Who's your daddy?

I'd just like to make a big shout out to FAT DADDY'S in China. Not only does the restaurant have great food, there are some amazing people there too. They really took care of us here in Sanya- including coming to cheer for our Canadian teams during the tournament! Thanks again Sheldon and Max, we're definitely coming back next year!!

You win some, you lose some

Our first game was against a team from Thailand. We really didn't know what to expect- this was a team we'd never seen before. I think we underestimated them a little, because the match started with them getting four points right off the bat. The Thai girls were very loud, every time they scored a point they would scream. We had to calm our nerves a little and focus on taking care of the ball on our side. We lost the first set 17-21. But this gave us an opportunity to see what they were like. The next set went well for us, we beat them 21-16. Then in the third set, we were neck and neck until the very end. At one point we were down 12-14. It was our tough serving and changing up of our defensive strategy that gave us a 16-14 win! This match was so exciting to play and it felt so good to win!! But now it was time to look ahead to our next match. We had about an hour break before we had to play a Dutch team. We came back from a being down several points in the first set to bring it to 22-22. Unfortunately, because of some poor passing at the end, we lost the set 22-24. For the next set we tried to regroup. We had a lot of trouble controlling the basic skills like passing and setting that we really didn't play our game, and lost 13-21. The loss was really disappointing because we know we can play better than we did. This was the closest we'd come to making the main draw- we would have been in with this win. Now it's time to move forward and use the time we have here for some training sessions with other teams in order to prepare for the last tournament of our season. Next stop: Phuket!

Game Day

We're finally getting settled here in China. I think we've adjusted to the 12 hour time change pretty well and we're getting used to the heat. We also managed to get some local currency. We borrowed some money from another team, and as we were waiting for a taxi to take us into town, an acquaintance that we made at the airport happened to drive by. He stopped and offered to take us to the bank. Afterwards, he took us to his restaurant, "Fat Daddy's", and gave us complimentary smoothies, nachos and tank tops with his logo on them, Big score! Kacie and I were feeling pretty good after we trained with a team from Japan yesterday. We had our technical meeting last night, and our first game today is against a team from Thailand. I'm really excited to play!

Sanya, China

Sanya is on an island called Hainan, which is located off the southern coast of China. I'm pretty sure we're as far south as you can go in China. And boy is it hot here! The heat is comparable to what we experienced in Manzanillo, Mexcio.Our hotel (with air conditioning, thankfully) is very nice and it's across the street from the courts, which are on the ocean. It hardly feels like we're in China; the weather and the palm trees make it feel like a tropical destination. However, it does feel like we're in China when it comes to ordering food. There are some interesting items on the hotel menu, it doesn't help that nobody speaks English!

One problem that we've run into is having a lack of cash. We didn't anticipate that the ATMs wouldn't accept our debit cards. As a result, we've resorted to eating at the hotel and charging the meals to our rooms. We also have to ration our water supply, which is difficult to do in the heat. During our training session today with a team from Great Britain, Kacie and I were feeling kind of delirious from a lack of hydration. We made sure to cut the practice short and find some water. In an effort to get more cash from a bank, we decided to spend my last 6Yuan (equivalent to $1) to get a ride to a bank in the city centre. Armed with a piece of paper that held the name of our final destination in chinese characters, we were told to take a bus. While waiting, a motorcycle taxi stopped by, so we showed him where we wanted to go and explained that I had very limited funds. He said he would take us. So we hopped in his sidecar and were on our way! We drove for about 15 minutes, then dropped us off by a little rundown market. We walked around, looking for a bank, or even another ATM. Something didn't feel right, so we showed our piece of paper to a local and asked if this is where we were. Oh no, they said, that's very far away! We were duped! And worse, none of the vendors took credit cards, so we couldn't even buy fruit or water. And so, we began our long walk home. We walked for about an hour and a half in the heat. Now it's time for some sleep and recovery in our hotel room. Hopefully tomorrow will go more smoothly!

Family matters

Here's an article on my (not so) little brother, Lenny!

He's a member of Canada's cross country ski team.

Is it just me.... or is it HOT out here??

After staying a night in Puerto Vallarta (with a minor incident of a cockroach landing on Kacie's head) we began to make our way over to Manzanillo. Turns out it was a little farther away than we had anticipated. We boarded a sketchy bus at 6am and traveled the 7 hour journey alongside local Mexican men... not too glamourous. Let's just say I was glad that was over!

Manzanillo is pretty far south in Mexico, so it was HOT. Apparently it was supposed to be 'rainy season'.... boy, I would have loved to see some rain. Not only was the temperature up there in the 30s, the humidity was a killer too.

Despite the heat, Manzanillo was beautiful. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called Club Maeva. The athletes were given little private villas to stay in that had air conditioning.

Our first game was mid-day Thursday against Guatemala. We were excited to play because the sand was pretty shallow which meant Kacie and I could jump high and hit some hard balls. We started off really strong, earning a big lead with some tough serving and scoring big points. However, as the match continued and the day got hotter, we began to feel the heat. The game ended up going to 3 sets, but we pulled off a win. Afterwards I didn't feel very well- a sore throat and... chills? in this heat?? I tried sleeping it off, but when it was time to get up and attend the opening ceremonies, I was really feeling like crap. I went to find the on-site doctor and it turns out I had a fever and a throat infection. After cradling an ice-pack and taking some super strength Advil and antibiotics for my throat I was told to drink water and rest.

The next day I woke up feeling much better... not 100%, but well enough to play. We were scheduled to play one of the top teams in the tournament, Puerto Rico (at mid-day of course). To be honest, I don't really remember much of this game. When the whistle blew at the end of the first set, I thought the other team had called a time out... but it turns out we had won! I was so focused on playing that I didn't even notice the score. This game ended up going to 3 sets as well, but this time we lost in a tough fight. With that win, Puerto Rico made it to the semis and we had to play another game.

We only had about 1hour off before we had to play again! I couldn't believe how they'd organized the games. I barely had enough time to recover and cool down before heading out under the blazing sun again. This time we faced a Mexican team. For the third time in the tournament, we took the match to 3 sets. This team constantly put the ball over in two contacts which caught us off guard a bit. They ended up taking the third set in a heart-breaking 15-13 win. It was a very disappointing loss because this is team that Kacie and I could definitely beat, but under the circumstances we just couldn't pull it together.

Despite the loss, playing in this tournament was a really good learning experience and a lot of fun. I know now what I have to do in terms of energy management and dealing with heat. And as always, we had a blast hanging out with our friends who play on the tour. I'm already looking forward to playing in another NORCECA tournament next year!

Tijuana

Kacie and I spent the last 2 weeks in Mexico. First we travelled to Tijuana, which is just south of the US border on the west coast. When we first crossed the border into Mexico, we didn't really know what to expect. Tijuana has a reputation for for being a sketchy city... and I'd say it lived up to that reputation. We were provided accommodation on a university campus that was gated with security guards who followed strict rules about entering/leaving the premises.

The 'athlete's village' in which we stayed was decent, but also strict.. there were designated hours to have fun (play ping pong, access the internet, etc). The rest of the time, we just killed time... and played some volleyball of course!

Our first game was against the Cubans. It was a tight match and we lost the third set with a score of 14-16... which was disappointing. At least is was nice to see that we could be competitive with some of the stronger teams here.

Our next match against Mexico the following day did not go well at all. It was one of those games where nothing was going right for me. I was served the entire game... if I tried to hit the ball I'd be blocked, and if I tried to make a shot it was dug. It was very frustrating to feel like I was not in control. The game was over in two quick sets and needless to say, I was feeling pretty upset afterwards.

To take my mind off things, Kacie and I decided to go into downtown Tijuana with the other Canadian team (Becky and Colleen) to do some shopping. This was definitely very distracting.. Tijuana is crazy! Not to mention that the four of us got some extra attention for being the only blond people in the entire city. The next day we went on a mission to find a beach. We got there for sunset and rode horses along the water. It was so amazing, I was definitely starting to feel better!

Our next event was the following weekend in Manzanillo, Mexico. Instead of going there directly, we decided to stay one night in San Diego because that's where we were flying out of. We spent a full day at Pacific Beach boogie boarding and playing around with a volleyball with a Canadian men's team from Quebec, Simon and Fiji.

Now we're heading back into Mexico. Our flight arrives in Puerto Vallarta, and from there we'll make our way to Manzanillo!!