My first Paralympic event!!!

I fit one in! I found the time thanks to one of my teammates trading me her day off. I found the tickets thanks to my roommate Evgenia. She works at the sledge hockey venue and was able to snag me a ticket to the Korea vs. Sweden game. Sledge hockey was invented in the early 1960s at a rehabilitation center in Stockholm, Sweden, by a group who, despite their physical impairment, wanted to continue playing hockey. Being present at a Swedish match is a nice touch then! The sport did not become an official event until the Lillehammer 1994 Paralympic Winter Games.

As this was my first time seeing sledge hockey in person, I was amazed! Especially the way the teams change players so smoothly, which has always fascinated me while watching regular hockey anyways. This also means I'm not always following the puck... Here are the highlights! You'll notice my mug is missing from most of the pictures because the sight isn't pretty after the flu I've been dealing with.

Olympic park is pretty empty. Only two venues are in use: Shayba for sledge hockey and Ice Cube for curling.

 

 

Packed house!

Decked out in the spirit of the Paralympics.

Seamless line changes.

The team benches provide the best and safest view of the match.

Countries participating in sledge hockey.

My roommate Evgenia working hard.

I warned you about my mug...

Left the venue to again, a practically empty park.

Souvenirs a plenty!

I've also managed to get all my souvenir shopping done. That was a feat in itself. My friend Nadezda told me of a "souvenir storage" located behind a twisting road that had Sochi souvenirs at low prices. She drew a detailed map, but when I followed her directions to a T, I nearly turned back twice. I had to walk down a winding alley with broken down cars and strange storage lockers right beside personal residences. I kept following the road until I came upon this big orange warehouse, next to a junk yard that easily could be haunted. Yup, this totally sketcky building actually had a lot of good deals. I'm glad I ignored my gut instinct and just went inside.

On the otherhand, Russia isn't so different than North America. Many shops are open 24 hours (very uncommon in Europe) and they have MASSIVE department stores. This is a two-level Magnet. You can find pretty much everything in here, including a healthy supply of liquor. Magnets are all over the place. From a little corner near my residence to this gigantic branch, they're everywhere.

Oh and if you were wondering just how many souvenirs I plan to try to squeeze into my 80 litre backpack... Well all I can say is wish my luck! I still have to pack my uniform and clothes to get me through Europe to visit family.

Last tidbit

Just before writing this post, I watched Canada take the gold medal in wheelchar curling in a room full of Russians. For all seven ends, I was answering questions about the rules and why a team would want a rock in a certain place or not. In no means am I a curling guru, but growing up with grandparents that watch the sport religiously, I wasn't surprised at the amount of knowledge I've picked up unintentionally over the years. Also, congrats to Canada on the bronze in sledge hockey! I'll be cheering on Russia for the gold!