What We're Up To

Sorry, we haven't been posting. We wanted to continue writing about some adventures here with our USA team, but we've been busy/lazy. But, check us out on our team's blog at wntabroad.blogspot.com. You can see what we've been up to this past week. We'll try to write more later and post fun pictures.

Farewell Holland

Hello Sport Fans! I'm sad to say this will be my last post from Holland. This week has been a whirlwind of activities from a day trip to Amsterdam to a little visit to an Dutch Air Force Base. And tonight, Fortissimo helped me celebrate my birthday a little early, but the celebration went on to midnight so we celebrated my birthday for real! :)

Amsterdam

On Tuesday, Elly and I took a day trip to Amsterdam. The tour began with a visit to the Anne Frank house. It was sobering experience going through the house where 8 people were hiding from the Nazis for so long but unfortunately, the Allied liberation didn't reach Amsterdam in time to save them. While going through the stories and history of the house was both inspiring and sad, I felt a stab of pain when we got to the part where Anne Frank's father received a letter telling him of his 2 daughters' deaths. All hope was lost. Since the house was a museum, I couldn't take any pictures while I was inside. If you get a chance to go Amsterdam, check out the Anne Frank house.

Anne Frank House from the outside

Lunch after Anne Frank's House (I had a liverwurst sandwich)

Next Elly and I took a boat tour that took us through many of the canals in the city. One particular point of interest for me was the number of houseboats in the city. Apparently Amsterdam has put a limit on the number of houseboats in the city, and the only way you could dock one in the city now is if someone else moves. It was fun walking through the city and seeing the sights.

The beginning of our boat tour

A good example of the architecture and houseboats along the canals

Ok ok...we visited the Heineken museum too (very important part of Dutch culture!)...and I tried to take this barrel home with me, but it was too heavy!

Every 5th of May, Netherlands celebrates its liberation from German rule. And apparently there is also a very big baby boomer generation after WWII. Hmm...where else have I heard this before?

A monument to Holland's liberation

Game Against Utrecht

On Wednesday, we had a game against the team from Utrecht. The game started out very well with Fortissimo winning 11-9 at the half time. I was able to play for the last 5 minutes of the first half and scored 1 point from the wing. Again there was a lot of commitment and rolling involved. In the second half, Fortissimo was able to maintain a lead all the way until the last 1o minutes of the game. Utrecht tied the game then started to pull ahead. I was able to play for about another 5 minutes during the second half of the game and scored 1 point. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough of a contribution to win the game. The final score was a disappointing 23-26. Fortissimo will be playing Utrecht again in the next couple of weeks, I'm sure they will win next time. Playing with this team has taught me more about flow and the advantage of having played with your teammates for quite a long time. Some of the girls on the team have been playing with each other for more than 5 years. Kind of hard to imagine for Team USA, but I have high hopes that we would be able to say that someday. I had a great time playing with Fortissimo and I'm going to miss all the players and Cothen, no matter how small it may be. :)

Me playing some tough defense on the wing...

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's Thursday night and my last night with Fortissimo. The practice turned out to be a team meeting going over the ups and downs of the team. Very similar to some of our team pow-wows. Afterwards we went downstairs to the social area and enjoyed an apple pie and cake. So tonight I heard happy birthday in English and Dutch, quite an experience. Apparently Danielle had bought me a card that sang "it's your birthday...we're going to party like it's your birthday..." But I broke the card when I sat on it on the way home from Walter's office. :( The card had been strapped down to the back of the bicycle and I hopped on for a ride instead of walking. Oh well...

Clogs! Thanks Danielle! :)

Rose enjoying one of my famous face massages :)

Bifi shows us her "Scary Movie" impressiong (I think Lindy was really fearing for her life)

Rose attacking me with one of the clogs

My gracious hosts Walter and Danielle (aren't they "SWEET"?)

Thank you for your hospitality!

Oh yeah, I also told Danielle the "abacaxi" story (the first one) . She thought it was hilarious ;) So maybe we've spread the "abacaxi" legacy on to Fortissimo...hahahahahaa

Farewell Fortissimo for now...I had a great time playing with you. Thank you for your patience and mentorship for the short time I was here. Please stay in touch!

Team USA! I can't wait to see you!