Dani's in Israel

Here's a recap of the 1st few calls Dani made to her Mum since arriving in Israel.

Her call last week after arriving in Israel (2nd Day );

"It took me more than a day to learn how to use my phone. I am having such a great time, meeting people! we played volleyball in the pool with the Australian girls team, and the boys from England's soccer team came and joined us. It was funny watching them bounce the volleyball off their heads instead of hitting it. I love hearing all the accents, and then you talk to everyone and hear their stories on how they came to be here and it's amazing."

"Going through the airport and customs was different than travelling to Florida. Here they asked me what my Jewish name is, and when I was last at synagogue, and what was the last Jewish Holiday I celebrated and where.  I realized part way through they were just trying to make sure I was Jewish, so I just kept telling them about celebrating Chanukah, and Yom Kippor  with my mom and the shofar and singing in the choir." 

Last night "Mom , I am at the western wall ( tears ) it  is amazing!"

Today : 
Her call was all a out the sassy camels and the visit to the Bedouins  The food, the culture, and the sassy camels and being thrown in the air and caught during the drumming and dances !

They visited the western wall, and she was in tears for all it symbolized to her and our people.

The Dead Sea and how it held her and didn't let her fall when she slipped on a rock. She states her skin feels like that of a new baby's after all it's time in the sea and in the mud .

The cable car ride to Masada and king heroes palaces and the memorial there.

Dani also noted that she rode camels in Florida and they were great and followed command of the trainer, but the camels here at the Bedouin camp were Sassy!  The minute they felt your weight they would stand up before you sat down, and it felt like it wanted me to flip off.  Same when it kneeled down - it did it so fast, I had to lean way back like at a 90 degree angle. But it was fun"

It was ridiculous watching a bunch of us of trying to herd the sheep's and goats at the Bedouin camp! we weren't too organized about it!

I love the meatballs and the rice, and the green sort of coleslaw and oiled tomatoes! I don't know what they were but they were delicious.

Procrastination at its finest

Leaving for the Pearson International Airport in Toronto in 20 minutes and I'm finally finished packing for my trip. After several loads of laundry and stuffing pieces of clothing in ziploc bags and squeezing the air out... its all done ! I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't forget anything and hoping I left enough room to bring back some souvenirs for my friends and family back home! I'm getting very anxious that I have to be at the airport 3 hours early and then sit on a 12 hour flight to land and tour right away! As my nerves build I'm just trying to relax and be happy that I'm finally packed and ready to go !!!

A weekend full of volleyball!

On Friday afternoon, I set out for a long drive to Niagara Falls... We got to the hotel at around 7pm and then went for a late dinner... After getting back to the hotel after dinner it was straight to bed... Every minute of sleep was gonna help with the 6:30am alarm that I had to wake ip to. My team and I breakfast together at 7:00am and after that shared our expectations for the Niagara Fury Tune-Up Tournament we were attending that day. We all agreed that this would be a learning experience and that today would be the day we grow as a team and show physical and mental toughness individually. We held our ground nicely as we faced Premier teams like the Scorpions, and Championship teams like Burlington Blaze black. We ended up coming fourth in our pool, which meant that we were to play the fifth place team, Niagara Rapids... We had beat them by the skin of our teeth in our first game that morning... But we weren't able to do it again and within the first round of playoffs we were packing our bags. But we did not hang our heads. We knew we had played well and that the travel was well worth out time. Personally, this tournament pushed me to be a better player mentally and I'm thankful for that because I needed it for my first Maccabiah Canada junior women's practice with the team The following afternoon.

Fortunately, I was able to sleep in, and at around 11:00am we hit the road towards Markham, for the practice was scheduled for 4:00pm. Stopping on the way for a bit of shopping (how could I resist) and a pit stop to stretch the legs we got to the gym early which gave me time to stretch out with my foam roller (A.K.A my muscles' best friend). Unfortunately, only 6 girls could make it to practice, because two are currently injured... But we made the most of our hour and a half! A little bit of passing and setting to warm up and then straight into serve receive we went. I had some major butterflies to start out but as the practice went on, I got more and more comfortable. In my opinion, as a team we were meshing very well and being very communicative with one another. Needless to say I am more than excited to practice with all the girls again!

All in all this weekend was a great weekend for me and I learned a lot. I'm really content with my performance this weekend and it made me realize what I have to work on as a setter! I'm back on the court tomorrow for a practice and a conditioning session with my team so wish me luck and stay updated for pictures from the tournament !!!

BRONZE!!!

On March 23rd my club volleyball team (OFVC) earned third in our last OVA tournament of the year...

The tournament was held at Queens University in Kingston Ontario. We woke up early and left at 530 AM to be at the gym for 8 as our pool play started at 9. Our day started slow and seemed as everyone was lethargic on the court and as the morning continued we began to step up our game but we paid the price of being tired and ended up 3rd in our pool...

We refueled our bodies during lunch with lots fruit, Greek yogurt, hummus, and Coco's (#13) famous "power balls" and then we were ready to go into playoffs meaning business. And we did. We were playing our game without any troubles until we were matched up with STVC Shock who really gave us a run for our money...

If we won that game we would be playing for gold, a loss would mean fourth place of bronze. Unfortunately, we couldn't come out with a win, but that's not to say that we didn't play our best. In our last game we took home the win and along with that the bronze. I am so proud of my team and how far we've come this year...

Each tournament we've gotten better and better and hopefully we can show this kind of perseverance and improvement when we go to provincials at the end of April in Waterloo. Great job girls and go purple !!!!

In the picture below I'm on the left #11 and my two best friends are found beside me Holly in the middle #14 and Coco on the right #13.

Team Photos!!!

My club team finally got our team picture in our new bright red jerseys! So far we have one gold medal, one 5th place finish and one 9th place finish! Go fusion!!! Hopefully well have more jewelry in the future ! Next tournament is February 16th and were practicing hard to come home with a medal! Lookin' good ladies!

Maccabiah Games, July 2013

I have been chosen to represent Canada at the 19th Maccabiah Games, July 2013.  The Jewish Olympics is the 3rd largest sporting event in the world. I will be part of a world delegation of more than 8,000 Jewish athletes. Our Canadian team will be composed of over 650 athletes, coaches, medical & support staff. 

Maccabi Canada is a volunteer based Canadian registered amateur sports organization. There is no feeling like the one an athlete experiences playing to represent their country. The cost of going to the games is over $10,000 and covers my airfare, accommodation, medical care, insurance, team uniform, and other expenses. 

Please support my journey and help me realize my dream of proudly representing Canada by donating to Maccabi Canada in my honour. 

Any amount will get me closer to my goal; your generosity is greatly appreciated.