Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Alexandra Domercant. Ally and I met on Facebook a few years ago and I instantly knew she was someone whose opinion I could value and trust. Ally has shown herself to be a mature, classy and wise woman over the years and is someone that I often go to when I am in need of a solid point of view on a matter. Just taking a look at her blog, Traveling Allowed, will show you that she is not only thoughtful and well-written and but funny as well. Our growing “internet” friendship has been a blessing to me in various ways and I think her words today will bless you as well. Enjoy getting to know Ally.
How did you and your husband meet?
My husband Henry and I met as students at Eastern Illinois University. He played basketball of course, and I was on the volleyball team. My teammates introduced us and we began dating shortly after. We continued dating throughout college and then long distance for three years while he started his professional basketball career overseas and I stayed home to start a career in television journalism. We married in 2006 and are now proud parents of a two-year-old daughter.
Where was the first place you lived internationally? Can you tell a little more about the experience?
My first international home-away-from-home was Athens, Greece, where we moved shortly after getting married. Since we had dated long distance for the three seasons prior, I was extremely excited to finally start our lives together in the same place. We had a nice apartment, the weather was comfortable and the team had four other American players, all of whom had families with them. We celebrated holidays and birthdays together as a group, met regularly to go bowling or play board games and even had a small bible study. It really felt like a big family, which made the transition much easier for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to my life as a basket wife.
How many years has/did your husband play(ed)?
Henry is starting his ninth season as a professional basketball player.
What cities have you lived in internationally?
Before we got married, Henry played in Izmir and Istanbul, both in Turkey. Together, we’ve lived in Athens, Greece; Moscow, Russia; Siena, Italy; and St. Petersburg, Russia. This upcoming season, we will be living in Kazan, Russia.
If you had to pick a favorite international city, which one was it and why?
I have good memories from each place we’ve lived but if I had to pick favorites, I’d say it’s a tie between Athens, Greece and St. Petersburg, Russia. I loved both places, but for different reasons. Our life was most comfortable in Athens but St. Petersburg is the place that I felt most connected to outside of the basketball world. I joined an international women’s club and attended weekly Mom and Baby play groups, where I met women from all over the world. We also found a church for the first time overseas and really became involved in the ministry. I will never forget the way people from our church surrounded us with love and prayers on our final Sunday before we returned home for the summer. To be welcomed and accepted like that in a place so far from home was something I’d never experienced before.
Please share one funny moment in your life as a Basket Wife.
When we were in Athens, a reporter approached me during a basketball game and said he wanted to interview me for his newspaper. He explained that they regularly profile different athletes’ wives and were especially interested in me because I am part Greek (on my father’s side of the family). I was reluctant to do the interview at first but agreed to it after confirming that the publication was indeed reputable and in fact, one of the largest sport newspapers in the country. The questions were fairly straightforward, a photographer took a few pictures and that was it. The story was to run the following Sunday. Well, by the time Sunday rolled around I’ll admit I was pretty excited to see how the article turned out. I found a newsstand and scoured the newspaper for the article. I looked at page after page and didn’t see it. And then I got to a special Sunday insert in the center of the newspaper and gasped at what I saw. It was a tabloid style gossip magazine (think US Weekly, but much trashier) and there was a giant picture of my smiling mug taking up nearly the entire cover page. My horror only increased as I thumbed through the magazine and found the article about me (complete with more cheesy pictures) sandwiched between some pretty scandalous photos of bikini-clad models and women posing in front of cars. And to make matters worse, the article was in Greek so I had no idea what it said about me. Needless to say, I never would have agreed to the interview had I known that was how it would be used. After I got over the shock, I had to laugh at the irony of it all – a conservative Midwestern girl, and a former journalist at that, turned unsuspecting Greek tabloid cover girl. My husband and family of course saw the humor in it, though when I showed them the magazine I had to instruct them to look only at my article, lest they see far more than they ever wanted to!
What was the toughest struggle you encountered in your life as a Basket Wife?
There are some people who can best be described as adventurous and free-spirited. They love new experiences, seeing the world, and pushing beyond what’s expected. I am not one of those people. Far from it. I am risk-averse and would almost always pick safe and predictable over new and exciting. When I was in school, I came up with ways to avoid many field trips because of the anxiety it caused me. When my husband (then my boyfriend) played his first year abroad, I didn’t even visit him because my fear of the unknown got the best of me (terrible girlfriend moment, I know). Adjusting to a life that requires constant change and living away from the comforts of home pretty much goes against every natural tendency I have. And while this is never the life I would have envisioned myself living, I honestly wouldn’t want it any other way. I still struggle at times but God has truly enabled me to find the joy in this journey.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned as a Basket Wife?
The greatest lesson I’ve learned can be summed up in three words: God is faithful. He is faithful to provide even when basketball seasons don’t go as you would like them to. He is faithful to protect, whether you are in America or the far corners of Russia or flying 30,000 feet in the air somewhere. He is faithful to equip you with the tools needed for whatever He is calling you to do. Through both the challenges and the victories of this life, God shows me again and again that I can rely on Him fully and trust that He is working things out for my good, even when I can’t see it. It’s a lesson I pray I never forget, even long after our basketball days are done.
Thanks for sharing Ally,
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