Goethe would be rolling in his grave!
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/12/16/mona.lisa.smile/index.html
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Quote Time
For your reading pleasure, some quotes that aptly summarize my recent adventures and the fortuitous events that have transpired:
"Unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." - Kurt Vonnegut, cOmplements of sister
"There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will." -The Bard and his famous Dane
and, my personal favorite:
"Coincidence is the anonymity of God." -Kevin Mahoney, a man of very few, but very powerful words.
In other news, I began my three page quarterly report today. I am not like my father. It is not close to completion, but it is close to ten pages thus far. I've done it again. I expected this, however, and though I will cut most of it for the official report, it is wonderful to be able to take a more holistic look at my time so far and really try to integrate everything I've learned about myself, hockey and the world. As much as I lamented paper writing, I have always been a firm believer in how much one gains from having to analyze and write down (in a more organized fashion than my prolific journal entries) what one learns as a means of arriving at both further knowledge about the subject and a deeper understanding of the subject matter. I've spent the afternoon trying to get it all down and have really enjoyed the ten pages. Plus, it's taking a narrative tone, which makes me confident in my ability to turn this into a book. I think I might even blog the whole thing (maybe in segments so that you don't have to take it all in at once...sort of like a sitcom or something).
Time to go institute my new team lifting program and be mini Coach Oliver for the day! Should I make them do squat jumps?
"Unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." - Kurt Vonnegut, cOmplements of sister
"There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will." -The Bard and his famous Dane
and, my personal favorite:
"Coincidence is the anonymity of God." -Kevin Mahoney, a man of very few, but very powerful words.
In other news, I began my three page quarterly report today. I am not like my father. It is not close to completion, but it is close to ten pages thus far. I've done it again. I expected this, however, and though I will cut most of it for the official report, it is wonderful to be able to take a more holistic look at my time so far and really try to integrate everything I've learned about myself, hockey and the world. As much as I lamented paper writing, I have always been a firm believer in how much one gains from having to analyze and write down (in a more organized fashion than my prolific journal entries) what one learns as a means of arriving at both further knowledge about the subject and a deeper understanding of the subject matter. I've spent the afternoon trying to get it all down and have really enjoyed the ten pages. Plus, it's taking a narrative tone, which makes me confident in my ability to turn this into a book. I think I might even blog the whole thing (maybe in segments so that you don't have to take it all in at once...sort of like a sitcom or something).
Time to go institute my new team lifting program and be mini Coach Oliver for the day! Should I make them do squat jumps?
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
My Mom Needs a New Hobby....
But, good God do we have a good looking family!
The O'Neill Chronicles, aka Betty O'Neill Rocks.Com
..and man, do i miss my pretty green skirt collection!
The O'Neill Chronicles, aka Betty O'Neill Rocks.Com
..and man, do i miss my pretty green skirt collection!
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Here in the World is Meghan!
Well, it seems I'm always apologizing for my lack of updates, so I won't. Instead, I'll jump right in and tell you how busy and excited I have been lately. Ever since I returned from Ireland, where I had a great chance to reflect back upon my time in Denmark, and actually missed my new home a little, I've really begun to appreciate and enjoy this opportunity so much more. Maybe it's the whole "Hygge" Christmas atmosphere around Copenhagen and within the team as we open our "Nysse" presents (or the little tasks we force our recipient to perform - such as making Laura write and sing a team song and bake the team a cake - and tricks we play on them when they don't do the tasks) and I attend Christmas and Birthday parties, but Denmark is increasingly earning a spot in my heart. In fact, as I realize that I'm now three months into my trip and that the next few months, filled with numerous short trips, are going to fly by, it's become sad to think about leaving and I wonder if I'll even have enough time to do everything I now want to accomplish before I'm gone.
What do I want to accomplish? To start, I've started an essay/story contest open to all current and former female players, asking them to write their own hockey narratives for me so that I can collect as many stories as possible while I'm here. I've gotten support from the Danish Ice Hockey Union and a few hockey shops and reps, who are all donating various items like jerseys and signed sticks as prizes. I'm also working with Laura and setting up some sort of camp or gathering for the girls in the Jutland league (the other of the two leagues), who are almost at national team level and would greatly benefit from getting ice time with talented coaches and players, since they don't get the opportunity to play high-level hockey at their own, less serious clubs. We've got a practice and some additional off ice sessions planned, but now it's the issue of finding ice time somewhere on one of our rare free weekends and getting the girls interested. Laura has also put me to the task of designing a weekly lift for the team so we stop wasting the short time we have in the weight room on Wednesday nights (in addition to teaching some of the younger girls how to properly use the weight room, seeing as every week I think one of them is going to take herself out with a dumb bell). I will also be going to the next national team gathering, so now have to come up with some sort of session to run with the girls. I'd love to do a meditation or visualizing session, but the language barrier will keep some girls from getting anything out of it, so Bine is going to take charge of that one. I am at least going to talk to some of the older players about the opportunities they have to go to the states on scholarships, since the whole idea of scholastics and sports being combined is so foreign to them. AND, on top of all this, I've got my first quarterly report due around next week! Time has flown and I now see that I certainl haven't wasted my days, since I have no clue how I'll fit everything I've done into three pages!
Did I mention I went to Prague? Yes, I went to Prague to visit the red headed boy across the street - Mark Smith. We met up on Sunday night, and and we both shared a few seconds of being unable to believe that we were actually looking at one another as adults (he is now a tall, deep voiced, bearded young man who looks downright eastern european, save the red hair and all), having only the memories of the 12 year old the other used to be in our minds. We had a nice low key time wandering the streets and getting a drink, sharing our similar experiences living with strangers who can't/don't speak English to us and lamented that I will for the first time ever miss the Christmas Eve party, where Mark is in charge of getting Martha Swann drunk (Devin took that job last year, so now it's someone else's turn).
Much of the trip was centered on meeting up with Mark, but my good old friend fate once again decided to mess with me and smashed his cell phone on my second day there, leaving us unable to get in touch with one another. While this could have been ruination of the trip, it turned out to be quite a fortuitous event: I actually wound up befriending and spending a day and a half exploring Prague with one of my hostel roommates, a girl around my age from South Carolina, who has been backpacking throughout Europe on her own for the past month and a half. It was another one of those truly "Watson-esque" moments that showed me just how open you become to others when exploring the world on your own. We had a terriffic time and I don't think conversation stopped the entire time we were together, probably because it takes a certain kind of person to do this kind of travel, so we are bound to have a lot in common when we meet one another. While I didn't get that much time with an old contact, I made a brand new one and just added another name to the incredible web of connection I've been building this year.
Unexpected was the word of the week. I got an email from my Cape Town contact, who is happy to have me come, but wanted to let me know that there is no ice time in April and I was planning on heading down there in March! But that immediately turned positive, as Laura informed me that her friend who now coaches the national team in Australia has invited me to coach at an international camp down under in Australia. So now, as long as the Watson heads approve, I've changed my itinerary completely. Now I'm thinking: March in Cape Town, back to Denmark to play in the national championships in April, down to Australia for the camp in mid-April, New Zealand after that, and finally back to Cape Town to play in some games there in mid/late June! I think and hope it will fit my budget and since I'll have to book my tix soon so I can afford them, it won't be too long before I know. And even if I start to run out of money, I'd rather scrounge at the end and see it all, then save my money and wind up with money left over and lands unseen.
AND I also had a great weekend attending a conference on International Perspectives on Women in Sport at the university, where I met an amazing group of women (and some men) who are carrying out a lot of really interesting studies on women's sports, including the Editor who I'll be visiting in Budapest. Here, too, I made a wealth of contacts, a few of whom expressed interest in my book and gave me leads on publishing! Plus, I got a weekend of free food and coffee...boy I missed academic life. It really was an interesting conference, though, and it was great to be in this small group of intelligent and noted researchers, who actually are interested in making me a part of all of their plans for future conferences and their hope to create an institute for studying women's sports somewhere in Europe. So Sports Antrhopology/Sociology - there's another option for me!
One crazy week left and then I take off for Budapest. I can't believe Christmas is here! And as excited as I have been about getting away, I'm now equally excited about returning in a few weeks to get back to playing and carrying out all my projects - and hopefully making Belgium happen too.
OH! And! We played our rivals, Herlev last weekend. And, thanks to me and a number of stupid changes and mistakes, we fell behing 4-0 early in the game. I did have a really good game other than that, though, always loving getting to play good competition, and the team finally kicked it into gear in the third and we wound up losing 4-3, just missing a goal with 4 seconds left in the game too! I had a pretty sweet assist - a slap shot that a forward beautifully tipped over the goalie's shoulder - so I was able to not totally feel like I blew the game for the team.
I think I'll have to make another post this week and maybe actually talk about hockey for once, seeing as I always seem to neglect my research when writing my posts...maybe tomorrow after I meet with the Danish Ice Hockey Union I'll be prompted to to a good old hockey update, as I have been throwing myself in the way of hockey every chance I get - playing, watching, talking, etc. - and learning a lot about what needs to be done to help the women's program here. Because that's what I want to do now: help the development of women's ice hockey, not just study it. I now feel that I am a real part of that development which is why I want to help my new friends and teammates succeed in the future, which is why I'm holding this essay contest and trying to hold a gathering so that the talented players can be seen as well as see that there is other talent out there. So, yeah, I'll do that soon. Now I'm sure you're bored, so peace, love, puck, I'll catch ya later.
What do I want to accomplish? To start, I've started an essay/story contest open to all current and former female players, asking them to write their own hockey narratives for me so that I can collect as many stories as possible while I'm here. I've gotten support from the Danish Ice Hockey Union and a few hockey shops and reps, who are all donating various items like jerseys and signed sticks as prizes. I'm also working with Laura and setting up some sort of camp or gathering for the girls in the Jutland league (the other of the two leagues), who are almost at national team level and would greatly benefit from getting ice time with talented coaches and players, since they don't get the opportunity to play high-level hockey at their own, less serious clubs. We've got a practice and some additional off ice sessions planned, but now it's the issue of finding ice time somewhere on one of our rare free weekends and getting the girls interested. Laura has also put me to the task of designing a weekly lift for the team so we stop wasting the short time we have in the weight room on Wednesday nights (in addition to teaching some of the younger girls how to properly use the weight room, seeing as every week I think one of them is going to take herself out with a dumb bell). I will also be going to the next national team gathering, so now have to come up with some sort of session to run with the girls. I'd love to do a meditation or visualizing session, but the language barrier will keep some girls from getting anything out of it, so Bine is going to take charge of that one. I am at least going to talk to some of the older players about the opportunities they have to go to the states on scholarships, since the whole idea of scholastics and sports being combined is so foreign to them. AND, on top of all this, I've got my first quarterly report due around next week! Time has flown and I now see that I certainl haven't wasted my days, since I have no clue how I'll fit everything I've done into three pages!
Did I mention I went to Prague? Yes, I went to Prague to visit the red headed boy across the street - Mark Smith. We met up on Sunday night, and and we both shared a few seconds of being unable to believe that we were actually looking at one another as adults (he is now a tall, deep voiced, bearded young man who looks downright eastern european, save the red hair and all), having only the memories of the 12 year old the other used to be in our minds. We had a nice low key time wandering the streets and getting a drink, sharing our similar experiences living with strangers who can't/don't speak English to us and lamented that I will for the first time ever miss the Christmas Eve party, where Mark is in charge of getting Martha Swann drunk (Devin took that job last year, so now it's someone else's turn).
Much of the trip was centered on meeting up with Mark, but my good old friend fate once again decided to mess with me and smashed his cell phone on my second day there, leaving us unable to get in touch with one another. While this could have been ruination of the trip, it turned out to be quite a fortuitous event: I actually wound up befriending and spending a day and a half exploring Prague with one of my hostel roommates, a girl around my age from South Carolina, who has been backpacking throughout Europe on her own for the past month and a half. It was another one of those truly "Watson-esque" moments that showed me just how open you become to others when exploring the world on your own. We had a terriffic time and I don't think conversation stopped the entire time we were together, probably because it takes a certain kind of person to do this kind of travel, so we are bound to have a lot in common when we meet one another. While I didn't get that much time with an old contact, I made a brand new one and just added another name to the incredible web of connection I've been building this year.
Unexpected was the word of the week. I got an email from my Cape Town contact, who is happy to have me come, but wanted to let me know that there is no ice time in April and I was planning on heading down there in March! But that immediately turned positive, as Laura informed me that her friend who now coaches the national team in Australia has invited me to coach at an international camp down under in Australia. So now, as long as the Watson heads approve, I've changed my itinerary completely. Now I'm thinking: March in Cape Town, back to Denmark to play in the national championships in April, down to Australia for the camp in mid-April, New Zealand after that, and finally back to Cape Town to play in some games there in mid/late June! I think and hope it will fit my budget and since I'll have to book my tix soon so I can afford them, it won't be too long before I know. And even if I start to run out of money, I'd rather scrounge at the end and see it all, then save my money and wind up with money left over and lands unseen.
AND I also had a great weekend attending a conference on International Perspectives on Women in Sport at the university, where I met an amazing group of women (and some men) who are carrying out a lot of really interesting studies on women's sports, including the Editor who I'll be visiting in Budapest. Here, too, I made a wealth of contacts, a few of whom expressed interest in my book and gave me leads on publishing! Plus, I got a weekend of free food and coffee...boy I missed academic life. It really was an interesting conference, though, and it was great to be in this small group of intelligent and noted researchers, who actually are interested in making me a part of all of their plans for future conferences and their hope to create an institute for studying women's sports somewhere in Europe. So Sports Antrhopology/Sociology - there's another option for me!
One crazy week left and then I take off for Budapest. I can't believe Christmas is here! And as excited as I have been about getting away, I'm now equally excited about returning in a few weeks to get back to playing and carrying out all my projects - and hopefully making Belgium happen too.
OH! And! We played our rivals, Herlev last weekend. And, thanks to me and a number of stupid changes and mistakes, we fell behing 4-0 early in the game. I did have a really good game other than that, though, always loving getting to play good competition, and the team finally kicked it into gear in the third and we wound up losing 4-3, just missing a goal with 4 seconds left in the game too! I had a pretty sweet assist - a slap shot that a forward beautifully tipped over the goalie's shoulder - so I was able to not totally feel like I blew the game for the team.
I think I'll have to make another post this week and maybe actually talk about hockey for once, seeing as I always seem to neglect my research when writing my posts...maybe tomorrow after I meet with the Danish Ice Hockey Union I'll be prompted to to a good old hockey update, as I have been throwing myself in the way of hockey every chance I get - playing, watching, talking, etc. - and learning a lot about what needs to be done to help the women's program here. Because that's what I want to do now: help the development of women's ice hockey, not just study it. I now feel that I am a real part of that development which is why I want to help my new friends and teammates succeed in the future, which is why I'm holding this essay contest and trying to hold a gathering so that the talented players can be seen as well as see that there is other talent out there. So, yeah, I'll do that soon. Now I'm sure you're bored, so peace, love, puck, I'll catch ya later.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
My sincere apologies!
Dearest Readers,
I must apologize for my long blogging hiatus; this post is certainly a long time coming. While I'd like to say that I've been so overwhelmingly busy that I haven't had the time to post, that would be a bit of a stretch, even for one prone to blatantly lie such as myself. I have at least been mentally busy if not entirely busy with activity, however, and am enjoying all aspects of my life in Copenhagen a little more every day.
Since my last post, I've had a lot of terriffic happenings in terms of my hockey research:
-A few weeks ago, I met with a man at Team Danmark, which is a body under the Ministry of Culture that provides funding for individual and team sports on the national level for athletes/teams with Olympic medal potential. T.D. once gave money to women's ice hockey, but revoked their funding just when the team qualified to qualify for they olympic games years ago, leaving me with a number of questions as to why such a decision was made. Laura, my Canadian teammate and new national team coach, accompanied me to the meeting with an equally journalistic agenda. We were lucky to meet with a man who was consultant to the women's team when they did get funding and we received a detailed account of the team's history and learned that it was less that they did not want to give the women's team money and more that they basically revoked funding from all sports that didn't have the potential to win olympic medals. Denmark is not a sports culture, but they do have a high standard of living, including winning in sports. Thus, they only want to give money to those teams that prove they will win medals, and right now that's actually only 5 team sports all together! I did question him quite a bit about gender equality, and learned that they don't have such laws and that many people would probably rather not hear about how successful they are. Poul (the man we met with) was quite interested however and even asked that I send him more info about Title IX (so i'll have to get in touch with the guy who left me my first comment) and I now feel like a little Title IX advocate!
I've also taken on a bit of an apprenticeship with my coach, which I'm really excited about. Heikki's job is coaching all of the Rodovre teams and he's invited me to come out with him whenever I want, not only to "study" hockey, but to learn how to coach (since Rodovre wins every national championship each year and he coaches all the teams, he asserts that he is thus the best coach in Denmark), as well as relearn how to skate (my downfall as a player). I've spent a few afternoons with him, doing his skating drills over and over with every team and slowly picking up on the mechanics of good skating (we'll see if you really can teach an old dog new tricks). It's so much fun to spend my days on the ice and I really think that I can learn a lot about playing and coaching from Heikki, even if we can't verbally communicate.
I finally booked my tickets out of here, but just learned that the national tournament won't be until April, so I may go back and change the dates again so I can bounce from here as early as possible in March and get sufficient time in South Africa and New Zealand.
Now, where have I been? Well, first I was just trying to limit my computer use and so I sort of put blogging on the backburner. Plus, I had a lot of great days hanging out with teammates, as well as hanging out with myself and reading and writing my days away. I've really rediscovered the Meghan that used to get told to stop reading and go to bed every night as I sat up and finished whole novels in one night. And then last week I went over to Ireland and spent a week outside of Galway. I spent some time in the city, took a drive through the Connemara, ate some amazing soup, AND genuine whole wheat sandwich bread!, took in a terriffic local performance of "Waiting for Godot," which merely reaffirmed my goal to never get stuck in a life of mindless routine, and I lucked out with a gorgeous day while visiting Inis Mor. It was good to at least get to Galway since that was where I was headed and helpful to remind myself that Galway will always be there (I got a look at the apartments I would have lived in too), but the Watson wouldn't have been had I turned it down. Plus, stepping away from Denmark for a bit gave me a great chance to reflect back on my time here and generate some new ideas about directions I'd like to take with my research, including coaching at some other teams' practices and initiating some sort of gathering for all of the female players in Denmark to get together and see just how the game is growing while having a chance to discuss how that growth can be bettered in the future. I might even start some sort of essay contest as a means of gathering personal stories and see if I can get a hockey shop to donate something for whomever can write the best piece about why she plays hockey and what the game means to her (though the language barrier could get in the way of that).
Games are finally starting up again, which is certainly a good thing. Still not sure if I'll be moving in with any new teammates or not, but for now I'm taking it day by day and trying my best not to live in excitement about heading to Transylvania at Christmas time. In fact Christmas season has started here and it's something they're really into, so I could really enjoy the next four weeks. We've got a Secret Santa exchange on the team, which includes doing naughty and nice things to your teammate, and the city is already decorated and the sales have begun. I really enjoy XMas at the grocery store, where they were giving out free samples of everything and walking the aisles with free candy to hand out!
There is tons more to post but I know it's a lot to take in so I'll stop here for now.
Thanks to everyone for your Birthday wishes; yes I'm very old now. And I can't believe that it was an entire year ago that I was racing down to New York City to make it to my Rhodes interview (yeah, remember when they didn't tell me about it until the evening before, when I was on my way to celebrate my big 2-1, that was awesome wasn't it?).
And now I will stop writing.
I must apologize for my long blogging hiatus; this post is certainly a long time coming. While I'd like to say that I've been so overwhelmingly busy that I haven't had the time to post, that would be a bit of a stretch, even for one prone to blatantly lie such as myself. I have at least been mentally busy if not entirely busy with activity, however, and am enjoying all aspects of my life in Copenhagen a little more every day.
Since my last post, I've had a lot of terriffic happenings in terms of my hockey research:
-A few weeks ago, I met with a man at Team Danmark, which is a body under the Ministry of Culture that provides funding for individual and team sports on the national level for athletes/teams with Olympic medal potential. T.D. once gave money to women's ice hockey, but revoked their funding just when the team qualified to qualify for they olympic games years ago, leaving me with a number of questions as to why such a decision was made. Laura, my Canadian teammate and new national team coach, accompanied me to the meeting with an equally journalistic agenda. We were lucky to meet with a man who was consultant to the women's team when they did get funding and we received a detailed account of the team's history and learned that it was less that they did not want to give the women's team money and more that they basically revoked funding from all sports that didn't have the potential to win olympic medals. Denmark is not a sports culture, but they do have a high standard of living, including winning in sports. Thus, they only want to give money to those teams that prove they will win medals, and right now that's actually only 5 team sports all together! I did question him quite a bit about gender equality, and learned that they don't have such laws and that many people would probably rather not hear about how successful they are. Poul (the man we met with) was quite interested however and even asked that I send him more info about Title IX (so i'll have to get in touch with the guy who left me my first comment) and I now feel like a little Title IX advocate!
I've also taken on a bit of an apprenticeship with my coach, which I'm really excited about. Heikki's job is coaching all of the Rodovre teams and he's invited me to come out with him whenever I want, not only to "study" hockey, but to learn how to coach (since Rodovre wins every national championship each year and he coaches all the teams, he asserts that he is thus the best coach in Denmark), as well as relearn how to skate (my downfall as a player). I've spent a few afternoons with him, doing his skating drills over and over with every team and slowly picking up on the mechanics of good skating (we'll see if you really can teach an old dog new tricks). It's so much fun to spend my days on the ice and I really think that I can learn a lot about playing and coaching from Heikki, even if we can't verbally communicate.
I finally booked my tickets out of here, but just learned that the national tournament won't be until April, so I may go back and change the dates again so I can bounce from here as early as possible in March and get sufficient time in South Africa and New Zealand.
Now, where have I been? Well, first I was just trying to limit my computer use and so I sort of put blogging on the backburner. Plus, I had a lot of great days hanging out with teammates, as well as hanging out with myself and reading and writing my days away. I've really rediscovered the Meghan that used to get told to stop reading and go to bed every night as I sat up and finished whole novels in one night. And then last week I went over to Ireland and spent a week outside of Galway. I spent some time in the city, took a drive through the Connemara, ate some amazing soup, AND genuine whole wheat sandwich bread!, took in a terriffic local performance of "Waiting for Godot," which merely reaffirmed my goal to never get stuck in a life of mindless routine, and I lucked out with a gorgeous day while visiting Inis Mor. It was good to at least get to Galway since that was where I was headed and helpful to remind myself that Galway will always be there (I got a look at the apartments I would have lived in too), but the Watson wouldn't have been had I turned it down. Plus, stepping away from Denmark for a bit gave me a great chance to reflect back on my time here and generate some new ideas about directions I'd like to take with my research, including coaching at some other teams' practices and initiating some sort of gathering for all of the female players in Denmark to get together and see just how the game is growing while having a chance to discuss how that growth can be bettered in the future. I might even start some sort of essay contest as a means of gathering personal stories and see if I can get a hockey shop to donate something for whomever can write the best piece about why she plays hockey and what the game means to her (though the language barrier could get in the way of that).
Games are finally starting up again, which is certainly a good thing. Still not sure if I'll be moving in with any new teammates or not, but for now I'm taking it day by day and trying my best not to live in excitement about heading to Transylvania at Christmas time. In fact Christmas season has started here and it's something they're really into, so I could really enjoy the next four weeks. We've got a Secret Santa exchange on the team, which includes doing naughty and nice things to your teammate, and the city is already decorated and the sales have begun. I really enjoy XMas at the grocery store, where they were giving out free samples of everything and walking the aisles with free candy to hand out!
There is tons more to post but I know it's a lot to take in so I'll stop here for now.
Thanks to everyone for your Birthday wishes; yes I'm very old now. And I can't believe that it was an entire year ago that I was racing down to New York City to make it to my Rhodes interview (yeah, remember when they didn't tell me about it until the evening before, when I was on my way to celebrate my big 2-1, that was awesome wasn't it?).
And now I will stop writing.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
thank you, rilke
For your spirit
"...be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now."
-Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
"...be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now."
-Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Some creative non-fiction comin' at ya
Ok, so Prof. Roorbach instructed me not to work on my book until I had completely "lived the experience" and I really think that's excellent advice. Otherwise, the goal of writing about my experience might get in the way of the experience itself. However, last night I had one of those moments - one of those moments that told me I made the right decision. And I really need those moments. Even afterwards last night I found myself second-guessing the way I've spent my time: I probably shouldn't have, but I did a google search and found the blogs of some other current fellows, who are off trekking across Mongolia (in yurts no less!), tangoing in Buenas Aires until 5 a.m., and hiring guides to take them through African canyons. Am I being to safe? I find myself asking the question time and again. Am I making the most of this Watson experience? The essence of the Watson is adventure, isn't it? But, I have to go back to my proposal: I proposed to live the life of a Danish hockey player, to become a teammate, which requires being in one place, going to practice instead of going out at night, living in one city, in someone's house, rather than living nomadically in Asia - those weren't my proposals. I love hockey, I do. Thus, I need moments like the following one to remind me of just why I find joy in being a teammate and to let me know that I am making an impression on my teammates here, just as they are making an impression on me. And today, the idea to put it into a short creative piece just seemed right. I've been doing so much journaling, that I needed to do something more creative, especially after reading a book of creative narratives, both prose and poetry. I haven't even reread it, but thought I'd blog it anyway. I hope you enjoy - I did:
I hadn’t even gotten my towel on yet when Lizette popped her head into the shower.
“Meghan, Meghan, hurry up!” She half whispered in the serious voice she uses when she tells me not to forget which side of the bench the defensemen should change at, or which player each of us is replacing on the ice. “I have to ask you something!”
“What’s going on?” I questioned skeptically as I wrapped my tiny towel around my freezing torso. I hate showering at the rink, but that’s what the team does, so I do it.
“I can’t ask you here, just hurry up.”
I grabbed my huge bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash, each big enough to last me the entire year away from home. Denmark was my first stop, so each was also nearly full, meaning I had to tote them all back and forth to the rink every practice and game until I found the equivalent of a Danish Wal-Mart where I could by smaller, more transportable bottles.
I threw on my sweat suit, still damp with sweat from the pre-practice 5K run and weightlifting session, struggled to pull my too-small socks over my damp feet, slipped my sneakers on without bothering to tie them, and quickly wrapped my towel around my wet hair. I ran out the door to find Lizette walking past me down the hallway, her arm around a crying Louisa Doj. I marveled again at how well these girls take care of one another. Two weeks ago it was Michelle crying on Louisa’s shoulder when she found out she had been cut from the Finnish Olympic team. Tonight it was Louisa leaning on Lizette. I gently closed the door and eased back into the locker room.
As I bent over shaking my hair dry with the towel, I was again summoned.
“Meghaaaan, Meghaaaaan, hurry.” Even if she wasn’t being serious, Lizette always seemed to sound it; her accent couldn’t be any more stereotypically Scandinavian – so much so that I always wanted her to tell me that her name was Hans and she wanted to “pump ME up!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
I jogged to the door – rather, I waddled to the door, my legs aching from the hours of exercise. She motioned for me to follow her down the hallway, so I let the big fuzzy pink ball at the end of her ear-flapped winter cap guide me.
“I saw something in your…what do you call it…your…” she pantomimed the shape of a box as we walked into the locker room, a long, cold, dimly lit concrete corridor filled with shoulder-high, cage-like lockers and the dank smell of wet hockey equipment.
“My locker?”
“Yes, yes, that.”
“There was something in it.”
Oh shit, I thought. Someone’s played their first prank on me. I wondered if someone had managed to open it up and put in the team’s second “mascot:” a purple dildo that got passed secretly from hockey bag to hockey bag to see how each girl would react and hopefully get someone some sort of embarrassment.
“That,” she said, pointing to the floor of my locker, which as far as I remembered was empty besides a few roles of black hockey tape and some old purple socks.
“My hockey puck?”
“Yes. Is that something from home?”
I had forgotten about my college bookstore souvenir hockey puck, which said “Holy Cross Hockey” and had a big purple Crusader head in the middle. I had thrown it in my bag, figuring I would find someone to whom I could give it as a gift.
“Yeah, yeah. That’s from my university,” I responded with excitement. “The Holy Cross Crusaders!” I found myself talking about, and missing, my old team a lot. Many of these girls couldn’t even conceive of being able to play hockey and go to school in one place and I was proud to tell them all about it.
“Can I buy it from you?” She asked tentatively.
“Buy it?! No way – it’s yours!” I laughed. “You don’t have to pay me for it. I’d love to give it to you. I had brought it knowing I’d give it to someone and it turns out that someone is you.”
Lizette was my defensive partner. She was only fourteen years old, but she was a solid hockey player. She took life seriously, especially hockey. Laura, our fellow teammate and national team coach, told me that Lizette had begun crying when she received the letter inviting her to play for the national team; she had wanted it so badly and finally (I say finally, though she was only fourteen) got that chance. But it served her well on the ice - she was strong and she was level-headed about the game, always knowing what the next move should be.
For a short while, I thought she might take things a bit too seriously, but I saw her goofy side more and more each day. In fact, I think I often brought the goofy side out of her. We seemed to end up in a wrestling match every night at the end of practice and I’d always here my name called out in different voices around the rink and, looking up, see her giggling face pretending to hide behind something. But nothing could hide that big pink knit cap. I was glad she was my partner; I was glad that being partners was bringing us closer together (we both lamented being separated that night at practice); and I was glad she wanted my puck.
I took my keys out of my pocket, unlocked the tiny padlock on the locker, reached down and grabbed the puck and happily put it in her hand.
“Yes, I saw it there and I thought I could have it and then, oooh I could have something of Meghan’s!” She threw her hands in the air as if she were indicating a star’s name on a Broadway sign and looked up as if in serious admiration.
Really? Does she really think that much of me? I wondered and I smiled.
“Well you take that and remember Holy Cross hockey. And you get a video camera and have someone tape you so that I can tell my coach all about you and you can go play for him when he starts giving out scholarships.”
“Yes, yes alright,” she answered enthusiastically. “Thank you, Meghan. I’m going to go home and put it in my room.”
“You better.”
She turned, and started to run out, but before she got out the door she turned back. “I will see you next Monday then, Meghan.”
“You’re not going to work the concession stand with us this weekend?”
“No, I must go away for the weekend with my mother and grandfather. We’re going to our summer house.”
“It’s not exactly summer,” I laughed, thinking about all of the dark, rainy days we had been having, so typical of Copenhagen, “but have fun anyways.”
“Ok, goodbye.” She ran out. I was a little disappointed she wouldn’t be selling “French Hot Dogs” with me that weekend.
“Hi-hi!” I shouted in one of my small attempts at fitting in with Danish culture. Our hot dog adventures would have to wait.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
...cough, cough, sniffle
This week has certainly been a strange mix of wonderful and sucky, that's for sure. I've had a great week of alone time in Laura's apartment (she nicely let me 'move in' while she's back in Canada until November 2nd)...well, I guess it's a week and a half now that I've taken so long to get back to this update.
I've had some great writing sessions, some great reading sessions, and really expanded my web of contacts, but I've also come down with a bit of a cold, which has made my body unable to share in all the positive energy flowoign through my mind.
I took the bus here last Tuesday and was very fortunate that the bus driver pitied this pitiful foreigner, who let me ride for free after seeing me running down the street to catch him, weighed down with two book bags and a giant Ikea bag, and then rifle through my pockets, only to realize that I had lost my ticket somewhere along the line. I'm just ticked off because those things are damned expensive and I had only used 3 out of my 10 fares! ah well, such is life.
As soon as I got here I crashed, still exhausted from Budapest and even more worn down from not sleeping much. I am definitely still a creature of the night and have a difficult time turning my brain off; but then, as it turns out, I'm a creature of the day, too, because I wake up just as early as I usually do after sleepless nights and am left feeling the effects later. I'm glad I had a space for myself for my sick week, though. I didn't go out much, instead I had a terriffic time working on my cooking: some incredible chili, my first loaf of bread, an amazing soup that I mindfully mashed up by hand for 40 minutes since I realized halfway through making it that Laura doesn't have a blender, and omelets on multiple mornings. Not having to worry about being in someone else's way, I really got into the cooking groove and remembered how much I enjoy it. Don't worry, I even took pictures that I'll post later. Now, Prof. Mulrooney, here's your 'Lord of the Rings' reference: I'm sure you all now that I was an Uber-Dork last year, spending a great deal of my time philosophizing about the Hobbits' relationship to food and the more time I spend away from home, the more I realize that I am, in fact, much like a Hobbit: I guess Tolkein was on to something and I was right on with my paper. When I'm cooking the foods I made at home and not agonizing over the fact that I can't even figure out what I'm buying in the grocery store, my spirit feels a little more refreshed; plus, it makes me remember the times I cooked the same foods for my friends and family at home (Caitlin, you totally would have licked your bowl after eating my chili). And, yes, eating does breed fellowship: besides on the ice, the dinner table is the place where I find it easiest to connect with my hosts and teammates. Here are two great quotes from the November 2003 issue of Oprah's Magazine that I've been reading (it's all I've got here for my breakfast/coffee read besides the Danish newspaper and grocery store ads):
Food is our common ground, a universal experience. -James Beard
Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly. - M.F.K. Fisher
I think that's one of the reasons I want to open a cafe: I want to be the means for others to come together in the same way. AND! I think I've come up with a good name for our cafe: "Cafe Hygge." Hygge is a Danish word, which basically means "coziness." Think of a night at home, drinking tea with your friends, surrounded by candlelights, listening to jazz - that's Hygge. Yet, they also use it to describe just having a nice time together. After our trip to Budapest, someone described it as Hygge. So what, do you think? A certain boyfriend, whom I shall leave nameless, thinks it will be too difficult to pronounce so people won't go, but I think that it will just get people talking and therefore be trendy. You've got until Caitlin and I get enough capital to fund the place to decide.
Now, once you stop laughing at me for my LOTR reference, I shall continue. Ready? No, seriously. Ok, thank you.
I also went down to the University last week and picked up a book of female sports narratives from Sally (the old fellow). I basically tore through it this week, another good reason to just sit inside. The book is called "Crossing Boundaries" and is a collection of short stories, poetry and even dramas all written by women and centered on their experience with sport. As I read it, as well as the editor's comments about the different divisions of the book, including exclusion, reaction to exclusion, connections with nature, connections with one another, discovery of self, relationship to one's body and, finally, the very nature of sport, I couldn't help but continue forth in discovering just how profound an impact hockey has had on my life. I guess I always knew hockey was important, but just not how much: hockey has been my outlet when all else seems falling apart (indeed it is, like I've said, what keeps me going here), hockey has strengthened my relationships with my parents and, of course, teammates, hockey has given me the strength and confidence I needed to apply for the Watson...and there is so much more that I know will go into whatever I write at the end of all of this.
I've even been in touch with the editor of the book who is a professor in Budapest and we're hoping to meet up when I head that way during Christmas time - she even offered me a place to stay and invited me to her New Year's party!
Now, more about food (sort of): I spent last weekend working in the concession stand at the rink. Just like my club teams at home, here we have to sort of earn our keep as a team and work, somtimes concession and ticket selling at open skating, sometimes sweeping after the "pro" games. I don't mind, though, because it's a better chance to spend time with teammates. I had a hilarious time with Charlotte on Saturday and then Camilla on Sunday, selling disgusting hot dogs, working the deep-fryer, trying to figure out what the Danish children wanted. And I even began to get their "stories," realizing that I am so much like these women, and it is surely in large part due to our unique role as female hockey players that makes us so alike. Charlotte, though all smiles is tough as nails (she was the only one besides myself who showed up to run before practice last week and we did the 5K by ourselves and running it with her last night I wanted to puke afterwards and shaved at least a minute off of my regular pace). She spent a year riding horses around the world (Australia and Iceland), just like I'm playing hockey internationally. After that. she joined the Danish army and served in Bosnia, and now she's got to go internationally for a year for her schooling and wants to go back into the army after that. We had a lengthy chat while watching the U-18 National Development camp (luckily, I just happened to be at the rink for it) about our shared travel bug and how we don't understand "settling:" "just go!!!" she says with a huge grin!!
The next day I had an equally great time with Camilla, who just might be my soulmate: she doesn't work because she's still figuring out what she wants (though she said she thinks she wants to study Art History at the University), so she spends her days reading, 'The Little Prince' is even one of her favorites! She, too, loves cafe life and said her neighborhood (where I may move with another player in November) is filled with used book stores and cafes!! She even likes Lord of the Rings AND cooking AND WANTS to read my paper. (Seriously, stop laughing, we got into talking about it after discussing how beautiful New Zealand appeared in the films and how she should visit me there). She too has been everywhere, including a year of scrounging in England. So cooking, even if it's nasty hot dogs, does bring people together. I wonder what stories I'll have after working this coming weekend!
Yesterday I did manage to get out: the sun was shining and I was feeling so much better, so I rode my bike down to the Ny Carlsberg Glypotek Museum, which is like a Mecca for all of my Classics friends out there. It's dedicated to classical art, though they have a lot of modern works and French landscapes and impressionists (I could gaze at Monet for days, well, his works anyways). They have an incredible room that you walk into and feel like you're in the Parthenon (I think); it's filled with huge statues of Roman gods and it really is being in the midst of gods...I only wish I remembered more of the mythical stories. I enjoy museums because I find that, though my "liberal arts" education wasn't all that pragmatic, I can at least go to a museum and know that I've now got a much greater appreciation for what I'm looking at. You should have seen the way people flew past Monet and VanGogh!! I could actually walk from the Roman statues, into the abstract room and say: my, what an abrupt change! My particular favorite examination was an abstract that had a title along the lines of "Mythical Story" (or something like that). Which mythical story is a yellow conversation bubble like shape on top of a gray background? Curious juxtaposition for sure. (thanks for that background, prof. dustin!)
Today I will be interviewing a girl from a local team, which I'm really excited about. It will be my first "interview" but I've actually got a lot lined up with University anthropoligists, Team Denmark, the Ice Hockey Union, and even an old player/antrho. student. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere because my legs feel like they're going to fall off. Spinning and practice monday, lifting Tuesday, riding my bike all day plus a 5K team run plus team lift plus practice last night, all of these add up to some sore legs! I think I may take a "rest" tomorrow, too. It's supposed to be sunny and I'm hoping to get to Helsingor to see "Hamlet's Castle" before the weather turns really bad. After fearing the weather, though, it looks like it's tropical here compared to back home. The Apocalypse perhaps?
I've had some great writing sessions, some great reading sessions, and really expanded my web of contacts, but I've also come down with a bit of a cold, which has made my body unable to share in all the positive energy flowoign through my mind.
I took the bus here last Tuesday and was very fortunate that the bus driver pitied this pitiful foreigner, who let me ride for free after seeing me running down the street to catch him, weighed down with two book bags and a giant Ikea bag, and then rifle through my pockets, only to realize that I had lost my ticket somewhere along the line. I'm just ticked off because those things are damned expensive and I had only used 3 out of my 10 fares! ah well, such is life.
As soon as I got here I crashed, still exhausted from Budapest and even more worn down from not sleeping much. I am definitely still a creature of the night and have a difficult time turning my brain off; but then, as it turns out, I'm a creature of the day, too, because I wake up just as early as I usually do after sleepless nights and am left feeling the effects later. I'm glad I had a space for myself for my sick week, though. I didn't go out much, instead I had a terriffic time working on my cooking: some incredible chili, my first loaf of bread, an amazing soup that I mindfully mashed up by hand for 40 minutes since I realized halfway through making it that Laura doesn't have a blender, and omelets on multiple mornings. Not having to worry about being in someone else's way, I really got into the cooking groove and remembered how much I enjoy it. Don't worry, I even took pictures that I'll post later. Now, Prof. Mulrooney, here's your 'Lord of the Rings' reference: I'm sure you all now that I was an Uber-Dork last year, spending a great deal of my time philosophizing about the Hobbits' relationship to food and the more time I spend away from home, the more I realize that I am, in fact, much like a Hobbit: I guess Tolkein was on to something and I was right on with my paper. When I'm cooking the foods I made at home and not agonizing over the fact that I can't even figure out what I'm buying in the grocery store, my spirit feels a little more refreshed; plus, it makes me remember the times I cooked the same foods for my friends and family at home (Caitlin, you totally would have licked your bowl after eating my chili). And, yes, eating does breed fellowship: besides on the ice, the dinner table is the place where I find it easiest to connect with my hosts and teammates. Here are two great quotes from the November 2003 issue of Oprah's Magazine that I've been reading (it's all I've got here for my breakfast/coffee read besides the Danish newspaper and grocery store ads):
Food is our common ground, a universal experience. -James Beard
Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly. - M.F.K. Fisher
I think that's one of the reasons I want to open a cafe: I want to be the means for others to come together in the same way. AND! I think I've come up with a good name for our cafe: "Cafe Hygge." Hygge is a Danish word, which basically means "coziness." Think of a night at home, drinking tea with your friends, surrounded by candlelights, listening to jazz - that's Hygge. Yet, they also use it to describe just having a nice time together. After our trip to Budapest, someone described it as Hygge. So what, do you think? A certain boyfriend, whom I shall leave nameless, thinks it will be too difficult to pronounce so people won't go, but I think that it will just get people talking and therefore be trendy. You've got until Caitlin and I get enough capital to fund the place to decide.
Now, once you stop laughing at me for my LOTR reference, I shall continue. Ready? No, seriously. Ok, thank you.
I also went down to the University last week and picked up a book of female sports narratives from Sally (the old fellow). I basically tore through it this week, another good reason to just sit inside. The book is called "Crossing Boundaries" and is a collection of short stories, poetry and even dramas all written by women and centered on their experience with sport. As I read it, as well as the editor's comments about the different divisions of the book, including exclusion, reaction to exclusion, connections with nature, connections with one another, discovery of self, relationship to one's body and, finally, the very nature of sport, I couldn't help but continue forth in discovering just how profound an impact hockey has had on my life. I guess I always knew hockey was important, but just not how much: hockey has been my outlet when all else seems falling apart (indeed it is, like I've said, what keeps me going here), hockey has strengthened my relationships with my parents and, of course, teammates, hockey has given me the strength and confidence I needed to apply for the Watson...and there is so much more that I know will go into whatever I write at the end of all of this.
I've even been in touch with the editor of the book who is a professor in Budapest and we're hoping to meet up when I head that way during Christmas time - she even offered me a place to stay and invited me to her New Year's party!
Now, more about food (sort of): I spent last weekend working in the concession stand at the rink. Just like my club teams at home, here we have to sort of earn our keep as a team and work, somtimes concession and ticket selling at open skating, sometimes sweeping after the "pro" games. I don't mind, though, because it's a better chance to spend time with teammates. I had a hilarious time with Charlotte on Saturday and then Camilla on Sunday, selling disgusting hot dogs, working the deep-fryer, trying to figure out what the Danish children wanted. And I even began to get their "stories," realizing that I am so much like these women, and it is surely in large part due to our unique role as female hockey players that makes us so alike. Charlotte, though all smiles is tough as nails (she was the only one besides myself who showed up to run before practice last week and we did the 5K by ourselves and running it with her last night I wanted to puke afterwards and shaved at least a minute off of my regular pace). She spent a year riding horses around the world (Australia and Iceland), just like I'm playing hockey internationally. After that. she joined the Danish army and served in Bosnia, and now she's got to go internationally for a year for her schooling and wants to go back into the army after that. We had a lengthy chat while watching the U-18 National Development camp (luckily, I just happened to be at the rink for it) about our shared travel bug and how we don't understand "settling:" "just go!!!" she says with a huge grin!!
The next day I had an equally great time with Camilla, who just might be my soulmate: she doesn't work because she's still figuring out what she wants (though she said she thinks she wants to study Art History at the University), so she spends her days reading, 'The Little Prince' is even one of her favorites! She, too, loves cafe life and said her neighborhood (where I may move with another player in November) is filled with used book stores and cafes!! She even likes Lord of the Rings AND cooking AND WANTS to read my paper. (Seriously, stop laughing, we got into talking about it after discussing how beautiful New Zealand appeared in the films and how she should visit me there). She too has been everywhere, including a year of scrounging in England. So cooking, even if it's nasty hot dogs, does bring people together. I wonder what stories I'll have after working this coming weekend!
Yesterday I did manage to get out: the sun was shining and I was feeling so much better, so I rode my bike down to the Ny Carlsberg Glypotek Museum, which is like a Mecca for all of my Classics friends out there. It's dedicated to classical art, though they have a lot of modern works and French landscapes and impressionists (I could gaze at Monet for days, well, his works anyways). They have an incredible room that you walk into and feel like you're in the Parthenon (I think); it's filled with huge statues of Roman gods and it really is being in the midst of gods...I only wish I remembered more of the mythical stories. I enjoy museums because I find that, though my "liberal arts" education wasn't all that pragmatic, I can at least go to a museum and know that I've now got a much greater appreciation for what I'm looking at. You should have seen the way people flew past Monet and VanGogh!! I could actually walk from the Roman statues, into the abstract room and say: my, what an abrupt change! My particular favorite examination was an abstract that had a title along the lines of "Mythical Story" (or something like that). Which mythical story is a yellow conversation bubble like shape on top of a gray background? Curious juxtaposition for sure. (thanks for that background, prof. dustin!)
Today I will be interviewing a girl from a local team, which I'm really excited about. It will be my first "interview" but I've actually got a lot lined up with University anthropoligists, Team Denmark, the Ice Hockey Union, and even an old player/antrho. student. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere because my legs feel like they're going to fall off. Spinning and practice monday, lifting Tuesday, riding my bike all day plus a 5K team run plus team lift plus practice last night, all of these add up to some sore legs! I think I may take a "rest" tomorrow, too. It's supposed to be sunny and I'm hoping to get to Helsingor to see "Hamlet's Castle" before the weather turns really bad. After fearing the weather, though, it looks like it's tropical here compared to back home. The Apocalypse perhaps?
Monday, October 17, 2005
I just flew in from Budapest...
...and boy are my arms tired; but that's mostly because the Russians are friggin' huge and wore me out.
The tournament was a great time and we really played well: 2 losses and a win, but the two losses were genuine 'moral victories' in which we played some incredible hockey against some of Europe's best teams (the Swedes and the Russians), both of which have multiple Olympians playing for them. I'll post more later, but I wanted to get some of these pictures up while I'm putting them on my computer. Enjoy.
The team getting ready to leave for Budapest in our fancy new sweatshirts...we look happy because we have yet to find out about our 6 hour delay at this point.
I was told I had to bake a cake for the team since it was my first away trip I think that may have been a mean lie, but I did it anyways 'cause, hey, it's chocolate. The witty label on the box says: "HUNGARY for a win? It'll be a PIECE OF CAKE!" [insert WoW face here] I'm good!
Me in action: please, PLEASE don't hate on the Jofa helmet!
The tournament was a great time and we really played well: 2 losses and a win, but the two losses were genuine 'moral victories' in which we played some incredible hockey against some of Europe's best teams (the Swedes and the Russians), both of which have multiple Olympians playing for them. I'll post more later, but I wanted to get some of these pictures up while I'm putting them on my computer. Enjoy.
The team getting ready to leave for Budapest in our fancy new sweatshirts...we look happy because we have yet to find out about our 6 hour delay at this point.
I was told I had to bake a cake for the team since it was my first away trip I think that may have been a mean lie, but I did it anyways 'cause, hey, it's chocolate. The witty label on the box says: "HUNGARY for a win? It'll be a PIECE OF CAKE!" [insert WoW face here] I'm good!
Me in action: please, PLEASE don't hate on the Jofa helmet!
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Before I Go
Hello, e-world.
I leave for Budapest in the morning to play in the European Women's Champions Cup. I just found out that this is actually the first official Women's EuroCup, so I came at a good time! We'll be playing teams from Sweden, Hungary and Russia, including a number of Olympic players who I'll be going to watch in Italy in February, meaning I'll have a good point of comparison when I go there.
I'm not sure, but you may be able to get updated info on us at the IIHF Website as the weekend progresses. If anything, you can take a look at our schedule (we're the Rodovre Mighty Bulls in case you've already forgotten).
Wish me luck and please do tell VB that this time we really are going to "kill those commie bastards," (his words, not mine) not just that Manhattanville Valiants, who happen to wear red.
Peace, love, puck,
Norm
I leave for Budapest in the morning to play in the European Women's Champions Cup. I just found out that this is actually the first official Women's EuroCup, so I came at a good time! We'll be playing teams from Sweden, Hungary and Russia, including a number of Olympic players who I'll be going to watch in Italy in February, meaning I'll have a good point of comparison when I go there.
I'm not sure, but you may be able to get updated info on us at the IIHF Website as the weekend progresses. If anything, you can take a look at our schedule (we're the Rodovre Mighty Bulls in case you've already forgotten).
Wish me luck and please do tell VB that this time we really are going to "kill those commie bastards," (his words, not mine) not just that Manhattanville Valiants, who happen to wear red.
Peace, love, puck,
Norm
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Rollin' Along
Dear Friendly Reader,
Hello once again! How have you been? Still dealing with that pesky rash? Well, I'm sure it will clear up soon.
As for me, my trip is steadily beginning to pick up and the time is actually starting to roll by....for the most part at least. This was a great week in particular and I suppose that's why it seemed to go by so quickly. Last weekend we had three games, which was terriffic because, as I've mentioned, that's when I feel most comfortable here and time definitely does not drag. We've had some really uneven games against women's teams, coming out with 10 and 17 point leads (or something like that) and I can see why the team prefers playing in the boys U-16 league for good competition. Last Friday we lost to a boys team, but I did get something like the team's game MVP, which meant I got to take home the team mascot (see above).
If you can't tell, he's a bear, wearing our team t-shirt and he's swatting at some bees around his honey, which represent our rivals, the Herlev Hornets. Heikki, our coach, talked about why I was getting him, but since I don't speak a word of Danish and he doesn't speak a word of English, I didn't know he was coming my way until he handed him to me. From what I was told, though, I got it for being a "smart" player (primarily, I had played a 2 on 1 really well).
(One of these things just doesn't belong. So, they don't like my black helmet; Rodovre is all about style. Meaning I wasted 100 bucks on a nice new one and now have to wear a teammates old Jofa! Ick! How very European I'll be. If my old teammates view any future pictures of me in said Jofa helmet, please don't hate.)
I also started working out with Tine, a 40 year old player on our team, who has been playing hockey in Denmark since the 70's and was on their first national team. Tine is definitely one of the women I'd like to write about, as she's an amazing inspiration and has a wealth of knowledge about the history of women's hockey here. She has fought against a lot and I think women's hockey here owes a lot to her and her fellow-pioneers. She's also amazing at hockey and is kicking my ass running and lifting in the mornings, which is great! I went with her Tuesday night to play "Old Boys" hockey, which is a strange mix of ex-elite players who take their weekly pickup game/practice WAY too seriously, and guys who are there just to goof around. We weren't even allowed to play with the first liners and I don't think that any of them looked at us the entire time. I did play a few shifts with the less serious guys, but I was so worn down by our morning lift, that I benched myself more times than not and just sat back and had a good time observing. It was at least worth the experience, especially getting a laugh out of watching the serious ones. They reminded me of the intramural basketball team we played against that thought our bitty 30 minute games were a shot to live out their NCAA dreams.
I told you all about my great meeting on Wednesday already, so I won't go into that, though I am a bit intimidated by the challenge I've set out for myself. I've been working on my interview questions and have gotten a few responses from some of Sally's contacts already, though, so I'm hopefully on my way to getting at something.
Thursday was also terriffic because in the afternoon I went to help out at a Piger (girls) team practice in Hervidore. They are the only young girls team around and are thus the potential of Danish hockey in a nutshell really. I had a great time at the practice...and when the coach translated to them that I wanted to write a book, they all got really excited and asked if they could have free copies. I'm sure I'll go back whenever I can, though because we have conflicting schedules it won't be too often.
Friday meant a practice game against the Rodovre boys U-16 team, which also meant that this time we were the ones getting romped 17-0 (and in only 2 periods!). They are an incredibly talented team, but we needed to play them in order to see more competition like we will face when we head to the Europa Cup this Wednesday in Budapest. It was a little difficult since we were missing a number of players who had to work, including our starting goalie, but I actually enjoyed all the action I was seeing as a defensemen. After the game, the team went out for dinner at a pretty nice cafe. I'm sure the conversation was quite lovely, but I couldn't really tell you. It's great that everyone speaks English, but when people get together, they are less likely to use it than when just speaking to me. It is both good creative practice as I try to make up stories about what they could be talking about, as well as a good excuse not to have to pay attention and just space out (note: Caitlin and Dave, you would both do well here).
And I finally got my team warmup, so I'm becoming more and more and official member of the team. Now I can stop wearing Laura's old one, which is good because she's only about 5'3" and her pants only went down to my shins.
I'm definitely still adjusting to the ebb and flow of emotions, but I think the flowing is beginning to take over (at least, that's what I hope). I have a feeling that this next week will fly by since I'll be with the team in Hungary the entire time. It will be my fourth week here, meaning I'll have been here just about a month next Monday. It seems like that's a pretty big mile marker and once I hit that, I'll know I can keep going (1 down and 9 to go). When I get back from Budapest, I'll also be staying in a teammates apartment for a few weeks while she visits her family in Canada. That, too, should be good for me: a change of pace and scenery, and a chance to be on my own a bit more. Things are going well living with Jeanette and Michael, but polite old Meghan can't help but feel like an intruder at all times.
Finally, I'm too lazy to figure out the html codes for inserting links onto my page, so check out these sweet blogs:
i am the lotus and rachelle's yet-to-be-named blog, which you should visit and vote for my naming contest entries
AND a BIG HELLO to the HoCroWoHo mini-reunion if any of you see this! Send Jerry my congrats! And do get some good crazy stories for me!
So long, farewell, tak frammel.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
A Writer is Reinspired
Today was a good day and a day filled with inspiration and a sense of purpose. I realized after a great chat with a former fellow (now an Anthro prof. here in Copenhagen) that to fill my day with reading and writing is indeed part of my purpose. It's now my goal to narrate the stories of a select group of the women I meet over the next year, and not just their sports stories, but their life stories (which will necessarily intertwine with the hockey stories). And I think it's only appropriate that I start with my own. How else will I know what to ask? But it is going to take action and really allowing myself to fall into time here, "for what is actual is only actual for one time," meaning I can't get caught up missing home so much, nor can I let myself miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to live, learn and hone my craft. "Consequently, I rejoice," writes Eliot, "having to construct something." This is indeed "the place of solitude," but if only I can learn to "sit still" and listen to my experience, I'm certain I'll have something incredible by the end of this year.
I thank my sister for reminding me of this great poem, which today takes on more meaning for me than ever before:
from "ash-wednesday"
by t.s. eliot
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
Because I know that time is always time
And place is always only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and...
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice
And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And I pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again...
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still...
Although I do not hope to turn again
Although I do not hope
Although I do not hope to turn
Wavering between the profit and the loss
In this brief transit where the dreams cross...
And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices...
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel...
Quickens to recoverAnd the blind eye creates...
And smell renews...
This is the time of tension between dying and birth
The place of solitude where three dreams cross...
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still...
---Life is in the journey, kids. So sit still, listen up, and enjoy the ride....
(NB: I know I write this and will have trouble living it out still, but as Eliot also writes, "it is all in the trying").
I thank my sister for reminding me of this great poem, which today takes on more meaning for me than ever before:
from "ash-wednesday"
by t.s. eliot
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
Because I know that time is always time
And place is always only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and...
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice
And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And I pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again...
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still...
Although I do not hope to turn again
Although I do not hope
Although I do not hope to turn
Wavering between the profit and the loss
In this brief transit where the dreams cross...
And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices...
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel...
Quickens to recoverAnd the blind eye creates...
And smell renews...
This is the time of tension between dying and birth
The place of solitude where three dreams cross...
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still...
---Life is in the journey, kids. So sit still, listen up, and enjoy the ride....
(NB: I know I write this and will have trouble living it out still, but as Eliot also writes, "it is all in the trying").
Friday, September 30, 2005
Stiiiiiiill In Copenhagen
Hello again, world.
And welcome back to the inner-workings of my brain. I apologize that my posts have not been more prolific, but I find myself torn between living the experience and making a record of it - and my journal writing alone has been so profuse that it's been hard to also keep on on letters AND a blog.
So, what has happened since my last entry? Well, we had an entire weekend off, which meant hitting up Copenhagen with some of the team. I'm glad that they, like me, are dedicated to their season and thus only "go out" once in a blue moon, because Copenhagen doesn't even start to party until around 1am...that's bedtime, kids, bedtime.
Though we didn't have any games Saturday, I did get back into the swing of the "hockey life" with Bjarne, spending all day at the rink watching his son's game, as well as some older teams. I must say that though hockey is relatively new to Denmark (it's only begun to be popular in the last 50 years), they have a lot of talent. I was really impressed even by the 13 year-old boys. I think, like everything, they take sports very seriously, which has led to such a high level of talent. And if watching all day wasn't enough, we went back to the rink for the "ice disco." And I thought my public skating days were over in 8th grade! But it felt good to be a kid again and skate aimlessly, in tune with nothing but my own stride.
Sunday was a beautiful day, so I headed once again into Copenhagen and found "The Little Mermaid Statue" (a famous tourist sight, due to Hans Christian Anderson's fame here). Like most people told me, it was a tad anticlimactic, but the seaside was beautiful and I just kept stumbling over one ancient building after another, including the palace. I swear, I'll put up a link to my pictures soon.
Julie (who is really becoming my little sister here) and I headed into the closing night festivities at Tivoli that night after getting free tickets from someone. Tivoli is a rather small amusement park, but is filled with gorgeous gardens and was all lit up at night. She made me ride the big "tower drop" ride to get the "best view of Copenhagen," which was beautiful, but after bungee jumping, the drop left a little to be desired. Though we had gone in to see the band Cashmir play, she got tired and had to go to school the next morning, so we headed back before the big fireworks display (couldn't say my tired body minded, though). If anyone wants to come visit, I recommend a little before Christmas time, when Tivoli reopens for a big ol' winter festival. (hint hint).
This past week has been a strange mix of emotions and activity. It's amazing that I can go through such highs when discovering new sights and playing hockey, to experiencing the real sense of solitue that comes with the Watson journey (watching the informational videos on their website and knowing that the loneliness is part of the experience has been helpful). I have tried my best to go into the city and explore, but on game days I'd rather not tire my legs out, so I've been reading and writing here at the house, though having trouble really focusing. The hockey is terriffic, though. Spinning is so much better when you haven't just traveled for 8 hours, and each time I step on the ice I feel a little bit more like I know how to play hockey. We had a game Wednesday and won 13-1 (they were right about the competition in the women's league being uneven, but that is what I am studying!); I had two goals, one was on a feed to the middle as I cut in and the other was a slapper from the blue line. We have 3 games this weekend and I will let you know how those go.
And it is playing hockey that I am reaffirmed of my purpose. Though days can get lonely and I can hit lows, when I am out on the ice, I know why I turned down going to Galway: I love hockey. Though communication with the girls can be difficult, somehow language barriers and inhibitions subside when we are on the ice or sitting next to one another on the bench. No matter what happens, I have hockey and that is what matters. And, whatsmore, I have developed a number of sincerely strong bonds already (i.e. Bjarne and Julie) and those too will carry me through.
I am a bit torn now, however. Somehow, I have made an e-contact with a coach (originally from Chicago) in Belgium, who has 4 girls on his team and may know of a women's team playing out of Leuven, a city somewhat close to Brussels. Not having many games in December or most of January, I am now enticed by the idea of heading to Brussels to help him coach, perhaps play, and investigate why women's hockey is NOT succeeding in Belgium. I think my desire is a mix of the lonely days here and the fear I will tire of Copenhagen, as well as knowing that Belgium is originally where I intended to be. Maybe I should put up a poll to see where my readers would like me.
What else? Oh yes, tried my first smoggrebread (traditional Danish lunch of and open faced meat sandwich on dark Rye bread), which Bjarne brought me and was absolutely delicious! He is a great cook from cooking in the fire house and I think I may fill some of my time with having him give me lessons! He also found my weakness: chocolate! Last weekend at his house it was chokoladdesklpaddle, a chocolate turtle (kind of like a Cadbury egg, but better), and at lunch the other day he brought us chocolate cream pie-like cookies -- pie heaven is right.
So, gonna read today, work on my creative writing (I am forcing myself to begin writing exercises), and then 3 games this weekend!
And now, some notes to my readers:
1. For all those who want to post comments, one does not need to sign up for a blog to post a comment; one must simply check the anonymous box and, to sign the post, just put one's name at the end of the comment.
2. Thank you for the posts, they make me happy.
3. My stick bag is NOT "superfluous," "Bee" (if that is your real name). It was indeed necessary, as I needed to check the sticks on the plane.
4. My green stick rocks.
5. There are lots of people dressed up like spiderman and other various characters parading around the street and screaming right now and I'm not sure what the hell is going on, but they did wake me up at 8:30 am. Perhaps I shall investigate.
Peace and much love,
Meghan
And welcome back to the inner-workings of my brain. I apologize that my posts have not been more prolific, but I find myself torn between living the experience and making a record of it - and my journal writing alone has been so profuse that it's been hard to also keep on on letters AND a blog.
So, what has happened since my last entry? Well, we had an entire weekend off, which meant hitting up Copenhagen with some of the team. I'm glad that they, like me, are dedicated to their season and thus only "go out" once in a blue moon, because Copenhagen doesn't even start to party until around 1am...that's bedtime, kids, bedtime.
Though we didn't have any games Saturday, I did get back into the swing of the "hockey life" with Bjarne, spending all day at the rink watching his son's game, as well as some older teams. I must say that though hockey is relatively new to Denmark (it's only begun to be popular in the last 50 years), they have a lot of talent. I was really impressed even by the 13 year-old boys. I think, like everything, they take sports very seriously, which has led to such a high level of talent. And if watching all day wasn't enough, we went back to the rink for the "ice disco." And I thought my public skating days were over in 8th grade! But it felt good to be a kid again and skate aimlessly, in tune with nothing but my own stride.
Sunday was a beautiful day, so I headed once again into Copenhagen and found "The Little Mermaid Statue" (a famous tourist sight, due to Hans Christian Anderson's fame here). Like most people told me, it was a tad anticlimactic, but the seaside was beautiful and I just kept stumbling over one ancient building after another, including the palace. I swear, I'll put up a link to my pictures soon.
Julie (who is really becoming my little sister here) and I headed into the closing night festivities at Tivoli that night after getting free tickets from someone. Tivoli is a rather small amusement park, but is filled with gorgeous gardens and was all lit up at night. She made me ride the big "tower drop" ride to get the "best view of Copenhagen," which was beautiful, but after bungee jumping, the drop left a little to be desired. Though we had gone in to see the band Cashmir play, she got tired and had to go to school the next morning, so we headed back before the big fireworks display (couldn't say my tired body minded, though). If anyone wants to come visit, I recommend a little before Christmas time, when Tivoli reopens for a big ol' winter festival. (hint hint).
This past week has been a strange mix of emotions and activity. It's amazing that I can go through such highs when discovering new sights and playing hockey, to experiencing the real sense of solitue that comes with the Watson journey (watching the informational videos on their website and knowing that the loneliness is part of the experience has been helpful). I have tried my best to go into the city and explore, but on game days I'd rather not tire my legs out, so I've been reading and writing here at the house, though having trouble really focusing. The hockey is terriffic, though. Spinning is so much better when you haven't just traveled for 8 hours, and each time I step on the ice I feel a little bit more like I know how to play hockey. We had a game Wednesday and won 13-1 (they were right about the competition in the women's league being uneven, but that is what I am studying!); I had two goals, one was on a feed to the middle as I cut in and the other was a slapper from the blue line. We have 3 games this weekend and I will let you know how those go.
And it is playing hockey that I am reaffirmed of my purpose. Though days can get lonely and I can hit lows, when I am out on the ice, I know why I turned down going to Galway: I love hockey. Though communication with the girls can be difficult, somehow language barriers and inhibitions subside when we are on the ice or sitting next to one another on the bench. No matter what happens, I have hockey and that is what matters. And, whatsmore, I have developed a number of sincerely strong bonds already (i.e. Bjarne and Julie) and those too will carry me through.
I am a bit torn now, however. Somehow, I have made an e-contact with a coach (originally from Chicago) in Belgium, who has 4 girls on his team and may know of a women's team playing out of Leuven, a city somewhat close to Brussels. Not having many games in December or most of January, I am now enticed by the idea of heading to Brussels to help him coach, perhaps play, and investigate why women's hockey is NOT succeeding in Belgium. I think my desire is a mix of the lonely days here and the fear I will tire of Copenhagen, as well as knowing that Belgium is originally where I intended to be. Maybe I should put up a poll to see where my readers would like me.
What else? Oh yes, tried my first smoggrebread (traditional Danish lunch of and open faced meat sandwich on dark Rye bread), which Bjarne brought me and was absolutely delicious! He is a great cook from cooking in the fire house and I think I may fill some of my time with having him give me lessons! He also found my weakness: chocolate! Last weekend at his house it was chokoladdesklpaddle, a chocolate turtle (kind of like a Cadbury egg, but better), and at lunch the other day he brought us chocolate cream pie-like cookies -- pie heaven is right.
So, gonna read today, work on my creative writing (I am forcing myself to begin writing exercises), and then 3 games this weekend!
And now, some notes to my readers:
1. For all those who want to post comments, one does not need to sign up for a blog to post a comment; one must simply check the anonymous box and, to sign the post, just put one's name at the end of the comment.
2. Thank you for the posts, they make me happy.
3. My stick bag is NOT "superfluous," "Bee" (if that is your real name). It was indeed necessary, as I needed to check the sticks on the plane.
4. My green stick rocks.
5. There are lots of people dressed up like spiderman and other various characters parading around the street and screaming right now and I'm not sure what the hell is going on, but they did wake me up at 8:30 am. Perhaps I shall investigate.
Peace and much love,
Meghan
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Check Us Out
http://www.ishockeypiger.dk/default.htm
I, of course, still have no idea what any of this means, but I am using it as a tool to learn everyone's names (I am especially having trouble pronouncing #9's name). The one thing I really can't pronounce is Rodovre, which is terrible because when people ask me who I play for, I can't exactly tell them. You can also check out our games online play-by-play and will post that link when I get it, because I know you're all dying to find out how we're doing.
I, of course, still have no idea what any of this means, but I am using it as a tool to learn everyone's names (I am especially having trouble pronouncing #9's name). The one thing I really can't pronounce is Rodovre, which is terrible because when people ask me who I play for, I can't exactly tell them. You can also check out our games online play-by-play and will post that link when I get it, because I know you're all dying to find out how we're doing.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Hallo from Copenhagen
Hello, world. I apologize for my lengthy absence, but apparently preparing to leave the country takes a lot more time than I originally anticipated. So, to catch you up: I left Boston for Copenhagen on Sunday night last and arrived on Monday afternoon. I must say that after flying to Papua New Guinea (circa 25 hours in the air, plus layovers, I believe) any flight will seem short. In fact, I think that the flights may have been TOO short...before I knew it I was in iceland (paying about 6 bucks for a freakin' cup of tea!) and just after that I was in Copenhagen. The time flew by (seriously, no pun intended) and I didn't even have the chance to collect myself before I was picking up my bags and going to meet Bjarn. As many of you know, I have no foresight, so I wasn't too nervous before leaving, but the feeling of wanting to throw up hit me like a thousand tiny gnomes using my stomach as their punching bag as soon as I hit the ground (you'll have to excuse the gnome reference, but I'm kind of in withdrawl until I find one to be my traveling companion).
Luckily I had no immigration problems as I originally thought - hell I didn't even have to go through immigration except in the Iceland airport (boo for no Denmark stamp) - so the whole charade you may have heard about involving applying for a resident permit and all expensive stuff like that was virtually a waste...meaning I got up at 5 am to call Copenhagen a few weeks ago for no reason at all!
As I said Bjarn, team equipment manager and one of the girl's fathers, picked me up at the airport. He is at first a very quiet man, who wouldn't be when you're picking up someone you've never met? But he is an amazingly warm individual, who I can tell is going to be quite a father figure to me. I was quite impressed by how much love his family exuded...they're huggers just like me! He is a fireman (yes, we all respect them now, that's for sure!) and an excellent cook after cooking at the station for 30 years, so he cooked us all dinner, including Laura, the Canadian player/coach who has been helping me out, and Jeanette (a goalie) and Michael, who are letting me stay in a room in their townhouse. The dinner was a great chance to start feeling comfortable with everyone, and it is true that the Danes have wonderfully dry wits and like to mess with people, much like myself, so I should be alright.
Despite my jet-lag, I am indeed an overachiever and thought I should join the team for an hour of spinning and practice that night...by the time practice was over at 11pm I don't think my body knew what was going on. I slept until 1pm the next day and I'm sure I could have done more if I wanted to.
The past few days have been dedicated to finding my way around the city. I am about a 30 minute bike ride from Copenhagen (an hour and a half if you get lost like I did today), which is not the easiest of cities to navigate, having no grid whatsoever. I still have to hit up all of the tourist spots, but I at least now know how to get to the city and even found the perfect coffee shop for living out my poetic aspirations! (http://www.robertscoffee.com).
As for the hockey, these girls are good! They range in age from about 13-40 and I'd say they are all at least on Division III level hockey. They say a large part of it is due to their second year coach, Hecky, who is Finnish and specializes in skating technique (much like John Dillon only this one knows how to play hockey). He doesn't speak a word of English, but the girls are doing their best to translate (however, that too proves difficult since he is known to go on just as much as one PVB). So I am thoroughly impressed by their skill level, dedication and work ethic. They are also one of the smartest group of girls I've played with; everyone always knows where to be...and most of them have only been playing for a few years! Quite honestly, they don't need much from me to better their team. Hopefully I'll have a little more to show them once I get back into the swing of it. Apparently, though, their team is quite different from most other women's teams in the nation. There is one team that gives them good competition, while all other games are complete blowouts. I just happened to wind up with the national champions, which works for me becaus that means I get to go to the Eurocup with them in Budapest in mid-October.
On the ice it's kind of like shock therapy right now, since I had practice the first night I was here and my second time on the ice was a GAME last night. The game was against the U-14 boys national champions, which means that they were amazing skaters (Hecky also coaches them) so we shouldn't feel awful about losing 6-1. We play in a women's league and two boys leagues, meaning that we get to check sometimes. Checking is a totally new experience for me, but I think I will grow to love it, especially since Europeans don't make checking the center of their game like so many Americans do.
So tomorrow is another day of wandering the city and then hitting up the Copenhagen night-life with some girls on the team. I'll try to upload some pictures once I figure out how!
Yours in green,
Meghan
Luckily I had no immigration problems as I originally thought - hell I didn't even have to go through immigration except in the Iceland airport (boo for no Denmark stamp) - so the whole charade you may have heard about involving applying for a resident permit and all expensive stuff like that was virtually a waste...meaning I got up at 5 am to call Copenhagen a few weeks ago for no reason at all!
As I said Bjarn, team equipment manager and one of the girl's fathers, picked me up at the airport. He is at first a very quiet man, who wouldn't be when you're picking up someone you've never met? But he is an amazingly warm individual, who I can tell is going to be quite a father figure to me. I was quite impressed by how much love his family exuded...they're huggers just like me! He is a fireman (yes, we all respect them now, that's for sure!) and an excellent cook after cooking at the station for 30 years, so he cooked us all dinner, including Laura, the Canadian player/coach who has been helping me out, and Jeanette (a goalie) and Michael, who are letting me stay in a room in their townhouse. The dinner was a great chance to start feeling comfortable with everyone, and it is true that the Danes have wonderfully dry wits and like to mess with people, much like myself, so I should be alright.
Despite my jet-lag, I am indeed an overachiever and thought I should join the team for an hour of spinning and practice that night...by the time practice was over at 11pm I don't think my body knew what was going on. I slept until 1pm the next day and I'm sure I could have done more if I wanted to.
The past few days have been dedicated to finding my way around the city. I am about a 30 minute bike ride from Copenhagen (an hour and a half if you get lost like I did today), which is not the easiest of cities to navigate, having no grid whatsoever. I still have to hit up all of the tourist spots, but I at least now know how to get to the city and even found the perfect coffee shop for living out my poetic aspirations! (http://www.robertscoffee.com).
As for the hockey, these girls are good! They range in age from about 13-40 and I'd say they are all at least on Division III level hockey. They say a large part of it is due to their second year coach, Hecky, who is Finnish and specializes in skating technique (much like John Dillon only this one knows how to play hockey). He doesn't speak a word of English, but the girls are doing their best to translate (however, that too proves difficult since he is known to go on just as much as one PVB). So I am thoroughly impressed by their skill level, dedication and work ethic. They are also one of the smartest group of girls I've played with; everyone always knows where to be...and most of them have only been playing for a few years! Quite honestly, they don't need much from me to better their team. Hopefully I'll have a little more to show them once I get back into the swing of it. Apparently, though, their team is quite different from most other women's teams in the nation. There is one team that gives them good competition, while all other games are complete blowouts. I just happened to wind up with the national champions, which works for me becaus that means I get to go to the Eurocup with them in Budapest in mid-October.
On the ice it's kind of like shock therapy right now, since I had practice the first night I was here and my second time on the ice was a GAME last night. The game was against the U-14 boys national champions, which means that they were amazing skaters (Hecky also coaches them) so we shouldn't feel awful about losing 6-1. We play in a women's league and two boys leagues, meaning that we get to check sometimes. Checking is a totally new experience for me, but I think I will grow to love it, especially since Europeans don't make checking the center of their game like so many Americans do.
So tomorrow is another day of wandering the city and then hitting up the Copenhagen night-life with some girls on the team. I'll try to upload some pictures once I figure out how!
Yours in green,
Meghan
Thursday, September 15, 2005
A Timely Reaffirmation
My mom sent the following article to me (originally from The Daily Om) and I found it quite a nice reaffirmation of my upcoming adventure, which in many ways will be a mental one. A lot of people have acted surprised and a bit wary of a life in which my only main task is to play hockey a few times a week. But really, does it get any better than this? A wise man by the name of Kevin Mahoney instructed me last evening that the greatest gift I am receiving this year is not so much money, but rather, time. When else am I going to get the chance to write the next great American (or will it be Danish?) novel, or learn to play the guitar, or catch up on my endless "To Read" list, all on someone elses dime, and while restarting the hockey career I was certain was over in the process? NEVER! So, if I'm not on the ice or at spinning, you can find me at a cafe in Copenhagen, sipping tea and being mindful (and if you see this as a good plan and want to donate to the "Lattes for Meghan Fund"), just let me know.
September 15, 2005Conscious IdleThe Art of Inactivity
Our world is one of cycles. Tides ebb and flow, one season gives way to the next, night follows day. In our own lives, we have periods of great activity and periods of rest. Just as high tide is no better than low tide and summer no better than spring, activity is not, in itself, better than inactivity. If fact, these times of rest and rejuvenation, idleness and dreaming, help us connect to ourselves and to our divine source. Our culture tends to applaud action and achievement. We are often most comfortable with ourselves when we are clearly traveling toward a goal. During these times of striving, we direct our energy outward. We take action on our vision and follow the steps that lead us to our goal. But there are moments in this process when the urge comes to take a break, retreat, or just lay low. The tendency may be to judge ourselves negatively as we may be less comfortable with these moments of down time which is a great time to check in with our intention. By being aware of your intention behind the action of laying low you can gain a higher perspective on it. Ask yourself if your intention is to honor an essential part of your being or to hide from it. Is your intent one that is ultimately kind to yourself - empowering rather than diminishing? Perhaps you sense it is simply time to pause and allow the universe work its magic on your behalf. When you feel the urge to have down time, trust that this is a natural part of the process of achieving your goals. Know that what may appear to be a deviation from your path can actually prove to be a shortcut and give yourself permission to do exactly as you are moved to do. Curl up under the covers with a favorite book or catch an old movie on TV. Soak up some sun or daydream the day away. Better yet, do nothing at all. Allow yourself to simply be - alive and at ease.
September 15, 2005Conscious IdleThe Art of Inactivity
Our world is one of cycles. Tides ebb and flow, one season gives way to the next, night follows day. In our own lives, we have periods of great activity and periods of rest. Just as high tide is no better than low tide and summer no better than spring, activity is not, in itself, better than inactivity. If fact, these times of rest and rejuvenation, idleness and dreaming, help us connect to ourselves and to our divine source. Our culture tends to applaud action and achievement. We are often most comfortable with ourselves when we are clearly traveling toward a goal. During these times of striving, we direct our energy outward. We take action on our vision and follow the steps that lead us to our goal. But there are moments in this process when the urge comes to take a break, retreat, or just lay low. The tendency may be to judge ourselves negatively as we may be less comfortable with these moments of down time which is a great time to check in with our intention. By being aware of your intention behind the action of laying low you can gain a higher perspective on it. Ask yourself if your intention is to honor an essential part of your being or to hide from it. Is your intent one that is ultimately kind to yourself - empowering rather than diminishing? Perhaps you sense it is simply time to pause and allow the universe work its magic on your behalf. When you feel the urge to have down time, trust that this is a natural part of the process of achieving your goals. Know that what may appear to be a deviation from your path can actually prove to be a shortcut and give yourself permission to do exactly as you are moved to do. Curl up under the covers with a favorite book or catch an old movie on TV. Soak up some sun or daydream the day away. Better yet, do nothing at all. Allow yourself to simply be - alive and at ease.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Holy Cross Article
Holy Cross Scholar-Athlete Earns Watson Award
Meghan Mahoney, a 2005 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and member of the women’s varsity ice hockey team, has received the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for her self-designed research project titled "Life Without Title IX: The International Development of Women’s Ice Hockey." Mahoney was one of five alternates when the Watson fellowships were announced in March; and received official word this month that her project was accepted.
Mahoney, an English major with a creative writing emphasis and philosophy minor from Utica, N.Y., will be studying in South Africa, New Zealand and one of the following countries: Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland or Iceland.
"During my time, I hope to play as much hockey as possible," she said. "I have proposed to play in women’s club leagues in each of my chosen countries to find out how the game is taking shape in those countries that aren’t already dominant, well-known forces in the game. I may also attempt to train with each nation’s national team in order to expand my playing time, as well as coach youth teams and perhaps even observe physical education classes in local schools in order to discern how females are treated in athletics in general. My goal is to assess how strongly girls are encouraged to play sports and how equally they are treated in countries that may not have laws such as Title IX. The law has made a large impact on the growth of women’s ice hockey here in the U.S. and I want to see whether such legislation is being implemented in and effecting other countries, as well as whether or not the game can develop strongly without it."
In addition to playing varsity ice hockey, Mahoney was a member of Habitat for Humanity International for two years (going to Zambia her first year, and leading a trip to Papua New Guinea this past June); president of the English honor society, Sigma Tau Delta; president of the Literary Society; a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, Phi Beta Kappa and the Philosophy Honor Society, Phi Sigma Tau; a member of the English department Student Advisory Committee; on the editorial staff of The Criterion; and a SPUD (Student Programs for Urban Development) participant.
Mahoney is one of 50 college seniors nationwide selected to receive a 2005-2006 Watson. The fellowship with a stipend of $25,000, is a one-year grant for independent study and travel outside of the United States.
August 30, 2005nm
Meghan Mahoney, a 2005 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and member of the women’s varsity ice hockey team, has received the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for her self-designed research project titled "Life Without Title IX: The International Development of Women’s Ice Hockey." Mahoney was one of five alternates when the Watson fellowships were announced in March; and received official word this month that her project was accepted.
Mahoney, an English major with a creative writing emphasis and philosophy minor from Utica, N.Y., will be studying in South Africa, New Zealand and one of the following countries: Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland or Iceland.
"During my time, I hope to play as much hockey as possible," she said. "I have proposed to play in women’s club leagues in each of my chosen countries to find out how the game is taking shape in those countries that aren’t already dominant, well-known forces in the game. I may also attempt to train with each nation’s national team in order to expand my playing time, as well as coach youth teams and perhaps even observe physical education classes in local schools in order to discern how females are treated in athletics in general. My goal is to assess how strongly girls are encouraged to play sports and how equally they are treated in countries that may not have laws such as Title IX. The law has made a large impact on the growth of women’s ice hockey here in the U.S. and I want to see whether such legislation is being implemented in and effecting other countries, as well as whether or not the game can develop strongly without it."
In addition to playing varsity ice hockey, Mahoney was a member of Habitat for Humanity International for two years (going to Zambia her first year, and leading a trip to Papua New Guinea this past June); president of the English honor society, Sigma Tau Delta; president of the Literary Society; a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, Phi Beta Kappa and the Philosophy Honor Society, Phi Sigma Tau; a member of the English department Student Advisory Committee; on the editorial staff of The Criterion; and a SPUD (Student Programs for Urban Development) participant.
Mahoney is one of 50 college seniors nationwide selected to receive a 2005-2006 Watson. The fellowship with a stipend of $25,000, is a one-year grant for independent study and travel outside of the United States.
August 30, 2005nm
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Welcome To My Blog
Dear Friendly Reader,
Welcome to my blog, where you'll be kept up to date and informed on all the important and exciting events that are bound to transpire during my year as a Watson Fellow. If you know me, then you know I am longwinded and verbose (see what I mean?) and have a knack for thoroughly corny jokes utilizing my affection for the English language. Nevertheless, I suggest you sit back, relax, and hold on for the reading adventure of your life as I embark upon my next big real life adventure.
Yours in green,
Meghan O'Neill Mahoney
Welcome to my blog, where you'll be kept up to date and informed on all the important and exciting events that are bound to transpire during my year as a Watson Fellow. If you know me, then you know I am longwinded and verbose (see what I mean?) and have a knack for thoroughly corny jokes utilizing my affection for the English language. Nevertheless, I suggest you sit back, relax, and hold on for the reading adventure of your life as I embark upon my next big real life adventure.
Yours in green,
Meghan O'Neill Mahoney
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