Aint no rest for the wicked

This past weekend was full of sporting events for us. Kristen went off to Beijing with her Volleyball team to play in a tournament. They were supposed to fly out Friday night at 10pm but true to its reputation Dalian airport muck-ed it up and they didn’t leave until 4am. 9 hours of trying to rest in a freezing cold airport on chairs or floors or wherever. When they finally arrived in Beijing it was to late to go to the Hostel before the first game so instead they went looking for breakfast. They found Michael a stout German man how owned a brand new bakery. He served up fresh and free treats for the whole team basically saving us from killing each other.

The first day was long and tiresome but each game the team got better and better. We finally won our last game on Saturday.

Jumping like our life depends on it.......lol

Finally heading to the hostel around 6pm we checked in showered and took off for a dinner with some of the other teams at a Japanese restaurant. Kristen had never drank Saki before and having been awake for almost 40 hours, and only eating sushi for dinner it did a serious number on her. She almost passed out at the dinner table along with a couple of her teammates. So instead of hitting the clubs they went back to the hostel for some much needed sleep.

Kristen is on the left hand side WAY WAY at the back

On Sunday the team was up and back on the court at 11am “rested” and and playing much better as a team. Kristen got her first block and first real kill and a nice head cold/sore thorat just to round out the morning. After 2 games the team thought they were finsished and headed off to the showers, only to find out they had to play for 3^rd and 4^th place. The final game was the best yet, and the girls came of so close to taking it but ended up fouth. By that time there was only enough time to shower eat and rush off to the airport to literally run to our gate and catch the plane home.

Posing like we are 12....

 All in all a lot of fun. There were some bruises, skin burns, and many hours missed sleep but everyone had a great time!

11th Annual Dalian China International Winter Swimming Festival

Early upon our return to China the administration put out the word about some cool stuff that only happens in the first semester, a number of which were things we have not yet had a chance to experience. One of these events was an international outdoor swimming competition held in OCTOBER. It sounded like a lot of fun while we were sweating it up at Pro-D in August and Paul decided to sign himself up!

The morning of October 22 was chilly but sunny. We piled into a transport and were driven to the start of the “parade” route. To our surprise there was a VERY official opening ceremony and the entire thing was being televised on 2 stations. To Kristen's chagrin there were tourists and reporters all over the place wanting to snap photos of our group of strange white people all decked out in red and white. In a very odd role reversal Kristen hung back, playing  the shy kid, while Paul was holding the flag out in front wearing his '87 Canada Cup jersey smiling and posing with everyone who requested a picture of him. He was even approached by the coach of one of the Chinese swim teams about making some contacts in Canada so their team could do a swim tour….wtf is a swim tour? As the opening ceremonies really got underway there were the usual speeches that no one listened to, dancers who should concentrate their energies on other things, (and should definitely wear costues more appropriate to women of their age and build) as well as cross-dressing pop singers and ballroom dancers. The entire things was capped off with an outrageous amount of fireworks and piles of old people running into the ocean wearing speedos, t-shirts and socks for the polar bear swim. It was an odd day.

Paul leading the Canadian contingent.

Ballroom dancers in front, elderly cheerleaders to the left, dancers to the right.

The swimmers marched in wearing their matching gear... they take odd amateur sport quite seriously in China. Cold water swimming falls in that category.

Probably toxic, but it looks pretty.

The next day, Sunday October 23, dawned, sunny but freezing and windy... like REALLY windy. Paul was scheduled for 3 races and was told to arrive no later than 8am, but once he was there found out he didn’t swim until 11:30. So we sat around looking at the Russians and had them try to convince us to join the “Bering Strait” Swim club, which basically is a group of people who jump in the Bering Strait and seeing how long you can stay in before your body overrides your brain and you jump out. Apparently some members of their team had recently swam from Russia to Alaska and were looking to get another group together for this summer!

The races were held in an outdoor pool that had recently been filled with unheated and unfiltered sea water! The water temperature was less than 4°... yes, ONLY 4 degrees above freezing!

 

Anyways Paul’s first race was…interesting. He was the last one off the block (he didn't understand the Chinese words for "take your marks") but was first out of the turn. He led his heat until the last few meters when his muscles cramped from the extreme cold -and lack of training- and he was over taken by the guy next to him. He came out of the water in mild shock which we later found out happened to ALL the other Canadian contestants. We went home and had some lunch and a nap. Then Paul went back for two more races! All in all he ended up 5^th in freestyle, 6^th in the backstroke and 5^th in the breaststroke. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t swum competitively for almost 10 years!

Speedos and parkas

Just a little chilly!

Some of the older dudes were pretty impressive.

The day after the races, there was a ceremony that was attended by the athletes, and dignitaries like the vice minister of sport. Paul thought that all the Maple Leaf teachers who swam were going, but he found out (at the event) that it was just him, some of the administrators and a few of the Chinese teachers. The evening was a true Chinese experience. Pop singers, children performing Kung-fu, hostesses wearing full princess gowns and a full Chinese buffet. It was a wierd and wonderful experience. We got to enjoy some delicious Chinese beer brewed in Hong Kong, and some baiju (sorghum liquor) that was made in Jinshitan. We eventually stumbled home, and went to sleep, sore from the swimming and a little tipsy from the night out. 

Take a look at that glittering # 7 on his waif-like body

Happy Halloween

One of the Big events here at the school is the teacher's Halloween Party. Almost all the teachers go and have awesome halloween costumes made. Here is a small sample!

Kristen as Alice

Hey Sport! Paul as The Great Gatsby

Wonderland Friends, The Caterpillar (Mark) and the Mad Hatter (Jennifer)

Pop (Sara), Crackle (Morgan), and Snap (Brittney)

There were some home made costuems too! Indy (Kyle), Rambo (Will), Kung Fu Panda (Charles)

The woman who inspired my costume! Lauren as the mad hatter! She made that amazing hat out of paper mache!