Hello From Afreeeeeka!

Has It Really Been A Month?! Crikey!!!! Funny how the more I have to blog, the less I actually do so, eh?

In brief, the Olympics were incredible! I met up in Milan with one scally-capped David M. Quinn and we set off for quite an Italian adventure. (And if Sharona Quinn is reading this please take note that I am utterly infuriated with you for purchasing said cap for Mr. Quinn after I searched high and low for one in Ireland, only to have you give him one first.)

Because of the ridiculous prices in Turin, we only stayed one day and saw the US beat Switzerland 7-0. SUI put up a surprising fight and their goalie was phenomenal, but they couldn't keep up with the US late in the game and eventually broke. It was definitely cool to sit in a section with all the American parents and see how proud they were - and to even be able to tell them that I used to play against their daughters (they would of course skate circles around me). Although I of course wanted the states to do well, I was so thrilled that they were beaten by Sweden...especially since I played against almost half of their team in the European Cup. I actually didn't find out about it until I got back to Denmark, as we were completely away from the TV, but luckily Laura taped all the games, so I was able to watch when I stayed with her for my last few weeks there. What a game, eh?! This is def huge for women's hockey as it may incite countries to pump more money into their women's programs, now seeing that competition is possible. It's especially big for Scandanavia, in particular. We saw Sweden take on Canada in an exhibition game back in October and they lost something like 10-0...and to get to beating the US and then only losing 4-0 to Canada in the gold medal game is quite an accomplishment, especially since their development funding is laughable according to their coach. This win could thus do a lot for their budget. PLUS, the coverage was terriffic - in both Denmark and Sweden every women's game was shown at least once in its entirety, meaning that a lot of girls had the opportunity to watch and fall in love with the game and a lot of current players were able to see that if they keep working hard they can indeed keep up with the powerhouses. It was also awesome to watch the gold medal game with Laura, whose name was mentioned many times by the Danish broadcasters as they discussed her team's potential for the Vancouver 2010 Games (her home country!). I've already told her that if they go I expect a spot on their staff roster and if not I will attend anyways to see Michelle, our 15 yr old Finnish all-star and Heikki's daughter, who was the last player cut from Finland's team merely because of her age and who will undoubtedly be in the next games.

Italy itself was simply amazing. I had no idea that i would love it that much! Rome is truly "Romantic" in every sense and I delighted in meandering through the city streets, where you couldn't help but stumble upon beautiful ruins and statues and the like. And it's all so huge!! When I next get my own comp online I will certainly post pictures. Florence was also captivating and a great contrast to Rome for its small city feel. And the food!!! Wow! KRems def would have been proud of me for following her advice and eating carbs like a true champ. I am now in love with risotto, seafood pasta, seafood risotto, bruchetta, rabbit, red wine, and GELATO. And, of course, I'm even more in love with pizza than ever. We had a few "minor" setbacks with the train system and shelled out a hell of a lot of money on Trenitalia, but luckily money is just money and a 6 hour train ride sitting on your bag in a hallway of a crappy, overstuffed, secondclass car when you payed for a first class sleeper carriage isn't all that terrible. The week luckily didn't pass too quickly but it was def sad to say goodbye to Italy....oh, and Dave, too.

My last few weeks in Denmark were filled with real happiness. Unfortunately a good deal of our games got cancelled, but I did spend a weekend coaching the national team at their most recent samling, during which they played a number of games. They are really progressing wonderfully, thanks in large part to Laura's dedication and the terriffic job she is doing in obtaining increased ice time for them. Although they are 14 in the world, competition is close for the teams that will be battling to get into Vancouver and with 4 years to improve their chances are improving every day. As I mentioned, I spent those weeks with Laura and her gentleman friend Claus and had a terriffic time hanging with them, cooking for them, painting their apartment and, most importantly, implementing the "Gold Star Board" to reward good behavior (i.e. cleaning and doing the dishes)...though I fear that being gone three weeks will make me terribly behind in the competition. I didn't really have a big goodbye when I left, knowing that I will be back for the national championships in April and have scheduled myslef a day to recover from the big goodbye/victory celebration before leaving for Australia.

And where am I know? CAPE TOWN!!! I arrived last Wednesday to Cape Town after an awful 24 hour layover in London (never ask British public transportation agents for help in finding your destination as it appears they just lie to you and send you to whatever train station they like the name of) and a long ass flight through Qatar and Jo'Burg. The flight did give me time to catch up on my movie watching, including the new Harry Potter and Elizabethtown, which I highly recommend if you really want to cry yourself some happy tears.

And CAPE TOWN!!! Wowwy wow wow wow. It's unbelivable how much a little sunshine will change your mood, that's for sure. My skin didn't know what that bright thing in the sky was and proceeded to burn a bit, but I am finally beginning to get some color and almost look like a living human being again. After some failed phone calls and my mother thinking I was dead in the streets of Cape Town, I managed to hook up with my contacts here and am set up both on the ice and off. I am currently staying with Bobby and Kirsty, a couple about my age, both of whom play at the Western Province club; they are in the running with Beaud-lose and Steve-o for my favorite couple ever. Completely opposite of my first weeks in Denmark, I feel completely at home and at ease and have nonstop conversations covering everything from hockey to politics and religion with them. As a whole, the people here are so cool and laid back - definitely the "warmth" that was missing in Denmark at times. Oh, and they eat with their hands!!!

Hockey down here is frustrating, to say the least. The club is obviously very small and is getting smaller every day. Apparently they once actually had a pro mens league down here that did quite well, but it eventually failed. And although there once was a women's team here, there aren't enough women any more so the girls are just mixed up on the guys teams. Unlike clubs in America, this one club is comprised of multiple teams which play eachother in weekly matches (since there are no other clubs close by).All of the teams practice with their age divisions and one coach runs the whole thing. The ladies play in the Intermediate A division, which is basically 14-18 year olds. There is also a younger division and a senior men's league. I have been practicing both with the men and our division and will be helping coach the kids, which is now much easier since the kids understand what i am saying. The men have quite a range of skill and it's good to practice with them and get some fast-paced play under my belt before the Danish championships. OH! And we play in a Casino...so I walk into the building, send my sticks and bag through an xray machine as I walk through a metal detector before walking down a garden-filled corridor to classical music, and then walk by a slew of fast food joints (very tempting after a few hours on the ice), before heading into the absolutely beautiful new rink...very bizarre. And, yes, the rink is hot as Africa and I sweat my brains out. If you want to find out a bit more about the club, you can check it out at www.icehockey.co.za. It was just updated the other day, which I think is quite a rare occurrence. The guy on the front page is Marc, my initial contact here who has set everything up for me and is a great guy who is really passionate about developing hockey here and keeping politics out of the rink (which is something that happens more here than I've ever seen before).

Development is the biggest problem here, as there is none (both on the men's and women's side). I, like most players I've spoken with, am already utterly frustrated with the coach at the club (a former Scottish player and citizen) who is paid full time to coach and not only does an awful job coaching (they rarely do any drills and just scrimmage with no guidance), but is abusive and foul-mouthed and cares very little for actually teaching his players. And apparently the women's national team coach is even worse and has caused over half of the team to quit recently. My new goals include running off ice sessions with the ladies here so they can actually learn, as well as finding out how I can put in to take over for these awful coaches! I have meetings with the SA Ice Hockey president and the women's team rep this weekend when they come down for some national team exhibition games against a Finnish club team and am interested to hear what their concept of development is. I will also be able to attend a ladies meeting with the women's rep, during which they will discuss the national team coach and how no girls will play if the current coach is rehired...so maybe there will indeed be an opening to lead their team in the world championships next March!!! I definitely picked the right time to come here, as well. Apparently, women's hockey is much "bigger" in Jo'Burg and Pretoria, so I may schedule some visits up there when I come back here in July (that's also where the national coach is and it would certainly be interesting to see how bad he actually is).

Other than that, I've been taking my time doing the "tourist thing" and have done some Apartheid museums and went to Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned. I am fascinatated by the rich history here and am planning on reading up on it while I'm here. I am also learning a lot about cricket and was fortunate that the first game I watched was said to be the greatest match ever played.

In other random news, I had my first (and probably last) paintball experience on Sunday (sorry, I'm a lover not a fighter). I spent yesterday at a wildlife rescue owned by a teammate and her husband (also a player) and played with babboons all day long...I now know why there is an expression about having a "monkey on your back." Pictures of this will def follow as well.

Ok, this utterly long update is now over. I am off to turn in my second quarterly report, which I was able to keep within 10 pages on the first draft this time. I have two more weeks here in SA, filled with hockey, a wine tour and a tour of the cape, some sunset views - the sunsets are the world's best here! - on the beach and on top of Table Mt. (the huge Mt. righti in the center of cape town), and more living the life.
I close with some of my new favorite words for your learning pleasure:

Kit = Hockey equipment (equipment in general / bags)
Hectic = Wow (As, in, "that's totally hectic")
Kiff = Good ("Are you kiff, man?" or "It would be kiff if you handed me that [insert object of interest here]."

I hope you enjoyed today's lesson.
Until next time, i remain yours in South Africa,
Meghan