Opening Ceremony

Yesterday was the opening ceremony for the Olympics. I am pretty sure that everyone was either at work or sleeping during the ceremony. It lasted about 4 and a half hours. We left in the around 5:00 to head to the park. China had many parks set up throughout the city for viewing on large screen TVs. When we arrived, there were hundreds of people. It was an awesome experience except for the fact that no one ate beforehand. After an hour in the heat, I was done watching the ceremony and just wanted to go home. It was at least 85 degrees outside and humid. Not to mention, I was tired from last night, hungry, and uncomfortable. Sitting on the ground eventually led to falling asleep on my back. I didn't sleep the whole entire time, just the last 2 hours...and I know most people would have killed to watch the opening ceremony at a park a few miles from the actual Olympic village, but really. Heat, humidity, tiredness and hunger, don't really mix too well for me. Actually, everyone fell asleep but one girl, Rachel. Needless to say, it was amazing to watch the people all around me. There had to have been people from over 12 countries. Brazilians, Australians, Europeans and Chinese were all around me.

Random facts: Devon today got her subway card stuck in the machine while we were going home from lunch. That was a fiasco. The subway workers actually thought that she broke the machine. That was funny. They laughed when I told them that we didn't want the card and we would just take 100 kuai, which is about 15 bucks. Also, during the opening ceremony, you would be surprised who the people cheered for. The biggest cheers came for: Cuba, Pakistan, Palestine, Iran, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and a big boo for Bush. Ha. Funny thing is I've had three bloody noses so far. I can't figure out why I'm getting them considering the air is as humid as a steaming sauna. And my feet have attracted a swarm of mosquitoes and they itch whenever they get hot. I think I got bit by something else too because it was swollen and red for a day. I'll keep a watch on it but I'm sure it's fine. If I dont write about it anymore, it's fine. I almost got sick last night too. My stomach was pretty upset so Devon and I took a cab home early. So, now I have to keep an eye out on what I eat. I didn't get sick, but it was upsetting to say the least.

I love watching the people here. They are amazing. Everyone is so nice and willing to meet you half way. My Chinese is improving rapidly. Today, we finally got our official tickets. I also scheduled my trip to the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Lama Temple, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and a few special dinners that include Beijing Duck dinner, Hot Pot (fondu) dinner, Dumpling dinner, and a Traditional Chinese dinner (we'll see). I can't wait for everything that is coming up in the following weeks. We got our assignments today and I'm pretty sure I'll be working with an Chinese orphanage. My schedule is very loose and basically if I am not up for working that day, I don't have to work. Even though I'm volunteering for 20 days, with all of our trips and excursions I will probably only be working 7 days. Which I'm not really complaining. I have also found the link to my appearance on CBS. Here it is: CBS News Appearance . I look dumb and touristy but thats because I just got off of a 12 hour flight. Also, here are some pictures. Enjoy.

Olympic Beginnings

Out and About

Alright. I've been in Beijing for a whole day now. My friend Jimmy came in last night while we were at dinner. The menu at dinner had shark fin soup, octopus, donkey meat, and a special "mixed meat" dumpling. We got pork and celery dumplings and chicken skewers. There was also an awesome pineapple pork dish we had which was AWESOME. Whoever said the food is gross, they were wrong because I'm eating tons of great stuff. It really helps that almost everyone speaks English so my Chinese can at least meet them half way. I've decided that I'm going to have to become an expert chop sticks user. This is because there are no forks. And you have to pay for napkins.

During the day yesterday, my friends and I explored a bit of the city. We took the subway two stops and ended up at the Silk/Pearl market. This place is like Wal-Mart on steroids with a bit of Macy's. Everything you could ever imagine. Hand painted scrolls, paintings, hand carved masks, fabrics for custom tailored suits, shoes straight from the factory (Converse, Diesel, Nike, Ugg, and others), jackets, shirts (Polo Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Puma, Tommy Bahama, etc), silk for dresses, toys, games, trinkets, plates, hand carved stamp sets, and everything else you can image. I got a 5 polos for $12. And they are really good quality. I probably won't be able to tell the difference when I get home.

After the market, we went to eat, came back to our apartment to find our AC was broken. Again. But no worries we were ready to head out anyway. We went out to San Li Tun (one word) Bar street. This place was full of foreigners. Russians, Brazilians, Americans, Australians, Britians, and the works. We went out had fun and took a cab back to our apartment. When we returned we picked up some stuff from a store (it was probably 3 am!) and outside while we waited I started talking to one of the workers who was sitting outside playing a game with his coworker. He was eating something, so I asked if it was good. He said yes, and I asked what type of meat it was. He said "ya rou" which I thought was duck. Then, he told me to try it! I said no, thank you but nope. My curiosity was taken as hunger so he repeated that I try some. I finally gave in, and he took out a chunk of meat (a little bit of cartlidge and bones still in it). I said what the hell and took a bite. Delicious. It was actually spicy, which I wasn't expecting. Then, this is the best part, Devon asked to have a bite! She is the one supposed to keep me from eating random food from strangers on the street at early hours in the morning. Well she enjoyed it too, and neither of us are sick. Yet.

The weather here is like a sauna. Extremely hot and very very humid. The smog is so bad you can look at the sun and see it as if you were looking through a cloud. My roommates are cool. One is from Miami. Small world but when I went to visit a friend at University of Miami, my friend lived next door to this guy. I wouldn't be surprised if I was introduced to him and just don't remember his face. Crazy right?

Zai Beijing

I'm here. The flight to Vancouver was good. It was really hard to stay up the whole time because all I wanted to do was sleep. Then, I had 3 hours to do nothing at Vancouver International. I'm glad that the airport had free internet, or I would have died. Here's a story that will make people laugh. Right before I get on my 12 hour flight to PEK, I decided to buy some snacks. The nice little Canadian Asian asked me where I was going and I told her Beijing. Then she asked if I was going home...and I laughed. Not exactly lady. First, I'm American, not Chinese. Second, I can't believe she asked me that. When I boarded my flight, I sat next to a Chinese lady who had just immigrated to Vancouver. She started speaking Chinese to me. She called me a "green something" that meant I was new to China. Then she gave me her phone number and told me to call her and she'll take me and Devon and Jimmy out to "pub." Dancing and fun. After talking for a bit and practicing my Chinese, I passed out. I woke up, surprisingly, with 4 hours left of the flight. I watched a movie, read, and that was pretty much it. It wasn't bad at all. I got to the airport, which was clean, spacious, and brand new. I looked out the window...SMOG. It's really as bad as the pictures portray. I got my bags and met up with CC Interntional. Devon had arrived right before me and she was there too. I hadn't been out of customs for more than 5 minutes when I get approached from a CBS person to do an interview about the VISA process. So if you saw me on the evening news tonight...haha, what can I say?

We left the airport by subway, which puts NYC Subway system to shame. Here the subways are clean, electronic, quiet, and fast. Everything is brand new. We got to our apartment. I have pictures. It's really cool. I'm on the 24th floor. Most of my roommates haven't arrived yet. I ate last night a quick meal. It was really delicious. Had eggroll things and dumplings. Not bad.

Today, I plan on getting a Chinese cell phone, walking around and exploring the neighboorhood. Jimmy comes in today too, so we'll help get him settled in. Tonight, we're going out.