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!