Beach volleyball

Mr. Gao got us the hookup. That's Mr. Gao, one of the important BOCOG officials who interviewed us for the volunteer positions we now hold. We were able to go see Olympic beach volleyball yesterday at Chaoyang Park thanks to him! It was great!

The venue was really fun and exciting; I had never seen pro beach volleyball live before. We saw Australia versus Angola, and the Aussie fans were incredible. Their team ended up with the win, but the Angolans(?) put up a good fight. I cheered for both teams. It was just great to be there.

After that match, Val and I had to leave for work so we set off with Traci for Laoshan. We had asked for the morning off but it turned out to be alright because no one was doing anything anyway. I know, you are shocked, right? Later in the afternoon there were actually quite a few photographers in from AFP, AP, and a few smaller places to watch teams like the US, Great Britain and Spain practice.

For quite a while, Ron (our Aussie photo expert), Val and I hung out in the mixed zone area out in the middle of the track. So basically right next to some of the best cyclists in the world. I was three feet from Taylor Phinney, a brilliant young rider from the US. A lot of them were really friendly and a few talked to us, which was fun. I can't wait to watch these guys perform in the upcoming week. Our events start on August 15. I will post a schedule on here so you can see when all the events will take place.

After work, the three of us went to an amazing little restaurant and had some Peking roast duck, egg drop soup (with tomatoes-- even better than home!), and Chinese cabbage. It was the best meal I've had in a long time!

Today, I am off with Kelsey and Val to see if we can get tickets to the US women's softball game. Wish us luck!