Forest Park

Someone recently wondered on Twitter if a person posting a bunch of pictures and almost no type is still considering blogging. Well it is, but it's a photo blog! Which for the next... however long it takes you to look at pictures... is what this blog has become!

There's Fuzhou!

Earlier this week a few fellow teachers and I headed to nearby Forest Park, a "botanical garden" too massive to be called that. We hiked some mountainous terrain, swam in a mountainous pool, and admired the mountainous scenery, wildlife, and vegetation.

This tree was very impressive.

I liked this vegetation, and if you look closely you can see a butterfly- wildlife!

One of the highlights is that we did this hike on one of the last days of summer. It was still warm enough for an impromptu dip in a surprisingly deep swimmin' hole. Nowadays, four days later, the temperature has dropped to a windy 15 degrees, making impromptu outdoor swimming a thing of the past. Let's see the photos. 

Did I mention there was a waterfall? Shhhhh it's a secret waterfall.
Photo by Nick

Beautiful end to a great day.

That's a Pretty Good Wall

This past week I went to the Great Wall of China.

That's me! Photo by Matt B.

Going to the Wall was an absolute MUST on my to-do list in China, and I was ecstatic when I got the opportunity during our spring break. While staying in Beijing, we went on a day tour to visit the Mutianyu site, which is about 2.5 hours away from Beijing by bus. We spent a gorgeously warm, albeit hazy, afternoon hiking on this ancient structure, and I really enjoyed it!

Although on the way Matt and I joked about keeping our expectations low in order to decide for ourselves just how "great" this wall is, it's impossible to belittle this remarkable structure. Incredibly vast, it winds and stretches over and along mountains until it disappears from view. The amount of work it required, not to mention questioning how they even accomplished this tremendous task, is confounding.

As you can see here, some parts along the Wall are extremely steep as a result of the intense elevation changes it covers. I'm not used to doing anything higher than sea level, so this turned into a pretty good workout! I was very impressed by the vigour of both the young and old in conquering the Wall; some people were fully set on making serious progress, and didn't let the heat, elevation, distance, or difficulty stand in their way. Several high schools were touring the Wall while we visited, and by observing them, elderly Chinese people (some even being helped by family members), and everyone in between, it was good to see how important experiencing the Wall is to Chinese people. Another factor is that we were visiting during a national holiday, when thousands of Chinese people travel to the capital to take in their country's historical and commercial sites. 

Forever engraved at Tower 23.

Matt and I climbed to Mutianyu's highest tower, Number 23, where you can see the point at which restoration on the Wall stops and the natural, weathered surface continues. We also skipped lunch to hike further along in order to catch the toboggan ride down instead of a cable car. It was well worth the trip; the toboggan is like a sketchy luge on a water-slide: tons of fun! It was really strange to ride a carnivalesque attraction after getting off one of the ancient wonders of the world, but in China it just feels right.

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

A Chinese Workout: 5 Differences

Well, we are over 2 months into your New Year's Resolution; how's it holding up? In case you're still heading to the gym, here are 5 differences between that gym and a Chinese gym.

1. No Rules

There aren't really any rules at the gym, and the few that exist are pretty relaxed. For example, there's no smoking allowed in the gym, but in the locker room is fine. (Ah... evidently there's nothing like that first completely naked smoke after a workout.) You also aren't supposed to take your shirt off, but it's ok if you're SUPER hot on the treadmills or you want to check out your pec progress in the weight room mirrors. If flexibility is one of your goals, a Chinese gym has you covered.

Re-racking your weights? Not a rule, not a thing.

 2. No Wipe Downs

I see people complaining about others not wiping down their machines at Western gyms, but my gym doesn't even give you the option. There's no disinfectant or paper towels anywhere, and the full-time cleaning staff has their hands full with constantly mopping the floors to keep them forever slippery. We call that Priority Training. As a result, the machines have enough DNA on them to spawn a super-human, and the heart-rate readers will still sense a heartbeat with your hands in the air. 

3. Cheaper than Being at Home

Although a Chinese gym may come with some drawbacks, I just remind myself that being a member is dirt cheap. It cost me $100 CAD for a full year! For a fully-equipped gym that includes classes, that's the cheapest thing I've ever heard. Plus... it comes with a free locker! No more quarters! There is no Chinese quarter!

I had to crop all the nudity out.

4. Alternative Workouts

On any given evening, two of the most popular pieces of equipment will be the ping-pong and pool tables. I had never seen these offered in a gym before, but people here REALLY get into them. (Those stereotypes about amazing Chinese ping-pong players? They're true.) Anyways, these options mean that sometimes you'll see a person come and put on gym clothes to play pool for some reason. 

I'm too scared to challenge these guys.

 5. Gym Fashion

Speaking of gym clothes, the workout outfits might be the most interesting part of the gym. So far I've found that Chinese fashion includes ANY article of clothing, in any circumstance or combination. This remains true after people hit the locker room, meaning that I've seen everything from a denim jacket to matching pajamas. The strangest one I saw happened last week: a guy on a treadmill wearing leather pants, a shirt with a massive Union Jack, and a fedora. He brought a gym bag with him too... so who knows what he changed OUT of.

Just Joined Jiu Jitsu Jym

It's official. The free trial week is long over, and I've made the leap of commitment by signing up for a year of jiu jitsu classes at a real fighting gym.

I'm third from the left, back row.
Taken from http://canadianfightingcenter.com/

It's the Canadian Fighting Center here in Winnipeg, and they don't mess around. In addition to UFC fighter Joe Doerksen teaching here, they also have former K-1 and World Muay Thai Kickboxing Heavyweight Champion Giuseppe DeNatale (click his name to see a TKO victory of his). I'll be learning from Doerksen and others, but so far I've only had it severely handed to me from them.

One of my first three classes featured a lot of "rolling" (like sparring, but for grappling). The only catch was, it was all with instructors... or at least guys at a high level. When one was finished beating me up, there was another one anxiously waiting to take over. I got submitted in ways I never knew possible, with moves I had never seen before. In the end, it meant that the next day my throat hurt from being choked, my elbow hurt from being arm-barred, and my body hurt from doing that over and over.

But let's pretend I'm learning, and maybe by posting it on here it'll keep me honest and committed. "But Andrew!" you say, "Having this blog doesn't even keep you committed to posting on it!" And to that I say hey watch what you say... in a year I might be able to fight you for that.

Taken from http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/1579505.page