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.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Budapest
My normal schedule includes 1 hour practices:
Monday: 18:00 (boys)
Tuesday: 20:30 (girls)
Wednesday: 16:45 (boys)
Thursday: 06:00 (girls)
Friday: 20:30 (girls)
My daily activities included morning coffee and bread with cheese, bathe, study the czech language with Pimsler's audio tracks, flash cards, and read Lenka's Czech language book... go to the grocery store... cook the food from the grocery store... go to Prague, plan for trips to other places like Marseille, and Budapest!
The Prague- Budapest train
Our Thursday morning (February 18, 2010) practice was canceled because there weren't going to be enough players. So, I took the train left Prague at 7:39 in the morning. I needed to leave the flat around 5:50 to get to the bus station that goes from Kladno (leaving around 06:00) to Dejvicka, the round square, in Prague (getting there around 06:20). Then I took the Prague metro lines from Dejvicka to Hlavni Nadrazi (the train station). There I bought a ticket from Prague to Budapest. Unlike flight tickets, the train tickets do not change in price. I wish I had a reliable, safe, consistent, cheap and public form of transport from one large city to another available to me always.
The train was nearly empty for most of the trip, and it was hazy overcast and rainy making it difficult to see the countryside and pictures hard to take. Much of the countryside was similar to Kladno, with rolling hills and trees.
The train:
There were sets of four chairs on each side that faced each other with a table in-between, which was really convenient for eating, setting my iphone down, etc.
On the train I met two Brazilians, Thais and Guilherme. I met them after they invited me to have lunch with them in the restaurant car after I gave them an orange because I noticed one of them was a little sick. They had either studied or were studying "letters," or literature. Thais was incorporating economics and tourism and other languages with letters. Somewhere near Brno (the second largest city in Czech Republic) the train's motor car went "Kaput" (the words of a local Czech), so we waited for an hour for another motor car.
Brno was very industrial with big old abandoned looking buildings, possibly factories, with broken thick old glass windows. I thought there was more graffiti in Brno than Kladno, Prague or Marseille. I can't give an unbiased opinion without getting away from the train tracks. This part of eastern Europe felt empty, concrete and mute, though the dull weather and empty train car probably helped create this feeling.
The Budapest train station (which looks similar to the Marseille transportation hub):
The hostel
I stayed in another hostel in Budapest, the Aboriginal Hostel. It was hard to find, and every single Hungarian I asked for directions from gave me bad directions, for the entire trip. I didn't take any of my own pictures of the place. I stayed in a room that holds 8, and I think there were 8 people sleeping in there when I woke up. They had lockers, which I really liked. They also had wireless, which is a minimum for me.
Budapest
Budapest is near the Danube, and has its own history, which I only know from wikipedia. The Hungarian language, like George said, was completely unrecognizable. The Hungarian equivalent of "cheers" was, in my phonetic spelling, "Egeshegedra." At least the Czech "Nasdravi" shares roots with Russian. Unfortunately, the train back to Prague got into Prague when our practice started, so I flew back. The airport is about a 20 minute drive, by taxi, from edge of downtown Budapest, or about an hour, if you know what you're doing, by public transportation.
Like other eurpean cities, Budapest has a metro (below). Budapest had a fasion street full of commercial tourist minded shops, some old buildings like an opera house, I wouldn't have minded another day or two for some better weather and to get to know the city better.
There was a beekeeper's store! I stopped in, but unfortunately didn't know what my dad uses or needed. I did ask my dad, but he couldn't say what he would want without actually seeing the things.
Bee keeper's supplies (above) and bee products (below).
The plane I took from Budapest to Prague Friday afternoon (below):
Monday: 18:00 (boys)
Tuesday: 20:30 (girls)
Wednesday: 16:45 (boys)
Thursday: 06:00 (girls)
Friday: 20:30 (girls)
My daily activities included morning coffee and bread with cheese, bathe, study the czech language with Pimsler's audio tracks, flash cards, and read Lenka's Czech language book... go to the grocery store... cook the food from the grocery store... go to Prague, plan for trips to other places like Marseille, and Budapest!
The Prague- Budapest train
Our Thursday morning (February 18, 2010) practice was canceled because there weren't going to be enough players. So, I took the train left Prague at 7:39 in the morning. I needed to leave the flat around 5:50 to get to the bus station that goes from Kladno (leaving around 06:00) to Dejvicka, the round square, in Prague (getting there around 06:20). Then I took the Prague metro lines from Dejvicka to Hlavni Nadrazi (the train station). There I bought a ticket from Prague to Budapest. Unlike flight tickets, the train tickets do not change in price. I wish I had a reliable, safe, consistent, cheap and public form of transport from one large city to another available to me always.
The train was nearly empty for most of the trip, and it was hazy overcast and rainy making it difficult to see the countryside and pictures hard to take. Much of the countryside was similar to Kladno, with rolling hills and trees.
The train:
There were sets of four chairs on each side that faced each other with a table in-between, which was really convenient for eating, setting my iphone down, etc.
On the train I met two Brazilians, Thais and Guilherme. I met them after they invited me to have lunch with them in the restaurant car after I gave them an orange because I noticed one of them was a little sick. They had either studied or were studying "letters," or literature. Thais was incorporating economics and tourism and other languages with letters. Somewhere near Brno (the second largest city in Czech Republic) the train's motor car went "Kaput" (the words of a local Czech), so we waited for an hour for another motor car.
Brno was very industrial with big old abandoned looking buildings, possibly factories, with broken thick old glass windows. I thought there was more graffiti in Brno than Kladno, Prague or Marseille. I can't give an unbiased opinion without getting away from the train tracks. This part of eastern Europe felt empty, concrete and mute, though the dull weather and empty train car probably helped create this feeling.
The Budapest train station (which looks similar to the Marseille transportation hub):
The hostel
I stayed in another hostel in Budapest, the Aboriginal Hostel. It was hard to find, and every single Hungarian I asked for directions from gave me bad directions, for the entire trip. I didn't take any of my own pictures of the place. I stayed in a room that holds 8, and I think there were 8 people sleeping in there when I woke up. They had lockers, which I really liked. They also had wireless, which is a minimum for me.
Budapest
Budapest is near the Danube, and has its own history, which I only know from wikipedia. The Hungarian language, like George said, was completely unrecognizable. The Hungarian equivalent of "cheers" was, in my phonetic spelling, "Egeshegedra." At least the Czech "Nasdravi" shares roots with Russian. Unfortunately, the train back to Prague got into Prague when our practice started, so I flew back. The airport is about a 20 minute drive, by taxi, from edge of downtown Budapest, or about an hour, if you know what you're doing, by public transportation.
Like other eurpean cities, Budapest has a metro (below). Budapest had a fasion street full of commercial tourist minded shops, some old buildings like an opera house, I wouldn't have minded another day or two for some better weather and to get to know the city better.
There was a beekeeper's store! I stopped in, but unfortunately didn't know what my dad uses or needed. I did ask my dad, but he couldn't say what he would want without actually seeing the things.
Bee keeper's supplies (above) and bee products (below).
The plane I took from Budapest to Prague Friday afternoon (below):
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Marseille
I flew on Czech Airlines from Prague directly to Marseille. In Marseille, like in the Czech Republic, I can take public transportation from the airport to wherever I want to go. I chose to stay in Vertigo, a hostel, because it was reasonably priced, and because it was located near the transportation center and the port.
Thursday February 11, 2010
My first night my roommates were from Japan, Korea and Turkey. I walked around and got oriented.
Inside the hostel:
Me, standing near Notre Dame de la Guarde, with Marseille in the background. It was very windy both Friday and Saturday:
In the chapel of Notre Dame de la Guarde:
Saturday February 13th, 2010
I spent this day with a couple of people I met at the hostel, a Czech and a Dutch. It was pretty random to run into a Czech in Marseille, he was studying in Lyon. I wanted to visit a market, so we walked there. Then we rented bikes, stopped by Notre Dame de la Guarde, then went down the coast. This night my roommates were an American, a Canadian and the Swiss.
The coast:
I was impressed with the public transportation in Marseille, it was big, shiny, silent and futuristic:
Thursday February 11, 2010
My first night my roommates were from Japan, Korea and Turkey. I walked around and got oriented.
Inside the hostel:
The stairs near the transportation center, when I got to Marseille:
I was pleasantly surprised to find (just like Celia said) that wine can be very inexpensive, 1 euro. The prices for wine, in euros, might be visible below:
I had some some cheese and bread I brought from Kladno for breakfast. My first mission of the day was to find some sort of espresso. My roommates this night were from Brazil (two brothers), and Switzerland.
I walked around the St. Nicholas Fortress:
View from the fortress:
Unfortunately, Notre Dame de la Guarde was on the top of a hill, very tall, with very limited room to back away, making it was hard to take a good picture of Notre Dame de la Guard.
View from Notre Dame de la Guarde:
Me, standing near Notre Dame de la Guarde, with Marseille in the background. It was very windy both Friday and Saturday:
In the chapel of Notre Dame de la Guarde:
Saturday February 13th, 2010
I spent this day with a couple of people I met at the hostel, a Czech and a Dutch. It was pretty random to run into a Czech in Marseille, he was studying in Lyon. I wanted to visit a market, so we walked there. Then we rented bikes, stopped by Notre Dame de la Guarde, then went down the coast. This night my roommates were an American, a Canadian and the Swiss.
The coast:
I was impressed with the public transportation in Marseille, it was big, shiny, silent and futuristic:
Sunday February 14th, 2010
It was snowing lightly when I left, making it feel like it was time to leave. I flew from Marseille to Paris to Prague this day, and has a few hour layover in Paris, so I got to see enough of Paris to know that I wanted to come back.
I miss George every day, but I missed him especially on this day because my phone stopped receiving the local telephone network. Fortunately, wireless still works so I can use skype. I mentioned before that I am accepting donations to my skype account, I think accepting offers to pay percentages of my cell phone bills might be better.
VIP, Jagr and Lenka
On February 9, Lenka and I worked in the VIP room for the men’s extraliga (The Czech professional hockey league) game between Kladno and Slavia (one of the Prague teams). Jaromir Jagr showed up during the second period! I had to leave early to go to practice but Lenka and another girl stayed and got a picture taken with him. I stayed for as long as I could, hoping for a chance encounter. I got ready the second fastest ever for me (one time I ran in the rink with less than 5 minutes on the clock for warm up and was on the ice with 2 minutes of warm up left).Jagr is a very big man. I couldn’t imagine trying to play any position against him.
Also, this isn’t really my news, but exciting none the less, Lenka found out on Valentine’s Day that she made the Czech national U-18 team! She’s a goalie. Congratulations to her :)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Slavia games 1 and 2
Since we won the series against Karvina, we started the series against Slavia, the team from Prague. We played both of the first two games away. We lost the first game 12-1, then the second game 6-0.
This weekend we have free, so I am in Marseille France. I only brought my iPhone, so I can't upload pictures. Soon!
This weekend we have free, so I am in Marseille France. I only brought my iPhone, so I can't upload pictures. Soon!
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