Reflection Has Set In

Now that I am home safe and sound, I have had a chance to look back on this awesome experience and see what I've learned.

Going into this trip I really didn't know what all to expect. Sure I know it would be great and that I would see and do many new things, but I wasn't sure what those 'things' would be.

I never expected to find good friends who were native Chinese. I never expected to learn so much about myself and my background as I compare it to the past of others. I never expected to feel inspired to stidy Chinese, which I am now doing. I never expected to mean so much to someone, someone who I befriended. I never exspected that saying "hi" to a little Chinese boy or Chinese girl would bring such a smile to their face. I never exspected that giving a little guy my FuWa pin on the subway would make him so thankful. I never exspected China to feel like a home away from home.

When going on a trip or adventure, you never know what you may encounter or what lessons you will learn. Go in with an open heart and an open mind, but most importantly with open eyes. The things you will see very well may change your life, and that's something that you can expect.

BMX

Today marked the finals of the BMX race. As you may know, BMX made it's Olympic debut this year. I am not gonna lie, at first I was skeptical but after being here I definitly think it's worth having in the games (I mean really, compared with events like Speed Walking and Shooting, it definitly fits in better). There are some things that I think are Olympic events, and some that are sports, and I think BMX is for sure a sport!

American riders won three out of six medals in BMX which was awesome. At one point in the mixed zone I had all three of those medalists in front of me, they were all talking with diffrent journos and it was hard to keep focus, but we got our quotes. BMX was probably may favorite part so far. I loved being so close to the action and basically rubbing shoulders with these great athletes. There were so many crashes it was crazy! BMX is an awesome sport and I think after working Cycling at the Olympics I will keep up on the sport and continue to follow it! One [long] day of work left! Mountain bike!

The Odd Couple[s?]

I am not sure if I have made note of this before, but I have noticed something different about couples here: They wear matching shirts. I know, you would think they are twins who's parents think it's cute to make them wear the same thing. They wear matching graphic T's, matching polos, matching designer duds. I'm pretty sure that I have never seen that in the States before. Not all couples do it of course, but it totally happens.

The best shirts are the ones that say "Falling in love with my girlfriend -->" and "<-- Falling in love with my boyfriend." Yes, the shirts really do have arrows on them. The couple will walk hand-in-hand and publicy announce this love that is bonding between them, it's the strangest thing and I have seen it more than once.

On another note, companies and stores send text messages to let people know about sales and upcoming events. So everyday, about six times a day, I get a notice on my phone that says, "Unable to receive message" and it is really annoying. Also, many Chinese download books to their cellphones, use their phones to take pictures as well as play games. It seems overall Chinese people use their phones for more of a variety of things than Americans do.

Work is Working!!!

In our office we have a board were we post articles that have ONS quotes in them. Two of the articles have my quotes! Quotes that I have gathered and put in the system! It is so cool to see the work that we all do put into articles! To think that people thought the quotes were good enought to spice up their story, it's really neat to see that! People all around have now read my quotes, haha, I just think it's cool.

Track Cycling is now over, the GB team basically dominated, they took most of the gold medals. They are such a power house team! Some other athletes who we thought would do well did not, which was rather sad. Personally, I wanted Team Malaysia to do really well. They were kind of underdogs but they were really nice guys, very young too! So I think they will be back in future Games, which I am looking forward to. A man from Spain won a Gold (and Silver) and the Madison team from Argentina won Gold! They were so overwhelmed, it was really emotional and awesome!

Being at the Olympics makes me miss swimming a lot, I really did enjoy competing. So I think that I might do triathlon or be more into swim club this semester! Just for the fun of it!

Home in ONE WEEK! I am excited, it will still be bitter sweet though.

Just Another Day

Today was just another day, not too much happened. We worked at 3 o'clock and got some flash quotes of course. I saw the team from Great Britain break the world record in the Men's Team Sprint for track cycling. Now I have seen two world records broken right before my eyes two nights in a row! Great Britain is really a powerhouse track cycling team! They are doing so well! It is amazing! I got some qoutes today from the gold medalist in the Women's Individual Pursuit, so that was cool.

Work isn't too stressful, I am sometimes trying so hard to hear what the athlete is saying that I don't pay attention to the other races, which is fine I guess. After work I met a friend and we went out for dinner. We went to this little place in a hutong and the chicken wings where THE BEST I have ever had! So good!!! After that we just took the lang way home and chatted. I love talking with people who aren't from the US because they give such a different insight on the world! It's so nice just to talking with my friends here and think of things in a new light (it happens often).

I come back to the States in about nine days, and I am pretty ready to do so. I am not home sick really, just ready to be back. I will really miss my friends here but there are somethings that I will not miss at all. Overall though so far this as been an AMAZING experience and I wouldn't change it for the world!

A Night to Remember!

We started competition at our Venue Yesterday! We had one medal event and it was really cool to get things started! Having all the camera's there and journalists there was crazy, yet it was so cool! We had some problems with being able to be in the mixed zone (the hire ONS to be there and then tell us that we can't be) so some of our managers were REALLY upset. Over all though, it was a good day and a nice introduction to everything. I got some quotes and felt good with myself, haha.

Today was about the same, one of the leading men from the Netherlands who is a cycling SUPER STAR, Theo Bos, was in a crash today! The cyclist in front of him hit someone's wheel, he went down and then BOS rode right into him. They restarted the race but BOS couldn't ride and I bet he was MAD! He has more races to come though.

The real story of the day though (at least for me) came from after work! We were supposed to get off at 7:30 to head over to the Bird's Nest because we had tickets to Athletics, but we got off at 9:40!! It was out of our control, things just ran late and we need to get some quotes. At first I wasn't going to try to go, but then.... I did! I am SO HAPPY I DID! We got a taxi ride there, which took about 40 minutes. We were at the wrong entraence so we ran to the correct one then ran up to our seats. It is actually a very long story, but the end result was that we made the LAST RACE and saw someone break the world record in the Mens 100-meter sprint, I think. It was soooo cool to be there for that. I could wine about being late and how we missed almost everything, but I got to go inside the Bird's Nest, see THE Olympic Flame, Water Cube and a world track record be broken. I am SO glad that we went!

Being at the Olympics is so cool because of all the different people you see from all kinds of countries! "One World One Dream" is played out to real life so much! Random people from different countries take pictures with us. They are like, "We don't know you but it's okay!" It's all about just enjoying this world event together and meeting the people around you! I really think that there is no event that brings the world together like the Olympics and it is so cool to witness it and be apart of it! "How many worlds?" "ONE WORLD!" "How many dreams?" "One Dream!"

Gemenr, Gemenr, you are my Gemenr!

So I have made a few 'gemenrs' since being here in China. In Chinese "gemenr" means "good friend." Some of my gemenrs are Li, Sunshine and Ric, all volunteers who I work with. I love that I have made friends with some Chinese students, but above that I love that I have made friends with GREAT GUYS!

We often just joke around while at work, get coffee and talk, or go out to dinner and just enjoy eachothers company, with bowling and karaoke (KTV as it is know in China) in there one time each! We talk about this and that, and share our life stories. We are all part of the 'Blue Army' as you may recall. We have become fast friends because 1) we have to, our time is short and 2) we have like personalities and enjoy eachother!

I am happy to call these fine young men my "gemenrs," they treat me well and show me the Beijing life. I am happy to share this experience with them all and I hope won't be the last. As we like to say, "Gemenrs 4 life!"

Where at the tickets!??!!

There is something that I do not understand, where are all the tickets forOlympic events!!?? When we watch some games on TV, there are empty seats! When we walk by stadiums and they are half empty it makes us wonder where the tickets are!!?? Everyone wants tickets to events no matter which ones they are, so why can't we get them!?! They are "sold out" but yet some stands have lots of empty seats.

Some of the girls on the trip went off one morning to watch the USA softball match, hoping to buy tickets at the door; however, the ticket booth was boarded up and the volunteers said, "no tickets." As they walked by the stadium and then watched the game at home, there were TONS of empty seats, TONS! So tell us, where are the tickets?! Where are all the people who bought out ALL these tickets? It looks really bad when there are empty seats and there are people who would love to be at these matches! So what's the problem!?! Why are these tickets not made more readily available!!??!!?? It looks bad for the Games and as someone who wants to see these games be a GREAT sucsess it is a concern of mine.

Turned Down!

Today I had to work with just two other flash quote reporters when usually there are about eight of us. I looked up the teams that were training and saw the New Zealand had not been interviewed yet. Our manager was not there and I was kind of scared to ask a coach if I could talk to an athlete on my own, but after a while I finally asked the NZL coach if I could talk to one of the riders. He said yes, that would be fine if he was "in the mood" and he said he would tell him. So I watched as he went to the rider who was sitting down, he told him and they both looked at me. The rider had seen me before because I was the only flash quote reporter there at the time.

I waited around for almost two hours and skipped luch because I really wanted this interview. I had set it up myself, I researched the guy and had come up with some good questions. The team ended their training session and one of the managers (who I had not talked to earlier) walked by and said, "he's coming" so he know who I wanted to talk to. Then the team came by. They were all wearing the same thing and I had only seen my rider on the track from a distance, so I missed him. They all looked so similiar and when he rode by on his bike he was looking the other way and pretty much avoiding me. I mean, yeah I guess I should have called out his name but I was 100% sure it was him. The thing is though, he knew I was waiting and he just got on his bike and road past when many athletes walk by. I was really upset. I mean, I understand if you aren't "in the mood" to interview, just tell me that when I ask so I don't waste time. The fact that the coach said, "if he is in the mood" kind of makes him sound like a diva anyway. It just sucks that I was so excited to be flying on my own and to be proud of myself for putting it together just have it all crash down. That just set the mood for a bad day.

After the bad day at work I went to dinner with two friends from work and it was really fun. We just ate, watched a soccer game and then walked back in the ran. It was fun. I am sad that my time with my Chinese friends is coming to an end! The time that I do have left will be very busy!

I'm going to see Beach Volleyball tomorrow! I am excited!

Blue Army

We have something that lurks around our venue. It’s always there, always watching, always moving. It stands in line at check-in, it greets us with a smile at lunch and waves goodbye when we leave. It’s a little something that we like to call the “Blue Army,” the huge number of Chinese volunteers that work at the Laoshan Bicycle Cluster with us. They have been dubbed the “Blue Army” because of their blue volunteer shirts and because they huddle in masses around the venue.
We first noticed the “Blue Army” on our first day of training. We didn’t, nor did we expect to, see so many Chinese volunteers. They are there to check our bags, check us in, to check our passes, to tell us where we can’t go, to be translators, to help spectators find seats. You name it and they do it.
The Chinese volunteers applied to be volunteers over a year ago. Many of them participated in the “Good Luck Beijing” test events last summer. Being an Olympic volunteer is a big deal and not something they take lightly. They have been preparing for months. They work long days and are confident that when game time comes they will be ready to rock!
At first I looked at the “Blue Army” as a single unit, after a while one smile just faded into the next and I thought of myself on a different level than them. Not in a bad way, just in the sense that they all had experience and more training under their belts. I have come to find though that ever face has a story, every face has a job. Everyday I try to meet some more Chinese volunteers. I know that this is the only opportunity that I have and that our time together is short, but that doesn’t stop me. I have become fast friends with some of the language specialist, all of them university students. I have found that we are not that much different. We are all excited for the Games, we all like music, we like to crack jokes, we all like to learn about each other’s cultures and we all have a common goal, to help host a great Olympic games.
It’s so refreshing to look at every smile in the “Blue Army” and know that it’s not just another smile; rather it’s a symbol of genuine joy and appreciation for being apart of a great event. As cheesy as it may sound, I have to say that the “One World One Dream” Olympic motto rings true in the lives of the Olympic volunteers, whether Chinese or international. We are all ready to help host an awesome Olympic games!

Day Off

Today I had the day off, which I needed, cause I was out late for the Opening Ceremony.

I didn't do much, went to Starbucks and wrote some postcards, went to the mall and had lunch with a friend. After that we went ice skating and then out for coffee.

It's so nice to just sit with someone and talk. Forget about everything else and just listen to what they have to say, especially when they are from another country. It's so refreshing to get a world view on diffrent subjects and just hear what others think. I live for little moments like that. Long conversation, little times spent alone with friends. Not huge parties, graduations, weddings... but little moments that bring people together, that's what I love. I have had a couple of those while here. I have had many conversations here that just make me think. I love learning about how other's lives have been diffrent than mine and in what ways we are united. I love getting to learn about other cultures, it's one of my passions.

On the subway ride home I met a few high school seniors who just graduated from a high school in California. Their friend's dad owns a HUGE business in China and paid for all six of them to come over FOR FREE for a month! They have been lots of places all over China! It was really cool. They are lucky guys.

Work in the morning, should be exciting.

The Day the Games Opened!

Yesterday was 8.8.08 which means it was the Olympic Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. It was awesome!

I met some of my Chinese volunteer friends at Tian' Anmen at 8:30 a.m. to kick off our day. The square was closed (as much of Beijing was) so we walked around and they took me to Qian' Men Avenue. It's an old avenue that looks like how it did back in the days of the Emperor but full of shops and stores. It was actually really cool. We then had lunch at a little restaurant and ate Beijing Noodels, which were pretty good.

After our morning hanging out around Tian' Anmen we went to the Temple of Heaven. It was diffrent than I thought it would be, I didn't think the actually land area around it would be so big. The Temple of Heaven was beautiful, along with the park area around it and all the other buildings. We walked around and took lots of pictures for a few hours, then we headed to KFC where we got lunch and rested for a while.

After lunch we headed to watch the opening ceremony at their university in an auditorium. It was really cool to watch with a huge group of Chinese students. They were all so excited and it was such an exciting time. We choose to watch it there becuase we would actually have seats and if we went somewhere in the city to watch it on a big screen it would have been SO crowded. There were so many people you have NO idea. Thousands and thousands plus some! So I was happy with my little community of Chinese students and my seat, haha. I am so excited for Beijing and China to host these games and to showcase their awesome culture and long history.

Also, the ceremony was AMAZING! It was so cool! I have no idea how they did all that stuff! When it was over we could hear all the fireworks when we were walking outside. It took us forever to find a taxi to the subway station! We walked forever but finally found one after 45 minutes. Once we got to the train station though it was smooth sailing, not busy or anything which was a suprise. 8.8.08. WAS A GREAT DAY!!!!!

Torch Holder!

This morning on the subway I noticed that a good amount of people were on the train holding little Chinese flags and some had armbands with Chinese writing on them. I didn't think too much of it, I just figured since it's close to game time people must be getting pumped up. When we got off at our station I noticed people selling Chinese flags, stickers, arm bands and things and I figured it was for the same reason. Upon walking to our venue, I noticed a lot of people were lined up along the side of the road on the road perpendicular to us. I just said, "look at all those people lined up" and kept walking. Later, I found out that it was because the Torch Relay went really close to us!!! I heard it was in the Forbidden City earlier but I had NO idea until after, and then to find out that we missed it so close to us I was a little upset! It was just across the street and we didn't know.

Later, as I was standing in the middle of the velodrome, I noticed a torch relay runner had come out on the floor and was talking pictures. I saw others take pictures with the torch so I went over and asked my Chinese friends to ask if I could get one, and the runner said YES! So I got to hold an Olympic Torch, one that actually carried the Olympic Flame!! It was SO COOL!

Also, I lot of teams came in today, although, we only got two interviews. Team USA was there, NED, BEL, GER, Czech, COL, CHN, GBR, Ireland and maybe a few others. A lot of the famous riders that we have been reading and researching were there training and it was SO COOL! Many of them don't want to talk with us yet, they are just 'in the zone' or too far out from Game time to have much to say, so we only got two interviews. Team USA would only give us one, and one tomorrow maybe!

If you didn't hear, the American Cycling team showed up in Beijing wearing black masks to protect themselves from the smog. They later apologized but I think the damaged was done; they got a lot of press because of it.

I also had a great day just hanging out with some Chinese volunteers. I kind of stray away from the Purdue group because I like meeting the Chinese student volunteers and getting to know them. I have made friends with some of the "language specialist" one who speaks German and one who speaks Malay (but they both speak English too). They are really cool and really fun. I had a great day and I hope there are more to come, just TWO DAYS 'til the start!

Training Day?

Today marked the beginning of the official training for the athletes. Each country had a two hour time block where they could come in and train, it was supposed to be super exciting, we were supposed to interview some and maybe start to write some stories... but hardly anyone came! We are still 10 days away or so from the start of cycling so some of the cyclists won't be coming in until just a few days before. Also, some of the assigned times where kind of early so they may not have wanted to come. I think the American team just came today and the German team won't even be here until tomorrow.

There were some riders there though! The Chinese team was there, a Cuban rider, the lone rider from Chile, a man from Uruguay and the team from Columbia. The Columbian team actually did some cool training. They went around really fast and were really close to each other's wheels (which is my definition of "cool training", haha). It was neat to see some more riders out there. I hope the next few days bring some more.

We were hanging out in the middle of the Velodrome track in the broadcasting mixed zone and the agencies and companies' names are marked on the ground in tape. The tape says, "Channel Seven" (Australia) "CCTV" (China) "BBC" (Great Britain) and a couple of other news organizations. It's neat to be in the middle of where all the action is going to be in just a week or so!

After work we went to Pizza Hut and then to get coffee (we wanted American food tonight) and we actually ran into some Team USA athletes at Starbucks! They are rowers, one girl and two guys. They were really nice and they talked to us for a while. One is from Ohio, which was pretty cool. It's nice to meet athletes that don't have an ego because they aren't super famous, but they are still VERY talented. This was the third set of athletes he have met, others were rowers from Ireland and swimmers from Croatia. I love seeing all the international people (coaches, athletes, techies, journalists, London Organizing Committee people), it's really awesome.

Tomorrow is training for the cyclists again, hope it's more exciting than today! Although, today was cool.

Run Through

Today we had another run through of an event, this time it was BMX. It's an outside event so it was humid and we were all sweating! They had to "delay the event do to rain" (it wasn't really raining though) so they could practice what would happen if it really did rain. They delayed it for an HOUR so they could practice covering up the track and everything with tarp. So we kind of just hung around in the heat until it stopped "raining" and then went on with the test event, which was getting quotes in the mixed zones.

Basically what happens is that Chinese volunteers pretend to be athletes and then we interview them with a translator. BMX is so far from the ONS office that we have to call the quotes in, so we practiced doing that as well. We also had two press conference practices. They translate everything from Chinese to English and in one there was a German translation as well. I actually asked a question in German which was pretty cool.

Some Chinese students study German as well as English, or just focus on one more than the other. I met a Chinese volunteer today who spoke German, it's so interesting that he is from China and I am from the States but the only way we can speak is in German! I think that's so funny.

Tomorrow marks the start of official training! So it is going to be VERY exciting and I can't wait to see all the athletes! I am a little nervous about talking to them though. I will keep you posted on how it goes!

My Asian Hair Cut, Oops.

Many hair cuts here in Beijing are really cool, stylish and very diffrent from the US. On the subway a lot of the younger guys have really cool haircuts that are awesome and edgy. There are a good amount of bangs, sticking up hair, and long hair; I would say "edgy" is the world that best discribes it. I have joined this Asian trend, but not really on purpose.

I went to get my haircut but what I wanted kind of got lost in translation between my friend and the hair stylist. I wanted it shorter on the sides, a little taken off the top but still with some bangs. Well, it's basically turned into a really wide mohawk! He didn't take as much off the top as I wanted and the sides are a little short, but here's the thing, the back is still kind of long. When I told my friend to tell him I wanted it "shorter on the sides" I kinda assumed he would know the back too.

Where I went though is famous for really stylish creative hair cuts, and I guess to get a simple one you have to keep telling them "simple" but in Chinese... this I learned after I was done.

So my haircut is very new, very diffrent and otherwise I would have never tried it so for now I am okay with it, it might change sometime though, I'm not sure when. It seems it would work in any country but the US. Haha. Some people seem to like it and others say that I am not Asian so I can't pull it off. Overall though, there has been good feed back.

Practice Run

Today we had to do a practice run of an 'average' day of competition at our venue. We went to work at 9:30 and did a run through of a mixed zone complete with music palying, people annoucing, and we had people pretend to be athletes. We then typed up our quotes and had a press confrence run through. We were done by 10:15. So we traveled an hour to do 45 minutes of work, oh well. It was cool though because more teams were training! the Czech Republic team and the and a Cuban rider. Some of those riders have legs the size of tree trucks! They are so big!

After that I went to a mall with a classmate and then to a book store. I came back and took a nap and went to dinner with my friend LI at a Taiwanese place here on campus. Andrea's birthday is on Tuesday so tonight many of us are going out. Today was a pretty chill day, not a whole lot happened. More later!

Another Day at the Office

Today was a really good day, but it was rather long. We had to be at the velodrome at 10:30 to start training for the day. We had a pretty average day of training, ran through a couple mixed zone and press conference scenarios. Also, we had our first team training out on the track today, the Chinese national team! It was cool to see some bikes out on the track but they weren't doing much, just kind of pacing around. But I think that led to our first story for the Games! Tuesday marks the day when training starts! So we get to watch the teams and hopefully get to talk to them after and get quotes (and maybe write some stories)!!

After work around 4:30 we went to a teashop and saw a ceremony, which was pretty cool. The man who owns the shop is also an Olympic Volunteer and he treated us to his tea, it was very nice (and very good)! This was to the very west of the city, the last stop on the subway, so it was almost rural and people were very surprised to see us out there. We had a group of kids run out and say, "Hello!" to us.

For dinner we went to a five star restaurant and it was SO GOOD! I really, really liked it and it's only a 20 minute walk from our venue (20 minutes here is a very short period of time), It was all the ONS staff at dinner and it was just so nice to get to know everyone outside the office and relax after a good day of training!

We were supposed to have the next three days off, but it turned into just tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday will be half days though. I think I am going to go to the Temple of Heaven tomorrow and then just kind of relax.

One thing that is really nice is that we are getting to know our Chinese coworkers better. Li and Eric are two flash quote reports that we are starting to hang out a lot. Even outside of work I have hung out with Li a lot, so we are getting to see their personalities more and they are getting our humor more and it's great to see them open up! It's nice to make some friends from China! Today was a long day but a great day. This isn't even half of why they day was so great. I just had a good time hanging out and getting to be social with everyone.

Love/ Hate Relationship

So I have found myself in a love/ hate relationship here in Beijing.

I love the Beijing Subway, yet I hate the Beijing Subway. I like how it is such a cultural part of the average Beijinger's life to ride on the subway very often, if not everyday. I like being around all the people and just being submerged into the Beijing culture. Many visitors to Beijing are just that, visitors, but I am beginning to feel more and more like I live here. I shop for food, I can navigate my way around the subway and I am making some Chinese friends. I know that I will be here just shy of two months (which is apparently the length of time where you can say you "lived" somewhere), but I am going to say I lived in China for a summer, cause that's how I feel. There are other times when I don't like the Beijing Subway so much. It can be hot if you have an older car, crowded to the point of being literally shoved in (not too often though) and people often stare at me hardcore. I get that they don't often see westerns but sometimes they bluntly stare even when we make super awkward eye contact. Once I look away though they still stare for minutes! It's like, "alright people, have your look and get back to whatever you were doing before I got on the train." But overall I like the Beijing Subway because of the culture of it and the people. People watching is kinda fun, it's a good pastime. I like to just put my ipod in and look around while riding the subway. As a western though it seems there is always a set of eyes on you while riding.

On the subway, seats are like gold as I have said before. They are really for the elderly and children but not everyone always obeys that rule, a lot of passengers do though. If I do get a seat I will normally keep it unless someone noticeably older is around or a woman with a baby or small child. As for other adults, I kinda feel like they know they probably won't get a seat so I don't normally move for them. Plus there are so many adults if I just gave my seat to one in a crowd that would be weird. I have only gotten a seat six times or so but I normally give it up after a couple of stops when someone who I think needs it more gets on.

Another random note, children normally have a big hole in the seat of their pants. I guess it's for using the bathroom, but babies and young toddlers normally just have no butt on their pants or don't wear pants at all. Once I was at a McDonalds and a lady sat her son on the counter for awhile even though he didn't have a bottom on his pants. I was like, "um... not hunger anymore." What happens though when the child does start going to the bathroom though...? What's going to catch it? That I do not know, and I am not sure I want to.

Today we had training again at the Velodrome. The past two days we have been practicing quote taking and have had mock press conferences and mock mixed zones trails. Our mixed zone (where we do the interviews) is SO COOL! It has a great view of the track and we will probably stand there a couple of times during medal ceremonies which will be so cool. It may move though, but it will be awesome anywhere it is. I have the coolest job ever! I am so excited cause cycling is such a neat sport! I didn't know a whole lot about it before but now I am going to love it! Being here is such a blessing and such an awesome experience! I can't wait 'til the Games start!

Velodrome Training

Today we worked at the Velodrome again, we had to be there at 11 so we left around 9 o'clock and were half an hour early, so we are still figuring it all out. The train was very crowded this morning, so I didn't get a seat until the last couple of stops, oh well.

The final touches of the velodrome seem to be coming together nicely! The 'look and feel' has really been put into it! The actual velodrome has been done for a while, I just mean all the media items, posters and things.

Today we were standing on the bottom part of the track getting the races explained to us by a journalist we are working with and it hit me, I am at the Olympics!!!! It has really just seemed like I have been in Beijing but looking around and being in a venue and seeing "Beijing 2008" posted everywhere with some Chinese music playing it actually made it really! It is SO cool to be able to see where everything is going. We get to stand by the medal podium, inside the platform by the start line where the officials will be, we get to walk on the track (the lower part where the bikes don't race). In a few days we won't be able to but it is just so cool to be at these places where in a few weeks hardly anyone will be!

Track Cycling is one of the main events at the Olympics and also one of the oldest, it has been apart of the games since 1896 when the first modern Games where held. The atmosphere in the sold out velodrome is going to be amazing! I am very excited to be there!

For the first week the two journalists (one from Australia and one Holland) will be at road cycling, so WE will have the chance to write stories! If we come up with good ideas, find the athletes, interview them during their training and can write a clear, concise, good story then we have the chance to! I don't have very much experience with sports writing, I did a little in high school but it hardly amounts to anything, so I don't know if I will write a story or not, but we will see!

Today we also worked our way through the INFO2008 system, which has all the info on the events, sports and athletes and plenty of stats. So we looked up some of the hopefuls and of course I stalked Michael Phelps and some other well-known athletes. This is an intranet system so this info isn't available but on the computers at the venues! It's fun to type in people's last names and see if there are any athletes competing with the same name. There is one guy with the last name Myles-Mills (I think), but he is an African from Ghana, so I don't think we are related.

We also got out uniforms!! I am so excited! We have to wear them now so people are going to look at us even more! There are only 2,000 international volunteers and I have yet to see any of them. People often read our accreditation cards while we ride on the subway. I have had some people grab it to get a better view and I just want to say, "um... excuse me!?!" But oh well, it makes me feel kind of important, haha. I am excited but nervous about all the training that's on the way! We will be training now from Monday - Friday until the Games. I'll keep you all posted.

Antique Market

This morning I was going to get up at 6 a.m. to try and buy Olympic Tickets; however, last night the lines were already 8,000 people long and my morning there were over 300,000 people waiting at the ticket office, my classmare who went was told by a police man. So, I slept in.

Today my friend Li took me to an antique market and it was really, really cool! We had to take the subway and then take a bus (my first time in Beijing) to get there. There are over 900 bus lines here in Beijing, so Li says he tries to avoid it when possible, I am sure they can get confusing. I got this really neat bottle that has a dragon with a ball of fire painted on the inside. I also got an incense burning for a friend and a ring. It was not too expensive, the bottle was my biggest "splurge." The saleswomen started out high and wouldn't go down, so we left in hopes that she would say, "no no, okay" but she didn't! So we went back later and I got an okay price, but by that time she knew I wanted that hand painted bottle! I was really happy I got it though.

After the antique market we went to this really big mall! I mean, really big! One of the escalators was 6 stores high, so that was cool! We ate at this Italian place and got pizza, they had nice prices and the food was good. That's one thing I really like about China, everything is cheap! Lunch costs maybe $3 or $4, so when I get home I am going to be so spoiled, "What! $8 for lunch!!???!!"

Later in the evening we watched two movies, Juno and Kung Fu Panda (that's right, I watched it... in China). I still have the next two days off and I am not sure what I'm going to do, maybe see the Temple of Heaven or the Olympic Park, I will play it by ear!

Days Off

We have another four days off, I am really begining to think I am here on vacation, but that will soon change I'm sure. Some of the Purdue girls are flying down to Shanghai in the morning and will be gone through Sunday. They had a little (and when I say "a little" I mean "A LOT OF") trouble with getting their tickets but I think it all worked out.

Today I had lunch with a chinese friend I made at my venue. He is actually going to be a flash quote reporter just like me, so we will be working together! He took me to some place in one of the hutongs and I just pointed at what I wanted and he told the waitress, haha. At work yesterday he asked me where we are staying and I told him the name and started to explain where it was and he was like, "Um... yeah... I am a student there and I live there too." I was like, "Of course I would try to explain to someone who already knew where it was, I would." Haha. After lunch we watched a movie with some of the australian students.

After that I took a little nap, I thought I was all adjusted to the new sleep schedule but then I took a nap and throw it way off again. So I drugged myself with three sleeping bills to no avail.

Tomorrow Olympic Event tickets go up for sale so we are getting up at 6 a.m. to try and get a spot in line. I really hope there are some seats left for some sort of swimming or diving event. ANYTHING! All the tickets have been "sold out" for months, but really? Has any prelim match of say ... a track and field event ever been sold out for a morning session? No, so they cannot ALL be sold out. So we will hope for the best, but I shall exspect the worst so I won't be too disapointed if nothing happens. As for the weekend, who knows? I will just be hanging out in Beijing. I know that Hairspray is coming to Beijing fror the next week, so I hope to see that!

Venue Tour

Today we got to head out to our venue, the Laoshan Bicycle Cluster. It is a straight shot west of where we live, we hop on the subway and ride it all the way through Beijing to the western part of the city. So basically... seats on the subway are like gold here, seriously. When an empty train comes and the doors open up you would think some one was giving away money and adorable puppies for free. As soon as those doors open people RUN after a seat and do all in their power to get one. As I like to say you must "man up and hold your own!"

Knowing about this "local running of the bulls" as one of my fellow students called it, we where in for the ride. We hopped off at the first transfer station, sprinted to the other side and held our own waiting for the train. We knew our ride was gonna be about 50 minutes and our eyes were on the prize, that golden nugget that is a seat on the Beijing subway.

It was tense, our feet planted, elbows out trying to fight off our contenders. "Hold your own, hold your own!" I whispered to my self as the empty subway car was coming to a stop, "eye on the prize!" The doors finally opened, with elbows out defending my terf I plunnged forward to a seat, and I GOT IT! Five out of six of us were able to score in this game of Beijing Subway life. Now, I've never won an Olympic gold medal, but I assume it would feel a lot like that.

Once we got to our Venue we went through security, and then got a tour. We saw the ONS office (where we will spend a lot of time), the huge media office, the photo work rooms and then the mixed zone, where we will actually interview the athletes. The Velodrome is HUGE! Way bigger than I thought it would be. We got to stand in the middle of the track and then we got to actually walk out on the track. The part of the track where they actually race is probably to steep to walk on for long periods of time. It is really, really steep! It's so cool though. We saw the press tribunes and the TV camera stations. There were a bunch of girls in the middle practicing there dance with an inflatable Fuwa character. We also got to tour the BMX venue and we saw the start and finish of the mountain bike course! It was really, really exciting. The best part!?! FREE cold Coke, Sprite and water! It was really cool to finally get to see my venue, I am excited to get in there and have more training, which will be Monday morning.

The Day Before the End

Tomorrow morning marks the begining of our work. The begining of the end of our little vacation. I am sure we will have some more time off, but nothing like the past two and a half weeks. We are meeting our Venue Manager tomorrow at 1 p.m. It should be about an hour and a half by subway then a 20 minute walk to our venue. We live in the eastern part of Beijing and the cycling venue is way on the western side of Beijing, of course. But I am excited to tour the venue and get an idea of how our work is going to play out for the next five weeks! If we are lucky we will get out uniforms and our work schedule, but I can already tell you that our schedule is not bad at all! The cycling races don't start until day seven of the Games, so the first week will be us at the venue watching the athletes train and getting to know them. After that, there is only ONE day that has two shifts, the other days the races don't start until 4:30, so we will have to be there around maybe 3. Other students have sports that start at 8 a.m., and have to be there AT 6, so they have to get up by 4:30 a.m. to even make it to their venue! So I won't complain about my work schedule.

Today I went shopping, the mall was SO big! I went into this store and the girl who greeted me followed me around the entire time... always two paces behind me. It was annoying. She said something in chinese, and I looked at her like, "I have no idea what you are saying" so she said it again three times. Finally, she goes, "do you speak chinese?" I was like, "Um.. I think you should know the answer to that by now." Only... I really said, "no." I just walked up and down the store about six times (really) and it was about the size of an Old Navy, everytime I touched something she would come up and grab my size and I would have to be like, "no thanks" in chinese. She then would carry the stuff I did want for me, it was just weird, I don't really need to be catered to like that. At one point she looked at her co-worker and made a face like, "Can you believe this guys!" so I just smiled. I wanted to be like, "Look here girl, I didn't ask you to follow me around so don't get a tude!" I did end up buying a shirt. It's just diffrent how they try to help SO much, there is just a line between good help and annoying help. I just want to look on my own and if I need a diffrent size then you can help me. Even when out to dinner, you will have the menu and they will just wait right over your shoulder as you flip through the pages. It just makes you feel rushed, so that's a cultural diffrence. Also, when shopping I feel like they expsect me to spend a lot cause I am a westerner. They say, "oh, this color!" or bring jeans over and are like, "these ones, ok?" and I am like, "dudes, no... I wasn't looking at either of those things, I will buy what I want when I want! So lay off!" Of course I am nicer than that and just say, "no thanks" and smile. Costomer service is just diffrent over here, one of the many diffrences I observe.

Yeah, I ate that!

Wow, what a night!?!?! Some of us went out to the night market (which is where they sell the really 'gross' food). I got an e-mail before I left with a PowerPoint attached about this market, and boy did it live up to its expectations! One thing that was not included in the PowerPoint though was the smell, but it actually wasn't that bad. It often smelled good, but by the raw meat and raw seafood... not so much.

So, I went to this market with an open mind... which led to an open mouth. I tried many new things. Here is the list - silk worm, sea horse, lamb penis, lamb testicle, two types of scorpion, centipede, bees and snake. I think that's it. Some of the others had more but I think I did pretty well. The little scorpion was actually REALLY good, I'm not gonna lie, I wanted more. The big scorpians though were really crunchy and their shell was stuck in my teeth for awhile. I had to chew it for like 5 minutes just to get it to a point were I could swallow it. The snake.. no, not a fan at all! The texture was so weird I couldn't handle it. The sea horse was not that bad, I just didn't eat the head. It was actually a lot of fun and we will be going back for sure.

There were a good amount of foreigners there, it is a pretty famous market. It's so cool to be in a place where I meet people from all over the world. Sure, that happens back in the States some, but here they stand out a lot more and are more willing to stop and talk to you. I really like just starting up little conversations with people who are also visiting Beijing. It is almost like a little sense of community when you meet people from the States. I wore my Purdue shirt today and this girl on the street yelled, "Hey, my dad went to Purdue!" It's makes the world feel so small and it is comforting.

More to come.

Seeing Mao

This morning was a very early morning for some of us. I got up at 3:45 because we wanted to go see the flag raising at Tian' Anmen Square. The night before I went to bed at 3:45 and today I woke up then, so that was kinda funny.

We took a cab into Tian' Anmen and waited in the crowd of people facing the Forbidden City. We actually got there early enough to be somewhat close, the crowd grew much larger after we got there. This was one of those times when being tall was a very good thing because I was able to see over everyone. Soldiers came marching out from the Forbidden City and then split into two and walked around the flag pole. I assume this experience is kind of like the changing of the guard in Washington, both are a government spectacle that people gather to watch. Although, people here were talking and being loud through out the event, even while the Chinese national anthem was playing and in the States I don't think that would have been that case. It was not the most exciting experience but I would rather go somewhere and be disappointed than not to go and always wonder what it would have been like.

After that was over aroung 5:10 we had time to kill before we went to go see Mao. The Mao viewings are only open from 8-12 and not on Mondays. So we walked around and got some breakfast. When going to see Mao you have to check your bag across the street because there are NO photos allowed and security is tight. The bag check and Memorial Hall were scheduled to open at 8 but when we walked by at 7:30 they were taking bags and people where in line to see Mao.

Seeing Mao was an interesting experience. You line up around the building and go through security, then you walk into the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. You enter and there is a big statue of him and people placing flowers all around. After that the line divides into two and you filter into the viewing room. The line moves slower here as you walk by.

After this I came home and went to bed until about 2:30. It was a full day before 9 a.m. but it was worth it.

Cultural Differences

When being submerged into a different culture it is hard to not noticed they things that make that culture unique in your eyes.

Some things I have noticed in China is the friendships among eveyone, not just the youth, but even some adults. Because of the one child policy (which makes perfect sense for a country like China) many people become very close with their friends and they act more like brothers and sisters than friends. This is something that I really admire because friendship is something that means a lot to me. It is not uncommon to see two girls holding hands while walking or even to guys linking arms when pushing through a crowded subway station. I was on the train the other day and it was very crowded. There were three teenaged boys, two of them got seats and one didn't, so the one just sat on the legs of the other two right in the middle and played is Gameboy. I am not saying that eveyone does this, but I have noticed it and it does happen. If things they that happened in the States people would get another idea about what was going on. When you live in a city as crowded as Beijing, personal space isn't as big of an issue. I think that is one thing people have struggled with because they have some so accustom to having it.

Also, in China when you see a couple, more often than not you will see the man carrying the purse of his girlfriend. Not just carrying it, but wearing it over his shoulder. I have also seen men having a purse of there own so it seems. Not like a very girly one, but just a bag like a purse they wear over their shoulder. Again, not every man does this, some have back packs and briefcases, but it does happen and seems to be social expectable, where as in the States that wouldn't be the case.

The cultural diffrences aren't "weird," they are just diffrent. That is why they are called "diffrences." So when people see something when abroad and say, "Oh, that is so weird." They need to realize that's it's all part of the culture.

Training Day #2

Yesterday we had our second day of training, it was pretty cool because we were seperated into our venue groups. So the cycling flash quote reporters all sat together and we had team ice breakers to meet everyone. Many of the Purdue students are doing cycling so we knew eachother, but there were a few students that we met. I got my accreditation card so I am like hardcore official now. It also gives me free public transport including the Metro. It is pretty cool, it has my picture on it (front and back), it has LSB (Laoshan Bicycle Cluster, which is my Venue), the "Beijing 2008" name and symbol, and it says BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games), and of course my name, "Jason Myles - ONS Flash Quote Reporter - Press Operations" It is really cool :) There are 951 people working for the ONS, and I think over 200 are students.

At our training they were telling us how we are going to meet a lot of people in the journalism industry, and that these connections can be great in the future. A lot of the Olympic News Service managers and heads of this project were flash quote reporters just 8 years ago. So it would be awesome to get good connections for jobs in the future. The ONS is bidding to be the News Serive for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but I think for the 2012 London Games they are going to use their own News Service, but there are plenty of huge sports events that the ONS covers, so lets hope I do a geat job.

After our training (which was just a half day) we went out to lunch at a pizza buffet. It was interesting because they had all the pops, coffee, cappuccino, juices and BEER on tap! So there were a lot of drink options, all included in the price.

After lunch we headed back to the dorms were I took a nice little nap. In the evening we went out to dinner with our Venue Manager, we all like her a lot, she is really cool. She is from Australia but has been in London for the past 7 years working for the AP. This is her third summer games, she was in Athens and Sydney! She has a lot of work experience and talk about connections! She knows a lot of people. It's funny, the man who was her editor when we was like 18 is now the head of INFO2008 or the ONS or something, and that's how she got the job for the ONS (I think that's right). So maybe in 20 years she will give me an awesome job, haha.

Where we went for dinner was AMAZING! It was "Paul's Steak and Eggs - True North American Diner" and it was!!! It was so good. We met Paul and he is from Canada and had restaurants there and in the States. Now he has 3 here in China, with a new one opening next week! The food was good (and truely western) so we will be back a couple times I'm sure.

So now I have 6 days off! I am not sure what I am gonna do. I was thinking of going to Qingdao (a port city on the yellow sea... I think it's actually an island), or we may go see the terracotta warriors, which would involve a 12 hour train ride... both ways. So we will see what we do. Also, Hairspray is coming to Beijng for a week, haha, so I think some of us are going to see that!

I will keep you all posted!

-Jason

Training Day

Today we started our Olympic News Serive Training. It was at a Hotel about an hour and a half way from our campus, so we left at 7:35 to make it there by 9:30. The training was alright, we listened to some Olympic News Service reps talk as they went through a power point. The information was all info that we will need, so it was important for us to be there. There was a reporter there from CCTV 5, she was the same reporter that came along on our three day tour and interviewed some of us, and this time she interviewed me. So I was on CCTV 5 6 o'clock news, I am super famous now, haha, not. It was neat though... it was all in Chinese so the only thing I understood was what I said. There were two other students who were on the program too.

After the training I was asked to do an interview with someone from the Chinese News Agency Xinhua, which I'm not sure I should have done. She asked me so fast that I was just like, "sure," and the other lady from CCTV was on the tour that the BOCOG was on so I figured she was invited too. There were also a couple camera's in the training room, I figure if they weren't supposed to be there they would have been asked to leave.

Tomorrow we have the same training, but more venue specific, so that will be nice. Then I don't actually go to the Veladrom until the 23rd of July, so I will have six days off! I am not sure what I am gonna to do yet, maybe go for a little train trip to the coast if we can. We shall see.
I am excited that we got our training up a kicking, should be a good six weeks! I am going to grow and learn a lot!

-Jason Myles

Weekend

So yesterday, Sunday, we went to the Summer Palace and also to the Old Summer Palace, which lay in ruin. They were both very cool and also very beautiful.The Summer Palace land area is HUGE, most of it is taken up by a lake though. We had free time to explore, most people went on boat rides, but me and some Aussie climbed up this huge hill over looking the area and also over much of Beijing. The views were amazing of course, as they always are. There was a buddhist temple at the top once again, this one was bigger than the ones I had seen before and the views were just great. It was so hot though! After that day of long travels we went to the Peking Opera! It was a neat experience, I was happy we got to go. The costumes are just amazing! There seemed to be a lot more focus on the instrumental music as telling the story, along with the elaborate costumes. I didn't know someone could get their voice so high....

Today we had the day off! So I went to Wal-Mart and bought a couple things, then headed off to Starbucks, and grabbed McDonalds for lunch (It was my first time). So I basically had the most American day ever, haha. People say, "Oh, you shouldn't have McDonalds while abroad! You miss out on the culture!" Well, look here buddy, I am living here for over 7 weeks, I am (and have been) getting plenty of cultural meals, so if I want to get McDonalds once a week or so then I will. Haha. We went to a talk show for CCTV in the evening. That was really cool. The host is well known, we got to go in this guarded enterance and then they gave us dinner in a type of green room. The show was about Volunteering, mainly Olympic Volunteering, one of the guests was the VP of the Volunteering Committee or something. There were over 1 million applications to be Olympic Volunteers, and they only needed about 70,000. 2,000 of them are international volunteers, so I am VERY, VERY lucky to be here. Being a part of the show made me see that even more than I had before.

Tomorrow our Olympic News Serive training starts, I am pretty excited. It will be a long day though, then again on Wednesday, I am just excited to get started and have some questions answered! I am very tired I hope I got everything across that I wanted to!

More to come!

Rural Beijing, Great Wall, Ming Tombs!

Wow, have I had a crazy two days!?!? The past two days we have had a Beijing Tour, with one more day tomorrow! Yesterday we went to a Sewage Plant, which was actually kinda neat because we got to see how sewage is turned into clean water. After that we went to Rural Beijing by way of POLICE ESCORT! It was crazy! They had road closed in Beijing for us! There were about 8 buses full of students from all over! England, the US, Australia! They really took care of us! So we went to rural Beijing to a town at the bass of BEAUTIFUL mountians. I have never seen mountains like them in my life, they were like huge hersey kisses or something, up, down, up, down, just amazing! In the town we saw a beautiful Buddist Temple, which I looked at as art and architecture, add in the mountians and it was just amazing! After that we went to a retirement home where they greeted us with a song, we then viewed an average house in the town and got a martial art demonstration. It was really neat and they are really trying to put on a good impression for us all! After that we went to a very famous Peking Roasted Duck restaurant with over 200 years of service and the duck was SO good! What I have noticed is that every meal we have so much food! I mean, it seems almost impossible to eat all they give us, it is SO good though. I haven't really tried anything too exotic yet, haha.

Today was amazing, we had beautiful blue sky, before that there had been a lot of fog, but today was 100% clear, and I can see the mountains from my dorm room I found out! They are far away, but I can see them! Today we went to the Great Wall. Words cannot discribe how amazing it is! It's funny, you always here how awesome it is, how nothing can compare to it, ALL TRUE! It was absolutely amazing! The president of Mexico was actually here today so they had a huge section of the wall closed off, but once we got past the crowd it was great! And yes, I saw him. We climbed it for maybe an hour or so, the views were so beautiful! It gets so steep at times and the steeps are uneven but it is so worth it to climb! I saw an old chinese lady who was climbing it, I was very suprised, she was a fighter though and she made it pretty far up actually. I would love to go back to the wall again before I leave, it was just great, so it lives up to it's name, haha.

After the Great Wall and lunch, we set off for the Ming Tombs, which were actually pretty cool. It's where some of the emperors and empresses are buried. There is a tomb about 27 Meters underground that we went into and it was really neat! I just love how there is so much history here in China, it is amazing and it's great to feel like I am a part of it.

Tomorrow we are going to visit the Summer Palace and the Winter Palace, then we will be off to a Peking Opera show, I am very excited! The BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games) is really, really treating us and it's great! I am having a great time so far! Today was great! More to come!

Forbidden City, not anymore it's not!

Today I went to the Forbidden City and it was AMAZING! The pictures I took don't do it any justice, it was just awesome! There is so much history in China in general and the Forbidden especially. We had a nice tour guard, her name was spelled Any (Annie) and she gaves us a great tour. After the tour one of the girls from Emerson College and I walked to the lookout on top of a hill just behind the Forbidden City. The views were just breathtaking! On the top there was a big statue of Buddah, which was a neat peice of art. It was a little bit of a climb though, and it was very hot! We had about 6 hours on our feet today with all the walking!

At the Firbidden City this little Chinese boy came up to us and was like, "Are you from America!?!" "Yes, we are" "That is very far!" He talked to us for a little bit and even sang us an English song (that I didn't know). I asked him what his name was, "Oliver. O-l-i-v-e-r, Oliver." "Very good!" I said. He was so cute, "someday I like to come to America" "I like English, I have three English books!" "I come here by train, my house very far from here!" He was so excited to pratice his English with us (he has been learning for about three years and I think he is about eight, so he actually had pretty good English). I would love to teach ESL or even teach English here in Asia someday, so it was nice and encouraging to see a little kid who liked it so much.

After the long day of touring we just kinda relaxed, with a group meeting in the evening. It seems now that I will also be covering some Volleyball this Olympics, along with Cycling, so that will be neat. We start our three day tour tomorrow! I am excited, it should be really great! They are really treating us!

I have to rest up, a long but great three day tour awaits!

Beijing Day #3

It has only been three days!?! It feels like it has been a week or more, maybe because I am actually figuring out how to use the Beijing subway and navigate campus, so I feel like a Beijinger already :)
Today we had an hour and a half lecture on China, Beijing and their histories, it was very interesting. Beijing has a population of over 12 million, second biggest in China after Shanghai.
After the lecture we had a break and then we had a meeting with the BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games), which we really cool. We met our Venue Managers and our Olympic News Services Managers, tried on our volunteer uniforms (which are awesome!), got SIM cards for work, and our offical volunteer exceptance forms (something cool for a scrapbook or even frame).
My Venue Manager is very nice, her name is Krystyna and she is from Australia but now lives in London. She worked at the Athens Games back in 2004. Purdue has been assigned Laoshan Bycicle Cluster, so we will be covering track cycling, mountain biking and BMX cycling (which is making it's Olympic debut). Some of us Purdue students will be moving to court Volleyball, one full time and four for a week or so. Cycling doesn't start to Day 7 so we have a week of light work, we will just go to the velodrome and watch the athletes train and talk to them and get to know them (not bad, right?). During the games cycling doesn't even start until 4:30 p.m., so we got a really good shirt slot. Some of the students we are living with have to leave our Uni at 4 am to get to there venue at 6 for an 8 a.m. start. We will have the morning and early afternoon to ourselves, and guess what, we can buy tickets! They are not that expensive and if there are still some left! Maybe not for the super populat events, but we can see some! I hope I can fit swimming in but we will see. We do not get to go to the Opening Ceremony, but we may get to sit in on the dress rehersal the night before, which would be cool.
We are going to have a three day tour starting Friday! I am so excited! They are really treating us (aka ALL FREE, meals and everything for this tour)! Friday we will meet with the Beijing Drainage Group and see how sewage is turned into clean water, that is interesting. then we will see the Beijing Suburbs, so basically rural Beijing and see rural China. Then in the evening, we have the offical welcome dinner! It will be at Quan Ju De, a Peacking Duck restaurant with over 200 years of service. On thursday we will see the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs! Then on Sunday we are going to the Summer Palace, the Garden of Perfection and Brightness and in the evening we are going to the Peacking Opera to see "Romance of Liubei and Sun Shangxiang! Then on Monday we are going to a famous TV talk show for a recording! I am SO excited for all of this! I am off to the Forbidden City tomorrow on our day off, then after the three day tour we have another day off, so we are having a good time before all our training begins.
Tonight, some of us went in search of an English Pub, but had not luck finding it, we asked probably nine taxi drivers but none of them knew where it was, even with a map and address in Chinese, Beijing is just that big. We took the subway both ways (ended up getting KFC) and on the way back we were on a train like sardines, the door wouldn't shut at first, that was fun times.
Over all I am really liking it here and I am excited for all my touring the next five days! This has been a great experience so far! I think it will be this way the entire way through!

Beijing, day #2: Campus Tour/ Silk Market/ Wal-Mart

Hello, Hello everyone! This morning we had a campus tour of CUC at 10 o'clock. The students from Australia got in last night around 1 (long after I was in bed). All the Aussies are very nice and I am excited to get to know them better. On our tour we saw the campus, food courts and also the bank so that we could exchange money. When that ended around 11:30 we went to the food court, which really isn't that bad. There were some chinese students who came along on the tour and later they took us to the Silk Market and to Wal-Mart.

Let me tell you a little something about the silk market, it is CRAZY! It's basically just rows and rows and rows of these little shops FULL of everything! Shoes, purses, suitcases, books, DVDs, CDs, jeans, dresses, EVERYTHING! Right when we walked in we had people say, "you want to buy shoes?" "we give you best price!" "Handsome boy, Handsome boy, you want to buy!" It was crazy, they pulled us into their shops, LITERALLY! Once you were in though, you were done for, you HAD to buy something. In one case I wanted to buy a prada wallet for a friend (I knew it was fake even though they said it was real), but the vender, a young lady who was maybe 25 or so, didn't have any right there. "Just one minute, just one minute, we go downstairs and get it for you." So while I was waiting there she talked to me, "where are you from?" "American..." "That your girlfriend?" Referring to one of the Aussie girls I was with, "No." "Do you have girl friend?" "No" "Oh, so you single?" "Yep" "I am single too...." Anyway, here you bargain with prices and they use a calculator to show you the price they are offering, and then you go down WAY low and work back up. Later the girls boss came up with the wallet and she made me come in a sit down, even tough I told her no. So I was sitting there looking through them and picked the one I wanted, "This normally 4500 yaun [over $600 USD], but for you I give the best price, 2,000" "No, No, too expensive. I can give you 250 for it" I only brought 300 yuan cause I over spent the day before. She kept explaning how nice it was, how it was real, how it is so expensive otherwise, blah blah, at one point she put a lighter up to it so show me that it wouldn't burn. I picked out a smaller wallet to make the price go down because she was being difficult, "How much do you have, how much can you spend!?" At this point I was kinda getting nervous because the others I was with left and I was sitting in the corner with no way out. I told here I only had 300, but I could only spend 250 because of taxi and hotel fees (a lie). I finally offered me 200 for the second wallet (after starting at 500 or so), so I countered with 100. "You said 250 before, now you are saying 100! Are you lying! You said 250 before!" So she countered with 150, I said, "No, too expensive. 100 take it our leave it." "150, take it or leave it" so I said, "Alright, then I will leave it" as I pushed my way past here. "Okay, okay! 100!" as she grabbed my wrist. "You are very clever, very clever! What did you say before, 250? Very clever!" I just smiled and walked away. "We see you again soon!" I was just happy to get out of there, I was trying to say no before, but she was blocking me and her boss (a man) was standing at the doorway just staring at me, so I figured buying something was a good idea. I did feel better about my bargaining skills though. This whole ordeal lasted about 20 minutes, it was scary though, being in there alone [my mom is gonna kill me for that].
The Silk Market was a very interesting place. One of the Aussie boys actually got a marriage proposal, I kid you not. One of the ladies at a little shop said, "Oh, you are single! You marry my friend!" pointing to one of the worker girls. He delined, but was given a business card incase he wanted to come back...
It was an interesting day overall, I also bought a polo shirt (which I had to barrow money to do because the lady wouldn't let me leave and I only had 90 yuan, and she wanted 130, after startig at 350, which is $50 USD). We also went to Wal-Mart but no stories from there could compare to these.
Tomorrow we have a lecture and then we meet with the Beijing Organizing Committee (aka the people who run the Olympic Games here in Beijing!).

China, Day 1!

Wow, it is hard to believe that I am actually in Beijig now! It seemed like this trip was a fairy tale for almost 10 months, and now it is here! The journey to Beijing was quite long. From getting on the Shuttle bus in Highland, IN to arriving at my dorm it was about 31 hours! That was mainly because of my layover in Shanghai, which ended up being 9 hours because the plane was late. My first experience of China was in Shanghai at the airport, it was about 95 degrees with a million percent humidity! That airport was kinda air conditioned but not all the way, it wasn't all that fun, we were so tired. We arrived in Beijing at 1 am on Monday morning, so basically late Sunday night. The three girls I was with and I went out to find a taxi, a taxi driver called us over and took us in his van and it was probably one of the most terriflying experiences of my life. He didn't speak a word of English, but we had a sheet telling him where to go in Chinese. He took us down so very dark, scary allie ways and small streets, that was the scary part. Some of those places were straight up out of the movies, but our taxi driver was a trust worthy person (as I have heard most Beijingers are) and he got us to where we needed to be, the Communication University of China (CUC) in East Beijing.
Our room is not too unlike an American dorm room. It has two bed, two desks, a TV (with one American channel), basically the normal stuff. It does have one amazing thing, AIR CONDITIONING! That is one thing I was not expecting (I have this thing where I should exspect things to be totally diffrent and kinda not great, so then if they aren't I can be happy). So I am very thankful to have AC. We also have our own bathrooms (with Western toliets)... and the shower is quite... interesting. Over all the room is fine, it is just, shall we say, "modest."
CUC has a track and soccer field next to our building, so we saw a lot of people there in the morning running, I assume I will put it to good use sometime. Today some of us walked around campus and even went outside the gate to find some breakfest. Later we had lunch at this restraunt and the food was SO GOOD! We had chicken, beef, veggies and rice, so good! Not to mention that it only cost 4 USD! PLUS it is connected to out building, the International Center, so I am sure I will be back for seconds... plus some!
Later in the day the 10 of us from Purdue who are here decided that we wanted to explore. So we hopped on a train and went over to Tian' Amnen Square. The subway system here in Beijing is fast, efficient and cheap! It cost like 30 American cents! We just scoped out Tian' Amnen Square, and took pics in front of the Forbidden City cause we will visting in later in the week, so we just kinda got a feel for it. Then we did a little shopping, you know it's funny when you go abroad and use a diffrent currency, cause it feels like you aren't really spending any money at all, then after you convert it and are like, "wow... oops." I actually did alright though, cause here in China you can bargain on prices, so I practiced that but I feel like I didn't do well enough (I got some cool stuff though).
There are twon other universities staying here at CUC, Queensland Tech, from Australia and Emerson College, which is in Boston, the aussies arrive in a couple of hours and Emerson should be here tomorrow or the next day.
I am hoping to find a website where I can post all my pics, there are some on facebook but I have like 250 already (oops again). The first 18 hours or so here have been good! China has made a good first impression, I am sure that the thousands of people headed here for the Olympic Games will feel the same! More to come tomorrow!

Rereading this I noticed that it doesn't flow all that well, that is just me being tired, haha.

-Jason

So now I am just 16 or so hours away from leaving! I am very excited that this
trip to Beijing is all coming together. We got our roommates assignments and also
found out that there will be about 70 students staying with us at our university,
Communication University of China (CUC), they are from Emerson in Boston and
Queensland Tech in Australia. A couple of us have found eachother on facebook and
the Australians going actually had a group, so must of us Purdue students and the
students from Emerson have joined the group. We are all very excited to meet
eachother! This is going to be such a great experience I can hardly wait!

Preparing The Way

The start of my Beijing Summer Olympic adventure is just 3 weeks away! I am very excited to get things going and have an amazing experience in Beijing!

BeijingBound08!