It has been seven weeks, some felt longer than others, but our time here is down to two days. It's hard to wrap myself around the idea that I just spent seven weeks in China; it's even harder to fathom that I worked at the Olympics. Nine months ago, when I first applied for this opportunity it seemed like such an impossibility. There were 6,000 students qualified to apply for this position; I didn't think I stood a chance. Now I sit here wondering how I am ever going to watch the Olympics again without wishing I was standing there. As cliche as it sounds, it was dream come true. I have heard that word uttered over and over again during the last two weeks, but I can't think of any other way to put it. Ever since I was a little kid my Mom and I watched the Olympics together. I thought one day I would participate as an athlete, maybe in ice skating or soccer. I was never good enough for that, but deep down I always resolved that simply attending the Olympics would be perfect. Over the years I grew out of my naivety and realized a trip to the Olympics was no easy fete. With each passing Olympics I slowly squashed any ideas of me ever attending the Games. It's sad what adulthood can do to our imagination.
Then last September came. The opportunity of a life time weaseled its way into my life. Of course none of us can predict the future, but had I followed the plan I started with when I left for college four years ago this never would have happened. It's just amazing how a few choice decisions paved the way for this. My departure is bittersweet. There are countless reasons I want to leave, none of which I will get into here, but just as I convince myself that I am ready to leave I start to think about what I will miss. I know this feeling all too well; it was the exact same thing that happened when I was in Italy. More than anything I want to go home to my bed, my family and friends, American food, and a car. But I know that after 48 hours I will be longing for the people, the sites, cycling, and maybe even a box lunch.
My expectation was that we would come here, work together, and then go home to our separate lives again. I again under estimated the power of study abroad, limited entertainment, and living in a confined space together. Study abroad has this amazing power. I don't know what it is....being together 24-7, funny cultural differences, food cravings or insanity, but it has this ability to pull people together. I can't explain it. The things that went on here, Peking Opera make-up, Donatas nights, taxi rides, Silk Market, Chris Hoy, "blah, blah, blah," spidey sense, etc are some of the funniest moments of my life. Once again I find myself wondering how I lived without these people. With Italy it was hard because everyone was across the country, Connecticut, Kansas, Texas, but this time it is the world. Yes, all the Purdue people live in Chicago or Indiana, but Krystyna, Ernst, Amy, and Andy live all over the world...England, Holland, Australia, and Spain. I guess I'll just have to visit. (I really need to get a job that pays well!!)
Once again I have been lucky enough to have an incredible experience. I have learned so much over the last few weeks. No only about other people and the Chinese culture, but about myself. I am so fortunate that I had studied abroad before this because I was able to do things differently this time. Many people have asked me which was better, Italy or China. They are too different to compare. Italy was that first leap, proving to myself that I could live away from home for 3.5 months, and learning the ins and outs of traveling abroad. China was about fulfilling a dream. I live and breathe sports so seeing and working at the ultimate sporting event mind-boggling. At times, I don't even feel like it has actually happened; it has almost been an out of body experience, like I am watching myself in a movie. If I do nothing else of importance in my life (God I hope that is not true) I can always cling to my weeks working in the Velodrome.
Today is the last day with all of us here, Lauren leaves tomorrow, a bunch of us leave Tuesday, and then the last group goes Wednesday. Today is chalk full of free meals, good-byes, and last hurrahs. CUC is giving us a free lunch downstairs in the restaurant. Tan, a Purdue alumna, is making us dinner at her mansion somewhere in Beijing (apparently it is a subway and bus ride away...BOOOOOOOO) and then we are going to try and meet up with the managers that are left. Maybe I don't really want to leave after all.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
we are the champions...
Oh. My. GOD.
I don't even have the words to express the excitement and torture that was tonight. I am too hyped up to even write anything. This was the single greatest night of my life. I watched them Women's Soccer team win Gold and I just cannot explain it. I had a blog idea while I was walking to the subway and I already forgot it. My mind is a million miles a second; I don't think my fingers will ever catch up. I feel like I am being flash quoted and all I keep saying is "I'm so happy. I'm so happy." But I am. I felt like I was part of that team tonight. I felt every frustration, every bad touch, every misplaced kick. When Hope Solo would dive through the air to block a kick I felt the thud of her landing. For all the shots that were mere centimeters off I let out the same sigh of relief the players did. With 30 seconds left and a Brazil corner kick pending I closed my eyes, thankful, like the girls on the bench, that I was not out there.
There is nothing like the Olympics. It has such a power to move people. I have never had that feeling at the Bears game. I felt like my entire life had been working to this moment, yet I was simply sitting in the stands watching. I always wished I would compete in the Olympics, first it was ice skating then soccer. The reality is, I never came close. Heck, I couldn't even make starter on varsity soccer, let alone attempt to be a sub on the USA Women's team. As I sat in the stands I knew this is the closest I would ever get to that dream. Those last 30 or 40 seconds ticked away slowly, dreadfully slowly. The only comparable experience is that of the minutes before taking a final, where you can no longer cram because you are too busy panning out all the possible situations. The what ifs. What if they get a break away? What if we foul in the box? What if they score? It's amazing how many thoughts can race through our minds in such a short period of time.
I will never be able to put into words what I felt tonight. The relief I felt when the game was finally over. The compassion and sympathy I felt for the Brazilian woman who just played 120 minutes of spectacular soccer, yet have to stand up on the podium as second best. Or the pride I felt for my country as I watched our flag being raised with the Star Spangled Banner playing the background. I am not a good enough writer to recount the evening in such a way that it makes you trade places with me, makes you feel like you were there standing next to me. All I can say is, I will never forget this night. AHHHHHHH!
I don't even have the words to express the excitement and torture that was tonight. I am too hyped up to even write anything. This was the single greatest night of my life. I watched them Women's Soccer team win Gold and I just cannot explain it. I had a blog idea while I was walking to the subway and I already forgot it. My mind is a million miles a second; I don't think my fingers will ever catch up. I feel like I am being flash quoted and all I keep saying is "I'm so happy. I'm so happy." But I am. I felt like I was part of that team tonight. I felt every frustration, every bad touch, every misplaced kick. When Hope Solo would dive through the air to block a kick I felt the thud of her landing. For all the shots that were mere centimeters off I let out the same sigh of relief the players did. With 30 seconds left and a Brazil corner kick pending I closed my eyes, thankful, like the girls on the bench, that I was not out there.
There is nothing like the Olympics. It has such a power to move people. I have never had that feeling at the Bears game. I felt like my entire life had been working to this moment, yet I was simply sitting in the stands watching. I always wished I would compete in the Olympics, first it was ice skating then soccer. The reality is, I never came close. Heck, I couldn't even make starter on varsity soccer, let alone attempt to be a sub on the USA Women's team. As I sat in the stands I knew this is the closest I would ever get to that dream. Those last 30 or 40 seconds ticked away slowly, dreadfully slowly. The only comparable experience is that of the minutes before taking a final, where you can no longer cram because you are too busy panning out all the possible situations. The what ifs. What if they get a break away? What if we foul in the box? What if they score? It's amazing how many thoughts can race through our minds in such a short period of time.
I will never be able to put into words what I felt tonight. The relief I felt when the game was finally over. The compassion and sympathy I felt for the Brazilian woman who just played 120 minutes of spectacular soccer, yet have to stand up on the podium as second best. Or the pride I felt for my country as I watched our flag being raised with the Star Spangled Banner playing the background. I am not a good enough writer to recount the evening in such a way that it makes you trade places with me, makes you feel like you were there standing next to me. All I can say is, I will never forget this night. AHHHHHHH!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
and the gates are down...
Since my blog marathon last Sunday I have been on auto-pilot, going non-stop for the last three days. Sunday night there was only one cycling final, so generally it was a fairly easy night. Stupid Great Britain didn't show up, AGAIN for the press conference. Personally, I think it is completely inappropriate that a medalist does not show up for the press conference following the race, not to mention it makes our job difficult. Despite the seemingly easy night I had zero time to do anything else other than lay in my bed and fall asleep. Both Monday and Tuesday we had a lot of medal events so those were crazy nights. I worked a full day Monday. BMX training started Monday so they needed some of us there to talk to the athletes. The BMX riders are so laid back; they are more than willing to talk to anyone and really want to get the sport out there. Unlike with the track people, we were able to wander anywhere, even back by their little rooms. I "ate" what I hope to be my last Chinese box lunch. And by that I mean, rice and chili sauce. I cannot wait to never EVER see a Chinese box lunch again.
Monday night I was copy taker, which meant I sat by the computer and typed in all the quotes after people got them. Tuesday was just utter chaos because in the Men's Madison (similar to the points race, but you have partners and you fling them as a boost to go faster...weird junk) Argentina upset everyone, the Spanish got Silver and the Russians got Bronze. Essentially meaning we were relying on the reporters to translate for us. They were all actually really nice, I used my charming smile and cute red hair to get the Russian journalists to translate. They wouldn't do it for Jason so I sent him away and asked in my sweetest voice if they would translate for me. I think that is the first time I played the girl card. It's quite powerful.
We heard the British anthem a few more times. It is actually very nauseating. We heard a stat the other day from a British reporter, "If the British cycling team was a nation they would be third in the medal count." That's crazy! If I never hear about the British cycling team again, other than if they lost, I will die a happy person. The US proved to be a horrible track cycling team. The girls should have been medal contenders but they both fell short of even making it into the medal races. In Sarah Hammer's defense she was taken out really early in the Points Race and broke her collar bone, but still...come on ladies! I have been so exhausted the last few nights. Tuesday night we didn't get home until 11 and then had to be up today at 6:00am. I know that isn't the end of the world, but when you have been chasing people all day trying to get quotes and dealing with Witchy and Pinky (who, by the way, was wearing a radioactive green shirt on Tuesday, still NOT attractive) you are beat.
Today started BMX competition. To be honest it was kind of lame. The first two hours was watch time-trials all to be seeded for the different heats. It is actually kind of stupid because the time-trial is so different from the actual race that it really does nothing to predict who will win the heats. The reason for it is to place the riders in their gate numbers. The US is looking pretty good. There is only one woman, but the men all made it through quarterfinals and on to semi-finals. I would love more than anything to have a sweep, but I'll take a Mike Day Gold medal if that is all I can get. One the time-trials were over it got much better. The announcer was the most annoying man on the planet. I am fairly convinced that he is from California and best friends with John Madden. One of my favorite lines of the day was "And this is Billy Bob and boy does he love BMX." Honestly man?! What person PARTICIPATING in BMX at the Olympics doesn't LOVE BMX. Thank you Madden. Each and every race he said, "and the gates are down..." Seriously, it gets old after about two times. I got close to taking the mic away and announcing the event myself. Anyway, listen for him tonight. ANNNOYING!
Today I was back in the broadcast area getting translations from everyone under the sun. Two French girls, a french guy, two Latvians, a Colombian. Of course none of us know any of these languages so we are at the mercy of the TV people to give us an accurate translations. The French camera man was the best! Not only did he translate, but he listened back to get the real translation. Him and I are best friends. I don't even have to ask anymore and he gives me the translation. I like that.
We went to the now infamous Annie's again. I had the creamy spinach ravioli again, I never know when I might ever eat this again so I had to soak up all it's goodness. I think the sauce is an Alfredo sauce, and as long as I learn how to make spinach ravioli I am golden. Traci said she would make it for me. I told her I could make her tacos...I am such a chef. Maybe I'll make her my special rice stuffed tomatoes. YUMMMY!
Tomorrow is probably the single greatest day of my entire life. I know, how can I choose one given all I have been through, but this might take the cake. Per some advice from a very wise woman (Mom) I bought at ticket to go see the Women's Bronze and Gold Medal soccer games tomorrow!!! For as long as I can remember I have wanted to play soccer for the USA team. Seeing as I turned down my place on the team, I was just too good, I thought this can take the place of that dream. Val and I are so incredibly excited. The USA is playing in the Gold medal match against Brazil (who could ask for anything better?!) and I will be there! In group 15, section 115 row 7. I have zero clue where that is, and I don't care. I already have my USA shirt and I might go pick up some more Olympic gear tomorrow (that might actually means I will).
Well I have BMX really early, then a day of shopping (I am currently participating in the shopping marathon event, right now I am in 2nd but I feel with the USA Olympic store trip I will easy jump to Gold), and the soccer game. Long, but super exciting day. Hope for some medals! We have to stay on top! I can't hear the Chinese national anthem one more time. I will hurt myself.
Monday night I was copy taker, which meant I sat by the computer and typed in all the quotes after people got them. Tuesday was just utter chaos because in the Men's Madison (similar to the points race, but you have partners and you fling them as a boost to go faster...weird junk) Argentina upset everyone, the Spanish got Silver and the Russians got Bronze. Essentially meaning we were relying on the reporters to translate for us. They were all actually really nice, I used my charming smile and cute red hair to get the Russian journalists to translate. They wouldn't do it for Jason so I sent him away and asked in my sweetest voice if they would translate for me. I think that is the first time I played the girl card. It's quite powerful.
We heard the British anthem a few more times. It is actually very nauseating. We heard a stat the other day from a British reporter, "If the British cycling team was a nation they would be third in the medal count." That's crazy! If I never hear about the British cycling team again, other than if they lost, I will die a happy person. The US proved to be a horrible track cycling team. The girls should have been medal contenders but they both fell short of even making it into the medal races. In Sarah Hammer's defense she was taken out really early in the Points Race and broke her collar bone, but still...come on ladies! I have been so exhausted the last few nights. Tuesday night we didn't get home until 11 and then had to be up today at 6:00am. I know that isn't the end of the world, but when you have been chasing people all day trying to get quotes and dealing with Witchy and Pinky (who, by the way, was wearing a radioactive green shirt on Tuesday, still NOT attractive) you are beat.
Today started BMX competition. To be honest it was kind of lame. The first two hours was watch time-trials all to be seeded for the different heats. It is actually kind of stupid because the time-trial is so different from the actual race that it really does nothing to predict who will win the heats. The reason for it is to place the riders in their gate numbers. The US is looking pretty good. There is only one woman, but the men all made it through quarterfinals and on to semi-finals. I would love more than anything to have a sweep, but I'll take a Mike Day Gold medal if that is all I can get. One the time-trials were over it got much better. The announcer was the most annoying man on the planet. I am fairly convinced that he is from California and best friends with John Madden. One of my favorite lines of the day was "And this is Billy Bob and boy does he love BMX." Honestly man?! What person PARTICIPATING in BMX at the Olympics doesn't LOVE BMX. Thank you Madden. Each and every race he said, "and the gates are down..." Seriously, it gets old after about two times. I got close to taking the mic away and announcing the event myself. Anyway, listen for him tonight. ANNNOYING!
Today I was back in the broadcast area getting translations from everyone under the sun. Two French girls, a french guy, two Latvians, a Colombian. Of course none of us know any of these languages so we are at the mercy of the TV people to give us an accurate translations. The French camera man was the best! Not only did he translate, but he listened back to get the real translation. Him and I are best friends. I don't even have to ask anymore and he gives me the translation. I like that.
We went to the now infamous Annie's again. I had the creamy spinach ravioli again, I never know when I might ever eat this again so I had to soak up all it's goodness. I think the sauce is an Alfredo sauce, and as long as I learn how to make spinach ravioli I am golden. Traci said she would make it for me. I told her I could make her tacos...I am such a chef. Maybe I'll make her my special rice stuffed tomatoes. YUMMMY!
Tomorrow is probably the single greatest day of my entire life. I know, how can I choose one given all I have been through, but this might take the cake. Per some advice from a very wise woman (Mom) I bought at ticket to go see the Women's Bronze and Gold Medal soccer games tomorrow!!! For as long as I can remember I have wanted to play soccer for the USA team. Seeing as I turned down my place on the team, I was just too good, I thought this can take the place of that dream. Val and I are so incredibly excited. The USA is playing in the Gold medal match against Brazil (who could ask for anything better?!) and I will be there! In group 15, section 115 row 7. I have zero clue where that is, and I don't care. I already have my USA shirt and I might go pick up some more Olympic gear tomorrow (that might actually means I will).
Well I have BMX really early, then a day of shopping (I am currently participating in the shopping marathon event, right now I am in 2nd but I feel with the USA Olympic store trip I will easy jump to Gold), and the soccer game. Long, but super exciting day. Hope for some medals! We have to stay on top! I can't hear the Chinese national anthem one more time. I will hurt myself.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
world record blogging...
World Records are being broken all over the place at these Olympics. I decided to get in on the action and go for the record of most blogs written in a 3 hour time span. As long as I finish in the next half hour I think I might achieve this fete.
Yesterday was a big day. I have already told you of the velodrome excitement, but it gets better. We had tickets to see the Athletics (Track and Field) events at the Bird's Nest. Seeing as they couldn't spare any of us, we brought clothes with us and a few of us rushed to the nest following the last "press conference." Chad and I were in one cab and arrived just as they were calling out the names for the Men's 100m Sprint. Instead of trying to find our actual seats I decided to push down as far as I could on the bottom tier. Sometimes I love that China doesn't really have any rules. No one stopped me, and I wasn't in my volunteer uniform. I was able to get almost all the way to the bottom and could easily see the race. The Usian Bolt from Jamaica claimed the title as "Fastest Man Ever," taking it away from Johnson. The best part of the race was that he won it while pounding his chest, boasting and bragging. Any other time I would have been disgusted by the arrogance, but it was just too funny to watch him not even finished yet and pounding his chest in victory. There was no medal ceremony for that last night, it is tonight. Boo.
I went camera CRAZY last night. I took over 100 photos and a few videos. Nothing could put me in a bad mood. I don't care that I saw only one event, I at least got to walk in the Nest. We had many photo shoots that night. Chad and I had moved down closer to take pictures of us in the stadium with the torch in the back and some big Asian man wanted to take a picture with Chad because they were similar size. Then his wife wanted to take a picture with me, followed by another man wanting a picture with Chad, then one with me, then one with both of us. (Thoughts of Christmas photos are starting to come flooding back.)
The next photo shoot was pure hilarity. Jane wanted one of all the Purdue people that had made it to the Nest, all of us decked out in USA gear. She asked Leo, the Aussie prof to take the photo. He took the first one with minimal difficulty. When he went for the second camera he had it upside down. So he turned it around, but it was still upside down. Then he didn't hold it down long enough to take the shot. While he was having troubles, a few Asian on lookers decided they wanted to take a photo of the Americans in front of the Water Cube. One man went as far as putting his camera around Leo's neck to have him take a photo of the Asian man and us. This was the best part. Leo could not work the thing to save his life. The Asian man walked over there five times to show him how to do it. During all this we were almost run over by a tram carrying the athletes family members. The entire thing could have easily been a Three Stooges skit.
While people were taking photos Alysha performed her beam routine for us. Complete with a kart wheel, leap, and dismount. I don't know how she didn't make the team. Had she made it, we definitely would have brought home the Gold.
Val, Jason and I knew that this might be our last chance in this area so we hung back to take as many pictures as possible. I have about 3,000 of me and the Water Cube, because I LOVE IT! AHH! I can't even describe how excited I was. There were many points I was seen jumping up and down or skipping. I could careless if I looked retarded. Thankfully the subway stayed open until 1:30. We arrived home a little too late for the gates to be open, so Val and I decided to scale the fence. It has been a long time since I climbed the fence in the backyard and I was a little rusty on my skills, but after a little right leg cramping I made it over unharmed.
I don't know if I will make it back to the Olympic Green, but I am so glad I got there last night. Apparently today is a big day in sports. There is the obvious Phelps quest, but also Dana Torres is attempting to prove age makes so difference in sports. A total of 37 medals will be given out today, the most on any day. Our gymnasts will attempt to prove they really deserved the Gold by starting the Individual events. If everything stays the same as the other day, Liukin and Johnson could share a Gold medal.
Megan's day in Olympic world will probably be another late one. Because the day is a long one we have two shifts, I was given the afternoon one, which means that I will have to ride the subway there. I HATE THE SUBWAY! Hopefully I will be lucky enough to again miss the box lunch experience. There is only one medal event at Laoshan today and that is the Women's Pursuit finals which will go to some British woman. Vomit.
I have uploaded all the photos from the last few days on to my Picasa. There are about five hundred duplicates but I needed to make sure I got a good shot. In my desperation to make to finish this blog in World Record time I do not have time to add photos right now. (Plus I need to shower so I don't scare the athletes away with my stank.) I will add photos to the blog tonight when I get home. I know I keep promising, time does not allow me to do everything I intend to. Along with that, for those who have sent me e-mails recently (Mary, Mr. and Mrs. Messer, Mandy, Patti, Ash, Court) I am sorry I have yet to respond. I have it on my list of things to do. I don't want you to think I am neglecting you. I did not realize how busy I would be once the events started. A few of you asked where you could see the article I wrote. It is not available for the general public. I will try to find print out a copy today and put it up here. They changed it a lot, but it still has my initials on it. That's it for now!
(Note to Mom: I found the Today Show booth, however, I was too late to make it on the broadcast. According to Val it was the weekend crew so it really wasn't that exciting. I took a photo for you!)
Yesterday was a big day. I have already told you of the velodrome excitement, but it gets better. We had tickets to see the Athletics (Track and Field) events at the Bird's Nest. Seeing as they couldn't spare any of us, we brought clothes with us and a few of us rushed to the nest following the last "press conference." Chad and I were in one cab and arrived just as they were calling out the names for the Men's 100m Sprint. Instead of trying to find our actual seats I decided to push down as far as I could on the bottom tier. Sometimes I love that China doesn't really have any rules. No one stopped me, and I wasn't in my volunteer uniform. I was able to get almost all the way to the bottom and could easily see the race. The Usian Bolt from Jamaica claimed the title as "Fastest Man Ever," taking it away from Johnson. The best part of the race was that he won it while pounding his chest, boasting and bragging. Any other time I would have been disgusted by the arrogance, but it was just too funny to watch him not even finished yet and pounding his chest in victory. There was no medal ceremony for that last night, it is tonight. Boo.
I went camera CRAZY last night. I took over 100 photos and a few videos. Nothing could put me in a bad mood. I don't care that I saw only one event, I at least got to walk in the Nest. We had many photo shoots that night. Chad and I had moved down closer to take pictures of us in the stadium with the torch in the back and some big Asian man wanted to take a picture with Chad because they were similar size. Then his wife wanted to take a picture with me, followed by another man wanting a picture with Chad, then one with me, then one with both of us. (Thoughts of Christmas photos are starting to come flooding back.)
The next photo shoot was pure hilarity. Jane wanted one of all the Purdue people that had made it to the Nest, all of us decked out in USA gear. She asked Leo, the Aussie prof to take the photo. He took the first one with minimal difficulty. When he went for the second camera he had it upside down. So he turned it around, but it was still upside down. Then he didn't hold it down long enough to take the shot. While he was having troubles, a few Asian on lookers decided they wanted to take a photo of the Americans in front of the Water Cube. One man went as far as putting his camera around Leo's neck to have him take a photo of the Asian man and us. This was the best part. Leo could not work the thing to save his life. The Asian man walked over there five times to show him how to do it. During all this we were almost run over by a tram carrying the athletes family members. The entire thing could have easily been a Three Stooges skit.
While people were taking photos Alysha performed her beam routine for us. Complete with a kart wheel, leap, and dismount. I don't know how she didn't make the team. Had she made it, we definitely would have brought home the Gold.
Val, Jason and I knew that this might be our last chance in this area so we hung back to take as many pictures as possible. I have about 3,000 of me and the Water Cube, because I LOVE IT! AHH! I can't even describe how excited I was. There were many points I was seen jumping up and down or skipping. I could careless if I looked retarded. Thankfully the subway stayed open until 1:30. We arrived home a little too late for the gates to be open, so Val and I decided to scale the fence. It has been a long time since I climbed the fence in the backyard and I was a little rusty on my skills, but after a little right leg cramping I made it over unharmed.
I don't know if I will make it back to the Olympic Green, but I am so glad I got there last night. Apparently today is a big day in sports. There is the obvious Phelps quest, but also Dana Torres is attempting to prove age makes so difference in sports. A total of 37 medals will be given out today, the most on any day. Our gymnasts will attempt to prove they really deserved the Gold by starting the Individual events. If everything stays the same as the other day, Liukin and Johnson could share a Gold medal.
Megan's day in Olympic world will probably be another late one. Because the day is a long one we have two shifts, I was given the afternoon one, which means that I will have to ride the subway there. I HATE THE SUBWAY! Hopefully I will be lucky enough to again miss the box lunch experience. There is only one medal event at Laoshan today and that is the Women's Pursuit finals which will go to some British woman. Vomit.
I have uploaded all the photos from the last few days on to my Picasa. There are about five hundred duplicates but I needed to make sure I got a good shot. In my desperation to make to finish this blog in World Record time I do not have time to add photos right now. (Plus I need to shower so I don't scare the athletes away with my stank.) I will add photos to the blog tonight when I get home. I know I keep promising, time does not allow me to do everything I intend to. Along with that, for those who have sent me e-mails recently (Mary, Mr. and Mrs. Messer, Mandy, Patti, Ash, Court) I am sorry I have yet to respond. I have it on my list of things to do. I don't want you to think I am neglecting you. I did not realize how busy I would be once the events started. A few of you asked where you could see the article I wrote. It is not available for the general public. I will try to find print out a copy today and put it up here. They changed it a lot, but it still has my initials on it. That's it for now!
(Note to Mom: I found the Today Show booth, however, I was too late to make it on the broadcast. According to Val it was the weekend crew so it really wasn't that exciting. I took a photo for you!)
tea with pinky and witchy...
I arrive at the velodrome yesterday delightfully surprised that I have once again been placed in the broadcast mixed zone. Regardless of the evil Pinky and her entourage, I really enjoy the broadcast zone. There really wasn't much for us to change, except to get closer when we are trying to hear what the athletes are saying to the sportscaster. I really need to take a picture of this for you all. Let me try to describe it. When you see any athlete interviewed on tv, it looks like it is the athlete, anchor, and the camera man. In actuality, it is those three, one or two people like me standing DIRECTLY behind the sportscaster and crouching below the camera, and to each side there are about 10 or 12 more cameras fighting for the next interview. It is pure madness. That doesn't even give it justice. I'll try to take a picture today, hopefully I won't get caught.
Yesterdays events were Men's Pursuit, Women's Pursuit, Points Race, and Keirin. I'll describe the new ones to you.
Keirin: Riders race two and half laps sprint after riding for five behind a motorized pacer (derny). Similar to riding behind a pace car in racing. The derny starts at 30km and gradually increases speed to 50 km/hour, before dropping off. (Many of us have a life goal of riding the derny some day.)
Points Race: Riders race 160 laps (men) and 100 laps (women). Every 10 laps a sprint race is held, those finishing in first, second, third and fourth receive 5, 3, 2, 1 points respectively. If a rider laps the crowd 20 points are awarded, if a rider is lapped by the crowd 20 points are taken away. The winner is the person who has the most points.
So women's qualifying once again proved that Great Britain is the team to beat here. The Gold/Silver race is between two British women, so no matter what they will take one-two. By the way, the final racers are determined by their times in the semi-finals. The fastest two riders will race for Gold and Silver, while the other two race for Bronze. The bronze medal racers have no chance of receiving anything other than the Bronze, even if both their times are faster than the riders in the other race. So the British will be taking home at least two more medals today.
The day starts with more Men's Pursuit qualifications. Poor Taylor Phinney rode four seconds slower today, playing him 8th at the end of the day. Not horrible for your first Olympics. All the favorites and expected winners moved on as they were supposed to, there were no big upsets. When the women raced Hammer (USA) started out in front but gradually through out the race fell back and ended up almost 2 seconds behind the winner of her race. It wasn't America's day.
The Keirin heats began immediately after the Pursuit qualifications. It was decided that we make a 5 yuan wager to see who would make the medal podium. None of us did well because one of the favorites, Theo Bos was involved in a crash during the end of one of his runs. We all had him on the podium, essentially we each only had one person up there. Other than the crash things went pretty much according to plan. In each heat there were 6 riders out there and the top two move on. Then there are repechages; the best way I can describe these is that they are ride in races. Four cyclists go out and the top person from each heat works his way back into the race. There is probably more behind it, but that is the way I understood it yesterday. The Keirin went on and off all afternoon, ending with Great Britain sending two people to the medal podium.
I really enjoyed watching the points race. It is a long race, about 40 minutes and the leader changes constantly for the first half and then it starts to level off. The USA rider, Bobby Lea started off strong but then left the race and ended up not finishing. I have no clue what happened to him but he was one of two to not finish. Again we had made our guesses on who would win, NONE of mine were in the top three, however, I did get two of the top five. The medalists were Spain, Germany, and G. Britain. (BARF!) All three were very emotional after the race. In the press conference the Spanish and British men discussed how cycling training really takes a toll on family life, the Spanish man even went as far as saying that after the 19th he would no longer participate in competitive cycling. I really liked the Spanish guy. He didn't speak much, if any, English, but what was translated to us was much deeper than most of the cyclists give you. Even the British guy was pretty insightful.
Yesterday's press conferences were nothing short of a disaster. They were all running late, not to the fault of anyone in charge of the P.C. but because the events were running late. One of them started out casual and turned into the p.c. and then had athletes walking in and out. Even athletes from different events up on the stand at the same time. The Gold medalist from one of the races never showed. Pure Chaos.
An update on Pinky, today she adorned lace and see through white pants. I am starting to think she needs a stylist, and quickly. Pinky however, was nothing compared to her new friend Witchy. Witchy is a Canadian woman that looks like a witch. She is skin and bones, almost to the point where she looks sickly. She has long black hair with grey highlights (she is not at the age where her hair should be LONGER than mine.) The back of her legs are apparently unshaven and she thinks she is the new moderator of the broadcast zone. Amy and I walk up behind Pinky in an attempt to double team the athlete that might be coming down and Witchy butts in saying "Only one of you should scribe." THANK YOU! I didn't knooow you were just promoted to Broadcast Manager. Where did (insert name here because I forgot it) go? Oh speaking of what's his face, he had the most retarded analogy EVER today. The Eurosport guys, my favorite, were gravitating over into two EMPTY slots because well, they were empty. Terd butt comes over and asks them to move because and I quote "This is televised live and the people who have these spots know where their spot is. If they see you in their spot it is kind of like you walking into your hotel room and finding another person in your bed." I kid you not my friends. I swear I am going to write a book about the ridiculous things that happened here and everyone is going to think I made it up because they are so out there. But from now on, watch out for those people who come into your hotel room and try to steal your bed. (HUGE EYE ROLL!!!)
Anyway, we now have Pinky and Witchy to deal with. As either Traci or Andrea or Lauren put it, Witchy is the kid on the playground who just got invited to play by the cool kids and now has to act like them in order to fit in. So true. She was fine yesterday, but apparently she banded together with Pinky in an attempt to destroy all hopes of us FQRs.
At the end of the day, the Brits send five people to the podium, Spain one, New Zealand one, Germany one, and I cannot remember the other person who won. America did nothing at all, the only real disappointment was Sarah Hammer. She should have been in the Bronze medal race tomorrow. We have a few more chances for track cycling medals, but the only one expected to actually achieve a medal is Jenny Reed. Hopefully she will avenge the Americans for at least one race.
Yesterdays events were Men's Pursuit, Women's Pursuit, Points Race, and Keirin. I'll describe the new ones to you.
Keirin: Riders race two and half laps sprint after riding for five behind a motorized pacer (derny). Similar to riding behind a pace car in racing. The derny starts at 30km and gradually increases speed to 50 km/hour, before dropping off. (Many of us have a life goal of riding the derny some day.)
Points Race: Riders race 160 laps (men) and 100 laps (women). Every 10 laps a sprint race is held, those finishing in first, second, third and fourth receive 5, 3, 2, 1 points respectively. If a rider laps the crowd 20 points are awarded, if a rider is lapped by the crowd 20 points are taken away. The winner is the person who has the most points.
So women's qualifying once again proved that Great Britain is the team to beat here. The Gold/Silver race is between two British women, so no matter what they will take one-two. By the way, the final racers are determined by their times in the semi-finals. The fastest two riders will race for Gold and Silver, while the other two race for Bronze. The bronze medal racers have no chance of receiving anything other than the Bronze, even if both their times are faster than the riders in the other race. So the British will be taking home at least two more medals today.
The day starts with more Men's Pursuit qualifications. Poor Taylor Phinney rode four seconds slower today, playing him 8th at the end of the day. Not horrible for your first Olympics. All the favorites and expected winners moved on as they were supposed to, there were no big upsets. When the women raced Hammer (USA) started out in front but gradually through out the race fell back and ended up almost 2 seconds behind the winner of her race. It wasn't America's day.
The Keirin heats began immediately after the Pursuit qualifications. It was decided that we make a 5 yuan wager to see who would make the medal podium. None of us did well because one of the favorites, Theo Bos was involved in a crash during the end of one of his runs. We all had him on the podium, essentially we each only had one person up there. Other than the crash things went pretty much according to plan. In each heat there were 6 riders out there and the top two move on. Then there are repechages; the best way I can describe these is that they are ride in races. Four cyclists go out and the top person from each heat works his way back into the race. There is probably more behind it, but that is the way I understood it yesterday. The Keirin went on and off all afternoon, ending with Great Britain sending two people to the medal podium.
I really enjoyed watching the points race. It is a long race, about 40 minutes and the leader changes constantly for the first half and then it starts to level off. The USA rider, Bobby Lea started off strong but then left the race and ended up not finishing. I have no clue what happened to him but he was one of two to not finish. Again we had made our guesses on who would win, NONE of mine were in the top three, however, I did get two of the top five. The medalists were Spain, Germany, and G. Britain. (BARF!) All three were very emotional after the race. In the press conference the Spanish and British men discussed how cycling training really takes a toll on family life, the Spanish man even went as far as saying that after the 19th he would no longer participate in competitive cycling. I really liked the Spanish guy. He didn't speak much, if any, English, but what was translated to us was much deeper than most of the cyclists give you. Even the British guy was pretty insightful.
Yesterday's press conferences were nothing short of a disaster. They were all running late, not to the fault of anyone in charge of the P.C. but because the events were running late. One of them started out casual and turned into the p.c. and then had athletes walking in and out. Even athletes from different events up on the stand at the same time. The Gold medalist from one of the races never showed. Pure Chaos.
An update on Pinky, today she adorned lace and see through white pants. I am starting to think she needs a stylist, and quickly. Pinky however, was nothing compared to her new friend Witchy. Witchy is a Canadian woman that looks like a witch. She is skin and bones, almost to the point where she looks sickly. She has long black hair with grey highlights (she is not at the age where her hair should be LONGER than mine.) The back of her legs are apparently unshaven and she thinks she is the new moderator of the broadcast zone. Amy and I walk up behind Pinky in an attempt to double team the athlete that might be coming down and Witchy butts in saying "Only one of you should scribe." THANK YOU! I didn't knooow you were just promoted to Broadcast Manager. Where did (insert name here because I forgot it) go? Oh speaking of what's his face, he had the most retarded analogy EVER today. The Eurosport guys, my favorite, were gravitating over into two EMPTY slots because well, they were empty. Terd butt comes over and asks them to move because and I quote "This is televised live and the people who have these spots know where their spot is. If they see you in their spot it is kind of like you walking into your hotel room and finding another person in your bed." I kid you not my friends. I swear I am going to write a book about the ridiculous things that happened here and everyone is going to think I made it up because they are so out there. But from now on, watch out for those people who come into your hotel room and try to steal your bed. (HUGE EYE ROLL!!!)
Anyway, we now have Pinky and Witchy to deal with. As either Traci or Andrea or Lauren put it, Witchy is the kid on the playground who just got invited to play by the cool kids and now has to act like them in order to fit in. So true. She was fine yesterday, but apparently she banded together with Pinky in an attempt to destroy all hopes of us FQRs.
At the end of the day, the Brits send five people to the podium, Spain one, New Zealand one, Germany one, and I cannot remember the other person who won. America did nothing at all, the only real disappointment was Sarah Hammer. She should have been in the Bronze medal race tomorrow. We have a few more chances for track cycling medals, but the only one expected to actually achieve a medal is Jenny Reed. Hopefully she will avenge the Americans for at least one race.
pinky part II...
I wish I had had more time yesterday. I was in the blogging groove and now I seem to have lost my rhythm of yesterday's blog.
Once the medal ceremony ended yesterday the athletes traveled through the broadcast mixed zone. Bringing me within reaching distance of the medals, as I previously mentioned. I can't tell you how hard it is to be listening to a Frenchman ramble off some answer in French and all the while not just stick your hand out there for one little touch. There were times where I almost had to physically restrain myself. Anyway, while in the broadcast zone Pinky and her friends all asked similar questions, and most of the athletes give the typical canned, cliche answers. Heck, if I had just won an Olympic medal I would not have the cognitive ability to flesh out something new and profound. I would most definitely default to the boring "I am very happy. I have worked very hard for this." But when you are trying to get something fresh and genuine, while fighting feverishly to defend yourself against Pinky's pointy elbows there is a different mind set. The worst part of this whole thing is that the Germans and French are only speaking in German and French, which means us language challenged people have not written anything down about the Bronze or Silver medals. AWESOME.
We rush downstairs to meet the 10 min deadline. (i.e. we have ten minutes from the time the medal ceremony ends to get in all the flash quotes. It's really not as bad as it seems, especially because nothing EVER seems to be running on time.) Soon after the Press Conference starts so we jump on over there, but not before we have a run in with the local volunteers trying to deny us access. (Friday was consumed by BOCOC and domestic volunteers telling us "no.") Krystyna got on that and all was good in flash quoting world again.
The press conference was no different than the rest of the day, chaotic. Although, I do have to say, it was much better than the test runs. During the test runs they had domestic volunteers doing the translations and we were concerned that would be the "professional translations" they kept speaking of. They did in fact have qualified translators, so that part went quite well. The room was full of British journalists trying to have a one-on-one with the three Brits who had just won the Gold. Nothing we being asked of the Silver and Bronze medalists. Traci had to step in and ask a question to her best friends, the Germans. I felt really bad because when the Brits decided to leave most of the journalists left, some in the middle of a response from the Germans. I realize this happens all the time, but their answers and moment were just as important as the stupid Brits who think they own the cycling world. (I'm not really a fan of the British team or their press agent who anxiously hovers over every interview just waiting for some one to say something that she needs to fix or retract. ANNOYING.)
The Women's and Men's Pursuit qualifications were nothing too riveting. Both USA cyclists, Taylor Phinney and Sarah Hammer qualified, but by no means were they exceptional. Those races became more exciting the second day when there was more competition.
Since nothing was running on time we didn't get out of there until almost 9:30. It had been decided a few days ago we would go out with our managers after work that day to the Holland House. During the Olympics each country sets up it's own house to host the athletes and visitors. Being media we are allowed to go to any of the houses and apparently Holland House is the best one. By the time we ate and met up with Amy it was decently late, it was still a blast. Maybe we'll go back when we have more time. Who knows.
The first day was generally how any first day of an event goes. Things were being changed on the fly, new rules were being made, and nothing seemed to go according to plan. We had significant trouble with BOCOG trying to keep people out of the mixed zone. They "hired" us to do this job and Friday they were trying to prevent us from doing it. They wanted only two people in there to interview anywhere from 3 to 9 athletes. That's not going to work. But, as we have done this entire trip, we rolled with the punches and did what we could. I have to say, if there is one thing I have really learned while in China it's adaptability and flexibility. If I wrote about all the times we had to just go with the flow I would be writing until the next Olympics.
Once the medal ceremony ended yesterday the athletes traveled through the broadcast mixed zone. Bringing me within reaching distance of the medals, as I previously mentioned. I can't tell you how hard it is to be listening to a Frenchman ramble off some answer in French and all the while not just stick your hand out there for one little touch. There were times where I almost had to physically restrain myself. Anyway, while in the broadcast zone Pinky and her friends all asked similar questions, and most of the athletes give the typical canned, cliche answers. Heck, if I had just won an Olympic medal I would not have the cognitive ability to flesh out something new and profound. I would most definitely default to the boring "I am very happy. I have worked very hard for this." But when you are trying to get something fresh and genuine, while fighting feverishly to defend yourself against Pinky's pointy elbows there is a different mind set. The worst part of this whole thing is that the Germans and French are only speaking in German and French, which means us language challenged people have not written anything down about the Bronze or Silver medals. AWESOME.
We rush downstairs to meet the 10 min deadline. (i.e. we have ten minutes from the time the medal ceremony ends to get in all the flash quotes. It's really not as bad as it seems, especially because nothing EVER seems to be running on time.) Soon after the Press Conference starts so we jump on over there, but not before we have a run in with the local volunteers trying to deny us access. (Friday was consumed by BOCOC and domestic volunteers telling us "no.") Krystyna got on that and all was good in flash quoting world again.
The press conference was no different than the rest of the day, chaotic. Although, I do have to say, it was much better than the test runs. During the test runs they had domestic volunteers doing the translations and we were concerned that would be the "professional translations" they kept speaking of. They did in fact have qualified translators, so that part went quite well. The room was full of British journalists trying to have a one-on-one with the three Brits who had just won the Gold. Nothing we being asked of the Silver and Bronze medalists. Traci had to step in and ask a question to her best friends, the Germans. I felt really bad because when the Brits decided to leave most of the journalists left, some in the middle of a response from the Germans. I realize this happens all the time, but their answers and moment were just as important as the stupid Brits who think they own the cycling world. (I'm not really a fan of the British team or their press agent who anxiously hovers over every interview just waiting for some one to say something that she needs to fix or retract. ANNOYING.)
The Women's and Men's Pursuit qualifications were nothing too riveting. Both USA cyclists, Taylor Phinney and Sarah Hammer qualified, but by no means were they exceptional. Those races became more exciting the second day when there was more competition.
Since nothing was running on time we didn't get out of there until almost 9:30. It had been decided a few days ago we would go out with our managers after work that day to the Holland House. During the Olympics each country sets up it's own house to host the athletes and visitors. Being media we are allowed to go to any of the houses and apparently Holland House is the best one. By the time we ate and met up with Amy it was decently late, it was still a blast. Maybe we'll go back when we have more time. Who knows.
The first day was generally how any first day of an event goes. Things were being changed on the fly, new rules were being made, and nothing seemed to go according to plan. We had significant trouble with BOCOG trying to keep people out of the mixed zone. They "hired" us to do this job and Friday they were trying to prevent us from doing it. They wanted only two people in there to interview anywhere from 3 to 9 athletes. That's not going to work. But, as we have done this entire trip, we rolled with the punches and did what we could. I have to say, if there is one thing I have really learned while in China it's adaptability and flexibility. If I wrote about all the times we had to just go with the flow I would be writing until the next Olympics.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Gold medals within reach...
Olympic News:
- Liukin was spectacular in the Women's All-Around Yesterday, taking Gold. Johnson, who did nothing less than her normal was hurt by her bar routine and took Silver.
- Phelps is 6/6 (and as I am writing this 7/7 with his closest win yet .01 seconds!!) I am starting to get bored of him.
- We surpassed China yesterday in medal count and we are currently a comfortable 7 medals up. We still have a lot of ground to make up in the Gold medal count.
- Right now I am watching Men's speed walking; it is the funniest thing I have ever seen. This is a sad excuse for an Olympic Event.
Let's talk about how I was less than an arm's reach away from three Olympic Gold medals yesterday AND three Olympic Silver medals. All I wanted to do was reach out my little hand for a touch. Just a touch. I wouldn't take it. I would even put hand sanitizer on before touching it! But given the fact that I have to act professional, I begrudgenly restrained myself. I am sure by the end of these two weeks I will be just as used to Gold medals as Phelps. RIIGHT.
I didn't have to be at the Velodrome until 3:00 yesterday because events didn't start until 4:30. I spent the morning doing what I do best. Sitting in my bed watching the Olympics. Because the medal ceremony was so late for the gymnastics I had to rush to get ready because we now have a shuttle!!! While I cherished my long, sweaty rides, playing running of the dragon, and fighting for a seat, I my happy to be done with the subway.
When we got to the Velodrome I got a little camera happy, we all know I am not a camera happy person. I couldn't help myself. Plus it was a rare blue sky day so I had to take advantage. I was the stinky kid yesterday. Not by choice or lack of proper bathing. I pulled the smelly ONS bib out of the pile. It reeked. By the end of the day my shirt smelled enough that people started to think it actually might be me. We hid the bib to ensure that no one else would have to suffer the same shame and humiliation I did.
Shortly after arrival we are assigned our positions, mine being the broadcast zone. I was pretty excited about this placement, until I met Pinky. Amy took the three of us up there to get in the good graces of the broadcasting people. They are even more touchy than the journalists so you really have to butter them up. The EuroSport people were awesome. They warned us most of their interviews would be in German and French but were more than willing to translate if need be. Then there was Pinky. BBC Sports. Amy walks up, introduces herself and Pinky goes, "I know who you people are. I have dealt with you before. Stay out of the shot and if you get in the way I may ask you to move. Don't take it personally." We all take a few steps back at that response. However, Pinky proceeds to stare me down for a few seconds. I guess in an attempt to break me. Then she says, "I may get a little snippy and I have pointy elbows so watch out." At that we completely walk away. Pinky does not belong there for numerous reasons. Let me lay them out for you.
- She is too old to be a women's sportscaster.
- She is NOT cute.
- She is wearing a pink polo with a white and pink skirt, hence the beloved nickname Pinky.
- Her collar was popped. MAJOR NO!
- PLUS she is wearing her accreditation pass around her waste like a huge TOOL!
The main problem with Pinky is that we can't avoid her. The way her camera is setup makes it really difficult to get to the Australian Channel 7, CCTV, French or Germany. All of which are important groups of people that some one needs to be standing by. At one point she even tried to stop us from going through because she didn't want us to possibly move in front of the camera. So the number one rule of broadcasting zone is...don't piss off Pinky.
I get the lucky first stab at being by Pinky. The plan was to move past her before the races start and then freely move beyond that point. Wrong-o. I get over there and I am sandwiched in between her camera and some French guy's camera. I catch Amy's eye and tell her this isn't going to work. She comes over only to get another dose of Pinky. "I am not doing any interviews right now and I can't have people standing here in my line of sight." Uhh ok. What broadcasting school did you go to that you can't learn how to ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS! Stupid woman. We walk away from her and decide we will deal with Pinky only when it is completely necessary.
Before I can tell you about the events for the day it would probably be beneficial to explain them. Otherwise these are just words that mean absolutely NOTHING. There were only two events yesterday, Men's Team Sprint and Men's & Women's Individual Pursuit.
Men's Team Sprint: This is a team of three cyclists. Each lead for a lap and then break off for the next cyclist to take the lead. Basically the entire race lasts about 45 seconds, and that seems to be a slow time. There are two teams out on the track each starting on opposite sides.
Individual Pursuit: With this event the object is to try and catch the other person. Two people are on the track, again positioned on opposite sides. The race is about 4 min 25 seconds, the length is 4 km for men and 3 km for women. Recording the fastest time or catching the other rider determines the winner.
If you really are looking to understand these I would go to youtube and try to find a video. It is hard to visualize unless you see it. So the only medal event yesterday was Men's Team Sprint. We had a crash on the very first race, boy does that look painful. The US team qualified for semi-finals, but didn't make it to the medal races. FYI eight teams qualify for semi's and then four move on to the two medal races. At that point the teams with the two best times in semi's compete for Gold and Silver and the other two compete for Bronze and the disdained, oh so close, fourth place. The qualifying races for Team Sprint are nothing to really write home about. They weren't OVERLY exciting, but the finals were SO EXCITING! The Bronze medal race was between Germany and Australia. We had a hard time choosing who to root for, but given that we are impartial we didn't really root for anyone. Ha. Traci and I decided we had to go with our blood, Germany. We love our new Aussie friends, but it's blood. Plus I interviewed one of the guys and he is just the nicest person ever!!! RIGHT CHOICE! They won in the last lap. The Aussie's were leading the entire time but in the last lap the German's over took them. They were so excited and crying. I love when athletes cry. I know it sound cheesy but it is so genuine. I have watched these guys practice for the last few weeks. I have talked to them about their expectations and to see them succeed it really gut wrenching. Tangent. The Brits and Frenchmen (the favorites) raced for Gold and Silver. Now that was exciting. The Brits had a World Record time in the qualifying race, surpassing the three time World Champion French team. Honestly, we didn't care who won because the Brits wouldn't talk to us for the last week and the French are the French. I know I'm not a nice person. I have come to terms with that. The Brits pull off a semi-upset, but given that they were predicted to win Silver, it wasn't all that shocking.
After the Brits did a couple victory laps, took their photos, and hugged their families the medal ceremony started. While the athletes were in doping control a color guard of Chinese sorts brings out the flags. I was impressed to see they treat each flag with the same reverence given to theirs. The flags were placed on the bar and held there until it was time to raise them. Then we saw the beautiful Chinese women bring out the flowers and medals. We were particularly proud of them because we have watched them go from water bottle laps in the velodrome to real medals and flowers. Oh so grown up. Anyway, despite the fact that it wasn't the USA there was still a certain excitement being there.
I really want to write more and I have pictures to post, however, I have to leave for work in 45 minutes and I have yet to shower. So when I arrive home tonight I will give you the rest of this blog post, complete with photos, and a rundown on today's Pinky interactions!! Haha. I just realized that I will probably get this done before you even have the opportunity to see the first blog!
Friday, August 15, 2008
food coma...
Yesterday I boycotted all Olympic coverage. It was my best attempt to stick it to the man. Actually, there really wasn't anything of interest on. The men did not stand a chance in Men's All-Around, Phelps did not swim until night time and they don't show any night swimming, plus it was only a qualifying race, and I would have watched Women's Softball, however, it poured here yesterday so all our door events were postponed. Given that it was raining I did not want to leave the safety of my dorm. So I watched Grey's Anatomy. Great day!
It eventually stopped raining yesterday, which cooled things off quite a bit. I actually wore jeans and a long sleeve shirt last night. I never thought I would be so excited to wear jeans! Kelsey and Phil were on a mission to get everyone to go eat Italian food. We went to Annie's, now given my Italian food snobbery, I was VERY skeptical of an Italian place called Annie's. Even if it had been Anna's I would have been less hesitant. Anyway, the menu is plopped down in front of us and I lose all rational thinking. Do I want a Caprice salad? Or traditional Spaghetti? Or Risotto? I didn't know what to look at first. Thankfully I had my trusty food sidekick Andrea there with me to pull off a traditional Megan/Andrea dinner. Seeing as we both are kind of picky we choose two meals and in true Chinese, and Italian, fashion we share the meals. Last night we settled on Spinach Ravioli and Fettichini Alfredo! OH DEAR LORD! I was in food heaven. The spinach ravioli was in a creamy white sauce, with a spinach dough and probably the best thing I have eaten in my entire life. Andrea inhaled her half before I could even graze over my half of the Alfredo. The Alfredo was Alfredo, but the best stinking Alfredo in the entire world! Seeing as my food baby, Brunhilda, was starting to show I couldn't even bare to finish the Alfredo (the spinach ravioli was LOOONG gone). Then came dessert. Now I don't normally get dessert but there was this little voice in my head, no not my conscience, it was Laura Shu telling me to do it. She kept saying, "Remember that time in Rome when we ate our Easter dinner and we got tiramasu and you loved it. Do it again. This is like Easter, but not at all." So Laura made me do it. I got tiramasu and nearly went into a food coma it was so good. It was little individually made cakes with the lady fingers completely drenched. I dare say it was BETTER than Italy. Now you are probably wondering what a meal like this would cost me. $15, maybe $20 bucks. OOOOH contrare my little friends. It was only $9.00. NINE! For this glorious feast!!! I guess I was wrong about the name of the restaurant. Annie knows her Italian!
Oh it gets better. Next store is Cindy Lous, or Lucy Lou, something to that nature. An American grocery store. No where in Italy did they have these groceries (at least not to my knowledge). So after eating ourselves into food comas we decide to further the damage and go check out the store. Seeing as we only have 11 days left (TEARRRR) we were all really glad we didn't find this place sooner because we would be a few dollars poorer and about 600 pounds heavier. All the American goods you could dream of were in here, at premium price of course. Ranch ran you $6.00 a bottle, a box of cereal $7.50. They had Ritter sport, snack packs, diet cherry 7-up (which we don't think you can even find back in the USA) lunch meat, cheese, and the list goes on. (I think I am hungry.) Like I said, we have been here almost 6 weeks already and survived so none of us went crazy, just a few essentials, granola bars and gummy worms. I got 'shrooms her salt and vinegar chips she has been dying for.
Given all that I have written about today, food, it was brought up last night at the dinner table that our lives are run by food. After pondering that for a moment I couldn't help but agree. Each day we live for (and sometimes dread) our next meal. What new place will we find? What mysterious food will be in the box lunch today? The funny thing is, as soon as we finish one meal we are instantly discussing the next one. Typically it is in regards to a craving we have or regrets about not getting a certain item on the menu. Half of our energy goes into the next meal. It is so bad we have already started to discuss the infamous first meal back after being abroad. I don't even remember what mine was from Italy, maybe a cheeseburger, who knows. Traci is set on a huge slab of meat. I am still pondering all the possibilities, ribs, veal parm, a HUGE salad. The possibilities are endless. But like I said, we are consumed by food.
I am not sure there is any Olympic news to bring you. Maybe if I wasn't boycotting the tv (which will end today because Phelps is swimming and Lukin and Johnson are competiting in all around) I would know more. Actually, I just looked it up and I don't know if we got many medals yesterday. Swimming severely suffered without Phelps out there to energize his teammates and there were only 15 medal ceremonies yesterday, the third lowest amount in all 18 days. Like I have already said 500 times, today starts competition in the Velodrome. Added bonus, we now have a SHUTTLE! No more subway and sweating! I can look like a human! The French are HEAVILY favored to win, but the Germans pulled a huge upset last Olympics and are hoping to do the same here. Other favorites include Great Britain and the Netherlands. I am so overly excited and nervous at the same time. It's an excited nervousness. This is the culmination of everything I have worked for, including the essays way back when. I probably won't get to talk to the athletes one-on-one anymore because all the reporters are now here, but who cares!!! I hope some cycling is on, it actually is really exciting!
I will try to take photos, but the rules are not to take them while the event is happening, it ruins our credibility. We have already had issues with the domestic volunteers running up to cyclists asking for autographs. It just looks really bad! So I can't promise original photos, but I can promise that I will steal them from any website I can find!
BYEEEE!
It eventually stopped raining yesterday, which cooled things off quite a bit. I actually wore jeans and a long sleeve shirt last night. I never thought I would be so excited to wear jeans! Kelsey and Phil were on a mission to get everyone to go eat Italian food. We went to Annie's, now given my Italian food snobbery, I was VERY skeptical of an Italian place called Annie's. Even if it had been Anna's I would have been less hesitant. Anyway, the menu is plopped down in front of us and I lose all rational thinking. Do I want a Caprice salad? Or traditional Spaghetti? Or Risotto? I didn't know what to look at first. Thankfully I had my trusty food sidekick Andrea there with me to pull off a traditional Megan/Andrea dinner. Seeing as we both are kind of picky we choose two meals and in true Chinese, and Italian, fashion we share the meals. Last night we settled on Spinach Ravioli and Fettichini Alfredo! OH DEAR LORD! I was in food heaven. The spinach ravioli was in a creamy white sauce, with a spinach dough and probably the best thing I have eaten in my entire life. Andrea inhaled her half before I could even graze over my half of the Alfredo. The Alfredo was Alfredo, but the best stinking Alfredo in the entire world! Seeing as my food baby, Brunhilda, was starting to show I couldn't even bare to finish the Alfredo (the spinach ravioli was LOOONG gone). Then came dessert. Now I don't normally get dessert but there was this little voice in my head, no not my conscience, it was Laura Shu telling me to do it. She kept saying, "Remember that time in Rome when we ate our Easter dinner and we got tiramasu and you loved it. Do it again. This is like Easter, but not at all." So Laura made me do it. I got tiramasu and nearly went into a food coma it was so good. It was little individually made cakes with the lady fingers completely drenched. I dare say it was BETTER than Italy. Now you are probably wondering what a meal like this would cost me. $15, maybe $20 bucks. OOOOH contrare my little friends. It was only $9.00. NINE! For this glorious feast!!! I guess I was wrong about the name of the restaurant. Annie knows her Italian!
Oh it gets better. Next store is Cindy Lous, or Lucy Lou, something to that nature. An American grocery store. No where in Italy did they have these groceries (at least not to my knowledge). So after eating ourselves into food comas we decide to further the damage and go check out the store. Seeing as we only have 11 days left (TEARRRR) we were all really glad we didn't find this place sooner because we would be a few dollars poorer and about 600 pounds heavier. All the American goods you could dream of were in here, at premium price of course. Ranch ran you $6.00 a bottle, a box of cereal $7.50. They had Ritter sport, snack packs, diet cherry 7-up (which we don't think you can even find back in the USA) lunch meat, cheese, and the list goes on. (I think I am hungry.) Like I said, we have been here almost 6 weeks already and survived so none of us went crazy, just a few essentials, granola bars and gummy worms. I got 'shrooms her salt and vinegar chips she has been dying for.
Given all that I have written about today, food, it was brought up last night at the dinner table that our lives are run by food. After pondering that for a moment I couldn't help but agree. Each day we live for (and sometimes dread) our next meal. What new place will we find? What mysterious food will be in the box lunch today? The funny thing is, as soon as we finish one meal we are instantly discussing the next one. Typically it is in regards to a craving we have or regrets about not getting a certain item on the menu. Half of our energy goes into the next meal. It is so bad we have already started to discuss the infamous first meal back after being abroad. I don't even remember what mine was from Italy, maybe a cheeseburger, who knows. Traci is set on a huge slab of meat. I am still pondering all the possibilities, ribs, veal parm, a HUGE salad. The possibilities are endless. But like I said, we are consumed by food.
I am not sure there is any Olympic news to bring you. Maybe if I wasn't boycotting the tv (which will end today because Phelps is swimming and Lukin and Johnson are competiting in all around) I would know more. Actually, I just looked it up and I don't know if we got many medals yesterday. Swimming severely suffered without Phelps out there to energize his teammates and there were only 15 medal ceremonies yesterday, the third lowest amount in all 18 days. Like I have already said 500 times, today starts competition in the Velodrome. Added bonus, we now have a SHUTTLE! No more subway and sweating! I can look like a human! The French are HEAVILY favored to win, but the Germans pulled a huge upset last Olympics and are hoping to do the same here. Other favorites include Great Britain and the Netherlands. I am so overly excited and nervous at the same time. It's an excited nervousness. This is the culmination of everything I have worked for, including the essays way back when. I probably won't get to talk to the athletes one-on-one anymore because all the reporters are now here, but who cares!!! I hope some cycling is on, it actually is really exciting!
I will try to take photos, but the rules are not to take them while the event is happening, it ruins our credibility. We have already had issues with the domestic volunteers running up to cyclists asking for autographs. It just looks really bad! So I can't promise original photos, but I can promise that I will steal them from any website I can find!
BYEEEE!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
confusion and frustration...
Olympic News:
- Phelps as you know, is now 5/5. Once again breaking two world records, absolutely obliterating the previous 4 x 200 Free Relay. Not to mention finishing almost seven seconds before the rest of the pack. This now makes him the winningest Olympian EVER. I posed this question today...can one ever get sick of winning Olympic medals?
- The USA Women's Gymnastics team fell as little short today. Falling being the keyword. Sacramone once again crushed under pressure and for the first time EVER I saw Shawn Johnson make a mistake by stepping out of bounds. It's ok, silver is prettier anyway.
- France won its first wresting Gold medal in 84 years. That is almost as bad as not winning a World Series in 100, Cubs still win there.
- USA got some cycling medals today!! Kristen Armstrong got a Gold medal in the Women's Time Trial, I missed it because it was nap time, but I heard that she was pretty emotional. In the Men's Time Trial Levi Leipheimer came in third. Good day!
I had another day off today, that was good because my favorite event in the Olympics was on. GYMNASTICS. As you will see we started out pretty solid, but pressure got to some of the girls towards the end. I was actually pretty disappointed in them. They had it in reach and all they had to do was do what they do best, the floor. The floor exercise scores were INCREDIBLY low, for both teams, but man Sacramone. She just crumbles under pressure.
In my continuous attempts to bring you something exciting I have decided today I would blog about my top three China frustrations.
1. Staring. I have a new pet peeve. Staring. It might have always bothered me, but it has pushed me to the brink of insanity this last week. Here's the deal. I have spoken to you of the subway. We do our thing, LIKE EVERYONE else and the Chinese people look at us like we are nuts. When we actually get a seat on the train people glare at us as if we were stealing a child or something ridiculous. When we eat people gawk like we are rabid animals that have meandered in for a feast. Then there are the times I will look up and some one will just be staring. I will stare back for a good 5 or 10 seconds but that does nothing. It is just getting really old. I know I sound hateful, but the fact of the matter is, I am. Not only is it really awkward but it is rude. I believe I read some where that it isn't rude here but it isn't like we are novelty anymore. People from all over the world have been flooding in here for the last two weeks; we aren't the freaking circus. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Ok now I will take a more rational approach to this. I realize we are a bit of a novelty. It's not often this many westerners are in Beijing, let alone traveling the subways and shopping in the malls. Additionally, I realize that things that are wrong in one culture are perfectly acceptable in another. So to a certain extent I can understand the fascination and the staring. The thing I least understand is how they aren't weirded out when I stare back. I can only stare back for so long before my eyes dart away because I feel awkward. The whole thing baffles me.
2. No USA Olympics coverage. I don't even know where to start with this one because it frustrates me so incredibly much. Each morning I check the Olympic schedule. First going to swimming to see what Phelps is up to for the day, what records he will break, then I look at the other events to see if there is anything I like. Of course there are. Softball, basketball (some days), the list goes on. However, I have learned not to expect to see anything USA unless we are competing against China and even then if we are doing well it will be blocked out. Like yesterday when Nastia Lukin got a 16.8 on the bars and it was not shown because she performed better than all the Chinese girls. The only thing that is always on is the swimming finals each morning. I don't think they could skip that given that all the swimmers are breaking records and such. But even at the end of that they don't show interviews from anyone other than the Chinese people who didn't win anything. Instead of showing any USA events they replay the little 14 or 15 year old winning the 48kg weight lifting or replay a basketball game that China already lost. I honestly do not understand the reasoning behind it. It is not like the Chinese people are going to see an American race or game and start cheering for the USA. I have seen more shooting and weight lifting that I have ever cared to. And if you want to talk about how shooting is the most pitiful excuse of an Olympic event, I am all ears. Anyway, I have no rational approach on this one.
3. Spitting. Originally Mom said I couldn't write about this, but given the fact that the Today Show did a special segment on it Mom approved the blog topic. For those of you who don't know it is perfectly acceptable to spit on the road here, or anywhere for that matter. We will be walking down the road or sitting in our rooms and suddenly we'll hear it. A loud throat hawk. Disgusting? You bet! Why am I sharing these details with you? Because I want you to experience all the joy I do on a daily basis. Then the person disposes it by any means necessary. When this happens we all search for the culprit because at home that is just not heard of. Upon exchanging looks the Chinese person typically looks at us like "What's the problem?" and we give them the "That is super disgusting" look. (As I speak I can hear the men across the hall clearing their lungs. It's precious.) According to my mom, there is a job that requires a person to go around and clean up spit after other people. Then if they catch some one spitting they hand them a card that says "Please be more responsible." It is just SUPER gross and typically makes me want to throw up. I am sure you're glad I shared.
So those are my three frustrations. I really needed to vent about them so I hope you don't think I am completely horrible. I am trying to take a rational, objective approach but sometimes I cannot see the light. It is my last and final day off. Competition starts tomorrow, the first medal is Men's Team Sprint. The French are heavily favored to win so that should be exciting and fun. There is a Frenchman who is at his 5th and final Olympics. I am just all around excited for tomorrow and the next week. I can't believe I only have 12 days left here. It feels like just yesterday I was at 12 days to go, bouncing off the walls of the office driving Carol and David crazy! (I know you two are so excited to see me in a few short weeks!!!!)
Now I am off to find something exciting to eat for lunch!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
surprises lurk around every corner...
The lady on the subway changed. She used to be a little Chinese lady that wore mismatched clothes and tiny slippers. Each stop she would come on the loud speaker and say "Da next esstation is Guomao. Please prepare for your arrival" Last Friday this new woman surprised us. She sounded all western and instead of a cute Chinese lady she is a white woman wearing the trendiest clothes. In her perfect English she says "The next station is, GUOmao. Please get ready to get off." I don't like her. I miss our old lady. I want the Chinese woman back.
And remember how I told you I was going to give you the Olympic facts of the day. Well apparently that was a computer lie. There have been no more facts since Friday. Therefore, I will continue to bring the Olympic news for the day but sadly no more facts. Unless I for some strange reason find myself in desperate need of something to do.
So first and foremost, let me bring you the Olympic news of today. I am going to assume that you already know what happened on Sunday and Monday.
Olympic News:
But as we watch we slowly see Lezak creep in. With 10 meters left it seems impossible, no impractical, that this man might pull off the race of his life. Everyone in the office was going crazy. I stopped dictating flash quotes, Amy and Krystyna (Aussies) we screaming along side us. My heart stopped for that split second where we didn't know who won. Then you saw Michael Phelps' Hulk impersonation. One of those iconic Olympic moments. An emotional image that will appear with the countless other impossibles. My heart was racing, which leaves me to believe that those actually involved in the race were near eruption. After all the talk from the French about how they would crush the USA, blah blah blah, it was great to see them less than a blink away from winning. Karma, it comes biting back. This race was the ultimate "the thrill of victory. The agony of defeat" moment. (Anyone with a newspaper from Tuesday with Phelps plastered on the front, please keep it for me!)
Yesterday afternoon I interviewed Taylor Phinney, the 18 year old American cyclist who's parents were Olympic medalists. He was very chatty for an 18 year old boy and gave Andrea and me a lot of great quotes. When we finally left the velodrome yesterday it was well past our normal feeding time. There is an Outback by the mall so a couple of us relished in the thought of a Bloomin' Onion. Andrea and Lauren tried to go the other day but were declined because they didn't have the proper accreditation. We tried to get it, but we were declined. Apparently to dine at the fancy Outback Steakhouse you must have a reservation within the hotel or know people who are staying there. What? As Lauren put it, "it isn't the Ritz Carlton." The Asian volunteer got very snippy with us, (some one should warn him about hungry American girls) but we were too exhausted and hungry to fight. Seriously! Outback. Fancy. HA.
We didn't get home until late last night so we just watched team USA crush China. Again. Two nights in a row. I think the final score was 100-something to 50. Nice job girls. I started to work on an article about Taylor Phinney and that pretty much brought me to midnight.
If you are wondering about the weekend, I did what I normally do at home when it is Olympic time. I sat in my bed (at home it would be a couch) and watched as many Olympic events I could take in. They say it is impossible to get tickets, it is all sold out (even though the stadiums are not full) so we have to resort to comfy option B...my bed. Since there are so many CCTV channels I was able to soak up a lot of quality Olympic time. It was the best weekend of my life.
In other news, we received toilet paper, paper towels, ANND soap at the velodrome this weekend. It was like Christmas come early. They promised there would be paper and soap products come Olympic time and boy did they deliver. I don't know what we did to deserve it. (Side note: never in a million years did I think I would blog about the excitement involved with receiving a new roll of toilet paper.) Midst the bathroom hubbub some actual exciting news came early Sunday morning. Jane received some events tickets for us! YEAHAAHAH! A bunch of people went to beach volleyball Monday morning but I was scheduled to work. Not willing to give up my Taylor Phinney interview I decided to pass. But the BIGGEER news... Saturday we have tickets to go to the athletics events at the Bird's Nest!!! The only problem is we have three medal events that day. It has been decided that after we are finished we are going to haul it up there, get a view from the inside, take our pictures, and see whatever we can. I'll take whatever I can get. I am also considering waking up early tomorrow morning to see if there is any way in the world I can get tickets to the Women's Gymnastics All-Around finals. I doubt it, but it's worth a shot. If not, back to the bed!
That's all for now! Ciao ciao!
And remember how I told you I was going to give you the Olympic facts of the day. Well apparently that was a computer lie. There have been no more facts since Friday. Therefore, I will continue to bring the Olympic news for the day but sadly no more facts. Unless I for some strange reason find myself in desperate need of something to do.
So first and foremost, let me bring you the Olympic news of today. I am going to assume that you already know what happened on Sunday and Monday.
Olympic News:
- Phelps is 3 for 3, and yet again broke another World Record.
- the USA ALMOST swept the swimming events today. We got first in 3 of 4 (each of those three had two US medalists) and a Silver in the last one. Pretty decent day.
- the men's gymnastics team received bronze
- the Chinese have yet again come closer to sweeping the diving events, they have won all three Gold medals thus far but there are still five events left.
- in a rare podium appearance Mexico won a bronze in diving, that was cute.
But as we watch we slowly see Lezak creep in. With 10 meters left it seems impossible, no impractical, that this man might pull off the race of his life. Everyone in the office was going crazy. I stopped dictating flash quotes, Amy and Krystyna (Aussies) we screaming along side us. My heart stopped for that split second where we didn't know who won. Then you saw Michael Phelps' Hulk impersonation. One of those iconic Olympic moments. An emotional image that will appear with the countless other impossibles. My heart was racing, which leaves me to believe that those actually involved in the race were near eruption. After all the talk from the French about how they would crush the USA, blah blah blah, it was great to see them less than a blink away from winning. Karma, it comes biting back. This race was the ultimate "the thrill of victory. The agony of defeat" moment. (Anyone with a newspaper from Tuesday with Phelps plastered on the front, please keep it for me!)
Yesterday afternoon I interviewed Taylor Phinney, the 18 year old American cyclist who's parents were Olympic medalists. He was very chatty for an 18 year old boy and gave Andrea and me a lot of great quotes. When we finally left the velodrome yesterday it was well past our normal feeding time. There is an Outback by the mall so a couple of us relished in the thought of a Bloomin' Onion. Andrea and Lauren tried to go the other day but were declined because they didn't have the proper accreditation. We tried to get it, but we were declined. Apparently to dine at the fancy Outback Steakhouse you must have a reservation within the hotel or know people who are staying there. What? As Lauren put it, "it isn't the Ritz Carlton." The Asian volunteer got very snippy with us, (some one should warn him about hungry American girls) but we were too exhausted and hungry to fight. Seriously! Outback. Fancy. HA.
We didn't get home until late last night so we just watched team USA crush China. Again. Two nights in a row. I think the final score was 100-something to 50. Nice job girls. I started to work on an article about Taylor Phinney and that pretty much brought me to midnight.
If you are wondering about the weekend, I did what I normally do at home when it is Olympic time. I sat in my bed (at home it would be a couch) and watched as many Olympic events I could take in. They say it is impossible to get tickets, it is all sold out (even though the stadiums are not full) so we have to resort to comfy option B...my bed. Since there are so many CCTV channels I was able to soak up a lot of quality Olympic time. It was the best weekend of my life.
In other news, we received toilet paper, paper towels, ANND soap at the velodrome this weekend. It was like Christmas come early. They promised there would be paper and soap products come Olympic time and boy did they deliver. I don't know what we did to deserve it. (Side note: never in a million years did I think I would blog about the excitement involved with receiving a new roll of toilet paper.) Midst the bathroom hubbub some actual exciting news came early Sunday morning. Jane received some events tickets for us! YEAHAAHAH! A bunch of people went to beach volleyball Monday morning but I was scheduled to work. Not willing to give up my Taylor Phinney interview I decided to pass. But the BIGGEER news... Saturday we have tickets to go to the athletics events at the Bird's Nest!!! The only problem is we have three medal events that day. It has been decided that after we are finished we are going to haul it up there, get a view from the inside, take our pictures, and see whatever we can. I'll take whatever I can get. I am also considering waking up early tomorrow morning to see if there is any way in the world I can get tickets to the Women's Gymnastics All-Around finals. I doubt it, but it's worth a shot. If not, back to the bed!
That's all for now! Ciao ciao!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
let the games begin...
Olympics by the Numbers:
$20,000,000,000 on Opening Ceremony (still need credible source)
7,000,000 tickets sold
91,000 seats in the Bird's Nest
80,000 square meters = size of the Water Cube
21,600 journalists
17,000 seats in the Water Cube
10,694 athletes
2,924 judges and referees
2001 the year the Beijing was awarded the Olympics
906 medals awarded
302 medal events
37 venues
18 days of competition
12 new venues
6 co-host cities
Ok, I'm not going to sit here and pretend I found all this information. INFO 2008, the program we use to get biographies on the athletes, provided me with these fun facts. Each day they are going to have information like this, I will provide you with the numbers each day.
These were the daily fun facts:
- 12,738 medals have been awarded in the Olympics
- no individual has won more than 9 Gold medals
- YAO Ming (CHN) is tallest athlete at the Beijing Olympics
Daily Olympic News:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XbIZqg4v7w It is my new favorite song and I am feverishly learning all the words so I can sing it at all holidays, birthdays, football games, basically anytime more than one person is in attendance.
I have some videos to show you, however it takes over an hour to upload so I will work on that tomorrow. Swimming finally came on so I am going to watch that. BYE!
$20,000,000,000 on Opening Ceremony (still need credible source)
7,000,000 tickets sold
91,000 seats in the Bird's Nest
80,000 square meters = size of the Water Cube
21,600 journalists
17,000 seats in the Water Cube
10,694 athletes
2,924 judges and referees
2001 the year the Beijing was awarded the Olympics
906 medals awarded
302 medal events
37 venues
18 days of competition
12 new venues
6 co-host cities
Ok, I'm not going to sit here and pretend I found all this information. INFO 2008, the program we use to get biographies on the athletes, provided me with these fun facts. Each day they are going to have information like this, I will provide you with the numbers each day.
These were the daily fun facts:
- 12,738 medals have been awarded in the Olympics
- no individual has won more than 9 Gold medals
- YAO Ming (CHN) is tallest athlete at the Beijing Olympics
Daily Olympic News:
- the first medal given at the Beijing 2008 Olympics was given to Katerina Emmons, who broke a World Record in shooting.
- Michael Phelps beat the Olympic Record during his qualifying race today...without his lzr suit
- the USA Women's Fencing Team swept the medals
- because of the above fact the USA is leading in medals
- the USA Women's Soccer Team beat Japan
- as of right now the Women's Basketball Team is winning their opening match
As I mentioned this morning I had today off so Andrea and I did one last run to the Silk Market. It actually wasn't that bad; I feel as though I mastered the system. I still don't want to come home to set prices and price tags. Blah.
I already told most of you in an email, I was not the tourist killed today in Beijing. I want to qualify that with the fact that it is INCREDIBLY safe here. Regardless what you might hear back at home, I have never once felt threatened nor have I taken any of the precautions to guard my money or objects like I did in Europe. If you read the articles you will see that any attacks on a foreigner carry a far worse penalty than if on a Chinese person. DO NOT WORRY. Things are very safe here, especially when we are at the Velodrome. This was an isolated incident that is very out of character for most of the Asian population.
Right now we are trying to find one CCTV channel that is playing the swimming qualifying races from today. I already know all the results because I sat here with live update. Apparently rewatching the tiny Chinese girl win the Gold for the 48kg weight lift is far more important than watching Michael Phelps achieve an Olympic Record in the 400m Individual Medley.
I hope I have redeemed myself for the error in judgement to not post photos. I also encourage you all to watch this videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XbIZqg4v7w It is my new favorite song and I am feverishly learning all the words so I can sing it at all holidays, birthdays, football games, basically anytime more than one person is in attendance.
I have some videos to show you, however it takes over an hour to upload so I will work on that tomorrow. Swimming finally came on so I am going to watch that. BYE!
8.8.08...
People here don't understand my obsession with the Olympics. They think I am just excited because I am here, but my love for the Games goes farther back than 8 months ago when I found out about this o
pportunity. For as long as I can remember I have soaked in as much Olympic coverage as possible. In 2000, my mom woke me up to see the Sydney Opening Ceremony live. 2002, Salt Lake, fell on my birthday, my friends were all over for a surprise party and instead of doing something I made them watch the Opening Ceremony. You get the picture. This why last night might have been the greatest night of my life. No, I didn't get to attend the Opening Ceremony as we all had hoped, but to watch it, knowing that I was part of this huge event, was beyond words. Knowing the drama and effort that has gone into the Games and the Opening Ceremony gave me a greater appreciation for the show.
I had two options last night, go to a local street and watch it on the big screen or go to Paul's, get food, have a seat and know that there would be an English version. And while I may regret it a little, I chose the second option because it was for sure. If things had fallen through with the street option I would have been devastated, seeing as they didn't I am a little disappointed I didn't do that, but hindsight is always 20/20. This doesn't mean I was disappointed with Paul's. He had a satellite En
glish feed that allowed us to understand what the heck was going on. As I write this you are all probably starting the March of Nations, have fun. It is long. (Oh and there is no rhythm or reason to the order of the countries.)
OOOH and I am seeing the US again right now! So exciting...I am rewatching it. On that note, I have never been prouder to see my country march. Of course I am always proud to be from America, but to be in another country during the Olympics and watching the Opening Ceremony just sparks something. I feel like at home we are so defined by what city, state, or college we are from that sometimes we forget we are one. Sitting there with people from Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, China...etc it just made everything come full circle. I can't really explain it and I don't like to get too deep in these blogs so we'll end it there. Anyway, since the feed was satellite it switched off live and we had to wait almost 3 hours to see the USA walk in. The commercial breaks were 7 and 8 minutes a piece. I will never again complain about the commercial breaks. Three of us were determined to see the team walk. When they came we all screamed, watched them fo
r their two minutes of TV time and quickly ran out to get a cab home. Upon arriving home we found out that they still hadn't lit the torch. I ran upstairs and made it just in time to see the torch lit. Which, by the way, I think is a gorgeous torch.
I was thoroughly impressed with the show. Everyone has been so focused on the negatives and I was so glad for the people, BOCOG, and everyone involved that the night passed with few glitches. The Chinese people are so proud of their country, it's history, and the honor to host the Games that is was nice to see the pollution and political comments cease, even if it is only for one night. I think my favorite part of the ceremony was the fireworks. Many of the streets here were shut down for the firework displays. As you watch it you will notice the fireworks were everywhere. The footprints started in the Forbidden City and moved north to the Bird's Nest (probably my favorite part) it was so original and cool.
I have today off and I am going to brave the town. We have been very sheltered lately only going out to Laoshan that I have no concept of how many people are actually in the city right now. I hear it is ridiculous. I have today and tomorrow off so I am doing my last runs now. You will notice I started to post pictures for the last few blogs, right now I am leaving for the day, but tonight and tomorrow I'll put more up. There is one of my in the uniform and the torch!! I hope you liked the Ceremony!! I don't have last night's so those will have to be in the mix to do later.
pportunity. For as long as I can remember I have soaked in as much Olympic coverage as possible. In 2000, my mom woke me up to see the Sydney Opening Ceremony live. 2002, Salt Lake, fell on my birthday, my friends were all over for a surprise party and instead of doing something I made them watch the Opening Ceremony. You get the picture. This why last night might have been the greatest night of my life. No, I didn't get to attend the Opening Ceremony as we all had hoped, but to watch it, knowing that I was part of this huge event, was beyond words. Knowing the drama and effort that has gone into the Games and the Opening Ceremony gave me a greater appreciation for the show.I had two options last night, go to a local street and watch it on the big screen or go to Paul's, get food, have a seat and know that there would be an English version. And while I may regret it a little, I chose the second option because it was for sure. If things had fallen through with the street option I would have been devastated, seeing as they didn't I am a little disappointed I didn't do that, but hindsight is always 20/20. This doesn't mean I was disappointed with Paul's. He had a satellite En
glish feed that allowed us to understand what the heck was going on. As I write this you are all probably starting the March of Nations, have fun. It is long. (Oh and there is no rhythm or reason to the order of the countries.)OOOH and I am seeing the US again right now! So exciting...I am rewatching it. On that note, I have never been prouder to see my country march. Of course I am always proud to be from America, but to be in another country during the Olympics and watching the Opening Ceremony just sparks something. I feel like at home we are so defined by what city, state, or college we are from that sometimes we forget we are one. Sitting there with people from Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, China...etc it just made everything come full circle. I can't really explain it and I don't like to get too deep in these blogs so we'll end it there. Anyway, since the feed was satellite it switched off live and we had to wait almost 3 hours to see the USA walk in. The commercial breaks were 7 and 8 minutes a piece. I will never again complain about the commercial breaks. Three of us were determined to see the team walk. When they came we all screamed, watched them fo
r their two minutes of TV time and quickly ran out to get a cab home. Upon arriving home we found out that they still hadn't lit the torch. I ran upstairs and made it just in time to see the torch lit. Which, by the way, I think is a gorgeous torch. I was thoroughly impressed with the show. Everyone has been so focused on the negatives and I was so glad for the people, BOCOG, and everyone involved that the night passed with few glitches. The Chinese people are so proud of their country, it's history, and the honor to host the Games that is was nice to see the pollution and political comments cease, even if it is only for one night. I think my favorite part of the ceremony was the fireworks. Many of the streets here were shut down for the firework displays. As you watch it you will notice the fireworks were everywhere. The footprints started in the Forbidden City and moved north to the Bird's Nest (probably my favorite part) it was so original and cool.
I have today off and I am going to brave the town. We have been very sheltered lately only going out to Laoshan that I have no concept of how many people are actually in the city right now. I hear it is ridiculous. I have today and tomorrow off so I am doing my last runs now. You will notice I started to post pictures for the last few blogs, right now I am leaving for the day, but tonight and tomorrow I'll put more up. There is one of my in the uniform and the torch!! I hope you liked the Ceremony!! I don't have last night's so those will have to be in the mix to do later.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
pictures...
Ok I know I keep saying pictures will come and I honestly had every intention of fully updating all blogs today with photos. It was even on my list of things to do today. However, there was a slight snag in the road. The charger to my camera died, the latest in my technological problems, and the battery was so dead it couldn't even open the camera. THANKFULLY Caty my newest favorite person, has the same camera and I am currently waiting for the pictures to upload. I have Saturday off and under pain of death from my mom I will have photos for you. I am very sorry for this delay and thank you for your patience.
Megan
Megan
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
black magic...
As I mentioned this morning, I totally goofed on the Olympic Torch Relay. While I was waiting to leave for work I turned on the TV because I had nothing better to do. I flipped the channels to see if I could find the BOB (Beijing Olympics Broadcasting) channel and while in the process I was shocked to see what looked like people carrying a torch in the Forbidden City. About thirty seconds later I was screaming because I had realized what I missed. Upon further internet research I learned that the Torch arrived here at 4:30am Beijing time to begin the final leg of the relay before the flame is lit on Friday. I was pretty upset I missed this because I totally would have deprived myself of sleep just to see it. (I'll make up for this later in the day.)
We didn't have to be at work until 10:30, which is why you are being graced with three blogs in less than 24 hours. More athletes came today. The entire Dutch team (including the one and only Theo Bos) came. For all of you who don't know, the Dutch, British, an
d Australian teams are the super stars of track cycling. The Dutch coach/trainer said that he would not allow us to ask questions today but tomorrow we could. Later he came over to talk to us about all the places he has visited in the US and even dabbled in a little political talk. After which he became worried that we were recording him and backed up his comments with, "I am not here for the politics. I am here for sport.”
Before I continue on I should probably explain the protocol for this whole thing. In my last blog I mentioned that this week the athletes arrive. They are given allotted training times and can come and go during that time as they choose. During these training times we are trying to talk to as many people as possible to get quotes. It is more to establish a rapport and make sure that when the Games start they can recognize a few faces and maybe even seek us out. Anyway, you can't just walk up to an athlete, you must ask first. If one of the managers is there he or she will go talk to a coach or trainer to ask if it is ok. They will then say yes or no. Today we got a lot of "not today's." The German team initially said yes, but they were running late for a party. The sole Ireland cyclist allowed us to interview him but sadly I wasn't there. USA is allowing only one person per day (they are in a bit of trouble for arriving in gas masks).
For some reason I am really nervous about talking to the athletes. I don't know if I am star struck or suddenly lost my gift of gab, I know scary, but I can't chalk up enough courage to go talk to anyone. I didn't come all the way over here to sit on the sideline so I asked one of the boys if I could go with when he talked to the Belgium team. He said yes but only if I asked one question. A little later Krystyna walked the two of us over there to talk to the two Belgium cyclists. This is where I met my future husband. He doesn't know my name and he is married, but it was meant to be. I will let you know when I things are finalized. Anyway, we asked a few questions, took some notes, and that was that. Not so bad. Getting a shot is worse. These two guys Kenny and Iljo gave amazing responses. Typically it is hard to get an athlete to elaborate, let along create a coherent, quality thought. They both had excellent, none cliché responses, that lasted for more than five seconds and gave some MONEY quotes. To make it even better, they had excellent English. If you read an article about the Belgium cyclists that was me!!
While I was typing up the quotes Jason comes running down to tell me one of the torch bearers is upstairs. I sprinted up and took my picture with the torch. I felt horrible asking for a photo but as Jason said, "It's
a once in a life time thing." I was so freaking excited.
Tonight we celebrated Andrea's birthday. It was the greatest feast known to man. Pizza, peanut butter and jelly, Snickers, chips, Doritos, CHEEEEESE, crackers, milk, cereal....and to top it all off a BEAUTIFUL, delicious cake from Paris Baguette. It was the perfect meal. Val and I rushed through it because we wanted to watch the women's soccer game. Unfortunately though, China and Sweden were on instead. It was during this time that my roommate came screeching out of the bathroom. I soon discovered that our shower was flushing black water out of the showerhead. There is a disaster left in the bathroom and I am fairly certain that I won't be taking a shower for the duration of this trip. Honestly, I would be cleaner. Right now I am sitting in my bed wishing I had Madden '08 and my PS2 because it would just make this day perfect. The Bears play tomorrow so I am pretty stoked about that and Friday is OPENING CEREMONY! What more can I ask for in two days? Oh wait, I can talk to some athletes! What a horrible life I am living. Time to go deal with the disaster that is the bathroom. CIAO!
We didn't have to be at work until 10:30, which is why you are being graced with three blogs in less than 24 hours. More athletes came today. The entire Dutch team (including the one and only Theo Bos) came. For all of you who don't know, the Dutch, British, an
d Australian teams are the super stars of track cycling. The Dutch coach/trainer said that he would not allow us to ask questions today but tomorrow we could. Later he came over to talk to us about all the places he has visited in the US and even dabbled in a little political talk. After which he became worried that we were recording him and backed up his comments with, "I am not here for the politics. I am here for sport.”Before I continue on I should probably explain the protocol for this whole thing. In my last blog I mentioned that this week the athletes arrive. They are given allotted training times and can come and go during that time as they choose. During these training times we are trying to talk to as many people as possible to get quotes. It is more to establish a rapport and make sure that when the Games start they can recognize a few faces and maybe even seek us out. Anyway, you can't just walk up to an athlete, you must ask first. If one of the managers is there he or she will go talk to a coach or trainer to ask if it is ok. They will then say yes or no. Today we got a lot of "not today's." The German team initially said yes, but they were running late for a party. The sole Ireland cyclist allowed us to interview him but sadly I wasn't there. USA is allowing only one person per day (they are in a bit of trouble for arriving in gas masks).
For some reason I am really nervous about talking to the athletes. I don't know if I am star struck or suddenly lost my gift of gab, I know scary, but I can't chalk up enough courage to go talk to anyone. I didn't come all the way over here to sit on the sideline so I asked one of the boys if I could go with when he talked to the Belgium team. He said yes but only if I asked one question. A little later Krystyna walked the two of us over there to talk to the two Belgium cyclists. This is where I met my future husband. He doesn't know my name and he is married, but it was meant to be. I will let you know when I things are finalized. Anyway, we asked a few questions, took some notes, and that was that. Not so bad. Getting a shot is worse. These two guys Kenny and Iljo gave amazing responses. Typically it is hard to get an athlete to elaborate, let along create a coherent, quality thought. They both had excellent, none cliché responses, that lasted for more than five seconds and gave some MONEY quotes. To make it even better, they had excellent English. If you read an article about the Belgium cyclists that was me!!
While I was typing up the quotes Jason comes running down to tell me one of the torch bearers is upstairs. I sprinted up and took my picture with the torch. I felt horrible asking for a photo but as Jason said, "It's
a once in a life time thing." I was so freaking excited.Tonight we celebrated Andrea's birthday. It was the greatest feast known to man. Pizza, peanut butter and jelly, Snickers, chips, Doritos, CHEEEEESE, crackers, milk, cereal....and to top it all off a BEAUTIFUL, delicious cake from Paris Baguette. It was the perfect meal. Val and I rushed through it because we wanted to watch the women's soccer game. Unfortunately though, China and Sweden were on instead. It was during this time that my roommate came screeching out of the bathroom. I soon discovered that our shower was flushing black water out of the showerhead. There is a disaster left in the bathroom and I am fairly certain that I won't be taking a shower for the duration of this trip. Honestly, I would be cleaner. Right now I am sitting in my bed wishing I had Madden '08 and my PS2 because it would just make this day perfect. The Bears play tomorrow so I am pretty stoked about that and Friday is OPENING CEREMONY! What more can I ask for in two days? Oh wait, I can talk to some athletes! What a horrible life I am living. Time to go deal with the disaster that is the bathroom. CIAO!
a little catch up...
I just realized that I didn't really give you any clue as to what I did this weekend. Ok, that's a lie. I know I didn't let you know what was going on, but I was semi-avoiding it but since I have extra time this morning I will give you a brief recap on the three days.
Saturday:
We arrive at the Velodrome just in time for the test event. Apparently, the schedule changed sometime after we left the night before and no one bothered to inform us. No matter, we were there. Basically the test events are a way for the Managers and BOCOG to see what kinks need to be worked out before the actual Games start. What they needed us there for was to practice the mixed zone and be "journalists" at a press conference to ask difficult questions. Saturday was the track cycling test event. We did our thing and that was pretty much it. It took all of 45 min and then we were free to go. So basically we traveled 3 hours to and from the Velodrome to work for 45 min. Grr.
Saturday night we celebrated Andrea's birthday because we knew that Tuesday night would have been impossible. While we were out we met and saw a lot of athletes, two of which were sitting next to us outside. I chalked up the courage to ask where they were from and the jerks, who spoke perfect English said they were waiting for us to ask. The one goes to Northwestern the other ASU. Both of them were alternates and probably won't see the pool for their events so we decided they weren't worth our time.
Sunday:
Pretty much the same drill as Saturday except we were out at the Mountain Bike section of the venue. I don't know if I have fully explained this but the name of the venue is technically Laoshan Bicycle Cluster. This means there is the indoor velodrome, the BMX course, and the mountain bike course. Sunday was Africa hot. I mean you walked slowly and you were sweating so naturally the test event for the day was mountain biking. We were outside for about an hour, went in to do the press conference and type of flash quotes and again we were done for the day. Sunday evening was a movie and Megan-trying-to-figure-out-her-last-year-of-college night. As you can tell not too eventful.
Monday:
BMX test event. This was dreadful. The BMX venue is at the top of the hill and the only way you can use the elevator is if you are paid by BOCOG. Seriously? That is the ultimate stupid excuse. Anyway, we sat out side for two hours basically doing nothing. They had planned rain delay and then another press conference. I wouldn't say it was a waste of three days but there wasn't much that we did that wasn't done other days with our managers and journalists.
Yesterday the athletes started to come, but seeing as it is still a while until cycling events start no one was really there yet. Most of us spent the day researching and deciding what who we wanted to interview for our news articles.
Right now I am sitting in my bed waiting to leave for work, I turned on the TV and found out that the Torch Relay was at the Forbidden City this morning. We had no clue and I am actually pretty upset because I could have easily gone early before work. Oh well. As Court said, there is always 4 years from now. Time to go. CIAO.
Saturday:
We arrive at the Velodrome just in time for the test event. Apparently, the schedule changed sometime after we left the night before and no one bothered to inform us. No matter, we were there. Basically the test events are a way for the Managers and BOCOG to see what kinks need to be worked out before the actual Games start. What they needed us there for was to practice the mixed zone and be "journalists" at a press conference to ask difficult questions. Saturday was the track cycling test event. We did our thing and that was pretty much it. It took all of 45 min and then we were free to go. So basically we traveled 3 hours to and from the Velodrome to work for 45 min. Grr.
Saturday night we celebrated Andrea's birthday because we knew that Tuesday night would have been impossible. While we were out we met and saw a lot of athletes, two of which were sitting next to us outside. I chalked up the courage to ask where they were from and the jerks, who spoke perfect English said they were waiting for us to ask. The one goes to Northwestern the other ASU. Both of them were alternates and probably won't see the pool for their events so we decided they weren't worth our time.
Sunday:
Pretty much the same drill as Saturday except we were out at the Mountain Bike section of the venue. I don't know if I have fully explained this but the name of the venue is technically Laoshan Bicycle Cluster. This means there is the indoor velodrome, the BMX course, and the mountain bike course. Sunday was Africa hot. I mean you walked slowly and you were sweating so naturally the test event for the day was mountain biking. We were outside for about an hour, went in to do the press conference and type of flash quotes and again we were done for the day. Sunday evening was a movie and Megan-trying-to-figure-out-her-last-year-of-college night. As you can tell not too eventful.
Monday:
BMX test event. This was dreadful. The BMX venue is at the top of the hill and the only way you can use the elevator is if you are paid by BOCOG. Seriously? That is the ultimate stupid excuse. Anyway, we sat out side for two hours basically doing nothing. They had planned rain delay and then another press conference. I wouldn't say it was a waste of three days but there wasn't much that we did that wasn't done other days with our managers and journalists.
Yesterday the athletes started to come, but seeing as it is still a while until cycling events start no one was really there yet. Most of us spent the day researching and deciding what who we wanted to interview for our news articles.
Right now I am sitting in my bed waiting to leave for work, I turned on the TV and found out that the Torch Relay was at the Forbidden City this morning. We had no clue and I am actually pretty upset because I could have easily gone early before work. Oh well. As Court said, there is always 4 years from now. Time to go. CIAO.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
it's a love, hate type thing...
I am completely out of blog ideas. I feel like if I write about what we do at work or the train one more time everyone, myself included, will want to jump off the Sears Tower. Other people have written some fun, interesting blogs like Andrea's "10 things she misses" blog or Alysha's "what I still want to do" blog. So given that I have nothing but don't want to steal ideas I ADAPTED the list concept...the love/hate blog. Beijing and I have a love/hate relationship (kind of like you and I Ash). There are so many things I love about this city and the Olympics, but in the same breath I also hate these things. So here is my Beijing Love/Hate List, in no particular order:
1. No lines: I love that there are no lines, except when I am in line...then I get irritated at this ridiculous concept. To the first part, the no lines thing is wonderful. It is what gets me on the subway in the morning when I am not moving as fast as I should be during Running of the Dragon. In this country I am allowed to weasel my way into any space that fits my big, fat, American butt. And when I am going through the train security check, or in line at any food place, if I can push my way to the front then essentially I am next in line. To the latter, this rule sucks. It is stupid, illogical, and apparently America is the only country that abides by this rule. It is a simple concept. The first person walks up to the desk, counter, train, etc and waits. Then each subsequent person stands behind the first person, thus creating what many people refer to as a line. I also had this problem in Europe. If I am not paying attention or show the slightest bit of hesitation people will pass me up and be gone before I even have the opportunity to give the stink-eye.
2. Beds: I have mentioned the beds before and my feelings for them are again two-fold. At first I laid down on the bed and thought, "Oh dear God how in the world am I going to sleep on this for two whole months?" The bed is like camping sans the nice foam pad or air mattress available for purchase at your local Wal-Mart. This is no Sealy Posturepedic, adjustable bed that forms to an individual's back. The only thing it does is provide an elevated surface to fall asleep on. Which, come to think of it, is probably the most accurate description of a bed in the first place. Having said all that, the Serta 2.1 (a.k.a. what the Pilgrims slept on when they landed in Plymouth) that I sleep on isn't the worst thing in the entire world. Sometimes after sleeping my bed at home my back actually hurts more because our wonderful, American mattresses allow our bodies to sink in, which does not keep the back aligned. And while this bed isn't nearly as horrible as I had anticipated, I am still not going to run home and buy a piece of plywood to lay on.
3. Multiple ice cream and popsicle stands: I haven't talked much about this, probably because I am too busy eating my ice cream and popsicles, but the gist of multiple stands is that on any street corner there is at least one man standing selling various popsicles and ice creams. Just walk down any American street, count the number of Starbucks and that is the comparable to the number of ice cream stands there are in Beijing. So these glorious little stands have any type of frozen treat you could want. Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla King Cones, corn and pea (yuck) popsicles, every flavor fruit popsicle...the list goes on. 90% of the battle is choosing what type to get. Do you get a new flavor like Creamy Melon? Or go with the tried, tested, and true chocolate ice cream cone. So incredibly difficult. What could I possibly hate about this beautiful little stands? CALORIES. Unless I just ate or have already had my frozen treat for the day I find it nearly impossible to not stop. Where in the US can you find an ice cream cone or popsicle for $.25? Answer: you can't! So, my conclusion on this...the Asian popsicle man needs to relocate to America.
4. Cycling: I have already professed my new love for cycling so I don't need to go into extensive detail. Despite the lack of interest in America, cycling world wide easily competes with soccer as the world's most popular sport. I have learned to love watching it and I am beside myself knowing that in a week I will be sitting there, trackside, watching the best cyclists in the world race. (Minor freak out on this side of the computer.) The reasons I hate cycling? A. The number of athletes I have to memorize is crazy. I have all the races down and most of the key riders, but it is all the secondary riders; the ones that could come out of no where and pull the upset that are plaguing. B. This isn't so much related to cycling as it is to the American people, but I hate the fact that when I go home I will rarely, if ever, get to watch cycling. I am going to have to pay for a cycling channel or something in order to keep up on this new obsession. When I left for the Olympics I never thought I would get to this point. Whereas before I was mad I would be covering cycling, now I am mad I won't see it again. I should take up the sport, become amazing, and then make the American public love it. Psssh. Piece of cake.
5. Uniforms: Before I even start, I realize I have not yet provided you with a picture of me decked out in the Beijing Olympic attire. I do not have the photos on my camera. As soon as they are uploaded I will post them immediately. I am very sorry for the delay. Anyway, the uniforms, despite a few flaws are pretty sweet. For the last week and half we have been sporting the uniforms in all their glory, at the stadium, on the subway, at the mall and everywhere we go people turn their heads. Multiple times we have been asked if we are athletes (haha) but generally it is just exciting to have something that can’t be purchased at any of the Olympic stores. My favorite part of the uniform is the jacket and the shoes. The jacket is perfect and I will probably wear it so much that it falls apart and the shoes, how cool is this, have Beijing 2008 written on the side! Added bonus, they are comfortable. The flip side is that the designers of the uniform forgot that the volunteers from outside China have hips and butts. We all spent time the other day cutting the elastic in the back of the pants to help relieve the “muffin-top” effect. Even though we perfected the 8-cut process and alleviated some of the issues, the pants still aren’t the most comfortable things in the world. I have not, and WILL NOT sport the floppy hat that makes me look like Gilligan and the fanny pack is just not working with the image I am trying to portray while asking cyclists for Flash Quotes. All in all, I have never received sweeter set of clothes in my entire life. I will probably frame the uniform and hang it on my wall.
Those are just a few of the many things that I both love and hate about this trip. A recap on today: most of the day was spent researching athletes and watching other athlete’s practice. Andrea received today’s golden ticket to watch the Opening Ceremony dress rehearsal. I doubt there are anymore, but I am not going to lose complete hope until Friday. I cannot believe it is only three days away!!! Start getting excited and reading up on cycling so you can help me get the US to love it!!!
1. No lines: I love that there are no lines, except when I am in line...then I get irritated at this ridiculous concept. To the first part, the no lines thing is wonderful. It is what gets me on the subway in the morning when I am not moving as fast as I should be during Running of the Dragon. In this country I am allowed to weasel my way into any space that fits my big, fat, American butt. And when I am going through the train security check, or in line at any food place, if I can push my way to the front then essentially I am next in line. To the latter, this rule sucks. It is stupid, illogical, and apparently America is the only country that abides by this rule. It is a simple concept. The first person walks up to the desk, counter, train, etc and waits. Then each subsequent person stands behind the first person, thus creating what many people refer to as a line. I also had this problem in Europe. If I am not paying attention or show the slightest bit of hesitation people will pass me up and be gone before I even have the opportunity to give the stink-eye.
2. Beds: I have mentioned the beds before and my feelings for them are again two-fold. At first I laid down on the bed and thought, "Oh dear God how in the world am I going to sleep on this for two whole months?" The bed is like camping sans the nice foam pad or air mattress available for purchase at your local Wal-Mart. This is no Sealy Posturepedic, adjustable bed that forms to an individual's back. The only thing it does is provide an elevated surface to fall asleep on. Which, come to think of it, is probably the most accurate description of a bed in the first place. Having said all that, the Serta 2.1 (a.k.a. what the Pilgrims slept on when they landed in Plymouth) that I sleep on isn't the worst thing in the entire world. Sometimes after sleeping my bed at home my back actually hurts more because our wonderful, American mattresses allow our bodies to sink in, which does not keep the back aligned. And while this bed isn't nearly as horrible as I had anticipated, I am still not going to run home and buy a piece of plywood to lay on.
3. Multiple ice cream and popsicle stands: I haven't talked much about this, probably because I am too busy eating my ice cream and popsicles, but the gist of multiple stands is that on any street corner there is at least one man standing selling various popsicles and ice creams. Just walk down any American street, count the number of Starbucks and that is the comparable to the number of ice cream stands there are in Beijing. So these glorious little stands have any type of frozen treat you could want. Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla King Cones, corn and pea (yuck) popsicles, every flavor fruit popsicle...the list goes on. 90% of the battle is choosing what type to get. Do you get a new flavor like Creamy Melon? Or go with the tried, tested, and true chocolate ice cream cone. So incredibly difficult. What could I possibly hate about this beautiful little stands? CALORIES. Unless I just ate or have already had my frozen treat for the day I find it nearly impossible to not stop. Where in the US can you find an ice cream cone or popsicle for $.25? Answer: you can't! So, my conclusion on this...the Asian popsicle man needs to relocate to America.
4. Cycling: I have already professed my new love for cycling so I don't need to go into extensive detail. Despite the lack of interest in America, cycling world wide easily competes with soccer as the world's most popular sport. I have learned to love watching it and I am beside myself knowing that in a week I will be sitting there, trackside, watching the best cyclists in the world race. (Minor freak out on this side of the computer.) The reasons I hate cycling? A. The number of athletes I have to memorize is crazy. I have all the races down and most of the key riders, but it is all the secondary riders; the ones that could come out of no where and pull the upset that are plaguing. B. This isn't so much related to cycling as it is to the American people, but I hate the fact that when I go home I will rarely, if ever, get to watch cycling. I am going to have to pay for a cycling channel or something in order to keep up on this new obsession. When I left for the Olympics I never thought I would get to this point. Whereas before I was mad I would be covering cycling, now I am mad I won't see it again. I should take up the sport, become amazing, and then make the American public love it. Psssh. Piece of cake.
5. Uniforms: Before I even start, I realize I have not yet provided you with a picture of me decked out in the Beijing Olympic attire. I do not have the photos on my camera. As soon as they are uploaded I will post them immediately. I am very sorry for the delay. Anyway, the uniforms, despite a few flaws are pretty sweet. For the last week and half we have been sporting the uniforms in all their glory, at the stadium, on the subway, at the mall and everywhere we go people turn their heads. Multiple times we have been asked if we are athletes (haha) but generally it is just exciting to have something that can’t be purchased at any of the Olympic stores. My favorite part of the uniform is the jacket and the shoes. The jacket is perfect and I will probably wear it so much that it falls apart and the shoes, how cool is this, have Beijing 2008 written on the side! Added bonus, they are comfortable. The flip side is that the designers of the uniform forgot that the volunteers from outside China have hips and butts. We all spent time the other day cutting the elastic in the back of the pants to help relieve the “muffin-top” effect. Even though we perfected the 8-cut process and alleviated some of the issues, the pants still aren’t the most comfortable things in the world. I have not, and WILL NOT sport the floppy hat that makes me look like Gilligan and the fanny pack is just not working with the image I am trying to portray while asking cyclists for Flash Quotes. All in all, I have never received sweeter set of clothes in my entire life. I will probably frame the uniform and hang it on my wall.
Those are just a few of the many things that I both love and hate about this trip. A recap on today: most of the day was spent researching athletes and watching other athlete’s practice. Andrea received today’s golden ticket to watch the Opening Ceremony dress rehearsal. I doubt there are anymore, but I am not going to lose complete hope until Friday. I cannot believe it is only three days away!!! Start getting excited and reading up on cycling so you can help me get the US to love it!!!
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