China Adventure....

Nee How! She She! tui poo shi, Ta tsi tsi is my extended vocabulary after trying to fit in as a chinaman…..I had the size down, but the blindly pasty white skin, blonde hair and lack of the language were my down falls! Nee how---Hello----Nee how Ma-----Hello how are you? She She----Thank you, Tui poo shi ta tsi tsi-----Sorry small boobs. The cab drivers loved that line, it is amazing how well you can speak a language after you have had a few….or maybe it is more you think you can speak it better!!! HAHAH

Where to start………It was hard leaving Calgary once again! But I guess that is a good thing, if it wasn’t hard to leave, one wouldn’t come back. Its always hard for a reason, Canada is home. But the adventures continue and not sure for how long this time, see where the wind blows ya I guess!

So to get everyone caught up with what is up with me….I am overseas once again doing the transient lost soul thing again….hahah well with a little more direction this time! I was just in China for the past 12 days, hanging out in Beijing and Harbin, sight seeing and playing hockey against the Chinese National team. The Edmonton chimos put a team together and few of us ‘non’ chimos jumped on board as well….we made a whole trip out of it, with a great mix of sightseeing and playing hockey. The Chinese have been training hard all season in preparation for the world Championship which they are hosting in April, so the idea was to come over and give them a few good games so they can stay in contention for the Olympics in 2010.

The long flight over to China was uneventful, which is a good thing when you are on a plane! I did not fly with the team, but there was 3 of us that were all on the same flight, so it was fun flying with someone you know. The team met us at the airport and the trip began! We stayed at a really nice hotel in Beijing, it is where they house the Olympic athletes so it was all fenced in and security guards were everywhere! The traffic is absolutely crazy, there are lanes, but they don’t really use them! People just drive and honk when they want in! I think the only rule that I could see was that if you were a bigger you had the right away! So being in a bus we were fine!!! BIKES, everywhere….I now know why the Chinese are so little…cuz on a diet of rice and biking everywhere there is no time to get big….maybe malnutrition could also be a factor! But seriously, there really were bikes everywhere, and the most run down bikes you have ever seen, they hauled everything with their bikes, huge loads that you couldn’t even fathom! Crossing the street is an adventure as well, because of the lack of traffic rules people just walk when ever….and are so calm about it, in the middle of an intersection with cars/bikes/trucks zippin ever which way and direction. Then there is a group of little white people….hahaha well it was funny watching us cross I am sure…..NOT CALM at all……sort of like a twisted version of chicken. The trick was to find a Chinese person and walk in unison with them. The other cultural different thing is the toliets, for the most part they have the squat pots….where you just plop a squat!! By the end of the trip it was no big deal using them….but it was quite funny the first couple of times….The fun stopped when the realization that you would have to actually perform a number 2 on them…..I was fortunate in this only happened to me once during the trip! The rest of the time I had perfect number 2 timing and was able to find a normal toilet.

The first night it was early to bed for everyone! But the next morning we were up and ready to face the markets!!! Or were we??? WOW, talk about shopping, puts any US shopping spree to shame. CHEAP as borche as a good Ukraine would say! Truly a Bode paradise because the bartering is the name of the game! But not Mexican bartering…..a whole new EXTREME!!! But it is defiantly a confidence boost going into the market, sexy lady you need shirt? Pretty girl how bout some jeans? Special price? Looky Looky? Oh it was an adventure that is for sure!!! I am sure we got taken the first couple of shops, but by the end of the day we were all pros at the game! Most of the goods are knock off name brands but it was all fun and games!! We visited two markets the first day. We ate as a team in the hotel and the first couple of meals were all traditional Chinese meals…luckly I am a Bode cuz I had to just try everything!! Lots of deep fried food, tons of vegetables and fruit though! AND the staple RICE…..really missing the pasta after this trip! We had a tour guide while we were in Beijing his name was Thomas! Great guy, full of stories! Oh ya that is the other thing….I feel that I have lost some of my English, you get used to shorting your sentences for easier translation and by the end of the trip we would catch each other speaking in short phrase sentences, sometimes not even making sense!

The next day we went to one of the 7 wonders of the world! The Great Wall of China….WOW, it was amazing, very daunting it was so huge! We hiked a good portion of the wall, meaning we walked for 2 hrs and really didn’t get very far at all since there is only like 6,700 kms to walk…the photos don’t really do it justice, but you truly do feel small in retrospect. There were a whole lot of stairs and we were all feeling it the next day! We ended our day going to an area with huge lake, with lots of fun little bars! I went on a rickshaw ride through the back streets of the area! It was fun, we bought a huge bottle of beer for less than a dollar. Piss warm but when you by it from a guy peddling a bike you can’t be picky!!

The following day we attempted to go to Tiananmen square, however there was something going on, so we could only see it from a far. But we did go to the forbidden city. Basically a city within a city, it is where the Chin dynasty resided. The Chinese have a very long and interesting history, I was mostly interested in the information about the concubines! Thomas was very informative but the weather this day was absolutely awful! The air (or should I say lack there of) was so thick! Dust everywhere, crazy wind….but we were true Canadians wearing sandals, capris or shorts! The one girl on our team was wearing short shorts….and well lets just say it was hilarious because everyone who passed us would stop and STARE at her, then our group…it was crazy! It was an interesting feeling being the minority.
The Next day we did more shopping at different markets, but we had to be back to pack up and get ready for our train ride to Harbin. It was about a 9 hr trip but it was through the night so we knew we could all sleep! Well, it was a character building experience that is for sure, first of all we were pushing it for time, so we were racing through this VERY crowded station with hockey bags, sticks, luggage bags and a huge group of people! Felt like mission impossible, because we had to lug our stuff FAR!!! We finally made it, we were all under the impression that we would be all together on this train. HAHAHAH Nope! We were mixed in with all the other Chinese people…we were packed in like pickles!!! (or sardines) IT was hilarious, really laughter was the only means of sanity. We not only were packed in, but we had to figure out how to get all our massive amounts of luggage on board, it was at this point I was glad not to speak Chinese cuz it was better to just not understand what they were saying…tone however is a universal language and we basically had train full of pissed off Chinese people!! This is where I learned tui poo tsi ( I am sorry) It wasn’t all that bad, we each had bunks that where 5 stacked, on both sides but we were all on bottom bunks. So that was nice! We all slept to wake up to a new city in the AM!

Harbin, well lets just say it looks a lot more run down then Beijing, more dirty and still people everywhere!!! We once again stayed at a very nice hotel that the Chinese National team footed the bill for as well as all our food while we were in Harbin. We also had the most helpful part of the whole trip and that was Richard, he was the Chinese National team Manager/interpreter so he was stuck with us!!! BUT what a blessing!!! We had a our first team skate, and it felt great to get on the ice, met up with some of the girls on the Chinese National team (2 of them played with our regular season team in Calgary) So it was great seeing Jinny and Snow again! We played our first game that night against them! We lost but it was loads of fun!!! The remainder of our time in Harbin was basically morning skate, afternoon wondering around then playing in the evening. The coach organized a bunch of massages for all of us, it was a total of $15 Canadian for whole body 1 hour massage!! CRAZY! Had that two days in a row! Was not relaxing at all, lots of aches and pains from carrying luggage to walking gazillion stairs at the great wall…but they were quick to work the kinks out!

One of our days off we went to a tiger sanctuary, or you could call it a breeding ground/ puppy mill for tigers! It was sad in some spots, but then there were areas where there was lots of space for them to run around! It was very amazing to go though, we were basically in a big bus driving around taking pictures of the tigers…true tourist style! You could buy a chicken, sheep, or cow to feed to the tigers and lions! Couple of the girls bought some chickens….it was CRAZY!! You have to check out the pictures on this! Basically this truck that is all grated drives in to where the bus is and throws a chicken on top of the roof of the SUV (not sure I want to know what the chicken is thinking at this point..oh shit!! Would be a good guess) but in two seconds this giant tiger leaps on top of the SUV and snatches it up!!! CRAZY!!! I am so glad no one bought a sheep, not sure I could watch that! Chicken was my limit! We also saw black panthers, lions, white tigers and a liger (cross between lion and tiger) only 10 in the world. Lots of cubs as well…which were all very cute.

We had one crazy night out in Harbin, where the coaches scouted out a good dance bar to go to! It was a hit, we had loads of fun!! Danced the night way, drank beer and tried to communicate with the locals…..charades becomes the means of communication in most cases! Using the squat pots while under the influence is another adventure!
We continued to practice in the AM and played in the PM and we continued to lose to the Chinese….They were all great games, we just couldn’t put the puck in the net. But they were all fun games! We ended up taking a flight back to Beijing which was a huge relief for everyone! We spent our last day in Beijing shopping the markets that we scoped out before. We all went out for a much tamer night as our last night out in China. We had plans of heading to Tiananmen square for the changing of the guards and flag raising. This occurs at sunrise, so it was up at 5:00 AM for us, to get there on time!!! The rest of the day was spent eating, having a nap and then packing up to leave!

We all left for the airport together, it was a little sketchy for me as the Australian system was down for what ever reason and they couldn’t issue any one tickets because they couldn’t approve the visas. So it was a long wait, to just see if I would actually get on the flight! Well…..as luck had it, I was the last person to board and now I sit on a plane on route to Australia….they really should ban people taking their shoes off on planes, cuz the guy beside me has the worst foot smell ever!!
I am in Australia for 5 days then off to NZ once again! I start work April 1st working as the ice hockey coordinator/ coaching for the organization and the Dunedin Thunder. I know this was a long one…..but I am sure once I get back to NZ there won’t be as many crazy stories to share…..but I can see what I can do about that!

LOVE you all!!
Jenel