Table tennis in the snow! 1/14/15

Today is the early day for our “ayi”. She arrives at 8:00 am, right on the dot. I worked a little longer on the computer until she began to clean around my area, and I loaded up and left. I’ve been trying to find an indoor place to play table tennis, with no success. I found three spots on the map that looked promising, table tennis clubs that look like they’re based in buildings. I take the train over to the first spot, and no luck. I walk up and down the block, in front, and in back, looking for something that might indicate a table tennis club. I’m even looking for people carrying gear, or gear bags. Nothing! Drat!

Not too far away is my regular outdoor club, so I walk that direction, thinking I’ll check around that area before getting a taxi to one of my other possibilities. As I get closer, I walk by a park full of 40 – 50 men sitting around tables playing Mahjong. (no women?). It’s 10:30 am, -2°C, and no wind. Just up the street, I can see people playing table tennis. Sure enough, they’re out in force. Lots of players, and the temp is below freezing? As I’m watching, debating how badly I really want to play, a light snow begins to fall. I’ve posted a video with a couple of the players, and you see the light snow falling.

Video link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3j3ccqt0xzjakiy/15.1.14.Table%20tennis.MOV?dl=0

I eventually decide if they’re tough enough to play in the cold, then so am I. I walk in, find a bench, and look for a single player. Eventually a lady walks by, indicating if I was interested in playing, and if I had a net. I pulled out my net, set it up, and began to play. It wasn’t long before I was debating whether to pull off my coat or not. It was a fun morning, and I did ok after several months of “rust”.

IMG_2137 IMG_2136

After finishing, I jumped in a taxi and headed toward my next “club”. It was near Judy’s school, so I decided to eat lunch. Judy couldn’t get away today, so I enjoyed some local Chinese food from the BISS neighborhood restaurant by myself. Afterwards, following my map, I went looking for the next possible indoor club. Again, no luck. I’m sure the schools have places for students to play and train, but an “old foreign geezer” wouldn’t necessarily be welcome. I’m about ready to give up and get geared up for cold weather play.

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