Banquet Reception

Banquet Reception
So our coach arrived last night from NZ and most other teams have arrived today. There is an Aussie team, a Swiss team, Canadian, USA, Malaysia and three different Chinese teams from various places. The Aussies have “older” athletes with them, so they won’t be competing in Wu Shu as such but Tai Chi…less competition for our group! The British team is still expected I believe.
We had some more training at the school thanks to our coach today. The coach of the main team at school was very happy to see our coach, as he used to be his coach. This meant he brought him tea and was very respectful to him. One of the school students had brought her coach lunch from the lunch room and our coach kind of told him off saying that he never made him bring him lunch when he was his coach. We thought that was quite funny.
Most of the team weren’t practising at the school today as they drove to the venue where the opening ceremony will be held to practise there with costumes etc. We saw them practising at the school yesterday and wow…they are something else. Ben took a video and once I work our how (am waiting for instructions from uncle Barrie….) I will post the video clip, too. Sorry, I know I keep promising photos and I wish they would work so you can all see some of what we are seeing.
This evening we had a banquet with all the other Chin Woo teams from across the world, local TV was there and a couple of tables of very important looking people. I know the school principal was there, we know him now, but other distinguished looking people were there, but luckily only a very short opening speech. Then the food rolled out and kept coming and coming. Round and round went the ‘Lazy Susan’ on our table. Some of the food was easily recognisable, like the BBQ chicken dish, but in case anyone was in doubt, the head of the chicken was on the platter as well, nicely BBQ’d. Hmmh, it didn’t put anyone in our group off.
The more upsetting dish was, wait for it, turtle! Yup, nicely dissected with the shell on top, the four legs spread to four different directions from the main body and the head lying at the front, not too far from it. Apparently most of the other meat in that dish was chicken, but only one person on our table tried it. Ngaroma is very brave when it comes to food, she had grilled silk worms in Beijing….
Tessa was upset about the turtle, and we discussed writing a note about WWF and sending it back into the kitchen! We dismissed the idea however as the chef is unlikely to speak English and probably wouldn’t get what we are on about anyway. A classic case of cultural differences. As there were about twenty tables in the room all being served the same dishes, let’s hope that it was a farmed turtle rather than an endangered species.
Some very nice mushroom dishes were there and it is autumn here, so they must be in season. They look a bit odd as they are fungi but do taste good. Nick has become a bit braver over the last week, while Ben leaves the table a little hungry most nights and then fills up with toast and jam in the mornings. He is a bit stuck in this hotel however because they have toast and butter (Anchor from NZ none the less) but no jam. The other breakfast dishes are all Chinese and include pretty much everything we would traditionally eat for dinner. Steamed greens, steamed buns, fried noodles, always boiled eggs and lots of pickled vegetable dishes, too. Fried rice as well. Lots to choose from just not Ben’s idea of breakfast food.
We will have to fatten the boy up with German food once we get there. He will be in cake heaven, bread and jam for breakfast, lots of pasta and Maultaschen! He is already salivating when I tell him about all this food there. Tante Ingrid, my aunt will be making us Spaghetti Bolognese for the first evening and Birgit, my cousin has an afternoon tea birthday party organised for the boys on their first day in Hamburg, which will be their birthday. She has invited two little boys, too from her street and who will be in the boys’ school. That will be nice for them to have at least a couple of faces that they know.
Right, tomorrow the official program will start with a visit to the tomb of the founder of Chin Woo (it was founded in 1910) and other bits that I will write about tomorrow evening.
Bye to you all, we love receiving all your comments on our blog and in email form. Please keep them up even if we aren’t that good in answering them all individually at the moment. 
I am off down into the lobby now that the children are asleep to access WiFi and post this blog.
Tanja