It took us two weeks of practice to prepare for these races. We practiced on the Haihe or, Ocean River, that runs through central Tianjin. The race itself was on the coast, which was about an hour drive east. Our team was comprised solely of foreign students studying at Nankai University. There were teams from Macao, Shanghai, Beijing, Italians, Russians, and Hong Kong among other places. Each race was 500 meters long, which seemed to last an eternity for some reason. I got to lead the way in my boat, which is supposed to be the toughest job on the boat because you dont have a smooth wake to pull with like the others. It was a fun experience.
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