All Request Saturday # 2

Well it seems I'm a little bit more popular this week. Either that means more people are following along, or more people are giving in to me begging them to "please, read my blog!" Either way, muito obrigado (thanks a lot in portuguese). So I'll start things off in response to a comment from my little bro.

It could use a bit more comedic flavour. -Dustin Saxton

Well Dustin, to put it as maturely as I possibly can:
-I'll be funny when I wanna be funny, so there.
or maybe
-Your face is pretty funny looking, so I posted that.
Either response should adhere to Dustin's comment to his satisfaction. I hope nobody is turned off by the little bits of family teasing I post up here, and Dust, I hope you feel the brotherly love bud.

Now lets get to a few serious questions. Here's the first one I received:

How does knowing that you're representing Canada (i.e., both as an official Canadian player and as a reflection of what Canada and Canadians are to the spectators and officials at the event) when you play internationally affect how you prepare during your pre-match training and how you play your matches while on court? -Jay Nuttall

During the majority of beach volleyball tournaments, there are so many games over the course of a few days that it's hard to even think that I'm representing Canada. Every game against every opponent needs the same amount of focus as the last, or the next. The amount of preparation and motivation should be the same for every event. When we play, it's almost better not to act like what people would expect of Canadians. It doesn't always help to be the "polite pushover" that a Canadian is supposed to be. Sometimes we need to play with the "win at all costs" American attitude, or the all out "heart on the sleeve" emotional Brazilian style.
In short, I love being Canadian, and I'm proud to be able to represent Canada at every opportunity, but I don't really think it affects how I play or train for a match. It just gives me a little more to brag about afterwards.

The next question is a typical mom thing to ask:

What are you eating down there? Are you choosing from lots of options or take whatever looks good? Cheap to buy food? Mylene Saxton

Doing good, Mom.

I'd probably get an earful if that's all I answered with. While on the road, it's not always easy to get to a grocery store and pick up all the healthiest options. Fortunately for Jessi and I, we live very close to a restaurant that serves all you can eat lunch buffets with a really good variety. For breakfasts we've been having granola mixed with frozen blended acai berry, a very healthy fruit which I find pretty tasty, though it would be nice to have a little variety now and again. Dinner often consists of finding a restaurant thats affordable and has a decent menu. Along the beach in Joao Pessoa, finding healthy inexpensive food isn't overly difficult, just go to the nearest coconut stand. But once we get to the European countries, it can put a real dent in the wallet.

And now onto the last question:

Of all the places you have visited/trained in/competed at thus far, which has been your favourite and why? -Kristy Giacobbo

I know it may not seem very far and exotic. But my favorite places are the beaches of Southern California. First of all, it has nice weather all year round, who wouldn't like that? Next, it embodies the beach volleyball lifestyle, so much so, that every time I'm there, I never want to leave. Finally, the people speak English. No offense is intended to any other language, but I just feel a lot more at home when I understand what the people around me are saying. Though I must say, after going to the Cayman Islands a coupe weeks ago, Cali is still my favorite, but not by as much.

Last week I was worried I needed to stretch out my answer, this week I might have written too much. I might have to put a limit on how many questions I can answer per week. Please, keep sending them in though, I'll respond on a first come first served basis. If you don't see an answer right away, expect it the next Saturday. I will try to get to everybody in time (as long as it's PG rated of course).

Cheers
Ben Jammin

Island Paradise

The Cayman Islands are a paradise. There’s no other way to describe it. I got there expecting it to be too hot and humid. I expected sweat to be instantly soaking through my clothing and pouring off my brow. In reality, it just felt like a normal Canadian summer day. It’s still warm, but not unbearable. As long as you remember to wear a little sunscreen, it is the perfect whether to sit outside in just your shorts or bathing suit or whatever suits your fancy. Playing a three set match in the middle of the day is a little bit of a struggle, as was mentioned on Monday, but with a couple more days in the sun even that would be manageable.

The Cayman Islands consist of three separate islands: Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. On all of them the beaches are made up of beautiful white sand, and super clear ocean water. After every game and every practice, there was really no option but to jump in the calm ocean water, and let the Cayman environment sink in. The water has a very calming effect. On my last day there, I spent around an hour sitting on a rock made of old coral, just watching the waves rise and fall. There’s just something about the ebb and flow of the water that can hold my attention.

Finally, the Grand Cayman offers a variety of opportunities to interact with several of the ocean’s creatures. I don’t often have a huge time budget to spend on extra activities while on tour, but on this trip I couldn’t resist a couple of things. Things like swimming with dolphins for instance. Not only swimming, I also got to dance with one, hug one, and give one a big kiss. I regret that I didn’t get a chance to go to Stingray city, a sandbar crawling with people friendly Stingrays (No danger of following the same fate as Steve Irwin). I did, however get the chance to go to the sea turtle farm. There, I saw sharks feeding, snorkelled with exotic fish, saw some interesting native birds and lizards, picked up sea turtles, and got more of a sunburn in 2 hours than I did over an entire weekend of being outside playing beach volleyball.

All in all, the worst part about the Cayman Islands, was having to leave and go back to Toronto.

Cheers

Ben Jammin