Interesting Fact

Chad still cannot get internet access!!! I know you all are not really looking forward to hearing from me (Tara, the wife) again, but I hope you think that it is better than nothing. I will give you a quick update on Chad and then I will get to my interesting fact. I spoke with Chad for about 30 minutes last Friday, which was the longest I have been able to talk to him since he left. He is doing well and enjoying every minute of his time in Japan. He has been there for about a week now and will leave on Tuesday for Beijing. His days are filled with meetings, practice, and a little free time, which for him has been spent trying to get internet access. A buffet breakfast and lunch are provided daily, which he said has a large variety of food and VERY good fruit, some of the best he has ever had. They are on their own for dinner. Several times he has gone out to eat with other coaches on or off base. One time they even went to Chilli's on the base. They have also gone to several local restaurants in Okinawa including a Japanese Steakhouse. I asked him if it was like Sumo (we LOVE Sumo) and he said it was similar, but a little different. They served soup and salad, but instead of ginger dressing on the salad it was a Japanese dressing. Instead of fried rice, they could chose between white rice and garlic rice. He said the rice is sweet and all the food is very yummy! Yesterday he went on a tour of Okinawa and last night they were throwing a party for all the athletes and coaches on the base. I will let you know later how those events turned out.

Now, for my interesting fact...before the Olympics came on TV each night the local news here in Birmingham showed interviews about different athletes who will be competing in the Paralympic Games and train at the Lakeshore Foundation. I noticed and several people pointed out to me that many of the athletes interviewed are not paraplegics. So, I asked Chad about it the other day and he explained that "para" actually stands for parallel and not paraplegic. Interesting! He explained a little further, but instead of explaining I will let you read the definition of "Paralympic Games" from Wikipedia;
The Paralympic Games are a multi-sport event for athletes with physical, mental and sensorial disabilities. This includes mobility disabilities, amputees, visual disabilities and those with cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, following the Olympic Games, and are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). (The Paralympic Games are sometimes confused with the Special Olympics World Games, which are only for people with intellectual disabilities).
The name derives from the Greek "para" ("beside" or "alongside") and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games. No relation with paralysis or paraplegia is intended, though the word Paralympic was originally a portmanteau combining 'paraplegic' and 'Olympic'.[1]

I guess I should have figured that out sooner, but I just didn't put it together. I hope I'm not the only one that did not know that!