The opportunity to come to Tokyo and just spend a week travelling, seeing the culture and experiencing what we experienced is nothing short of extraordinary…. and of course, the role of my time in Japan was to promote and share what we learnt so I will soon be sharing my diary entries from each day I spent there!
But for now……. cue the ugly crying because I’ve met some pretty great humans and I don’t want to leave my Japanese bubble!
I left Canada to meet 7 strangers and travel with them for a week in Japan and honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to be with. It just seemed like we clicked, right from the beginning and as the week went on we became closer with every passing day.
I had a blast! Sharing stories, travelling, getting to know each other and making memories! (KAMPAI!!!) I also learnt so much about each person, their sport, their personalities and whatever other randomness that we happened to blurt out along the way! Nothing brings people together like travelling in a foreign country 😉
In my synchro world, I don’t often have the chance to meet other athletes…. Yes, in passing, but I am always in the pool focusing on my own sport, away from the public eye. Without this opportunity to go to Japan, most of us probably would never have met each other and interacted the way we did. I have been with the same people on trips for a long time and I love them, but to room with different people and to really talk to one another without having to hold anything back and without the stress of competition…. yeah wow, it’s a breath of fresh air.
All of these athletes have different stories and different experiences. Experiences that we ALL understand and relate to, which helped create such a strong connection amongst the 9 of us. Sport, especially high performance sport, is demanding. Knowing that you are not alone and that other sports have gone through similar situations is inspiring and eye opening.
Connecting with these people I met just one week ago and to feel like I’ve made great friendships is something that I will thank JICE for! Not only did I have the opportunity to make connections in Japan, I made friendships within Canada as well.
I’m really going to miss these awesome people and I cant wait to (first of all) stay in touch and to see all of their beautiful faces again soon, even if that means I’m driving to Toronto for a weekend! Love you guys xx
Claudia Holzner 