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.