Tuesday Aug.3: Oh what a night!

I started the evening with dinner at a place near my hotel that bosts local home cooking called "Shanghai Grandmother". I opted to skip the fried bull frog in XO sauce and ordered the crispy river eel (28Y or 4.28$), the fried french bean with chili suace & minced pork (25Y or 3.82$) and although I thought I was ordering the 3 cup chicken I had actually ordered the fried pork feet with salt and pepper (38Y or 5.80$). To wash it all down a 500ml bottle of heiniken at 12Y or 1.83$. The food was great! If I go back tomorrow for lunch I think I'll try the braised abalone with mushroom and broccoli. Not sure I'm into the marinated pig tongue.
After dinner I took the subway to Lulu Massage Center in the French Concession where I had a top notch 70 minute massage by a blind lady for 60Y or 9.17$. I'm certain if she wanted to she could pull a Spock from Star Treck and put me out with one pinch in the right part of my neck. She dug into all of my Dragon Boat fatigue and when she was done I felt like I was walking sideways down the street.
A cab ride back to the Bund and a quick cocktail at Glamour Bar (125Y; twice at much as the massage) before heading back to my room.
What a great night.

Tuesday August 3rd: Lost in translation in Shanghai

Yesterday I left Macau for Shanghai. The world championships had past by in a blink of an eye. 22 Dragons Club will be bringing home at least 12 medals and the Montreal Senior Women are now the Canadian team to beat. Strange how the presentations of the medals were not the most emotional moments for me but rather all of those "in between" moments stick out in my mind; the finish line of the 2k, beating Brisbane in the 200m heat, waiting for results, hearing the other 22 Dragon teams applaud as we paddled back to the docks after each race, being met with applause from the Montreal Majhong Men as we returned to our seats in the stands, having a team melt down, having an incredible recovery from a team melt down, hearing the last bit of coaching from Matt before the final 500m, and finishing 2nd and knowing that this is not the end but just the beginning. We are no longer the under-dog, staying on top is harder than getting there.

I flew to Shanghai with 4 other tean mates. I'd have a meal with them in Shanghai and then the next 2 weeks I'm on my own.

The Shanghai airport gave me a taste of what I'd be in for over the next 2 weeks. I really thought more people would speak English in this modern metropolis but that was wishfull thinking. No matter, I'm managing and the "lost is translation" aspect of this trip is turning out to be a form of entertainment for me. Take my cab driver from the airport for example, when I entered his taxi and showed him the address of the hotel he said something in manderin that could have been one of two things; either "You're very tall" or "that's a long trip and I finish at 5". Judging by the way he was driving I'd bet he finishes at 5. This guy was creating a 5th lane on a 4 lane highway in order to pass other cars, trucks and buses. Driving is an extreem sport here and motorcycles, scooters and electric bycicles (of which there are many) think nothing of driving on the sidewalk or going through red lights even if there are several pedestrians crossing. I've only seen one accident so far and I can not comprehend how it is possible that there are not more.

After checking in at the hotel I set out to find a restaurant that had come recommened by my foodie friend M. I was told it would be impossible to get a cab during rush hour and in the rain so I headed for a better hotel than my own and let them do the work for me. The great thing about being a westerner here is I can walk into any hotel to get information, use the bathroom or get a cab and they assume I'm a guest of the hotel.

I met my team mates at "Din Tai Fung" for xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). Everyone was tired and cranky but that quickly changed after a couple of beers (finaly we can drink again!). The food was great! My favourite dumpling was the truffle dumpling (YUM) and the drunken chicken and deep fried pork chops were absolutely mouth watering (I believe that was Sishuan pepper on the pork chops, I'll have to pick some of that up while I'm here). I didn't think the girls would go for the jellyfish salad (something I had eaten many times in mtl before) but they all tried it and we cleared off the plate. It was a fabulous meal. Thanks M!

I spent my day today walking around the Bund and making my way toward the People's Square. This place seems to be living in the future and the past at the same time. I would say the strangest thing I saw today was a street cleaner truck playing "Happy Birthday" rather loudly through some tin speakers. At first I thought it was an Ice cream truck, but no, it was a street cleaner cleaning the streets of the Bund. The Bund is where my hotel is located and it has lots of designer shops. I'm hoping to head out toward the French Concession soon and get a massage by a blind massage therapist (this is not a weird fantasy, there are real blind massage therapists here). A Shanghai massage is not relaxing but meant to replace one's "chi" (energy).

There is no way I'll be able to experience even a fraction of this place before I leave tomorrow night on the overnight train to Tunxi. Too bad, it's a great place to shoot.

I'm not sure what the internet situation will be over the next few days since I'm heading into small towns so you may not hear from me until I get to Beijing on the 7th. The internet here is a bit unpredicatble. I have no access to facebook or my email today but I did have access 2 days ago in Macau. Everytime I go to my blog the settings have changed so I have no idea what you guys see back home. Anyway, I'm still alive and I'm eating well.

5 things that are faster than the internet in China:
1. paint drying (oil based paint).
2. bread rising.
3. a trip across Canada on Via rail.
4. my roots growing in.
5. a small child growing into full adulthood.

Day 9: Final race day and a 3rd silver metal to complete the set

I woke up this morning wondering if I'd be satisfied with my 42 week journey if we did not take the gold in the 500m. Yesterday's race was not our best and we all knew it. Coach M lectured us on thinking about the race and not the podium.
The way the races work here is the first place team in each heat makes it to the final, the next fastest team overall also makes it to the final. All of the others have to battle it out in a semi final where the first two boats from the semi will make it to the final.
It was a humbling experience to have to race in the semi final without going directly to the final as we had in the 1st 2 events. I looked at it as one more chance to practise a start before the final. We won the semi final several seconds ahead of the other boats. We would be in the final with Brisbane Australia and Toronto Outer Harbour as our biggest competition.
Coach M gave us a motivational talk before the race that brought us all to tears. Everything felt so intense; the heat, the noise, the energy of the team. The start took forever (what a surprise). I pounded it every step of the way but I could see after the finish that we were not quite fast enough to beat Brisbane, the question was "did we beat outer harbour?".
It had been a good race. Regardless of second or third we all knew we had paddled well. The results finally came in; a third silver to complete the set.
While waiting for the awards ceremonies Brisbane, Outer Harbour and us all gathered and agreed how we all pushed each other to our limits over the past 4 days and we were grateful for the challenge.
Am I satisfied with the voyage? 42 weeks ago I was in the worse shape of my life. I had never raced on a sport division team before and I only had 2 years of paddling behind me. I had never done a chin up, and I had never benched over 100 pounds . Most of the women on the team are paddling in the sport division for the first time and when we started back in September we looked like a pile of potatoe ladies with legs. Last summer (the team's first season) they placed 3rd in Canada. This week we placed second in the world. I give credit for this amazing accomplishment to the inspiration we gave each other and the incredible coaching and people skills of our coach Matt Roberts.

Saturday Day 8: A second silver medal in the 200m.

We went into the final for the 200m today as the team to beat. We had beat both Toronto Outer Harbour and Brisbane Australia in the preliminaries. There were more cameras on us during our warm up and more presure knowing that our new rivals would step up their game for the finals. As the team to beat we were placed in a middle lane between Australia and Toronto. There was so much noise from the other boats during the race I couldn't hear our steer person. The pace was insanely fast and I found it hard to be at my most powerful at such a fast pace. After beating the Australians in the prelims it was disapointing to come second in the finals.

Brisbane Australia: 51.932

Montreal 22 dragons Senior Women: 52.021

Toronto Outer Harbour: 52.665

A very close race and very entertaining for the stands.
The cheering from the other 22 Dragons teams as we paddled back to the docks and from the Mahjong Men when we got back to the stands was the most emotional part of the day for me. The support we give and receive from all of the Montreal 22 Dragons teams is very gratifying. Our 22 Dragons Club is racking up the medals here. I saw coverage of the event on TV while I was at a reastaurant last night. The focus was on our Verdun team.
Tomorrow is the last day of competition. We race the 500m. It's our last chance at Gold.

Thursday Day 6: We take the silver in the 2k!

Today was our first race day. The only event we had is the 2k, scheduled at the hottest time of the day. "C" and I set out early to watch the Grand Dragons (over 50yrs category) in their 2k event. It was incouraging when they took the bronze.
The 2k is the only event here with turns. The course is 4X 500m with turns at each end. It takes a very qualified steer person to be successful in this event. Our steer person "G" started steering this summer and had never raced a 2k before. Teams start one at a time at 12 second intervals, so even if we pass a boat it's hard to tell where we place until the official announcement several minutes after the race.
My nerves started kicking in at the marshaling area. The noise seemed overwhelming to me while I tried to focus on the race. The race started and at about 100m it felt like my brain was frying in the heat. The thoughts that go through one's head during a race like this one are crazy, but as soon as a thought that can lead to defeat enters one's mind it's important to shake it off. A brief list of thoughts I can remember:
1. shit it's hot.
2. the other boats look too far ahead.
3. pound it!
4. will I survive this?
5. 40 weeks of training.
6. reach it out.
7. am I having a heart attack?
8. I can't breath.
9. don't hold back, pound it!
10. gold.
11. pass these guys before the corner!
12. 500 to go, kill yourself now you can recoup later.
In the third 500 we were catching up to another boat on the inside. I had no idea who they were (i have to look ahead) but I heard the officials order them to let us pass at the corner. Passing a boat in the 2k is very motivating and it gave me a second wind. The corners are tough and I know G will call a pick up after every corner. Come to think of it, it seemed she called a pick up after every ten strokes! In the final stretch we were all wheezing but no one was giving up. G called the finish and it was all over.
For those of you out there who don't want any grosse details please skip this paragraph. After finishing the race I barfed. While my team mates started paddling back to the dock I barfed some more. That was not the only instance of excrement for me around the 2K. During the race my nose was running a lot but I did not have the breath to sniff and it was bugging me so I blew it out all over my face. At the time all I could think about was breathing and I could not care less if I had a face full of boogers.
I had no idea how well we had done until we got back to the dock. It seemed a medal was possible but we'd have to wait a while for the results. Coach M came and made the announcement when we were back seated in the stands. It was a pretty emotional moment. Strangely my "glee" didn't last as long as I had expected. I wanted to know who had beaten us, by how much and how far ahead we were of the third place team. Brisbane Australia had taken the gold by a comfortable 20 seconds and the Bronze went to Toronto's Outer Harbour team. Our time was in the area of 9min50sec, a great accomplishment.
Receiving a silver medal on the podium was a proud moment but still not as intense as I would have expected. My thoughts were on beating Australia on Saturday's 200m and making sure Outer Harbour does not catch us. Am I uncapable of savouring success or is the voyage and the anticipation of it's outcome what rocks my world? I felt more emotion waiting for the 2k results than I did 10 minutes after hearing them.
The Austalians were very excited to have beaten the Canadians. Two years ago Outer Harbour had won this event. Our real competition in these championships have far more experience than us. Both Outer Harbour and Brisbane have been around for at least 6 years. We are the babies of the competition with this summer being our second dragon boat season (my first with this team).
Coach M told us to enjoy the medal until 2pm friday when it would be time to start thinking about the 200m on Saturday. A 200m is a very different race from a 2k. It can be won on the start and there are no "pick-ups" because the whole race is one big pick-up. The race time should be somewhere around the one minute mark.
After the 2k all I want to do is go to bed. I know I'll feel like I got hit by a truck in the morning.

Wednesday Day 5: reality sets in... team melt down

Yesterday we practiced the 2k in the rain. More teams were at the race sight. The Australian team filmed our practice and there were generaly more cameras everywhere. Our boat was distracted during practice and this was the first day for most that the reality of being at the world championships was finally setting in. Emotions ran high. It's in these situations that a team really gets to know each other and there were a few surprises that threw the team off.
Between the mood of the team yesterday, and the pain that all this humidity is causing in my hip, I did not sleep at all last night. If this team does not get their emotions together we're screwed.
Today was our last practice before the competition starts tomorrow. "G", our steer person, gave us a well needed talk and the coach took a few people aside. There were a few tears but we were back to our selves on the boat. The melt down is behind us and we can get back to the business of winning. It rained hard during practice but the boat feels strong again. Tomorrow is the hardest race; the 2k. We only get one chance; no semi final or final... just one chance.

Scenes from Macau

Tuesday Day 4: The art of sign language and smiling

Macau is 8 square miles with a population of 600,000. The missionary man had told me it is the most populated place per square foot in the world (although I'll have to check on that). The people here speak Cantonese and although the guidebooks say that English is widely spoken I'd have to disagree. Many speak a few words but I even have a hard time understanding the hotel concierge. I think he has memorized the basics and repeats the same top ten activities to every guest. Still, I'm managing way better than I ever thought I would.
Food can be an emotional thing for people, particularly when diving into the unknown. I haven't eaten anything here so far that I have not had before and most of the menus here have an English translation (although often it's a poor translation that sounds completely unappetizing), yet I've learned in the past couple of days that not all of my western club members are comfortable eating in places where the menu will not be fully explained to them. What has worked for me so far is pointing, describing what I want with gestures, trusting in the staff's suggestions even when you have no clue what they are saying and finishing with a smile.
I had lunch at a local place that the missionary man's assistant had suggested my first day. Q-tip and Marc from the men's team came along. The locals at the next table were smerking as soon as we walked in the place as if to say "Oh, this should be good, 3 ghosts in this place". These guys were clearly laughing at us so I looked back and chuckled back and now it seemed they were laughing with us and not at us.
The waitress called over her young translator junior waiter (for some reason the older people here are convinced that the younger people are completely bilingual LOL). The young boy suggested I try the curry chicken wings. When they arrived I realized I had not planned for eating them with chopsticks but I figured if it was too difficult of a task I'd just use my fingers. I made a go at it while my neighbors at the next table watched my every move. To my surprise I managed to pick up the wing and suck of every morsal of flesh in a single slurp. These were the most tender wings I have ever had. I place the clean bone in a small bowl and went on to the next one.
After our meal the waiting staff was very upset when we left a tip on the table. I still have not figured out tipping here. I read in the guidebooks that the rate is 10% and I've been told that over tipping is an insult but these guys tripped out at any money we were going to leave on the table. Any help out there on this topic would be appreciated.
My sign language at the market and in restaurants it proving to be a found talent and it worked wonders at Margaret's cafe when I went to purchase all of the remaining egg tarts for the 5 a 7 that a team mate was having in her room. I don't expect it to be this easy once I get to the small villages outside of Shangai and certain parts of Canton. I'm pretty open to a lot of food but I wont eat cat, dog or anything that looks like moving rice.

Monday Day 3: Training begins, race roster announced

Macau has one main greenspace where everyone goes to work out. I would decribe it as Macau's Central Park or Mount Royal and it's a walk up the hill from the hotel. The 3 activities of choice are running, tai chi and using the various public weight machines around the green space. These machines look like they belong in a playground and they work with your own body wight. They can also be found in public parks throughout the city.
Yesterday we had an easy practice at the race site. It was great to be paddling again. The site is a salt water lake with casinos lining the skyline in the background. The water feels good; not heavy.
At today's practice Coach M announced the roster for all 5 of our races. I'm happy to say I'm in all 5, right side, fourth row; the front of the engine room. Beside me is Yuen and behind me is Carol S; two very strong paddlers. The boat feels good.
There are more teams practicing at the site today than yesterday and everyone is politely sizing up everyone else. I haven't seen another senior woman's team yet, but the poor mens' teams suck in their guts as they walk by our scutinizing cougar team on their way to the showers (LOL).

Day 1

It's taken 32 hours from the time I left the studio to the time I arrived at the hotel in Macau. As far as I can tell Q-tip (a guy from the master men's team) and I are the only ones to arrive so far. Too tired to look at a map or guidebook, I decide to take a look around the neibourhood with the mission of finding a place to buy daily water and a place to eat. The streets here are small with steep hills and the number of motor scooters reminds me of Rome. This place has an intense heat and humitity level that I haven't even experienced in the Caribbean. A typical view down a small street or alley here will include small businesses or markets at ground level with several stories of appartments above with iron work balconies covered in either plants or drying laundry, contrasted by the odd space-age-looking casino soaring above the whole scene.
I met an american christian missionary man with his four local pupils and assistant who showed me around a bit so the kids could practice English. John has been here for 30 years so he was a good source for local restaurant recommendations. I told him I was in search of egg tarts and he showed me where to find Margaret's cafe; arguably the best place to get egg tarts in all of China (and therefor the world). He also introduced me to the owner of the oldest eatery in all of macau. The kids were very shy throughout the whole tour but I was happy to have come across these people.
After my tour I was ready for a foot massage so the hotel consierge wrote an address in Chinese on a hotel business card and sent me off in a taxi. The place was pretty much what I expected; dirty walls, worn and torn vinyl lounge chairs all in the same room. I became the entertainment for the massage ladies who sat around gossiping and talking about me in Cantonese while my feet took a real beating. From what I could figure out, they found my feet to be those of a giant, my eyes to be interesting (possibly the exotic tabacco color) and to generally be intrigued and amused that I would find my way into this place. All of this entertainment and a 45 minute foot massage for the equivilant of $12!
I discovered on the way back to the hotel that hailing a cab during rush hour took more expertise than hailing one in New York. It took me 30 minutes to learn the ropes of cab hailing but I did succeed.
I found Q-tip and 2 other dragon boaters back at the hotel so we all went out to eat. The resaurant owner John had introduced me to saw us walking and came out of his restaurant to invite us in to eat. The food was very good and very cheap; cantonese with a portuguese twist. We ended the day with egg tarts at Margaret's cafe. Yum.