Hot pot and record timing

Oh what a day (two days ago...)!

I went with my Chinese friends Lake, Angell and Sherry for a shopping adventure in the city. We were trying to find paper that I can take home for my scrapbook that I am going to make for the trip. We went to the neighborhood surrounding the art museum, where there are lots of art shops but unfortunately they were the wrong kind of store, selling mostly art supplies and more expensive paintings.

No worries, we had fun nonetheless, and I found a cute little notebook that I had to have. My friends were pretty amused at my eager excitement of simple things like a notebook (those of you who know me, surprise-surprise, right?) Then we moved on to bigger and better things-- lunch!

Lake wanted me to try Hot Pot, a traditional Chinese meal style that most closely resembles fondue in the States, I think. There is a large pot of scalding hot water heated by coals in a container in the center of the pot. You dip meats and vegetables into the water and voila! they are cooked! Afterwards you can dip them in a peanut sauce, which was fantastic!

My favorite things were the shrimp balls and the beef. We all stuffed ourselves so full we could barely move! Oh, for dessert we had hawthorn berries. Interesting.

Now it was time for work. Stuffed and sleepy, we made our way to the subway and went off to Laoshan for the second day of track cycling. When I got there, everyone was telling me that I did a good job the day before and I didn't really think anything of it, but then Lisa, one of my supervisors, told me that I had been chosen as 'Volunteer of the Day' for the first day of events and that I had won a prize (cute little Fuwa stuffed animals-- the whole set!) Pretty exciting, I was really happy that they thought I was doing good work.

I watched Chris Hoy win another gold medal (2 for 2 now!) and hurriedly changed back into regular clothes to head to the Bird's Nest to catch the last of the track and field events for the day. Val, Chris and Alysha had all taken the day off so they were already there along with some of the Aussie and American students that are in our group, so I was on my own to get there.

I wish you had all taken the Beijing subway so you understand my journey. I felt like it should be a new Olympic event. As I ran through each transfer station on the way to the next train (I took five on this trip), I was 'that' crazy American girl. I felt like everyone was staring at me but oh well. I was not going to miss that 100m men's final, no way.

Finally, I arrived at the Olympic Green! Finally, I could see the Bird's Nest, or National Stadium, in all it's awesomeness. Absolutely fantastic venue. It's even more beautiful in person than in pictures, I can tell you. I quickly found my group and was able to catch the 800m final of the women's heptathlon. USA came away with the bronze medal-- yay!

Val quickly painted my face so I could be patriotic for the race we were all waiting to see. The sprinters are absolutely crazy, and I know you already know what happens but I was so thrilled to witness Bolt setting the new world record in person! The crowd went wild! It was exhilarating to be there, caught up in the moment, cheering with the whole world. And to make it even better, Walter Dix brought home the bronze for the US. Hooray!! We cheered and cheered until we couldn't cheer anymore.

We left the venue and took pictures around the Olympic Green. Kelsey and I had a blast finding the Today show taping area and convinced the security guards to let us have a quick photo on a show golf cart (I'm convinced it's Matt's, but who knows?!)

An exhausting day but well worth it all. I am so lucky to be here!