Let The Blogging Begin….

I mentioned the hockey tournament at our school in a previous post known as Dong Bei. We just had the final games this week and the big party last night to close out another year of this fantastic hockey tournament.

For the women’s side of things it was The Blu Renegades pitted against The Red Scarlets.

I wasn’t too sure about the match up initially, but it proved to be a great battle. The blue team came out on top after 3 games: 4-2, 5-5, and 4-3.

I don’t think we could have asked for a better three games. The weather was perfect, the intensity was high, and the skill level was at its best. Every year the skill increases making it a better game… I am thankful that there are so many women here who love the game as much as I do and that we are able to have this tournament… it is something to look forward to at the beginning of each year.

I am so proud of the progress and teamwork that my team displayed over the course of the past month in practicing, preparing, and playing. I had so much fun with them and although we didn’t win the tournament, we definitely made team blue work for it.

It is ridiculous how much I love playing this game…

The Pre-Game talk…

“The Wall” - Susan Colorado… I peppered her with shots all tournament and she only gave up 4… I thought maybe with our friendship and all she would let a few more sneak through… but when you got this kind of skill, it is hard not to use it…

My sister sent me some pics the other day asking if I would photo shop them a bit so that I could put her and her friends face onto the picture below. So I fiddled around a bit and here is the finished product. Anyone know who they were before?!

One of my favourite times of the year… the sun is starting to shine more brightly, the near death green colour of the trees is starting to see more life, and the hockey sticks make their out of the closets and onto the court. Dong Bei has begun. The weather has not been very kind (as it seems to be every year around this time) and prevents us from playing every now and again… but we have some hard core ladies here who are willing to head out on weekends and stay late after school to get a good run around in and play their hearts out.

This year we have The Red Scarlets captained by Shannon Hawkey pitted against The Blue Renegades with Susan Colorado at the helm. We have played one game already with team blue coming out on top 4-1. Our three game series starts on the 11th and I can’t wait…

Here are some pics from the draft night (when we found out whose team we were on) and the first game.

The Red Scarlets

Pre-game faces…

I remember in the spring of my first year at Maple Leaf School I started hearing the murmurs of a hockey tournament known simply as: “Dong Bei” (meaning North East - since that is where we are in China). I quickly became aware of the culture, dedication, determination, competition and passion that went into this tournament at our school. This competition takes over not only our school, but our community for a good half the year with talks of players and teams beginning sometime in October, if not earlier… and progressively builds in fervor until May when the tournament officially begins. Its originator is none other than Commission E himself, Craig Engleson… he has been the man behind the wheel of this endeavor and it has grown to include student and women’s teams as well.

Loving all things active and competitive, I knew that I had to be a part of it… in my first year here and year’s since, including the present one, two female teams battle it out for the bragging rights of champion. It is great being able to get out there and release some energy, rough it up a bit and just have some fun. It is definitely one of those things that I will miss when my time in Dalian comes to an end… (still have one more year in me here for those of you wondering).

Here are some pics of years previous… can’t wait to post up some new ones from this year’s showing…

Year One:

Year Two:

Susan practicing her positioning on the court… haha…

The Stroopwafel is possibly one of the yummiest treats ever. 

A stroopwafel is a waffle made from two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  They can be enjoyed at any time, day or night… it really doesn’t matter.  Alone, with a coffee, perhaps with a little dollop of ice cream… my mouth is watering just typing about it.

I have had one daily since I have been here… should probably cut back before I start looking like one, but that isn’t going to be happening any time soon.