At this point, it might appear quite strange to feature the second part of our Chinese story when the FISE World contest actually took place in Chengdu just over a month ago. However, we thought this might be the perfect occasion to share our experience with our beloved readers, and the lessons we learned from it. Not to mention, Dominik Wagner‘s photographs were just too good to remain unpublished anyway, so bare with us!
Words: Freddy White
Photography: Dominik Wagner
One thing you quickly learn in Asia is that appearances are not to be trusted. What seems to be a perfectly normal meal can turn into the weirdest dish you will ever have. A quick taxi ride easily turns into a two hours mission, people that are the most willing to help are also the most likely to send you in the wrong direction, and in order to buy a plane ticket you might have to spend three full days on the phone to make sure the booking is actually confirmed.
In our case, what was advertised as “fast speed internet” turned out to be simply non-existent, and our gorgeous looking, 5 stars wannabe hotel, a golden cage which prevented us from doing any actual work. And if constantly fighting with the connection wasn’t bad enough, our computer actually broke down on the fifth day without any warning, leaving us with no proper work tool nor ways to communicate with the world, at the very start of a 5 weeks trip through Asia.
Another thing we learned during our previous trips through this part of the world was that one will experience frustration, often. And eventually, frustration will go away too. In times of crisis, it is essential to let go, and accept things the way they are in order to deal with the issue. In our situation, we had to accept that Be-Mag as a whole would go silent for a while, and that didn’t go without a lot of frustration, anger, and many sleepless nights…
So why do we still bother taking such trips, at the risk of hindering our own work, and our ability to delivers updates daily, you may ask?
Because we believe Be-Mag’s role is to be on the field, not just behind the computer at all times. We want to experience blading all over the planet, and share these moments with you. We made it our mission to visit contests worldwide, and cover the events that showcase blading at its very best. And most of all, we want to pay homage to the people that are still busting their asses for the sport everywhere, every day. Quite simple actually: we just want to do our job.
Of course, things don’t always go as planned, as proven here. But sometimes, this is the price one has to pay for their dedication and hard work. In the end, these were some more lessons to be learned, and experiences to live through. We will only be better prepared for our next trip, and our content will only get better too… In the meantime, enjoy this year’s pictures, and stay tuned for part #3 to see the coverage of the finals and read our thoughts on the matter!
Read the first chapter of our adventures here: be-mag.com/fise-world-chengdu-2015-live-update-1
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