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!

It's not about the bike

...but it was about almost every other mode of transportation yesterday during our quest to watch the Olympic men's road cycling race.

Kelsey, Val, and I left the CUC at 6 am to take the subway across the city to the Beijing North train station. We had gotten tickets the day before to ride the brand-new S2 train to Yangqing, a town about two hours (by fast train) north of Beijing. The train was brand new and we splurged for first-class seats-- 23 RMB, or about five dollars. Big spenders, I know. As we rode along, we saw the beautiful mountains and scenery of China as well as followed the race course for quite some time (between naps, of course).

You need to know that the train station at Yangqing is not close to where we needed to be to see the race, either at Badaling or further south at Juyonguan Pass. The pass is where the race ends, so of course we wanted to be as close to that as we could.

We arrived at the station with no real plan of what was to happen next. We talked to some volunteers at a booth, where one of the girls introduced us to a lady who said she'd take for 150 yuan. We agreed, even though it was kind of sketchy. But welcome to our lives in China. We were doing okay until the guy (maybe the lady's husband? She was crammed in the backseat with Val and Kelsey-- so funny) drove along a backstreet and stopped at some building. He came out in a few minutes with his Olympic volunteer/Yanjing beer shirt on. Ok, I guessed, now we were ready to go?

Taking that 'cab' was the best decision we could have made. It was impossible to get closer to the Badaling and the loop that the men would do seven laps on before finishing without taking back roads through the country because the main highway was closed for the race. We sang along to his fun CDs -- he played the three English tracks over and over again-- and cruised along the mountains and through tunnels until we got to Juyonguan Pass. I really wanted to say that we'd give the driver the 150 only if he included the CD, but I did get my point across that the music was 'good' (hao) using Val's phrase book-- you won't believe the section that I found the adjective in, though!

We made our way to security to see if we could get up to the finish line but apparently you need tickets (which every bit of info we had seen said you didn't) so we just walked up the course until we got to this point where you could see the riders coming in and getting onto the loop. Basically, an amazing location because we'd get to see some of the best riders in the world go by eight times!

We arrived a little before the actual race was starting in Beijing, at 11, so we took the time to paint ourselves red, white and blue and hang out with our fellow cycling fans. We met and talked with so many people from all over the world; it was fantastic! I talked with a man from Johannesburg, South Africa who was living in Beijing for a few years and had just done the Great Wall Marathon in May. Also, there was a family from the US whose son is a 16-year-old road cycling champion. Then there was a lady and her daughter from Belgium whose other daughter, Lieselot Decroix, was competing in the women's road race the next day (they wouldn't even be allowed to watch her finish at the top of the hill... sad). There were also a couple of Dutch guys who knew a lot about cycling and could name every rider they saw. It just enhanced the experience that much more to be surrounded by such people. We were so lucky!

Watching the race was amazing, and we saw all of our US guys as they zoomed by on their bikes. Check out my photos to see lots of video and photos from the day. It was awesome to be able to see so much of a 245 km race. I also got interviewed by ESPN; I'm not sure if the footage will run on TV or Internet, but it was definitely sweet to represent our country's fans at the race! Even though the Americans didn't take home the medals, we were proud of them.

We left at about 5:30, and headed down the road to the nearest town with a bus stop. On the way, we met a couple who had been at the race and were headed back to Beijing. The man was from the US, and his wife was from Taiwan. They were so sweet and were really fun to talk to. Eventually, a van stopped and asked if we needed a ride. For ten yuan, sure, we're game. So we got into the 'party bus' which already had five people inside. I sat on the floor. We were dropped off at the bus station, and rode the 919 into Beijing. From there, we took a cab to the Duck & Goose, a sports bar, where we ate some good pub food and actually met a guy who had done his undergraduate work at Ball State University (it's a small world after all), then arrived home around 10 pm.

It was a long day, but by far one of my favorite in Beijing... and the Olympics have only just begun!

Maybe you can have a rest?

Yesterday at work may have been the best worst day I've had on the job so far. Training consisted of learning the location of the photo positions at the velodrome and BMX course. This is probably the sixth time I've 'learned' this. But, hey, at least I will be able to identify them when I am 80 years old, blindfolded, spun around til I'm dizzy, and asked to point them out. Just so you know, when we try to take initiative and ask one of our Chinese supervisors if we can help with something, they usually answer with "No, I don't think so? Maybe you can have a rest?" Frustrating. Six hours a day for this? I can't wait until our events begin and I will have some real responsibility.

The highlight of the day was during our 'rest' after lunch, when Alysha and I took our rest at the track. Cyclists from Ireland, the Netherlands (lots of medals to be won for this team), Germany, and Belgium were scheduled to practice and we are so fortunate to be able to have front-row seats! A few notes about the teams: the lone cyclist from Ireland was so sweet, taking pictures of his staging area (where his bikes and equipment are kept in the center of the track); it was really neat to see the athletes excited about riding at the Olympics. Then there were the mighty riders from Deutschland; they were HUGE and didn't seem to be phased by anything in their fancy sunglasses and gear. One sprinter is about 5'5" and his thighs are larger than my torso. I'm not even exaggerating this-- kinda scary. The Dutch cyclists were the ones to be watching, however, with Theo Bos (he holds the world record in the 200m sprint) and the entire team riding swiftly around the track. Be watching for the Dutch, British, and Australian teams to bring home the medals in track events.

I am really getting into track cycling and will continue to follow it after the Olympics. There is a different element of excitement to it versus road cycling, so I think I can now say I am becoming a cycling fan, all around. I can't wait to learn more!

Speaking of learning, I had a chat (versus a conversation, which I had to explain the difference between) with some of the Chinese volunteers so they could practice their English in regards to our venue and events. I love talking to them and helping them out-- they are truly keeping Val, Chris, Alysha and I sane during our less than stimulating workdays.

So, Zoey asks me: "Christina, may I ask you a phrase. What does it mean in English? What is 'nice ass'? You can imagine my reaction: shocked laughter, followed by asking her where she heard this... turns out her friend is a volunteer at the shooting sports venue and was told this by an American athlete. Wow. What a goodwill ambassador. Zoey asked if this were good or bad and I had to explain to her what it meant and that it was not really a very polite compliment; that he should have said she was beautiful or pretty. It is harder than you think to explain something like this. Later, Alysha was asked the meaning of 'shorty', which one of the girls heard in a rap song. Sometimes I just wish I spoke Chinese.

The Olympic torch arrived in Beijing, too. I saw it as I was riding the subway to work, where everyone's eyes were glued to the TV. Turns out it was at the amusement park next to Laoshan, so we could have gone and watched it but of course our bosses told us when it was too late to go over. We watched it on BTV and wished we were there.

Later in the evening, we celebrated Andrea's birthday with a smörgåsbord of American foods and an amazing cake from a bakery. It even had chocolate coins inside it! It was a lot of fun and nice to enjoy some foods from home. You will probably be shocked at some of the things that we were so excited about: Doritos, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, gummy bears, pizza with cream cheese or peanut butter smeared on, milk, cheese, and crackers. Yum!

Beijing huan ying ni!

Beijing welcomes you! And right now, the city is welcoming international guests... there are so many people everywhere; it's madness, but fun to see! I met more native English speakers today than I have since I got here exactly one month ago.

A visit to Starbucks after dinner tonight gave us the chance to meet three American rowers who were off for a few days of touring before the Games begin. Go USA!

This morning, I went to a bilingual yoga class at the Yoga Yard, across from the Worker's Stadium. It was pretty similar to the classes I have attended at home, in terms of poses and such. I liked having the class in Chinese and English; it was sort of relaxing to listen to the Chinese. Afterward, there was a free meditation and chanting session in Sanskrit. I can now say a few words of Sanskrit. Sweet.

It was time for lunch. I walked into a cute cafe across the street and was greeted by the sound of the Backstreet Boys crooning some love ballad. The popularity of boy bands is alive and well in this country, that's for sure. Check some of them out in the music video for "Bejing Huan Ying Ni". All of the singers featured are popular Chinese artists.



As I listened to American music, I read my book about Africa at an Italian restaurant in China and it got me thinking about the international spirit of the Olympics. It is truly an amazing thing to experience, and the Games have yet to begin!

Val and I met up at Tiananmen Square later in the day to see the Olympic madness ensuing there. I arrived first, and we made the mistake of meeting by the entrance to the Forbidden City (aka the giant picture of Chairman Mao), where there are thousands of tourists who want to take pictures of the foreign girl. So awkward. One lady was hell-bent on having her son take a photo with me. He didn't want to, I didn't want to, but she was not having it.

I ended up meeting a couple of guys from BBC-London who had just arrived the day before, and actually could tell them where to go for shopping and such. I really am living here, giving directions to visitors. It was a good feeling to help out, even if it was just directions to the best shopping areas.

Feel Olympics in the haircut

I don't know if this headline made it to the American media, but it is indeed an article I read while scanning the latest Olympic news from Xinhua (the Chinese outlet covering the Games).

If you haven't seen it, let me sum it up as this: the people are excited; so excited, in fact, that this barber is giving boys free Beijing Olympics haircuts. I thought you'd enjoy the photo.

In other news, work was actually pretty productive today. This morning, we practiced Chinese and English phrases with our fellow volunteers. It was so fun to have them cheer for us when we got things right! One of the Chinese girls, whose real name is Zhang Qianyu, decided she wanted an English name so I asked her what letter she wanted it to start with. She said 'q' like her given name (this goes last, family name is first-- and stays the same even when women marry). Well, I don't even know of a name that starts with 'q'; so much for that. I asked her for another and she chose 'z' and so now her English name is Zoey.

Later, we took another trip around the velodrome to become even more familiar with all of the photo positions (areas where photographers can shoot from) and came upon a couple of people from the news agencies. One man shook my hand, introduced himself as Ken and asked all about what we were doing. Turns out he's from Getty Images and is the head of their Olympic operations. This is the big time. They have 75 photographers in China to cover the Games! How great to meet someone with his experience and knowledge of sports photography!

After lunch (hot boxed Chinese lunch with three waters and a Coke-- not as great as it sounds), we went through some more scenarios with Ron, our Australian photography staff expert, on what we should be expecting from photographers at the venues. Then it was time for the run-through of the Mountain Bike event. It was during this that I began to realize just how many people are required to pull off the Olympics. I don't think I'll fully get it until the Olympics begin, though. Two women from the Chinese team were out riding the course, and they were fun to watch!

We were on hand for the practice medal ceremony (I am pumped for our front-row view with the photographers!) as well as a mock press conference afterward. Being behind the scenes can be pretty exciting.

On the subway ride home, a guy sat between Alysha and I and started fanning himself. I, being on the receiving end of this, decided to tell him thank you, "xia xia". Well, apparently this made him think that I spoke Chinese, because he showed me the art on his fan, rambling away in Mandarin. Great.

I smiled politely and said, "No, only English", then remembered that we learned to say "I'm sorry" and "excuse me" today. Alysha and I said it and he actually understood us! If you haven't tried to pronounce Chinese, I can tell you it's quite difficult, especially where there are so many accents and such. Every time I hear a local say "you're welcome", it's pronounced differently. We were so proud of ourselves and I repeated the phrase over and over again for the rest of the trip: "dui bu qi" in pinyin.

That's all for now. Zai jian! Bye!

70 minutes in heaven

I had a foot massage today, but not just any foot massage: a 70 minute one complete with a shoulder and neck rub. Simply amazing.

Patrick and I went back to the place where we all had gone to get massages earlier a few weeks earlier and opted to pamper our tired feet. We were escorted to a room with big comfy chairs and a huge flatscreen TV (the ladies currently in there were watching opera; I had already had my fill of that!) The channel was switched to the sports station, and soon our masseuses entered with buckets of hot water to soak our feet.

After a neck and shoulder massage, they started in on our feet. It was glorious and I soon fell asleep. I awoke, rejuvenated, and ready for another day at work tomorrow.

The best part? Only 88 yuan (about 13 USD)-- what a deal! This was definitely money well spent!

Volunteer warm up

"Beijing ja yo, Laoshan ja yo!"

This is the chant we heard as we arrived at work on Thursday as there was going to be a volunteer 'warm up' (our version of a pep rally). It was great to see all of the Laoshan cluster volunteers together and so excited about the upcoming events!

There were 'cheerleaders' whose job it is to encourage audience participation that taught us cheers like the one above. There were also hand gestures which were easy enough for even me to learn. Olympic officials were there to recognize outstanding volunteers who had worked at the test events during the previous year to ensure that the venues were ready for the Olympic Games.

My favorite part of the morning was watching the Fuwa come out and dance as well as the Olympic volunteer song. It translates to "I Am a Superstar" and is really good. Many of the volunteers knew the words and sang along. There is a music video to go along with it and I like seeing the volunteers recognized for the behind the scenes work that makes the Games possible. Even though I know no one but us cares, it was still nice to see.


Alysha and I went exploring and found the team locker rooms where the cyclists will get ready before their events. They are basically like large hotel rooms, nothing too exciting, but it was fun to think about the amazing athletes that will be there in just a couple of weeks!