I lost weight, I'll see how long it stays off. I was lighter than when I got back from a month in the field I spent rationing food. I've gained some of it back, but I'm still lighter than I was when I left. While in Europe I walked all the time and played hockey every weekday, and walked miles and miles in Marseille and Budapest. I make most of the food I eat, so my eating habits haven't really changed.
I haven't fully adjusted to Alaska time yet, at least, I haven't gotten back to my old schedule of staying up late and getting up late. I wake up around 6:15 and go to bed around 9. I still sometimes wake up around 2am wide awake, and wonder what time it is. I think I need a few more late nights on the weekend to adjust.
Hockey
I thought it would be fun, and one of few opportunities to play with George and Matt's team (maroon), but there was a team in A with a few hurt players, so I'll be playing for grey. I slept through the my first hockey game here, which started at 9pm, my phone's alarm was too quiet.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Flights home
While most of my experience with Lot Polish Airlines customer service was terrible, the two women working the desk in the Prague airport were incredibly patient and worked hard to help me get home.
I flew:
Prague - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Chicago - Seattle - Juneau
The Copenhagen and Stockholm airports were really nice. They had carts for you to carry around your carry on luggage on, which I needed (I had my clothes in one bag, and books and my giant laptop in the other). I had an overnight in Stockholm, and with the time changes, made it home the evening of the day after I left.
I stayed in the Jumbo hostel in a Jumbo plane.
The plane, the night I got there:
I payed for a single room because I didn't want to hassle with keeping track of my things once I got there, I was already tired. The room had a flat screen TV. I watched the Sweden women's hockey team loose to team USA.
The room:
The personal room also came with breakfast, which was very European, bread, a slice of cheese and a slice of turkey, a pickle, orange juice and coffee.
From Stockholm to Chicago I flew on SAS, Scandinavian airlines. Unlike the Lot flight, during which I slept (thankfully), I was awake the whole flight. There was a screen in the back of the seat in front of you with movies to watch, an improvement over the projected movie on the Lot airline. The flight attendants were very hospitable, their service followed a schedule. The first time they offered beverages, I wanted a coffee, but they said they were only serving cold drinks and that I had to wait for the warm beverage service, which comes after the meal. Near the end of the flight they offered a hot damp rolled up washcloth, which was a nice touch, refreshing to my hands and neck. I recommend SAS.
The flight from Chicago to Seattle was very full. The four-five hour flight seemed not so bad after the 9 hour flight from Stockholm. The flight from Seattle to Juneau was nearly empty, so I had room to stretch my legs.
I flew:
Prague - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Chicago - Seattle - Juneau
The Copenhagen and Stockholm airports were really nice. They had carts for you to carry around your carry on luggage on, which I needed (I had my clothes in one bag, and books and my giant laptop in the other). I had an overnight in Stockholm, and with the time changes, made it home the evening of the day after I left.
I stayed in the Jumbo hostel in a Jumbo plane.
The plane, the night I got there:
I payed for a single room because I didn't want to hassle with keeping track of my things once I got there, I was already tired. The room had a flat screen TV. I watched the Sweden women's hockey team loose to team USA.
The room:
The personal room also came with breakfast, which was very European, bread, a slice of cheese and a slice of turkey, a pickle, orange juice and coffee.
From Stockholm to Chicago I flew on SAS, Scandinavian airlines. Unlike the Lot flight, during which I slept (thankfully), I was awake the whole flight. There was a screen in the back of the seat in front of you with movies to watch, an improvement over the projected movie on the Lot airline. The flight attendants were very hospitable, their service followed a schedule. The first time they offered beverages, I wanted a coffee, but they said they were only serving cold drinks and that I had to wait for the warm beverage service, which comes after the meal. Near the end of the flight they offered a hot damp rolled up washcloth, which was a nice touch, refreshing to my hands and neck. I recommend SAS.
The flight from Chicago to Seattle was very full. The four-five hour flight seemed not so bad after the 9 hour flight from Stockholm. The flight from Seattle to Juneau was nearly empty, so I had room to stretch my legs.
Slavia 3 and 4, the end
Game 3
We lost 6-1 (maybe 6-2). I don't remember the goals broken down by period, but I felt like we could tie this game in the first period, and I want to say we answered every goal. By the end of the second, I think they had scored 3 goals, with a devastating third period. Our senior goalie played for Slavia years ago, so the Slavia team knows her well. We were home, making this game especially hard to loose.
Game 4
This game was also home. We lost this game 6-0. Then the tournament was over, I said my goodbyes and arranged to go home.
The play was physical in a way that mostly did not detract from the game. The passing was quick, the forechecks were hard (almost to the point of forgetting how to backcheck).
the ugly
I think there is an ingrained desire in players to draw penalties, which I see as a distraction from the game and dishonorable. This might come from having reasons for everything, reasons that extend to blame when personal identity as a hockey player is on the line, including a fall on the ice. This might only be present in woman's hockey, which is perhaps marginalized enough already in Europe, leading to players having a heightened awareness of themselves as hockey players, and being such, would never needlessly fall over a stick.
the that's just too bad
I never quite agreed with the coaches in how to play. I felt I played physically, but they wanted me to be a bruiser, which I'm not. There were a few lessons I maybe shouldn't have learned: I passed to a player because they were open, they passed to another player, and another, resulting in a shot on goal, but later I was told I needed to set up the play behind the net. Then, the next game I played, I remembered the previous lesson, and started to go behind the net, and was benched for the rest of the game. I was told later that I should have passed immediately. In one of the early games I was asked to stay on the blue line longer to receive a pass from my fellow defenseman, because they thought I was falling back and playing defensively, so I did, and was beat to create a scoring opportunity for the other team. Unfortunately for me, I've seen our defensemen get beat a handful of times every game from our bench. I play defensively, but still get beat, it happens, especially against really great players. Maybe I don't need to play so defensively. Also, its hard to be the new player, little trusted by the players or the coaches. Good plays were attributed to me doing what I was supposed to do (which I was, so this was fine, I didn't need a lot of praise though held onto it when I did get it), and bad plays were singled out and usually meant I got very little ice time for the rest of the game. The latter was lame because I wasn't the only one making mistakes of the same calibur.
an aside
Czech people are very hard working, reliable and hospitable, even when not particularly empathetic. I also sensed a large amount of national pride, though the concurrent Olympics could have had something to do with this.
Concluding...
I really enjoyed my time in the Czech Republic. I would do it again if I could, for nothing else other than to prove and improve myself as a hockey player. I had many great experiences, got to know a great bunch of girls, even if I never really gained the trust of many of the girls on the ice. I know a part of Czech culture in a way I could never have understood without living there.
We lost 6-1 (maybe 6-2). I don't remember the goals broken down by period, but I felt like we could tie this game in the first period, and I want to say we answered every goal. By the end of the second, I think they had scored 3 goals, with a devastating third period. Our senior goalie played for Slavia years ago, so the Slavia team knows her well. We were home, making this game especially hard to loose.
Game 4
This game was also home. We lost this game 6-0. Then the tournament was over, I said my goodbyes and arranged to go home.
Regarding Czech Woman's Hockey
the goodThe play was physical in a way that mostly did not detract from the game. The passing was quick, the forechecks were hard (almost to the point of forgetting how to backcheck).
the ugly
I think there is an ingrained desire in players to draw penalties, which I see as a distraction from the game and dishonorable. This might come from having reasons for everything, reasons that extend to blame when personal identity as a hockey player is on the line, including a fall on the ice. This might only be present in woman's hockey, which is perhaps marginalized enough already in Europe, leading to players having a heightened awareness of themselves as hockey players, and being such, would never needlessly fall over a stick.
the that's just too bad
I never quite agreed with the coaches in how to play. I felt I played physically, but they wanted me to be a bruiser, which I'm not. There were a few lessons I maybe shouldn't have learned: I passed to a player because they were open, they passed to another player, and another, resulting in a shot on goal, but later I was told I needed to set up the play behind the net. Then, the next game I played, I remembered the previous lesson, and started to go behind the net, and was benched for the rest of the game. I was told later that I should have passed immediately. In one of the early games I was asked to stay on the blue line longer to receive a pass from my fellow defenseman, because they thought I was falling back and playing defensively, so I did, and was beat to create a scoring opportunity for the other team. Unfortunately for me, I've seen our defensemen get beat a handful of times every game from our bench. I play defensively, but still get beat, it happens, especially against really great players. Maybe I don't need to play so defensively. Also, its hard to be the new player, little trusted by the players or the coaches. Good plays were attributed to me doing what I was supposed to do (which I was, so this was fine, I didn't need a lot of praise though held onto it when I did get it), and bad plays were singled out and usually meant I got very little ice time for the rest of the game. The latter was lame because I wasn't the only one making mistakes of the same calibur.
an aside
Czech people are very hard working, reliable and hospitable, even when not particularly empathetic. I also sensed a large amount of national pride, though the concurrent Olympics could have had something to do with this.
Concluding...
I really enjoyed my time in the Czech Republic. I would do it again if I could, for nothing else other than to prove and improve myself as a hockey player. I had many great experiences, got to know a great bunch of girls, even if I never really gained the trust of many of the girls on the ice. I know a part of Czech culture in a way I could never have understood without living there.
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