2016 May 27
The Actbang Hotel in Huangshi is a nice place. The display
of Ping Pong trophies in the lobby is quite impressive. There is shopping
nearby and a park just steps from the hotel where kids play all day. We have
been here longer than any place we will stay in China, and we are only half way
into our stay. Today we had a walk through at the arena. It is just as
impressive as the hotel. Seating is at least 10,000. If the game is a sellout,
it will be quite a raucous environment.
The walk through started off slowly. A day off for an
athlete is like Thanksgiving Dinner. It tastes good at the time, but a little
later you are laying on the sofa like a zombie. We haven’t done anything for
two days (the college visit yesterday doesn’t count as a practice as they
hardly broke a sweat). The guys looked
like zombies lacing up their sneakers and venturing out onto the empty court. I
let them just BS for about 15 minutes and then got underway.
Nine players, no managers or assistant coaches to fill the
void. My time at Camden County College is paying off. We had many practices
with less than a full complement of players. Passing, shooting, running, walking
through the old plays, introducing new plays, and a foul shot competition that
ended spiritedly. I was pleased.
Back at the hotel, lunch was ready. Then, the time abyss.
There was nothing on the schedule until dinner, and then nothing on the
schedule until breakfast. I read, took a
nap, but certainly nothing happened blog worthy. When I went to dinner, I walked
in and picked up a plate. It was the same old fare. I made a complete loop of
the buffet, put the plate back into the pile, and walked out.
Aly came past my room and asked if I was going out to walk
and if he could join me. I jumped at the chance to get out of the hotel. We set
off in search of an ATM as Aly needed a little RMB. The first one we found
seemed fine, but we couldn’t navigate the screens on the computer and decided
it was certainly the computer’s fault. We walked a couple more blocks and found
another machine.
There was a lady there who Aly recruited to help him with
the screens. I am assuming that Aly thought I could do it as easily as I read
the name tags yesterday at the promotion. The lady was quite nice, but the
machine wasn’t. Still no cash. She could speak a little English and asked him
how much he was trying to get. Aly said $200 RMB. The lady digs into her
pocketbook and tries to give it to him. I look at Aly and ask him what that
says about his current attire.
As it turns out, this lady works for the Sports Exhibition
Center. Seriously? Of all the passers-bye, this lady is from the arena where we
play two games. Crazy. While we are trying to turn her down, she calls a
friend. The friend tells us about the employment coincidence and that the lady
really wants to help us. I suggest we trade USD for the RMB and the offer is
accepted. Everyone wins.
Aly and I continue on our merry way, followed occasionally
by the curious group of kids and always by the looks of people who have never
seen someone duck through a doorway (Aly, not me). We peek into a few shops,
Aly has some souvenirs he still needs, and I buy a beer and some peanuts to
fill the void of dinner. I am back in
Room 701 by 9:00pm. There is an English speaking movie channel so I half
watched POINT BREAK. (No thumbs for this one, lots of special effects, but the
plot line is predictable and the acting is pedestrian.)
Tomorrow cannot arrive soon enough.
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