2015 ACI Blog #1: The Karina & Joe Show
Hi! This is Karina, blogging from Barrie, Canada for the 2015 Autumn Classic International.
We happened to arrive on the day Canada celebrates their Thanksgiving. I cannot think of a more appropriate occasion to occur with our arrival, as I feel nothing but thankful right now. This is the first time Joe and I are competing internationally as partners and my first international experience ever, and it would be an understatement to say I’m excited.
Today was mainly occupied by travel—Joe and I, as well as singles skaters, Angela Wang and Alex Johnson—flew from Colorado Springs early this morning and arrived in Barrie by around four in the afternoon. Sometimes travel days can feel long, due to the tedious nature of sitting on planes and in airports for extended periods of time, but we managed to stay entertained, daring each other to do ridiculous things while waiting during layovers (I apologize to the folks who saw me making bird calls while riding the escalator, it was for a dare).
After arriving at the hotel, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then headed to the rink for an unofficial practice. We spent about a half hour on the ice, just getting our feet underneath us after traveling and laying out patterns to get used to the size of the rink. Practice went well, and I was overjoyed to find out that the competition is at a rink that is not too cold! You would think after years of skating I would be used to frigid temperatures, but I’m still the biggest wimp when it comes to really cold rinks, so it’s always a pleasant surprise when I’m not shivering on practices. After practice, we went back to the hotel for a team meeting. We all chatted for a while, we were given our Team USA pins, and then everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to Tyler Pierce, who turned 17 today.
I can’t wait to continue to share our experiences at this event with you all. Joe and I will be alternating days we blog, so stop by tomorrow if you want to hear his perspective (and maybe some cheesy jokes).
~ Karina