The Engleson Files

Here’s our little girl - wearing the go-go outfit with moon boots, listening to all the ‘Summer of the 60’s’ music and in constant high-tech communication with all her friends. Yes, this is a girl on the go!

Well, sadly, my three month goatee experiment has come to an end. My hair had not been cut in three months and was a complete mess, and the goatee was in a glorious, full Trotskyesque bloom. In the end I enjoyed it, Kristin hated it - therefore, a job well done! Now, what to do next year…

As stated earlier, the Ice Dragons went up to Haerbin last weekend and played a few games of hockey. After a long and eventful train ride up Friday night, the team rolled into the winter capital at roughly 7:30am Saturday morning and had the rest of the day to enjoy the sites - although a housewarming party by our hosts was set for 12:00 (noon); yes, a very quick turn around to get the engines revved up again! We played a total of three games on Saturday night ending at 1:30 in the morning and then had a fourth game at 6:00am Sunday morning. Oh yes, fatigue and inebriation were certainly factors! Our train home left at 5:00pm Sunday and since we had so much time many of the Dragons headed down to the infamous Songhua River and played a long game of pond hockey to a capacity crowd. It was an absolutely great weekend of hockey and hijinx and we all slept like babies on the hard sleepers back home to Dalian Monday morning.

Oh yes, how I long for those cold winter days! Simply put, I love the winter. I think growing up in Canada this fact becomes an inevitability, but there is nothing like watching the snow fall and then getting outside an enjoying it for what it is. Living in Dalian is a little difficult in the sense that we do not ever get snow; we just get long, cold, windy, brown winter days. While the ponds are great to skate on, I desperately miss the snow-filled days of my youth. November as a child was always full of the white stuff and it is a sad reality these days when (even in Canada) we are lucky to get it during this month; and many places it is lucky to get it at Christmas time! And this I find sad. Anyways, this winter I want to try the best I can to ensure that Magnus and Svea get to enjoy the snow (if we can find some) so they can experience the enjoyment I had when I was a child. Bring on winter - and the some snow - folks!!

As stated before, one aspect the Engleson clan is very excited about with our upcoming trip to Indonesia will be our visit to see the Komodo Dragons. Located on Komodo Island, which is basically the only place in the world where they run wild, these prehistoric creatures have been on the verge of extinction for many years but have stabilized somewhat thanks to their island becoming an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Engleson (tentative) plan is to fly from Bali onto the island of Flores, go by boat to Komodo Island, see the dragons and then travel back to Bali via land and water routes. Magnus is pretty pumped (and a little scared) to see these guys and I simply cannot wait - Komodo Dragons here we come!

Here’s a great little tune to help pick up those spirits - god knows I need it right now!!

Today at roughly 4:30am the Ice Dragons were jolted awake by the Mother Hen conductor of car 16 to get up and get ready to disembark. We had been on the train from Haerbin for 12 hours and were all completely worn out from our weekend of hockey - more details later - anyways, after that it was back home for a quick shower, preparations for first class at 7:30am and then teach 6 classes until 4:30pm. Yes folks, this kid is tired and ready to hit the sack!

The ice festival in Haerbin

Oh yes, today is a big day! Today the Ice Dragons will be hopping on a 12 hour train north to the hockey/winter capital of China: Haerbin. There we have 4 games scheduled (2 of which we will get absolutely killed and 2 should be competitive) and hopefully we will get some time to go and check out the sites. I absolutely love Haerbin. It is the sister city to Edmonton and in the winter Haerbin feels as much like a Canadian city as any city in China can (does that make sense?) At the local ice rinks you see minor hockey programs, figure skating lessons and a lot of short track speed skating. The people there are active in the winter and definitely embrace it to the best of their ability. The annual ice festival is as spectacular of an event as you can get. It is going to be a fantastic weekend of Ice Dragon merrymaking and hockey and I simply cannot wait - will update you about it when I get back!

Well, here’s a picture of the girl with her first-ever pigtails - ain’t she cute??!!

One aspect that I am really excited to see on our upcoming trip to Indonesia is going to be all the volcanoes that cover the country - Click here for a visual reference. This is a country absolutely covered with active volcanoes and it will be very interesting to, a. see them all and, b. try to explore some of them in some detail. Not too sure how that will work with the kids but it is certainly something I am going to explore. I have never really seen a volcano before so going to a place littered with them should prove to be pretty cool - and if one were to go off then that would be a bonus! Anyways, here’s some more information/history of all the volcanoes in Indonesia - enjoy!

Well, after a long and arduous week of heavy negotiations/number crunching, the Engleson clan has officially made their decision and have booked all their flights - we’re going to Indonesia, baby! As discussed earlier, the process of coming to this decision was not an easy one and for a solid week Kristin tirelessly went over hundreds of options to find the best bargain; and yes I will admit, “discussing” each one of them became quite painful. But, in the end, thanks to her efforts we have found some good deals and will be able to explore a new country in the Southern Hemisphere (which is a first for me); and thanks to some hot tips from the Chow/Harrison folk in Kamloops we have some good ideas of things to see and do while down there. So as of now, life is good with a vacation in mind to help keep the spirits up!

We’re going here, we’re going there and then we’re going back there again. To be perfectly honest, ladies and gentlemen, this map is about as clear of an idea I have about our travel plans this coming winter - I thought it was settled but I have since been proven wrong. Now, all options are great but it would just be nice to get something solidified so I can stop going nuts with options A through Z!

A hearty thank you must go out to the Chinese Central Government for switching the big heat switch to “ON” for all of us citizens. With the heated flooring in our house, the long winter months are now comfy and cozy! Now bring on the cold so we can get out and skate on the pond!!

Today I want to toast a glass to my two grandpas - Grandpa Engleson (upper picture) and Grandpa Wilson (below). Both have long since passed but everytime I see these pictures of them I always remember the wonderful times spent with them as a young child. One of the charms of my Grandpa E was his playful shtick of being the old curmudgeon - he usually portrayed the gruff exterior but was always playful at heart. In many ways I have tried to continue this role as a teacher and absolutely love to keep my students guessing as they are forced to endure my classes; the image of Grandpa E chomping on his cigars will forever be ingrained with me. My Grandpa Wilson is a another story - early in my childhood, Grandpa W was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and my only true memories of him were in his dwindling years. In listening to my grandmother’s memories of him there is no question he sounded like a wonderful, kind-hearted man and it is clear to this day that they were both truly in love. He served overseas in World War II and was a wonderful father to his three children when he returned home; I truly wish I could have known him better before he left us. So even though both my grandfathers are not with us anymore there is no question their impact still lives on. Whether it be stories heard, or stories remembered, there is always a special place for them in my heart!