So apparently it is a custom in China to celebrate birthdays.... our hotel is sending flowers to everyone who has a birthday. I walked into my teammates room and saw some flowers, assuming that his girlfriend had sent them over to him. But no, the management of the hotel sent a printed card with hearts, flowers and a handwritten signature on it. The Chinese are very thorough...
I ran out of water today so I took a cab down to a local grocery store to stock up this morning. English is limited, so I had to have a translator set me up with the cab driver to have him wait for me. The Wu-Mart, as it is called, is a true experience... and with my Olympic credential on (since I needed it for security reasons to get back to the hotel), I got way more attention from clerks who don't speak English than I knew what to do with. But I got what I needed, in bottled water, laundry detergent and chocolate to keep me happy at the hotel.
I was talking to our trainer this morning and telling him our stir crazy we are going... he had some good insights, and reminded that as agonizing as the next few days until racing starts are going to be, this is what we love - the adrenaline, and the fact that there is no assurance of any safe outcome at a regatta like this. There is nothing to hang on to when you get out on the racecourse - the starting line is the great equalizer. You start from scratch everytime you go to the line and have to dig deep because there are no past victories to hang on to, and that is really great about it. The feeling of being totally juiced on adrenaline is impossible to duplicate anywhere - and I guess that's why I stuck with this for so long... guess I only get that one more time, so I better enjoy it.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
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