Real Canadian spirit

Aside from the weather being slightly overcast and windy (don’t feel sorry for my +15 weather here...), today was a marvellous day! Seeing a friendly face in a strange land always seems to brighten my day. Today I met with a former coworker, Paul, to go watch Sweden vs. Japan women’s hockey. 

It's nice to have a photographer ;)

This was my first time in the Shayba arena and I was quite impressed. It’s clean and the food is expensive; just like at home. 

Paul sported his team Canada jersey, and the fandemonium that followed amazed me. At one point, there was a line-up to get a photo with the Canadian. Russian after Russian wanted a snapshot with the boy in red. I was fortunate enough to hop on the bandwagon with my team Canada mittens. It sure made me regret not getting a more obviously Canadian outfit. Next Olympic games I go to, I’ll get one of those skin suits in red ;)

The game itself was thrilling. We had amazing seats (thanks Paul!) The swedes were aggressive, which would make my dear friends in Sweden very proud! (Right Tommy and Theo??)

The crowd was cheering for Japan. My theory is they don’t want Sweden to win because they pose a threat to the Russians. My next hockey game will be Sweden vs. Russia, so I can only imagine what the fans will be like at that game! I am looking forward to it! In the end, Sweden took the game 1-0, but Japan put up a decent fight.

I enjoyed spending some time with a fellow Canadian, mostly because this gave me the chance to practice my Russian. Usually when I am with a Russian, I let them do all the talking. With Paul, I had to step up to the plate and order us some food. Thankfully, we both got what we wanted and then said our goodbyes. He’s headed home tomorrow. I’ll be here until March 16th if any other friendly faces would like to join me!

Thanks for the taste of home Paul! 

Never get tired of this view!