  If there hadn't been a 30 minute limit, I'd still be in there right now...  Awww, so nice!

At practice tonight my serve-receive passing felt better!  I'm getting into a rhythm of relaxing my arms and then refocusing on the ball to get my platform angle just right before contact.

First home game this Sunday!  Until then?  Work, work, work!  :)

Snuggling Up To French Women

Wednesday morning!  Yay!  Today was the outdoor market Mecca at Les Halles. I rode down in the misty morning light and immediately got in line for the same fruit booth I went to last week and the week before to get a refill on apple/pear juice and the seasons best apples, pears, peaches, and plums.  I've witnessed a large spectrum of acceptable behavior at French farmer's markets so far...  Sometimes people fill their own bags, but still wait in line to weigh and pay.  Sometimes people wait in line for just the bags and pay when they're done picking out what they want.  Sometimes people wait patiently in the whole line with their empty bags and then order their household fruit and vegetable consumption in terms of kilograms per week from the overworked farmer behind the table.  (Me?  I'm getting used to the kilometers and degrees, but I still think of fruit and vegetables in units - 2 plums, 4 apples, 2 pears - like a French kindergartner.)

Today, I got out my empty bags from last week and eagerly started filling them up with deliciousness.  It wasn't long before I started pissing off the woman in front of me who did not hesitate to scold me for touching all the fruit.  Here is a rough translation of what was said in French + make sure to add a terrible American accent to my part...
Her - "If you squeeze all the fruit, you're making it bruised for everyone behind you in line."
Me - "I never squeeze the fruit."
Her - "That's right.  Don't squeeze it."
Me - "I don't."
Her - "Good.  You shouldn't."
I continued to pick my fruit out awkwardly when it became obvious that this random French woman never wanted to think about me or see me ever again.  We don't know each other so that shouldn't be too difficult...  Not a great start - culturally speaking!

Next stop:  garlic, onions, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes!  I quickly find myself in line behind another French woman who had the exact same haircut as the Shih Tzu in her arms (no joke).  I tried not to stare, but her fingers were all over the place!  She'd take a stroke of her precious pet, then fondle the onions, pet pet, sift through garlic, pet, ew...  I was starting to understand what I might've looked like to French Lady #1.

Done!  Cue French Lady #3...  A well-dressed woman with straggly white hair handed me a flyer and instead of my normal, "non, merci" I welcomed the flyer and looked her straight in the eyes and genuinely asked if this flyer would tell me where I can find some friends.  We stood in the middle of the market for a second laughing like insane people and then she said, "Maybe!  You never know."  I walked away pretty pleased with my joke of the day...  The flyer was for an antique fair.  Wah wah  :)

Practice was great last night!  I had a terrible stomach ache beforehand (probably because of the anti-inflammatories I've been popping like red hots), but as soon as I got with my team - it was like magic - my stomach pain just went away.  Seriously, I was sitting alone in the gym doubled over with pain and as soon as my team arrived and we started talking and laughing - GONE!  I love practicing with my team!

I Need a Miracle

Riding back from my second weight lifting seance with a team mate, this song was stuck in my head...

Mostly because it was the last song playing at the gym before we left, but also because it's really how I feel about how much better I want to be at volleyball.  I need a miracle!  Ahahah...

After our tournament Saturday (we won six straight sets!), it's clear that I need to work on front row defense, defending the tip, and serve-receive passing!  Maggie helped me with two concepts: 1. serving between players (making them move and make decisions) and 2. speeding up my arm swing when my timing and the set are right.  "BEAM!" she said.  Haha!

I'm really excited to work hard at practice tonight...  That's all for now.  More later!

French Kissing

I don't know how deeply I've delved into the subject of kissing in France, but this is the stuff that this Culture (yes, culture with a capital C!) is made of...   So, here we go!

This morning I was sitting in a coffee shop/bar/newsstand/convenience store around the corner from my new digs looking like a total tourist in my shorts and tennies with socks, writing postcards, and drinking a cappuccino (which looked like a McDonald's ice cream cone and an espresso got in a brawl and the ice cream won) and - I'm not even joking - every single customer said hello upon entry to pretty much everyone but me.  The men shook hands with each other and everyone kissed the women (2x minimum - first the right cheek then the left cheek - though I witnessed a four kiss situation which, at this point, is my worst nightmare...).  Ha!  No matter what is going on, you drop everything and walk straight up to people with a gender specific greeting and this is a HUGE part of the culture here that I have yet to fully embrace (ahem ahem).

So, if you can imagine my practice last night - there I was being introduced to the core of the Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire Men's Regional team (seriously 7 French guys just totally blankly staring at me) and no one knew how to say hi.  Do we perform the usual ceremony (two kisses - no eye contact - no hesitation, just literally stick your neck out and go right on in for it)?  Do I just take the lead and spit on hundreds of years of their cultural tradition by swapping their kisses for a sweaty yankee handshake?  Running away screaming was taken into consideration...  Eyeyey!  I ended up asking if it was possible to institute a strict high five policy...  People agreed this was fine.  So, our salutation involves a high five plus an exploding fist bump (it's sporty and kinda like knuckles kissing with fireworks at the end).

Greeting aside, it was pretty obvious from the start that at least half of these guys were not excited about having a young, female, American coach...  Oh man, that's so many counts against me here it's a little ridiculous, but once we got started they were all cool and there's no doubt about it - this team is athletic with strong fundamentals.  My role is clearly just to work them out hard and give them game-like drills that challenge specific areas where they need improvement.  I thought practice went pretty well, but we'll see who shows up on Friday!  :)

Today I went to see a cool and competent podiatrist who made me custom insoles!  Now every time I take a step it feels like a baby is punching me in the arch.  Haha!  He said wearing the insoles should clear up my foot pain completely in ten days and to come see him again any time.  We talked for a long time about feet (doy!) and athleticism (one of my favorite topics!)...  His office was super high-tech.  He really helped me.

I feel great - which is good because I have practice tonight!  Yay!  Okay - that's all for now.  More later!

Meeting Louis CK, Apologies, Corrections...

Last night the team practiced with two new girls.  Very exciting.  Still lots of work to do...  Also moved into my own place last night!  This morning I woke up in my own bed in my own room!

I had a super vivid dream about meeting Louis CK:
Sarah and Meghan and I were pouring off a bus along with a whole lot of other people.  We were walking up a Bay Bridge highway on ramp when I noticed Louis CK just laying back on the asphalt.  I stopped dead in my tracks (inconveniencing a bunch of people who had to then step around us) and said "Oh my God, Louie!!!!  ...or is it Louis??  Haha... I don't know, but it's you!  Louis CK!"  I awkwardly bent over and gave him a weirdly forced hug while he was laying there and couldn't really go anywhere or hug me back.  Ha!  I don't remember much more except that (once he stood up) I got to tell him that I thought his best joke was the "Noggin" joke and then I woke up and, to no avail, tried to go right to sleep in the same position so that I could go back to the dream and bask in the light of his greatness...

Louis CK is one of my heroes for a few reasons:
1.  The arch of his career proves that hard work works
2.  Female ally in comedy (He seriously is...)
3.  Thinks for himself and owns how he interacts with his audience
4.  Makes his work cheap and accessible online
5.  Shameless, Hilarious, Chewed Up, Oh My God, just to name a few...
When I get back to the States I want to meet him super bad.  Just putting that out there, Universe...  :)

Back to France.  I'm all set up with a bed, hot water, laundry, electricity, a fast and free internet connection, and unlimited use of the world's smallest kitchen.  Ha!

This morning I set out to buy some necessities like shampoo, toothpaste, sponges, dish soap, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, etc.  And now I must apologize and take back something I wrote in previous posts here and here because I found French Farmer's Market MECCA in Les Halles (a cute corner of town just a few bus stops over the bridge from my new home!).  I seriously almost passed out when I saw it - I was so excited!!!  Just Oh! like a kilometer squared of beautiful farm fresh fruits and veggies, local eggs, vinegars, oils, cheeses, fish, meats, every French food your heart could desire.  So, I'm sorry I was quick to judge you, Tours, because your farmer's markets are insanely cool.  :)

Tonight is my first practice coaching the men's regional team here.  So, at 8pm about 15 adult men who only speak French are going to be staring at me and listening to me (haha - hopefully!).  Here goes nothing!

Ohhhhhhhhh My Hoofers!

Just FYI - I'm watching Scoobie Doo in French right now and IT.  IS.  AWESOME.

After walking everywhere so much this week in my flip flops, last night the right side of my foot started to throb.  I should've thrown an ice pack on it right away, but instead I shrugged it off and decided a night of rest will probably do enough good for it to feel better in the morning...  WRONG!  How many times do I have to learn this lesson?!?!?  When it hurts, put an ice pack on it!  It makes me want a version of this Portlandia skit for injured athletes:

Ahahaha...  PUT.  AN.  ICE.  PACK.  ON.  IT.

Today, the President accompanied me to see my dream apartment, I finally got my FIVB international transfer number, and started my temporary long-stay visa paperwork for France.  All this bureaucratic bull on top of my nagging foot pain kinda put a kink in my outlook on the day.  So, while Laurent made lunch, I blasted some of my favorite music: King Crimson's Walking On Air, Erik Satie's Je Te Veux, Simon and Garfunkle's Greatest Hits, and this Bell Chant.

The music sparked a deep conversation about the incredible life of Laurent Cahu.  We ate and talked.  He's been really great about opening up his home and sharing everything with me...  He's also been a very  patient French teacher at every opportunity he gets.  He takes the time to explain expressions and words to me - for example, well, every bad word in the French language, slang for "cops", the word "mothballs", etc.  Ahaha!  :)

I can't say my foot or my mood had fully recovered by the time we rolled up to the gym, HOWEVER, by the time I laced up my shoes, every thought from my day just completely faded away into team thoughts.  Volleyball practice has a way of quieting the mind that I just love so much...  Once that ball is in the air, the team is all that matters...  A lot of the credit for this feeling goes to the coach of course.  She's doing a really good job setting the tone, working us out, and starting to get us to think as one.  Oh man, just typing this gives me such a good feeling!  Love my team!!  Love this sport!!

The Head Coach gave me a lift back to Laurent's place.  It was a real privilege getting a chance to talk to her.  She told me her volleyball history (she's my hero) and I told her about how much I love hot yoga.  She said that if you buy the TGV tickets for Tours-Paris far enough in advance it can be as cheap as 20 euros!!!!  I said, "GET OUT!"  I'm stoked...  This means that I can go practice bikram in Paris - maybe as often as once a month.  This is great news!  Can't wait!

Opening the door to the house was like walking into a scene from Ratatouille - ha! - Laurent had cooked up a specialty of his, a very meaty sausage and vegetable stew.  So, I made an exception and tasted it.  Delicious!  This is the first pork I've had since May!  I sauteed some zucchini on the side and ate while icing my foot and then almost fell asleep on the couch.  So beat!!  Bed now.

More later!

Yoga In Europe

Maribor, Slovenia

Hotel Habakuk
11AM everyday
Language: Italian*
Level of Difficulty: Easy flow, poses, breathing exercises, and meditation.  Level was tailored to the group.
Location: Outside of town.  Best if you're already nearby (Ex Hotel Arena, Hotel Dras, or Hotel Habakuk).

*Teacher speaks five languages fluently and customizes her instructions based on the group.

Vienna, Austria

Bikram Yoga Wien Schottering
Daily Schedule Online Here
Language: English and German.
Level of Difficulty:  It's your basic bikram beginner series.  26 postures, 105 degrees, 45% humidity.  So, in other words, it's hell here too.  ;)
Location: Downtown Vienna.  Easy access to metro and bus lines.  15 minute walk from the center of town.

Tours, France

Ella Fit
Tuesday 9:30AM, Thursday 6:15PM, Friday 6:15PM
Language: French
Level of Difficulty:  Advanced, but not cardiovascularly. This class was difficult on a metaphysical level*
Location:  Tours proper, but more specifically, Les Halles.

*Can't quite describe it...  This teacher was extremely in touch with the intangible.  He really encouraged us to LET GO and explore our curiosity and acceptance of the unknown.  He kept saying stuff like "sense this, experience it as if it's for the first time and the last time", and we'd be doing something as simple as ankle circles.  Ahaha!  This was really good for me, but I miss the challenge of Bikram.  I'm gonna have to get into Paris very soon...

Good Finds and First Official Practice

Today, I set out on foot again, this time really determined to find this farmer's market and post my personal chef flyers around Tours.

Good finds:

1.  Simply - grocery store right on the bus line where I know I can buy Nutella, the coffee capsules I've been using non-stop at the house, and also price out shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste against the organic brands here.

2.  Farmer's market - one farmer!  That's right.  The farmer's market was comprised of one farmer.  I bought six apricots, four carrots, two lemons, two gigantic summer squash (one green, one yellow), and a bunch of chard (which would spend the rest of the afternoon wilting in my bag unfortunately) - all for just five euros!!!!  We spent a while talking and he told about his family (his wife and daughter) and how he grows his produce.  Really beautiful stuff.  I gave him one of my personal chef flyers.  He said his wife works on the radio and that he can pass that along to her.  Woohoo!

3.  Bike shop - I tried out a bike that was only 93 euros, but it was too small for me and the handle bars were all whack.  Everyone likes to ride upright here...  Bleh!  In one shop I met a guy from Poland (whose household employs a personal chef from Thailand!!)...  He works as a specialist in the whisky and spirits industry.  He's in Tours learning French and researching the wine industry.  Not a bad lead...  I gave him a flyer!

4.  APARTMENT!  There is a really, really perfect apartment for rent in Les Halles (an amazing area on the perimeter of downtown Tours) that I checked out today.  The manager showed me around and it really seems like exactly what I need (except that there's no bedding, cookware, laundry, etc., hmmm...)

I returned home triumphant today.  After a week here, I finally feel like I'm organizing my life and settling into France in my own lazy-American-accent-driven sorta way.  :)

I went shopping to the little organic market and got home at around 4pm ready to cook!  On the menu today?  Quinoa with almonds and raisins, sauteed salt and pepper carrots, and roasted garlic and rosemary summer squash (in hindsight, I'll admit I should've roasted the carrots and sauteed the squash...).  I guess they have a convection oven here, so it cooked the shit outta that squash in twenty minutes flat!  We didn't eat until after practice (11pm-ish) anyway, so I planned on blaming any faults on the microwave...  Hehe!

Tonight, was our first practice with the entire team.  There were ten girls in all.  Maggy sat us down all together.  We introduced ourselves and listened to her philosophy.  Looking around, it felt like a team we can invest in and be proud of!  If we miss a practice, the girls agreed, we have to bring snacks for the entire team (Isn't that awesome?!?!  I love them!).  I have been tasked with coming up with a pre- and post-practice cheer for our team - OH MY GOD THE PRESSURE!!!!  Anyway, we had a hard practice (a lot of running and passing and jumping).  I'm going to be sore as hell tomorrow and I can't even imagine how the other girls must be feeling right now...  Ey!

Here are a couple of fun words I've encountered recently and their meanings:
piquer - to sting/to be spicy hot (like food)
grignoter - to snack
clignoter - to blink
une cloque - a blister
la sueur - sweat
respirer - to breathe
transpirer - to sweat
s'égoutter - to drip
pleuvoir - to rain
la tonnerre - thunder
le coup de foudre - lightning

...and YAY, yoga tomorrow, so I'm quick studying body parts vocab - you had it coming!  ;)
to stretch - s'étendre
head - la tête
back - le dos
neck - le cou
chest - la poitrine
shoulder - l'épaule
shoulder blade - l'omoplate
arm - le bras
armpit - l'aiselle
elbow - le coude
wrist - le poignet
hand - la main
finger - la doigt
stomach - le ventre
belly button - le nombril
hip - les hanches
leg - la jambe
knee - le genou
calf - le mollet
ankle - la cheville
foot - le pied
arch - la voute plantaire
heel - le talon

That's all I can think of for now!  More later!

First Practice

Welp!  After our first practice, it's clear that our Head Coach has her work cut out for her.

For two solid hours straight we focused on getting in quality touches.  Coach said no jumping at this practice, which reminded me of some good advice Naoto gave me when I was going to try out for the dream team in 2012 - "stay grounded".   :)  I didn't jump once!  Haha!  Oh, and my serving looked a lot better today (thanks to Coach's focus points)!  For a lot of reasons (but mostly to protect the privacy of my coach and teammates) I don't want to write too much here...  Coach stopped us about fifteen minutes early to do partner stretching and massages.  A great way to end the team's first week back!  So far, I feel great about the team, the work, and the community.  Everyone is really really nice and hard working!  Possibly my favorite combination!!

Vocabulaire du Volley Ball

ball - le ballon
net - le filet
court - le terrain
team - l'équipe
coach - l'entraineur
game - le match
practice - l'entrainement
serve - le service
to pass - balancer
to set - passer
setter - passeur/passeuse
to hit - attaquer
hitter - attaqueur
to block - bloquer
to go block - aller au bloque
to dive - plonger
to jump - sauter
in - dedans
out - dehors
short - court
deep - long
mine - laisse
sorry - désolée
good play - bien joué

Linguistically, I'm following most of what is said around me, but when I try to chime in, all I do is joke and my vocabulary and grammar is all wrong, so I'm getting a lot of blank stares - which I'm kinda used to anyway - Haha!  I'm gonna keep at it...  Right now, I'm just reading everything I can get my hands on and enjoying my silence.  I've always envied introverts - so I'm mimicking a little bit of that and trying to observe and listen more: skills I've been wanting to hone more for about as long as I can remember!  :)

There are still some players on vacation, so we won't have the whole team until our next practice on Tuesday night.  We have private meetings with the Head Coach (Maggy Paes - yes, she's a badass - google her!) on Monday.  

More later!

Power Animals

This is a weird little video trial run for this blog...  An introduction to the puppy (Vance) at the president's house and a little spider (my power animal!!!!!) who weaved a web in my window last night to wish me good luck for today - our first practice!

You might need to turn up the volume...  Lemme know about the quality and if you can hear it okay??

Day 6 - Make it Rain

We practiced this morning at 11am.  Not my best performance (my left achilles is feeling better, but now my right shoulder is starting to ache a little).  Aches and pains aside, I actually feel pretty healthy right now and I'm still enjoying every second being on the court with the remaining ladies...  I know it's idiotic to hold up hope at this point since the odds are stacked against all of us getting contracts, but I still feel strongly that we're all good enough to play professionally...  I find myself wishing that the states had a pro volleyball league like they do here so that these incredible American women could play volleyball together on their home courts and not feel so culturally displaced.  The PVL is coming along, but it's going to take a long time to develop that circuit to match what the adult female athletes have here.  They are so lucky!!

After practice we ate and showered and I jumped on my bike to run down to the store to pick up some odds and ends (first aid, air freshener, etc.), then it was off to Ruse to play a division one professional team here.  They were all ages!  Girls fourteen to forty!!  So cool...

Thankfully, they let us borrow their amazing setters (Anna and Ulska (sp?)).  We won three out of four games against them.  In the game I played outside hitter, we were behind the whole time, but then came back to win 26-24.  Close one!  I got aced by a fourteen year old - haha!!! - :(  That little girl could SERVE!  I got one great kill down the line and one good one sharp angle.  My digging and in-play passing was good, but my serve-receive?!?!  Choked again!  While I wasn't on the court, I was head cheerleader and just had a blast cheering on the sideline for our amazing team!  A couple of girls really had outstanding performances - low errors, high sideout percentage, aces, etc...  This team was not easy to ace (unlike me - hehe...).  Anyway, came up with a couple great nicknames and cheers for people (I know they love me so they don't mind how crazy and loud I was).

Oh oh - the title!  It rained and drizzled all day - and I guess it's supposed to freeze again tomorrow, but we're off to Vienna to play another team there (fun fun fun!).

Also, the American men arrived for their tour today!  Gotto run now.  More later...

Clear Your Mind - Wipe It Clean

Photo used with permission of Mr. Lyle.

Starting Bok Fu at West Wind Schools was a decision I made a year ago today because I wanted more self-discipline, self-control during confrontation, and better mind-body awareness.  Now, looking back over the last year, West Wind School has given me so much more than that...  The teachers there made me feel like family from the get go.  I am so thankful to my sensei Mr. Lyle for everything he's taught me over the last year.  He has encouraged me to push my limits!  

Laughing Without Reason

Ahahah... So apparently Maribor, Slovenia was host city for the First International Festival of Laughing Without Reason... I think this is going to be a fun trip!!  

Check out this guy: