Building confidence

I started on outdoor sports like skiing and mountain biking late in life, and I presume that it's for that reason that approach both these sports and similiar adrenalin-powered adventures with very high levels of caution.

This weekend, for example, a group of friends headed to Merritt for some mountainbiking, and I came face-to-face with my fears a couple times.

Side note, we stayed at the local Ramada because it has a waterslide (marketing depts are probably missing a key demographic here - I bet the slide was installed to attract parents of the under 12 set, although there was no-one among us under 30).

Embarrassingly, it took me about 10 minutes to work up the courage to jump into that black hole of raging water and ride the 5 second surge to the base (what can I say, it was really dark in there. And the tunnel was tiny! A breeding ground for claustrophobia and God-only-knows-what.)

When it came to the biking though, the mountain trails we rode on were really great - much better than the 6-foot drops and nutty stunts found on the trails around Vancouver and Whistler. No, these were swooping, flowing trails still with enough bumps and turns to keep me on my toes.

That's not to say the tricks were missing. We found this one, 'The Big Easy,' thanks to some guidance from the locals. Here's Scott riding across it, and I'm happy to say that after a few attempts I made it across as well.


Oh, I should mention the locals who showed us the route were a family, and their five-year-old son had just tried this one out for the first time. Yep, me and the five-year-olds, breaking new ground.

Insomnia

It's three am and I'm wide awake, a side effect of jet lag. I think that's explanation enough on finding this surreal vintage Henson creation pretty funny. I'll let you decide if it's funny-ha-ha or just funny-strange. But I guarantee if you get up at 3am to watch it, it'll be funnier.

New heights

Today my colleague Faye and I visited the Great Wall. We chose the location of Simitai as it was close to Beijing with a less touristy reputation, and we were not disappointed. With the exception of two hawkers that attached themselves to us for the first few minutes of our journey, the wall at this location is serene, and we only met a few dozen other visitors. The wall climbs a rather dramatic and steep mountain spine just past where we were able to walk, and it seems impossible to have built the wall in such an impossible location.


Tonight was the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Games, and this time a ticket came through for Faye, which was fantastic as she wasn't able to join me at the opening. As for me, I returned to my now favourite haunt 12SQM, the smallest bar in Beijing, where my colleague Darlene and I sipped perfect cocktails and the TV was tuned to the ceremonies. The proprietress not only helped translate the commentary on the CCTV broadcast, but also gave us her thoughts on a positive hope for Beijing - and China's - future.

It feels like both China and Paralympic sport are on the cusp of something great. Both are engaged - and succeeding - in the Herculean task of showing the world that the limits of possibility are not what was once thought. Nothing is impossible, and "Impossible is nothing," as Adidas says.

For China, Beijing is emerging as a modern and prosperous city, with citizens who seem eager to embrace a new way of life. I remarked to someone how familiar and comfortable Beijing felt: I can't tell for sure if that's because of the westernization influence on the city, or because of how my own multicultural city has influenced me.

For the Paralympics, the critical mass of audience and interest is gathering (although sadly, most slowly in North America) and the potential of the Paralympics as a viable and mainstream spectator sport is starting to become a reality.

And suddenly, we're next in line for the games. In a scant 18 months, Vancouver, Whistler, British Columbia and Canada will host the world for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. If the Chinese hospitality and enthusiasm has taught me one thing, it's the importance of individual Canadians to become engaged with the Paralympic games.

I cannot recommend strongly enought that you include Paralympic sports in your plans for 2010 (viewing either live or televised). As I'm sure you've noticed, I have enjoyed ever minute of competition I've watched, and spectator participation is central to the competition and broadcast success of the Paralympics. I really, truly hope that Canada can show our support and excitement for the Paralympics the way the Chinese have. One thing is for sure: you can bet on finding me in the stands during the Paralympics, cheering for Team Canada.

Silver Linings

Just back from men's wheelchair basketball finals, where Canada took silver. Which means we didn't win the final game, but it was a great match to watch. Canada was definitely the crowd favourite, and we were well represented in the audience.



Earlier today I took advantage of some free time to visit the Lama Temple, and marvelled again at the intricacy of traditional Chinese architecture. I was also impressed by the gigantic 4-storey high Buddha which is the centrepiece of the temple. No pictures allowed, but the building below appears to have been constructed primarily to house this rather amazing gold-gilded likeness.



Tomorrow is my last full day in China and we'll be topping off our rather incredible journey with a trip to the Great Wall of China. And then homeward bound, back to where the heart lies.

Crowd Control

Tonight was a visit to Beijing's water cube to watch some of the swimming competitions. Although Canada has performed extremely well in swimming, there were few Canadians competing in tonight's races. However, we did get to cheer on Benoit Huot, who won bronze in his 400 metre race.



The amazing thing about being at the Beijing Paralympics (among other things) is the remarkable participation and energy of the locals in attendance. The stands are always packed, and the crowds cheer on the races, especially when China participates (and often wins - they're in the lead for medal wins, coming from 'out of nowhere', as one colleague put it, in Paralympic sport).

The Chinese have been criticized in the western media for filling the stands with workers and students, as if that's not a valuable audience for the events. That may be the case to a certain degree (I've seen a few yellow shirts emblazoned with "Chinese Workers Cheering for China"), but most of the spectators are regular Beijing residents, who perhaps couldn't access or couldn't afford Olympic times tickets - or are simply interested in the Paralympics. And let me tell you, never seen a more enthusiastic and engaged audience. Standing in the Olympic Green, you can hear roars echoing from the Bird's Nest Stadium, and tonight the Water Cube was alive with cheers. This is not a passive crowd, uninterested in the sport and taking only direction from an unseen force. This is an audience truly loving the sport and the athletes they're watching.



Outside of the events, the Olympic Green (the massive campus where most of the venues are located) is filled with life; families strolling, taking photos, touring pavilions, and taking in the atmosphere. This stands in sharp contrast to the stories my colleagues brought back from the Olympic period, when the access to the green was minimal and you could send an out-of-control bus through the area and not hit a soul. But now, this massive area of wide squares and long promenades is truly being used and enjoyed. The sense that the Paralympics has become the 'people's games' is strong for me, and I hope the legacy of being exposed to such remarkable and interesting sport is one that lasts for this city.

Tonight the sky is clear, the air is warm and the sight of the full moon rising over the Birds Nest Stadium is beautiful. I feel very luck to be here.



PS excuse the blurry pics on Flickr, I'm operating without the benefit of a tripod. Or time.

Lazy Sunday

Yesterday was Sunday, and after a busy and long week my colleague Faye and I decided we needed some down time. So we did what any girl would do: spa and shopping.

The shopping here is pretty great and the process is pretty overwhelming; bargaining is the norm. Thank god we have the advice of colleagues who've come before us, to choose which shop or stall to visit. And with a relaxing massage beforehand, we were good to go.

But by dinner my energy was flagging, so we dropped into "Beijing's Best Noodle House" which had been recommended by a number of locals. Our dinner was fantastic, as I count noodles as one of my favourite foods. Tossed in a black bean sauce with chopped vegetables, I couldn't have asked for anything better. The bill for all three of us, including three giant bottles of beer, was under $15.

Today is a non-stop day, checking out a number of venues with some of the local officials, and then tickets to swimming tonight. Hopefully the Canadians will be in as great form as they've been all week, and we'll be able to cheer them on.

Recordbreaking news

Today, we were among the spectators in the Bird’s Nest Stadium for a very special moment – the playing of the Canadian anthem.

The occasion was Dean Bergeron's gold medal in the men’s 100 meter wheelchair race and beating the paralympic record (the photo above is the finish line of the race); his teammate Andre Beaudoin won bronze. Meanwhile, Chantal Petitclerc, our Canadian superstar who’s already won 10 medals in this games, won her heat of the 800 metre wheelchair race and also broke the existing paralympic record for that distance. You can find more news on Canadian medal wins here



All of this excitement for the Canadian team was after watching Oscar Pistorius win the men’s 200 meter dash. Oscar, a South African, is a superstar. A double amputee, he’s continually breaking records and this year gained the right to compete in the qualifications for the Olympics. This man is superfast, and super amazing to watch. Needless to say, he broke records tonight as well.



Have I mentioned how inspiring these games are? Let me mention it again. These are elite athletes, continually pushing the boundaries of expectation and performance. It's amazing to be here to experience their energy first hand.

Addendum

The awesome purse in the pic below is a knock-off of the Hermes Birkin bag, an apparently rare and outrageously expensive bag. My version might be fake, but in the 24 hours I've owned it I've already received a lot of compliments. I did, however, feel a bit sheepish last night while sporting my conspicuous new purchase, I found myself in conversation over cocktails with members of the RCMP's Integrated Security Unit. Happily, they were discreet enough to not mention anything. Or they didn't care. Whatever - I still have my Birkin.

Sense of Place

Last night, a colleague and I found ourselves with exactly 45 spare minutes prior to an event. Similar to the previous night's escapade, Anna has also been in full Paralympic mode, 24/7 since she arrived - an exciting time, to be sure, but she hasn't seen anything of Beijing save for the traffic and the venues. Time for an intervention.

We miraculously found a cab (a small feat on the Friday night of a long weekend, it's the Moon Festival here on Monday) and whipped over to Nanluoguxiang, a hip hutong area (hutongs are the traditional courtyard-style neighbourhoods of Beijing, only a few remain after the ongoing 'redesign' of the city). We scheduled ten minutes for shopping and 20 minutes for a gin and tonic in Beijing's smallest bar (pictured above), at 12 square meters. It oozes charm, and finally, after 10 days, Anna felt like she was actually IN Beijing.

Time quickly ran out, so we jumped in another cab and high-tailed it across the district to the BC Canada Pavillion, where a Canadian Paralympic Committee event was being held. The pavillion is located on the edge of Tianenmen Square, so the taxi let us off in the general vicinity - communicating exact location to drivers can sometimes be a bit of a challenge so I usually cross my fingers and hope I'll end up where I instructed. This time, the drop off point was on the opposite side of the square than we were expecting, so the last part of our journey was a walk across the bustling attraction, filled with families and couples in early evening. The buildings were lit up and there was no doubt about where we were, amidst the remarkable icons of Beijing.

I couldn't have said it better myself

Just back from dinner out with a friend working with the Canadian team. She's been in Beijing two weeks but has barely left the Olympic campus, so we went out to a local neighbourhood for a little change of pace from the cafeteria of the athlete's village. She - and many others - are putting in long hours behind the scenes with the athletes helping to achieve their goals, and as a result is getting a unique and rare perspective. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and is an enthusiasm that I think has affected everyone who is involved in these games... as a particant, spectator, organizer or volunteer.

Scott Russell's blog on cbc.ca is a much more eloquent description of the Paralympic experience here in Beijing than I could ever hope to capture, and reflects many of my thoughts over the past few days. Enjoy.

Forbidden City

Forbidden City
Originally uploaded by Janamel

How can you not love a place with names like Hall of Supreme Harmony ( followed in quick order by Hall of Medium Harmony, a personal favourite), Palace of Celestial Favour, Gate of Loyal Obedience and Garden of Established Happiness (not to mention the Pavillion of Literary Profundity)? I'm tempted to start naming the rooms of my own humble abode in the same way.

The former Imperial Palace here in Beijing is enormous. Entering from the south, the scale begins on a dramatic and overwhelming size, but moving from courtyard to courtyard, slowly changes size and tone until reaching the much more intimate but no less beautiful residential wings and gardens.

In paralympic news, today we made the journey to the rowing venue, about an hour drive from the city centre. The stands were filled with groups of Chinese workers and students, enjoying the facility and the races. The excitement was palpable when China led, and won, the last race. The hot weather meant my colleagues and I ate a couple rounds of ice cream to keep cool. (Who can say no to ice cream, even if it does replace lunch?) So now it's off to find a proper dinner.

The game have begun

Wheelchair basketball
Originally uploaded by Janamel

After four days I’ve scratched a bit more of the surface of both Beijing and the Paralympics. I’ve just returned from the Olympic Green from watching two wheelchair basketball games, men’s Canada vs. Sweden and Great Britain vs. USA.

We were meant to arrive in time to also watch the women’s team competing immediately prior, but logistics in Beijing are not always easy, and finding cabs at rush hour, loading six people and two wheelchairs into the vehicles, coordinating ticket pick-ups, meeting locations and finding directions to the venue, took a wee bit of time.

Wheelchair basketball is a great game to watch – the rules are understandable to anyone familiar with basketball in general. It’s also fast, and a little bit rough. Ok, sometimes quite rough… it’s not unusual for players to be knock an opposing player off their wheels, or shift their own weigh forcefully enough to end up on the floor. The players themselves are pretty burly guys who look like they can handle a few hard hits. Tonight, at least, there was plenty of both tattoos and bad attitudes on the court.

You’ll be happy to hear the Canadian team won their match, and if all goes well and they make it to the finals, I’ve already got my tickets in hand. If they’re playing either the British or Americans I saw follow later tonight, then God speed… I would not want to run into either of those teams in a back alley (by the way, it’s more likely to be the British, as they won their match after coming from behind).

I’m disappointed most of you won’t be able to see much of the games through CBC as they are providing a shockingly minimal amount of coverage, especially in comparison to many other countries such as Britain, Australia and China and many others. The CBC has some nominal coverage on their website, but the best coverage to be found is likely at Paralympicsport.tv, where you can get a very good sense of what the action is like yourself. In the meantime, I’ve also posted a few pics from the game as well as some photos I’ve taken around Beijing over the last few days.

It’s raining here (as it has been, on and off, for the last few days). It was past midnight when I made my way back to the hotel tonight and the streets are quiet, near deserted, providing a brief sense of stillness in a city of over 15 million people. I swear I could hear a cricket chirp as I walked down Wangfujing Street. Time for me to call it a night, too.

If I had known, I would have dressed for the occasion

Canadian Team
Originally uploaded by Janamel

I've arrived in Beijing and started to get my bearings, both on the city and my role here, which is to observe and learn from the Paralympics, arriving next in Vancouver in roughly18 months. Shortly after my arrival, the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Paralympics was scheduled, but I was unclear on the process and unsuccessful at getting tickets in advance.

But luck was in the air and on the day of, a colleague from a related organization emailed at 5pm: he had a spare ticket, and asked did I want to use it. Yes please! He arranged to drop it at the front desk of his hotel, where I would pick it up and head onward to the Bird’s Nest Stadium myself. Everything clicked into place, and I was seated and ready for the show to begin at 8pm.

I've just loaded a selection of the photos onto flickr, so you can have a sense of the evening, but let me also share with you some highlights.

The entrance of the athletes takes most of the evening’s time, and watching the athletes as they enter the stadium is pretty moving. I could spot a few who were making the journey around the perimeter with considerable effort; one man with crutches was walking without their assistance, holding the support canes over his head in a sign of victory; a girl in a wheelchair was wheeling with the assistance of another teammate also in a wheelchair; one man, a double amputee, was walking without assistance. It was a slow process – he had fallen behind by about the length of a block by the time the rest of his teammates had been seated.

The part that brought tears to my eyes was when the torch relay entered the arena and the flame was passed from athlete to athlete as it made its way around the stadium. Finally, the last athlete manually raised himself and his wheelchair up a loooong rope, arm over arm, to the edge of the open roof, where the flame lit up the giant torch. I got a little weepy.

A few weeks ago in preparation for this trip, I met a colleague who’s been quite involved in the Canadian paralympic movement for a few years. She asked me if I’d ever been involved before: I said no. “Be careful,” she said, “This is something that can really capture your heart.”

I think it already has.

Good Karma

This weekend Scott and I and some friends went hiking near Whistler. While absolutely beautiful, our destination is a popular one with the winter snowmobiling crowd. Along the way, we picked up a lot of trash to clean up a little of this pristine wilderness.

Karma swung into action as, along with crushed beer cans and plastic bottles, we also found five bucks in loonies and twoonies scattered in the alpine meadow. In the spirit that it was 'lucky money,' Scott spent the change on lottery tickets and won $25!

The money has now been converted into a nice bottle of Spanish Rioja which we'll enjoy next time we're out with our friends. And you can guarantee we'll be returning the bottle for recycling after it's emptied.