Hi there!
My name is Jennifer Siu, and I am a midfielder on the Varsity Blues women’s soccer team. I’m from London, Ontario - a small city, but a nice place to grow up in. I’ve just finished my first year in life sciences, and undecided as of yet of what to major in.
I was invited to start a blog, as our team is heading out to Istanbul, Turkey on Monday for the 29th International SportFest. It’s an athletic competition with 21 different sports, and teams from all over Europe and North America and we’re the first Canadian team to participate in it.
On Wednesday we gathered for the last time together in Toronto for a potluck dinner and team meeting for the upcoming season and preparation for our trip to Turkey. The theme for the potluck was multiculturalism, as almost everyone on our team has origins in a different country. Including our coaches and trainers, over 20 different countries were represented – giving an incredible menu of dishes from around the world! Most continents were represented but we are missing players from Australia, Africa, and Antarctica - so if you have any friends (female preferably) there who play soccer, please give Bonnie a shout.
The last preparations were made, and we were given our plane tickets, uniforms, balls, and socks. We’re not bringing an equipment bag and instead each of us is responsible for our own uniform and ball. Many of us are taking the opportunity to travel around Europe after the tournament, so backpacking with an extra few pounds might be a little inconvenient… but I’m sure we’ll just grow a little more muscle!
The team meeting went well, and we went over some goals and visions for the summer and next season. We left with a focused mindset and very full tummies, but eagerly anticipating our trip.
We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel overseas and participate in athletics with people from different cultures.
See you in Turkey!
-Jenn
Jenn’s Journey
