Drexel University Athletics
Dragon Dispatches: Jet Lag and Time Difference Setting In
6/18/2014 10:24:00 AM | Women's Rowing
By: Samantha Cowan, Graduate Civil and Mechanical Engineer and senior rowing co-captian
As most of us found out on our second day, jet lag is a real thing. The five hour time difference threw us all into a time warp and we were all very tired when our alarm went off for 7 a.m. practice.
The sun decided to shine at practice today and throughout the day, which is rare in England. Honestly I am already tired of cloudy days. I like sunshine and blue skies, which apparently is really rare here, so that was a nice change of pace. The temperature, however, is still catching me off guard, especially since I packed a lot of tank tops and shorts. They are often left at home and I am wearing jeans and our Henley jackets. I truly had no idea that is was this cold in June!
At practice we took it light because Coach realized how tired we looked and pushed our hard practice to this afternoon. So we did three loops of the course and headed back home to get ready for the exciting day ahead.
The seniors, who I am one of five on this trip, went food shopping because we had to cook dinner for the team tonight. We ended up getting seven pounds – like, you know, American pounds -- of pasta, nine pounds of meat, pasta sauce, salad, and lots of cookies for dessert. The grocery stores in Henley, and I am guessing across the Europeans, are small and more for buying food every day, so the cashier was giving us quite the look.
After that excursion we prepared for our trip the Oxford University Women's Boat Club, which we were invited to by Christine Wilson the head women's coach. They even picked us up in two vans and drove us to Oxford, which is about half an hour from Henley. The girls on the team get to drive the vans as long as the hold a drivers license for three years and pass the Oxford driving test (sounds hard).
When we arrived, they had a lovely lunch set up for us and two other American rowing teams that were also invited to the event. Before lunch we got a wonderful tour of their boat house which they share with the Oxford men and lightweight men. Lunch, which was the typical English affair as we are coming to find out, was sandwiches and fruit.
Proceeding lunch Christine gave us an introduction to the Oxford boat club and the women's program at Oxford. There is a large difference between men's and women's rowing in the UK, meaning the Oxford woman have yet to race the boat race on the tides of the famous Oxford/Cambridge 6.8km race down the Thames river. They will be next year however which is the first year in history!
During our visit we got to find out a lot about Oxford and the difference in culture here. They were looking to recruit a few girls to bring from the United States to row for Oxford while they receive their masters (a one year degree). Some of the girls were interested in that, which the coach and all the Oxford girls were happy about.
After the lovely meet-and-greet over lunch, we made our way back to Henley to get our second row in. This one we knew would be harder because we were doing pieces. Also the wind picked up significantly from the morning session, which was causing white capping on the river. "Dad Vails," we all thought. This type of weather we always during Dad Vails. In the afternoon session, we did harder piece sets that are much like the sprint of our race. With the race coming up in three days, we really had to start moving at faster rates and speeds.
Once we returned to the dock at the Upper Thames Boat Club, the seniors and I rushed home to cook the team dinner. We made loads of pasta, bread and salad. It was much more of a meal we were used to eating in America, and I think a lot more people felt at home. For dessert everyone loved the different cookies and extremely fresh strawberries. With full stomachs we went off to bed to try to make up for the lack of sleep from the night before.
Check out the previous "Dragon Dispatches" post
Check out the next "Dragon Dispatches" post
Here are photos from Drexel Crew's Tuesday in Henley:
Oxford University Boat House
Tuesday Practice on the River Thames
![Coach <dfn><a href=]()
Paul Savell and Denise Julian" data-saved-caption="undefined" src="/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=13&image_path=/images/2014/6/18/Savell_and_Julian.png" />
Coach Denise Julian (left) and Paul Savell along the River Thames
Drexel Senior Rowers Preparing Dinner for the Team
As most of us found out on our second day, jet lag is a real thing. The five hour time difference threw us all into a time warp and we were all very tired when our alarm went off for 7 a.m. practice.
The sun decided to shine at practice today and throughout the day, which is rare in England. Honestly I am already tired of cloudy days. I like sunshine and blue skies, which apparently is really rare here, so that was a nice change of pace. The temperature, however, is still catching me off guard, especially since I packed a lot of tank tops and shorts. They are often left at home and I am wearing jeans and our Henley jackets. I truly had no idea that is was this cold in June!
At practice we took it light because Coach realized how tired we looked and pushed our hard practice to this afternoon. So we did three loops of the course and headed back home to get ready for the exciting day ahead.
The seniors, who I am one of five on this trip, went food shopping because we had to cook dinner for the team tonight. We ended up getting seven pounds – like, you know, American pounds -- of pasta, nine pounds of meat, pasta sauce, salad, and lots of cookies for dessert. The grocery stores in Henley, and I am guessing across the Europeans, are small and more for buying food every day, so the cashier was giving us quite the look.
After that excursion we prepared for our trip the Oxford University Women's Boat Club, which we were invited to by Christine Wilson the head women's coach. They even picked us up in two vans and drove us to Oxford, which is about half an hour from Henley. The girls on the team get to drive the vans as long as the hold a drivers license for three years and pass the Oxford driving test (sounds hard).
When we arrived, they had a lovely lunch set up for us and two other American rowing teams that were also invited to the event. Before lunch we got a wonderful tour of their boat house which they share with the Oxford men and lightweight men. Lunch, which was the typical English affair as we are coming to find out, was sandwiches and fruit.
Proceeding lunch Christine gave us an introduction to the Oxford boat club and the women's program at Oxford. There is a large difference between men's and women's rowing in the UK, meaning the Oxford woman have yet to race the boat race on the tides of the famous Oxford/Cambridge 6.8km race down the Thames river. They will be next year however which is the first year in history!
During our visit we got to find out a lot about Oxford and the difference in culture here. They were looking to recruit a few girls to bring from the United States to row for Oxford while they receive their masters (a one year degree). Some of the girls were interested in that, which the coach and all the Oxford girls were happy about.
After the lovely meet-and-greet over lunch, we made our way back to Henley to get our second row in. This one we knew would be harder because we were doing pieces. Also the wind picked up significantly from the morning session, which was causing white capping on the river. "Dad Vails," we all thought. This type of weather we always during Dad Vails. In the afternoon session, we did harder piece sets that are much like the sprint of our race. With the race coming up in three days, we really had to start moving at faster rates and speeds.
Once we returned to the dock at the Upper Thames Boat Club, the seniors and I rushed home to cook the team dinner. We made loads of pasta, bread and salad. It was much more of a meal we were used to eating in America, and I think a lot more people felt at home. For dessert everyone loved the different cookies and extremely fresh strawberries. With full stomachs we went off to bed to try to make up for the lack of sleep from the night before.
Check out the previous "Dragon Dispatches" post
Check out the next "Dragon Dispatches" post
Here are photos from Drexel Crew's Tuesday in Henley:
Oxford University Boat House
Tuesday Practice on the River Thames
Coach Denise Julian (left) and Paul Savell along the River Thames
Drexel Senior Rowers Preparing Dinner for the Team
Drexel's Autocomplete With Rowing Coach Paul Savell
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