Week 3 in Beijing! (This week is much more opinionated so brace yourself).

The past three weeks have flown by! I'll be home in a month! I'm working long hours Monday-Friday at the volleyball venue now. I've learned a lot about what goes into preparing a stadium to host an Olympic competition...which has led me to be slightly nervous about Beijing's actual readiness for August 8th.

(A section of the press workroom.)

BOCOG (the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) hired the best and brightest Chinese to be the press managers. Many of the supervisors are successful professionals. One supervisor I spoke with is currently working on her Ph.D. These people are intelligent. There's just one catch, no one has experience working in media, nevermind sports media. There are a few people here and there who carry a background in journalism. But most of the supervisors I've spoken with just offered their time and services to BOCOG because the Olympics is something all Beijing citizens want to be a part of.

My supervisor today actually told the rest of my co-workers to direct all questions to me from now on because I'm the only one who has sports industry experience. I got a little stressed out at this point. I do have experience in print journalism and spent last summer with the WNBA...but the 35 reporters at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago just isn't the same as the 400 journalists expected to attend each volleyball match. I don't really feel I'm qualified to be giving instructions or advice on how to smoothly operate press tribunes at an Olympic event. Hopefully all will go well once August rolls around.

(Press Operations is made up of people from the UK, Italy, China, Australia and the US...as beautifully presented in a poster we made.)

Thankfully, Frederico Rossi, an Italian who has worked at the three previous Olympics and the World Cup, is there to supervise all press operations. He has clarified many things for us and made everyone a little more at ease. There is also a Brazilian woman doing the same job in photo operations.

It's also very interesting to get a different view point of issues and events both in China and around the world. Everything I've ever read about China in the US I took as the complete truth. Yet, when I came here I learned that not everything is exactly how America perceives it. I'm starting to get a better understanding of how each country puts its own spin on international events. To prove my point, I read an article today on MSN.com (http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/8384022?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002) that was supposed to be about two Chinese gymnasts that may be too young to compete in the Olympics. The article discussed the dispute, but at the end starting throwing some cheap shots at China. The author wrote, "The Chinese government is working feverishly to present a positive image of an open, friendly, progressive nation. But visa restrictions, toxic air pollution, freedom of the press issues and a problem-filled torch relay have presented a far different image to the world."

First of all, the word "toxic" is being misused. Toxic implies/is defined as poisonous and deadly. I'm alive and well today in the worst polluted city in China...I even went for a run this afternoon. So "toxic" is presenting an image that just isn't true. Yes, there is terrible smog in Beijing, but guess what, according to statistics Los Angeles is worse. And this "problem-filled torch relay" was really just a couple of small incidents that were handled properly and accordingly. I would definitely not qualify it as "problem-filled". And I'm not sure I believe all that about visa restrictions either. Everyday I see more and more foreigners walking the streets, clearly people are filing in for the start of the Games in 12 days.

Don't get me wrong China does have its problems, but it seems as if western powers want the country to fail. And obviously there is no bigger stage than the Olympics. I've only been here three weeks but I've met some incredible people who are generally stereotyped and misconstrued in western media. I really think the rest of the world should cut them a break during the Olympics. American journalists in particular should take note: In an Olympics rule book I read it specifically states that the Games are not a place for political, religious or inter-cultural issues. This is a sporting event that every country and person should have the right to enjoy. In my opinion, there needs to be more focus on the athletics than political quarrels and differences. I could easily ramble on for hours on this particular topic. But I'll spare you your sanity.

(A random picture to lighten the mood. A bunch of us out at Kokomo this weekend.)

In less serious news, I had a great weekend. My friend Alex's parents were in town and let us swim and use the gym at their hotel. It was a nice break from the dormitory. On Sunday I visited the Silk market. Which is basically Beijing's black market. Some stuff they sell is obviously knock-off, other things just look stolen. All I know is that I bought a Coach wallet and purse for 200 yuan...or $28 American dollars. I also bought my mom a 100 percent silk scarf for $4 after much negotiating. The woman originally tried to charge me $200 American dollars. I give all the credit to my roommate Sandie for getting the price that ridiculously low.

Happy Birthday 19th birthday to my baby sister on August 3rd (You're going to love the knock-off Dolce & Gabbana purse I got you haha)! And Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad on August 2nd!

Week 2 in Beijing!

Job training for the Olympics began this past week. I'm one of two Americans working at the volleyball venue, the rest are from Australia, England and China. I only got two days of work in before the weekend, but so far so good! I've been officially assigned to the Press Tribunes. Tribunes are where written and broadcast media watch the games. Fortunately for me the tribunes are located center court about halfway up the bleachers. I'll be able to watch all 56 volleyball matches that are being held in the stadium.

(The spectator entrance of Capital Indoor Stadium)

More specifically, I'll be running stat sheets, escorting media to and from, and making sure everyting runs smoothly before, during and after matches in the tribune area. The shifts we'll be working during the Olympics are sort of long. The managers told us to expect 9-10 hour shifts for 16 consecutive days during the Games. I'm sure it'll go quick though with matches continually being played.

In more exciting news, China Radio International interviewed myself and classmate Adrienne on our experiences here in Beijing thus far and our views on the Olympics. The interview lasted well over 20 minutes and will be broadcast throughout China sometime this week. I received an e-mail that said an English webcast will also be available. So definitely check out http://www.crienglish.com/. On the homepage there is a link called "webcasts". The interview should be found somewhere in there. I'm not sure yet, but when I have further details on when/how to listen to the interview I'll post it on here.

I also got my first taste of Beijing nightlife. We ventured down into the Sanlitun district which was built specifically for western visitors. We ate at a swanky Italian restaurant called Ciro's Pomodoro and met the owner Ciro Orsini himself. Ciro's restaurant is filled with pictures of him and various celebrities. Pomodoro apparently is a chain restaurant with locations in Moscow, London, Paris, Los Angeles and other major cities. Two of his closest friends also happen to be Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Of course he gave us a 100RMB discount off our total bill. It was especially nice because in America the bill at a place like Ciro's definitely would have topped two or three hundred dollars for myself and the three other girls I was with. But in China the total came to 590RMB which translates into about 87 American dollars.

After dinner we walked the street which was lit up like the Vegas strip. We stopped in at a disco/techno club, but quickly found it wasn't our type of place. I think it was the transvestite pole dancer that scared us away, although he was one of the best dancers I've ever seen. We heard some familiar rock music coming from another bar and made that our next stop. There was a Chinese band playing popular songs by Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, and Kelly Clarkson (an interesting mix to say the least). They turned out to be quite good and entertaining.

(This is one of the only pictures I took from our night out in Sanlitun. The street was lit up by those awesome neon trees...and that's my friend Alex in white.)

I was amazed to see that about half the people at these places were westerners. Most sounded like they were European, but we did run into a ton of people from Africa and South America.

I'd have to rate the Sanlitun district as one of the more fun places to visit in Beijing. We'll definitely be back next weekend.

But before I let you all go, I have to wish Greg a very happy 23rd birthday! Love you!

I'm sure I'll have plenty more to write next week!

First Week in China

Nihao!

I find myself having a love-hate relationship with China. Yet, I believe most of the frustrations I've experienced are just from being overheated while in extremely crowded tourist areas.

The best example was definitely while visiting the Great Wall. All of the American, Australian and English interns were brought there Saturday around noon time. Since it's China's most famous attraction it was like being at Disney World during peak season.

So obviously Mexico decided it was the perfect time to let their president visit the Wall. For his security, they decided to close the entire wall so he could walk around and take in the magnificence of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, while the rest of us baked and trampled each other in a tiny enclosed space. We waited almost an hour for the president to leave before they would let anyone else up. It was 95 degrees and absolutely sweltering. People were dropping like flies. And then it happened. A little Chinese girl about 9 or 10 years old got sick...all over my foot. Naturally, her mother used this opportunity to push herself and vomitting child to the front of the line as everyone else backed away in disgust. What little water I had left I used to wash the nastiness off my toes and sandals. Other than that, the Great Wall was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It can only be described as stunning.

The language barrier hasn't been too much of a problem. Many Chinese learn English in school and are more than happy to help western visitors find their way around. I've picked up some useful phrases as well. My roommate Sandie and I have become friends with the employees of a pizza place right next to campus. Since we eat there almost everyday, the workers help us with our language skills.

Olympic job training starts Thursday and I can't wait! The architecture of the stadiums and venues is incredible. MSN.com today had pictures of all the major venues...I suggest checking them out...they are definitely something to see.

Overall, I'm adjusting pretty well to the culture. Most importantly I haven't gotten sick (knock on wood). I know my parents would have been proud to see me eat a few types of fish this week too (none of which I enjoyed).

I'll leave you with two important facts about China: the karaoke bars are second to none. And everything either symbolizes longevity, ambition or "follow your dreams". I swear its true.

Stay tuned to hear how Olympic job training goes haha...