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Celebrity Travel: Go Away With Jessica Breland

By Jae-Ha Kim, Tribune Content Agency on

Born in New York and raised in North Carolina, where she played basketball for the Tar Heels, Jessica Breland has overcome so much to get to where she is today. The summer before her senior year of college, Breland was excited thinking about all the places she wanted to visit before school started. Instead, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and spent the next half-year undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Now 28 and healthy, the 6-foot-3 forward is playing with the WNBA's Chicago Sky. During her team's off-season, she enjoys playing overseas (China, Turkey, Israel, South Korea).

Q. What's the most important thing you've learned from your travels?

A. I've learned that, as Americans, we are really blessed with freedom and the opportunity to enjoy a great quality of life. All cultures are different and it is always great to experience something new, but there really is no place like home.

Q. What were some of the challenges of playing overseas?

A. One of them is being away from my friends and family for an extended period of time. Also, language barriers and cultural differences sometimes make communicating with my teammates and coaches more challenging. I have translators, which made communicating with my teams easier, but it was very different from being able to speak directly with someone in English.

 

Q. How is women's basketball received in the countries that you've played vs. in the U.S.?

A. I've had the opportunity to play professionally in Turkey, Israel and South Korea. Women's basketball is generally well received with more support in all of these countries versus the United States. I was surprised.

Q. Do you speak any foreign languages?

A. No, unfortunately! I'm not great with languages.

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