Dang - Those Hobbits Gots Some Big Feet!

Well hello there, e-world. Can you believe it's been over a month since my last update? I think I've been putting off blogging because so much has been going on that I fear it will turn into another painfully long post for you to read. I will do my best to be brief, but be warned that they didn't call me '26 Pages' in my Tolkien seminar for nothin'.

Where in the world is Meghan O. Mahoney? Right now, I am happy to say I am in Christchurch, New Zealand, now unbelievably SEVEN MONTHS into my journey! I haven't seen any Hobbits yet, but the cat where I am staying is named Frodo.

When I last left you, I was thoroughly enjoying my stay down in Cape Town, where I made some extraordinary friends whom I'm really looking forward to seeing when I head back there in July. The highlight of my trip may have been when I was "allowed" to play with the men against a Finnish club team that had come down for some exhibition games and I went from playing third line, to not being taken off the ice and being named "Man of the Match" and acquiring a fanclub along the way. I saw almost everything there is to see on the cape peninsula, so when I go back I hope to see much more of the country itself, perhaps getting to Jo'Burg and Pretoria to see the hockey there. SA is a fascinating place. The direct juxtaposition of extreme affluence to extreme poverty is more striking than any place I have ever been and as much as I love it, it is impossible to escape the rampant political and cultural problems that still lurk as a result of apartheid.

I left SA at the very end of March and it's a good thing I did because my last weekend there the club I was playing in was actually banned from play by SA Ica Hockey Assoc. because, they claim, they let players on the ice who owed the association money (one of them only owed $3!). Basically, however, it seems that the real reason is a conflict between Cape Town and Jo'Burg and the president not wanting Cape Town players to usurp his power after seeing that he knowingly allowed the national team to take the ice while intoxicated not once, but two times, against the Finnish team. I have never seen a game so destroyed my politics as it is in SA. And it was tragic to see the young kids unable to play because of such bull. I think things have been "resolved" since then and they are at least playing once again.

After that it was off to Copenhagen for the Danish national championships, which we unfortunately lost to our rival in the final game. Win or lose, it was great to go back and see a few people one last time. Although we didn't have the big blow out party I was promised, Laura, Claus and I did have one wicked pajama party my last night there.

Then it was a mad dash for Adelaide, Australia and on the way debating having to pay 1,000 bucks for my excess luggage and at least getting it down to 150. I spent a terriffic two weeks in Adelaide, participating in a power skating clinic (the camp I was going to coach at was cancelled due to a lack of interest). I stayed with Tamra, Laura's best friend who is also a Canadian and will soon have Aussie citizenship to play for their national team, as well as her three housemates. The camp was amazing and I made good friends and travel buddies with a woman who travels the world coaching skating and coaching clinics and is basically an older, quirkier version of me. We had a terriffic time playing tourist together and, as it turns out, she wants her next stop to be Africa so I am now working on getting her down to SA with me in July since I wanted to set up a camp while there anyways. I absolutely adore Adelaide, which is a tiny but beautiful city, right on the ocean. The one thing that really struck me about Australia was just how new everything is. We think America is young, but Oz didn't even acquire independence until the 1900's. Churches stood out to me the most, especially after seeing the ancient churches in Europe and all of a sudden everything is just brand spanking new. It is different, but beautiful in its own way. The weather too was gorgeous and I must say I totally fell in love with Oz and its people and may wind up going back for a few weeks to play in a tourney (allowing me to meet a great deal of their female players) and see a bit more of the massive country.

And now I'm in New Zealand, where I've been for about three days. The weather is a beautifully crisp autumn, though I think the rains will be coming soon. Christchurch is def the center of women's hockey here - the only city with a league (about 40 players) - so although I may come to like some of the other artier and trendier cities better (this one is very British), I cam to the right place to play. I am currently staying with Deb and Sally, who are a couple that both play and help organize the league and they have been absolutely terriffic. They live just a 15 minute bike ride outside of town and right at the base of some incredible hills which I biked up yesterday to get a gorgeous view of the southern alps. I am SO looking forward to exploring the entire country but am waiting to here if sister will visit to plan my sight seeing around that. And although no sets are still up, I will be going through (hopefully) many of the areas where LOTR and Narnia were filmed and will def take some pics for my fellow dorks. (Really, I can't escape the Hobbits, as I even wound up in a bar in Cape Town called 'The One Ring,' which has maps of Middle Earth painted all over and is patronized by exactly the kind of people you would expect in a bar of that name...the drinks are super cheap though. The owner also owns "Gandolf's" Dance club and 'Middle Earth' bar, so Prof. Mulrooney, you may need to take a trip to SA).

I'll be here in NZ for at least 7 weeks depending on if I go back to Adelaide, though I may be moving in with a few other players who need temporary flat mates (lucky for me). My days will be a bit empty once again, but unlike at the start of my trip, I am quite looking forward to the freedom to read, write, run and do off-ice training, and really savor the last 14 or so weeks of my trip.

I did do my best to keep this concise, so I hope you got through it alright. I left out a ton, but you at least have the basics. I apologize to everyone I am behind on emailing and I'll do my best to progressively get back to you all. Enjoy the springing of spring as I brace myself for yet another winter!!! Toodles!