April 24, 2011
A bowl of water for a safe return
April 21, 2011
Funny China moment...
2. Participant with the certain diseases should not participate in the race (list follows)
3. The normal participants who have following conditions in physical examination are not allowed to participate in the race.
3.1. Resting heart rate is above 85 beats / min; blood pressure is above 140/90 mm Hg;
3.2. Quiet breathing is up to 24 times / min; body temperature is above 37 degrees Celsius;
3.3. Gastrointestinal disease; severe insomnia; liver dysfunction;
3.4. Have a cold or fever within one week before the race; chest stuffiness and labored breathing; palpitations symptoms for more than three consecutive days;
3.5. Too fat and too old.
April 3, 2011
Wǒ shì yīgè Bīng Lóng
The sun is slowly dropping down over the rolling landscape of southern Liaoning as the bus makes it's way up the Shenda Expressway, bound for home. The Dalian Ice Dragons (the best hockey team in China without a rink) are returning from Shenyang, the provincial capital, after a weekend of hockey and hijinx to kick off the change in seasons, from the bitterly cold Siberian-wind-filled winter to a spring that everyone's been looking forward to. As a perfect contrast, my family is sending text messages from Alberta telling me about a monster April storm that rolled through my hometown last night. It's not spring in Alberta without a ridiculous dump of snow. I'm so happy spring has sprung here.
I tagged along this weekend on another of the Ice Dragons' trips. A group of guys from the school have been getting together to play hockey and make roadtrips around northern and central China for more than 10 years now, and I've been able to act as unofficial "coach" for a few of the occasions. I typically wear a ridiculous jacket, yell too much, and sometimes make runs to the store for water and other necessities. One of my first weekends in China was actually a trip with DS and the Dragons to this same city in central Liaoning and was where I met many of the guys I now know as friends here in China.
Every time I've tagged along on the trips, I've been invited to strap on skates and gear and take part. However, I'm not exactly what you'd call a "skater". I played endless hours of road hockey as a kid with my older bro, my dad, and a group of the neighbor kids in my old cul-de-sac in Lethy. But after spending my skating lessons as a kid smacking my head on the ice, I really hated skating and everything that came along with it. My feet would blister, my ankles would burn, I'd wheeze like a sick jalopy, and the crack of helmet hitting ice was all too familiar. Thus, I pretty much said that I'd never skate again.
There was one or two exceptions in the past. I remember being in 4th or 5th grade and making a trip across the road to the tiny lake near my elementary school to go skating with my class. But after about 10 minutes of hating my life and being totally unable to stay on my feet, I sat on the shoreline watching the more adept skaters enjoy an activity that's more Canadian than even Tim Horton's.
Then I think I recall lacing up some skates that were the wrong size for something in Grade 8. I don't really recall the event, just the general time. And the lack of love. Skating sucks.
For being totally useless on ice, I'd actually spent a fair amount of time in rinks as a kid. Part of growing up in semi-rural Canada, I guess. Whether it was for my own lessons, or for junior hockey games, or while waiting for my little sister's figure skating lessons to be done, the musty scent of the rink remains familiar.
So this weekend, I hopped on the bus after school for another foolish weekend of fun. And I did something I've pretty much swore I'd never do: lace 'em up.
I put on some borrowed gear, donned a Dragons jersey, laced up some too-big skates and stepped on the ice for the first time in about 15 years. I'd never worn hockey gear in my life. And it was pretty awesome. I played three shifts on right wing for the Dalian Bing Long (Ice Dragons in Chinese) and survived without a concussion (and even without falling!). And also got over one of the oldest hang-ups I've had nearly my entire life. Funny enough, it only took these three shifts to make myself a real part of a tradition that's nearly as long as my phobia. No longer just a tag-along (and as the title of this post reads)… I am an Ice Dragon.
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