Day 5- Back in Amsterdam

Today we were given a free day...in Amsterdam! As a group we met in the lobby after breakfast at 1030. We were pretty tired from late night hangouts getting to know one another and of course our bodies are getting tired and a little worn out playing so much. I can definitely say that I'm feeling really Good though! A little tight but really feels good to be back in the swing of things as well as seeing the level of competition.

As a group of young Americans (without our tour guides and coaches) we left the Amsterdam Centraal train station to navigate our way around the large city. Luckily, there was a large corner street map to point us in the right direction to the center where we really wanted to be. And not too far from that I found a travel office that had free maps of the city. Thankfully! I grabbed a few to handout to the groups because moving around in a group of 17 would've been a little overwhelming. 

So Emmaleigh, Rachelle, and I decided to take on the big city out own. That tiny map was all we needed! And with it I was able to recognize where we Were in the city and help Rachelle and Emmaleigh see important parts of the city that they otherwise might not have seen. It was fun to play tour guide again as I have a good amount this semester. We didn't have a plan at all (except for shop) but it ended up working out perfectly that way. We walked to the center of the city along streets crowded with tourist-y shops covered in orange and restaurants and shops. We saw and visited:

Dan Square, the heart of the city with a national monument, the royal palace, and a súper market nearby. We shopped all of the great deals looking at the fashion and buying gifts. We made our way to the red light district, to where I had previously stayed, and got a little taste of what all of the hype is about Amsterdam, with the literal red lights, canal rides, and Orange-covered city corners, and other Major attractions.  We didn't have to wear jackets because we were blessed again with nice weather. We had to meet back at 430 PM inside of the Utrecht Centraal station, meaning we had to find our way back to the Huge station; in Amsterdam; we navigated the streets of the district with ease. We Were told by the staff that the 408 Train would get us there in time to meet with the rest of the group. Dinner was good; we had italian food, pizza and pasta.

Tired from so much walking it was nice to have a good full meal to reenergize ourselves and rest up a little bit. Our Vans picked us up to go to the match site for our Third and final friendly. The play definitely felt better and we really started to compete. The competition has progressively gotten better in terms of different aspects of the game. The serving is a lot more aggressive. We've been playing with women who have played for the international teams before and have some serious skill. And many of them are very tall, but that was expected:) I've seen a lot of talented lefties too! (besides just Rachelle;) )

Best. day. ever.-Genevieve

Day 4- Y.O.H.O (You're only here once)

At this point we are in shock that the trip is almost halfway over. So, we took to our newest motto "Y.O.H.O," from Drake's song, "The Motto- YOLO (You only live once)." For any time that we were contemplating partaking in an act or an adventure, the reason to do it was simply Y.O.H.O! 
We were instructed to bring our walking shoes along today since we were going to be trekking through Utrecht, visiting the Dom Tower and a traditional windmill later on during the day. The Dom Tower is actually the tallest in the Netherlands, and the 2nd tallest in Europe (to Germany). We had a tour guide to instruct us through every step to the top--there were 456 steps total to be exact. This number scared some of us since we have to save energy to a scheduled match later tonight. If you are easily scared by height or suffer from claustrophobia, I would not recommend taking this journey. 
By the time you are halfway up the tower, you may be rejoicing that you only have 228 steps to go, however, the remaining half is done climbing through a 4 foot wide staircase in a dizzy, curly staircase.
Seeing the city from the tower windows was absolutely breathtaking. When I wasn't thinking about dropping my camera some 70m down, I was trying to take in the beauty in between my steps.
The way the tour is set up, the guide stops in different sections on the way up to share history of the tower, and about the adjacent cathedral. We learned a lot about the what it was used for, and when we got to the final top it was pouring rain. The majority of the climb is indoors, but from the time we started to the time we reached the top, the weather decided to g
-Rachelle

Day 3- IAMSTERDAM

Wow! The things we've seen and done and stretches we've walked in just one day are amazing in every sense of the word. I had the opportunity to travel to and tour Amsterdam last summer for about 2 1/2 days and 2 nights and we've already seen so much more. 

We start every day before 10 with complimentary buffet style breakfast at the hotel, with fruits, eggs, cereal, toast, and special Dutch jam, peanut butter, honey, and "bread sprinkles".

We each have our own tram cards that we get to carry. It does take a little more focus/attention than a normal train or public transportation card because we have to make sure that we check-in and scan our card before we enter the tram area as well as make sure to check-out otherwise we lose money on our cards/technically can't get off of the tram! After we take the tram we transfer to whatever train station we have to that day in order to travel to that city we're exploring and competing in. 

As athletes, walking has turned us into some serious 2-sport/three sport athletes. And as a sport it's earned newfound and renewed respect. Although we are getting the chance to really compare and contrast the resources available o the public in a good such as public transportation, we also need to take full advantage of our youthful bodies. We're doing a LOT of walking to make sure we get to see all of the things we came to see..and lug our luggage to the next desired location. On the schedule for the day was the Anne Frank House, the Heneiken Experience, and the Red Light District. We had to make sure to pack everything for the day to compete in the evening for our first match. So we left around 10 to catch the tram and the train, missed our 11 o'clock train but made other arrangements! 

Rachelle signing the Anne Frank guest book

We had high hopes and expectations for the day. After making our way through the confusion of similar looking streets, street names, and canals, we found our way to the first stop...the back of the Anne Frank house exhibit. Thankfully it wouldn't be too long of a wait! I've heard some nightmare stories about the lines wrapped around buildings and corners. To entertain us during the wait there was a canal musician playing against the church bells ringing in the hour.

I had been to Amsterdam before for a quick trip but didn't get the chance to visit that specific site because we had limited time. So I, along with the rest of the group were really excited. We didn't let the no pictures rule take away from our excitement or experience of the exhibit. It was amazing to be emerged in the life of the Frank family and friends to be reminded of a time when things weren't so simple. The miniature architecture models and photos depicted clearly what life in hiding was like for Anne and her family. Each room either had a quote/excerpt from her diary or a video recording to tell more of her history piece by piece. After knowing their story is definitely a must see.

As a large wolf pack in the shining sun (we lucked out with great weather!) we made our way to our next stop before the Heineken Experience, the crucially important, I AMSTERDAM sign! I've been waiting to see it. The sign moves around the city throughout the year and the time I was in Amsterdam it had been very far away from our hostel and although just like this trip we were doing the majority of our traveling on foot, we had a lot less knowledge of the city. This time the sign was located between stops number one and three in front of a famous museum that I visited with my friend (the Rijksmuseum). After we got all of the pictures we wanted we felt content and ready...for the beer.

Having been before I wasn't expecting too much of a different atmosphere/any surprises, but within the past year it definitely has been improved and renovated. I was more impressed this time around. Lots of hands-on interaction, lights, and beer. We made sure to get some souvenirs! We were going to be late for dinner. We eat every day before we go play but today we had limited time and already had full stomachs full from two or three beers each. 

The first "friendly" match we played in Amsterdam. The outcome wasn't exactly what we were hoping for but it went alright for our first time playing together! We needed to get usted to playing with one another as well as adjust to not having an actual setter on our roster.

We'll have two more friendlies before the actual DKV tournament on the weekend. Each one has an hour time slot so we can fit in 5 sets without using international rules. We won't have the opportunity to practice again before we play but we'll constantly be tryjng to work the kinks out.

-Genevieve

Day 2- No time for jetleg

Video coming soon!

We can barely call the second day of the trip "Day 2," since the day began before Day 1 even ended. We met our USAAI crew (we decided the fitting team cheer is USA, pronounced OO-SAH), at the connecting flight airport in Detroit. Soon after that, it was shut eye, personal TV screens, and music for the next 7.5 hours. Our flight landed early midday in Utrecht, Netherlands. We had very little time to adjust and freshen up because before we knew it, we had a team practice at a local gym. Every place that we are scheduled to play at this week is in a different location. This will change when the weekend arrives for the big Dutch Volleyball Tournament which starts on Saturday.

There are a lot of strong fundamentals that make a strong, successful team, and anyone that is familiar with sports can vouch that it isn't easy to throw a group together and click right away. Sure, it is possible that one or two players form special connections right off the bat, but for everyone to mesh seamlessly after 10 minutes, it's just not gonna happen! We dusted off the cobwebs, though, and hopped right into it. Our coach, Margot, is actually the collegiate coach for our two youngest teammates (Kelly and Beth who just recently finished their first year at Providence). Needless to say, there is some familiarity between coaches and a few of the players, but not enough to call ourselves a team just yet!

A few things we needed to keep in mind at this point: 

• Some of us were able to sleep during the trip, but a lot of the girls and guys on the team were sleep deprived at this point! A 6-8 hour time difference is a lot to try and combat with high energy and activity at a volleyball practice.
• We do not have a setter! A setter is a key component to a volleyball team. They are comparable to a quarterback in a football game. They call out and initiate plays, and ultimately are the deciding factor of the offense and tempo of the game. Without one, it can be very hard to run a consistently strong offense and effectively utilize your defense! 
•  (The guys team has 2 setters--we have been joking that we may just borrow one of them and put a wig and spandex on him :-P hehe)
• As a brand new team, you need to really focus on getting to know your teammates. Let's remember that every collegiate volleyball season, you have an entire preseason (2-3 weeks) to do this. We, unfortunately, have one 2 hour session before our first match on Day 3.
• We are a mix of D1 to D3 athletes that all have a talent for the game and come from very different backgrounds! However, none of us have the intention of coming all the way out here to goof around and battle with our international competition; we all share the passion for a competitive drive!

Here is our roster for the week: 

Genevieve (#12) & Rachelle (#14)- Bradley University , DS/Liberos (Class of 2012)

Emily- Limestone College, Outside Hitter (Class of 2012)

Alexis- NYU Engineering School, Middle (Class of 2012)

Beth- Providence, Defensive specialists (Class of 2015)

Kelly- Providence, Outside hitter (Class of 2015)

Maggie- , Outside/Rightside hitter (Class of 2012)

Kim- University of Tampa, Outside hitter (Class of 2014)

-Rachelle 

Day 1- Destination: Netherlands

Hello! Rachelle here. This blog will be home to a recap of our trip with USA Athletes International to the Netherlands. Here, we have been presented with the chance to TRAVEL. COMPETE. EXPERIENCE with a group of women and men collegiate volleyball athletes from the United States. Prior to the traveling day, we had never met any of these athletes, except through roster listing and/or Facebook.

The crazy thing about this trip is that Genevieve just  returned from her semester abroad in Spain on the 25th of May. Meanwhile, I joined the Women's track team at Bradley to stay active and competitive before graduation. And now, she's back overseas trying to readjust to jetlag...but this time, with me!  

Now that we are both Bradley grads, I hope I can consider myself a "world class traveler" like my sister does once this trip has concluded. Genevieve has  been places all over the map that I cannot even locate. :-P

Anyway, I never thought that an abroad experience would be in my future post-graduation, not to mention a new endeavor including competitive volleyball. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel, and of course compete at the international level. One we could not pass up, and we are glad to have so much support on this journey!

Will check in soon! - I think you will be

hearing from my sister next! ~ Rachelle