Beijing Day 3

Another cool grey day was waiting for us this morning and we walked between our rooms and the restaurant for breakfast in the chilly air. The forecast was for a warm 20 degrees but it didn't really feel like it.

We had an early start and this was going to be a long day with lots of places to visit, some shopping and a late game for both teams.

Our first stop was Temple of Heaven, one of the oldest places in Beijing, sited in a park that covers almost 3 square kilometers. The parkland is full of wooded areas and as we walk through the gate, we leave behind the traffic, noise and fumes. It's a lot quieter here, but there's lots of people as the park is used by many of the locals who dance, paint, exercise or generally just enjoy the quiet spaces.

The actual Temple of Heaven is huge and impressive; a monument from dynastic times (Ming and Qing) where sacrifices were made, and the Emperor would call upon the god in heaven to bring rains for a plentiful harvest. Zodiac and numerology abound- for example each set of steps had 9 risers, not 10 and not 8. And each section of the Temple of Heaven was made up of 12 parts to align with the Zodiac. Everyone was impressed with it all, and the girls were able to buy some bouncy toys too so they were happy...

Next stop was the Pearl Market at Hong Qiao, and our first chance to test out our bartering skills. Rule of thumb: offer a price of between 10 and 20% of the shopkeeper's first price. For example, a reasonable response when a shopkeeper says RMB 280 for a gift-boxed set of chopsticks, is RMB 30. We managed to buy two for RMB 20 each... The girls bought headphones, runners, chucks, jackets, bags, etc, etc, etc- and all in less than a couple of hours. Money spent, we left for lunch nearby and then had about half an hour to chill out before heading to our games. Diane tried to sell some excess "I-love-Beijing" teeshirts that suddenly she no longer wanted...

Hockey returned to Lucheng stadium for our final competition game against the other international side from South African college, Uplands. Uplands had yesterday held the team from Guangzhou to a 1-1 draw at full time, and had gone on to lose the penalty-shoot-out. Guangzhou had roundly beaten us in our very first game so we were sure this was going to be one tough game!

It started frantic and was end-to-end for the whole game. We scored first from a penalty corner. Lucy took the shot and Lauren then scored from the deflection- 1-0 up! Soon after Uplands equalised and we went to half-time all even. Soon into the second half Anna drove into the circle and took a sweet sultans scored! We were up 2-1 but the lead was short lived as Uplands scored next. A few minutes later we were awarded another penalty corner and (again) Lucy took the shot and Lauren cleaned up putting the ball in the back of the net!! With 5 minutes to go we had to defend and defend for our lives! Luckily we managed to keep them scoreless to the final whistle and came away with our first hockey win on international soil!! The game was played in great spirit, and the South African team have been great pals all week with their support and camaraderie. It was the best way to finish the tournament for us.

Coach Gall says the girls have developed out of this world this week and are now really competitive against world-class competition. It's a great base for local competition this year.

The football team went to Yuetan Stadium, the first actual stadium we've played at. It was cooling down (kick-off at 4.30) and the pitch was alongside a busy motorway which made it a little noisy. Within 30 seconds the Xicheng Sports School team was one goal up and we were stunned. It was a great wake-up call and we now started to get into the game. Olivia B, Kendra, Emma and Alyssa began to control the game with some skill and strength on the ball, and fed Bex and Maddy with some great passes. It didn't take too long before Bex scored her second goal of the tournament, and after peppering their goal for about 10 minutes, Maddy made it 2-1 with a well placed tap-in. Second half began as the first half ended and we attacked their goal time after time. Maddy N led our back-4 and we managed to diffuse any of their attacks. Soon enough Olivia B scored her first, and then her second, tournament goals and we were on top of them. Alyssa finished it all with a nicely taken late goal - final score 5-1!!! The first international win for St Oran's football!!

Coach Darby thought each and every one played extremely well. Olivia Ry and Bex were retired with blood bin injuries late in the game and added to the list of players carrying niggles: Kennedy (grazed leg), Maddy (wrist), Bex (grazed knee), Olivia Ry (grazed knee, blood nose), Diane Thompson (sore head, broken sunglasses).

The after-match chats between St Oran's and Xicheng went on for some time, with the players keen to talk and laugh and listen. After a while we decided to perform our two cultural items in front of them, and there we were: performing Maori songs in front of smiling and laughing Chinese players, amidst a busy running track and next to a noisy motorway. Both teams were thrilled and we said our goodbyes with hugs and waves - this is what it was all about.

All-in-all a fantastic day for St Oran's sport - two international wins and two teams that are absolutely buzzing! The One Direction songs sung in the back of the bus tonight sounded all that more exuberant (if not in tune and in time!).

Photos below, and note that while the panoramic photo of the football stadium appears to show a curved sideline, it's simply the image and not the reality...