For our trip to West Lake, we were asked to bring a metaphor that represented an example of teaching and learning. I chose my jersey from when I played professionally overseas in Sweden. Moving to a new country with three days’ notice was easily the craziest thing I have ever done. I met my team the night that I arrived in Lindesberg and discovered that only a few girls on my team spoke decent English. Immediately I was teaching them some basic English so we could communicate in our game two days later. They were all quick learners and were also super eager to learn. I made some really good friends in my first few weeks there and they started teaching me a little bit of Swedish here and there. I was able to use volleyball terms they had taught me while we were playing. Thankfully, they were quicker learners than I was and we communicate mostly in English. 

My coach in Sweden was also from Canada and had the opportunity to bring his wife and daughter over. They decided to homeschool his daughter and asked me to help her with her French, Math, and Science. I had never tutored or homeschooled before so this was a learning opportunity for her as well as me. I learned different ways to approach her learning as she does have dyslexia. It was really exciting to see her succeed and actually be excited for our tutoring sessions. 

While overseas, I was also lucky enough to help coach one of the Division 3 teams. This obviously was a challenge as a lot of the athletes in small towns do not speak a second language. If they do, it is usually Danish. Over time, when I had built relationships with my players, we helped each other not only learn each other’s languages but also different aspects of the game. I thought volleyball was volleyball and that it would be the same universally but I was lucky enough to learn from the girls and some different approaches that they had in Sweden. Learning their way of living was one of the coolest experiences of my entire life. This was also my greatest accomplishment in life. I have a quote tattooed on my leg in honor of this life changing experience. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you”, it does read in Swedish; “Om det inte utmanar dig kommer det inte att förändra dig”. 

It was really amazing to have these opportunities to learn and teach in a different country and out of comfort zone. I would go back in a heartbeat.