The End

Well, I made it home. All went off without a hitch (except that one of my bags was delivered a little late.) I'm home in Sigourney, Iowa for Labor Day weekend, then it's back to Columbia to start school.

Thanks to all who followed my blog, and to those who have already given me a warm welcome home. I was really touched by all the hugs, prayers, and emails.

The Home Stretch...

If I thought my dreams had come true by just working at the Olympics, I was wrong. Twice last week I somehow made it into parties with Olympic medalists. I held and kissed a bronze and gold medal, respectively. I'm still in shock of what I accomplished. Here's how it went down...

On the 21st I worked the morning shift and didn't have to work until the night shift the next day (I would have a whole 24 hours off), so we thought we'd try to have a little fun. We had heard about this Club Bud, which is a party lasting the duration of the Olympics sponsored by Budweiser. This was apparently where all the athletes go to hang out after hours. A couple of our friends had gotten in the night before, so we took our chances. Somehow, we talked our way in. When I passed through security right behind a Swiss team, I had that kind of excitement that bubbles up and closes off your throat. I couldn't laugh, just smiled with all my teeth showing. Then we realized that we should try to fit in. I devised a story that I competed in the Triathlon and came a disappointing 26th, but was happy I made it to the Games... hahahah But since there were about 90% athletes there, people ate it up. I met the New Zealand hockey team, some Australian hand ball players and kayakers, some Spanish rowers, etc. I also saw Bershawn Jackson again, the US bronze 400m hurdles medalist, whom I had gotten a picture with in the Bird's Nest (see above). Also making an appearance was Vince Vaugn (actor from Wedding Crashers and several other movies). Couldn't get a picture with him because I was gawking in disbelief. The second best part? The entire night was free!

The 23rd was my last day at field hockey. The men's gold medal match was between Germany and Spain. After a somewhat sloppy match, but tight score, Germany prevailed as the unexpected champions. Most countries have a "house" set up during the Olympics for sponsors to hand stuff out and for the athletes and fans to celebrate. So- what the heck- we decided to try to get into the German house to celebrate the victory. Stephanie, Wendy, Sam, Andrew and I took a cab over there, only to be turned away. But we are American- do we give up that fast??? NO. Wendy went to the security and after about 10 min of sweet talking and explaining that we were with the press, they finally gave in. We were told that it is usually about 200 Euro to enter, but tonight was free and more lenient because of the gold medal victory. After giving finger prints and getting photo IDs made (see pic of Sam and I), we were let into the party. A huge outdoor area was set up with all you can eat, loud music, and Germans everywhere. It was a little awkward at first, being the only Americans in a house full of Germans, but as the dancing started, no one seemed to mind. Inside on the dance floor, the gold medalists and their fans sang about "Deutschland" at the top of their lungs. We tried to sing along in German.. ha. One of the players, Philip Witte, talked with us and when I asked if I could hold his gold medal he said I could kiss it if I wanted. This picture is included!

I'm so glad I had both these experiences- it's so different seeing the athletes outside of their sports. Seeing their celebrations made it seem so much more real. I can only begin to imagine what it feels like to be an Olympic champion.

Today I'm packing to go home! We're having one last Peking Duck feast tonight and then heading to the airport tomorrow at noon. I will be landing in St. Louis around 8pm on Thursday. So according to the flight plan, my trip should only be about 4 hours!!! I wish. It'll actually be about 15 hours, I think. Stinkin' time delay. Thanks to everyone who read my blog, I'll be writing my final post after my arrival on US soil!

Ciao

In Record Time

It's a little weird to say that, in a way, being at the Olympics in person makes it all seem a little less magical. On TV you get to see all the little athlete bios and sappy music and camera shots of the family crying at the medal ceremony. When you're here, it's different. Don't get me wrong, it's magical in it's own way. When you're here the courts all look a little smaller, the track a little shorter, and the people less intimidating. You realize that it's just real people playing real sports. When I saw Federer and Nadal they just look like ordinary men, but with extraordinary talent. But the atmosphere is something you can't feel through a TV screen. The broadcasters don't show the lines at the bathroom or food stand, they don't capture the frenzy of the press workroom or the mixed zone, they don't show the scalpers outside the venue or the half time shows. And the biggest part is all the sounds. On TV you can't hear the conversations in 10 different languages around you or music on the loudspeakers at the entrance gate or the Germans singing a sloppy victory song after several beers. Being here makes you actually feel the enormity of it all. I could never have imagined. It's truly the biggest event in the world.

On that note- I was able to see a couple of events this week. First, on the 14th, I saw the beginning of the USA vs. Canada softball game. I've always watched Jennie Finch and Crystal Bustos on TV, but it was so cool to see their pre-game warm up rituals. (see pics) They do all the same stuff we did- stretching together, practice lead-offs, fielding/batting practice, etc (but at a higher level, of course!) The game got off to a rocky start with Canada scoring in the first inning off an error. We had great seats as it was, and then this American guy told my friends and I that we could come sit in the front row with him since his friends hadn't shown up. We were front row, first baseline with a guy who turned out to be kinda crazy. He looked like he had been in the army and yelled for the team like he had been, too. I thought the veins in his neck were going to explode from the pressure of his vocal chords. Anyway, in the 3rd inning the skies opened up and flooded the stadium. We waited for awhile, but had work that afternoon so were not able to stay.

On the 16th, Mizzou surprised us with track tickets for the night session. BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) bought them for all the international volunteers. We sat in the 2nd tier and were able to see the whole track. Since we had block seating our U-S-A chants could actually be heard amidst the China chant that goes- Jia You! Zhong quo! (Come on! China!) It was obvious that the session was building up toward the men's 100m final. The race that now takes less than 10 seconds lasted for 15 minutes. The pump up music, the lengthy introductions, the drawn out rituals for getting into the blocks. I had my camera ready to take a video and the crowd went silent for the first time that night. Everyone held their breath. Then the gun- the crowd now at its loudest roar. Our section watched as the world record was smashed by Usain Bolt with a 9.69s, while the USA squeaked out a 3rd place finish. Although the Americans didn't win, it was hard not to be happy for the Jamaican. The loudspeakers were filled with Reggae music and the stands celebrated a new world record. It's still sinking in that I was able to witness that.

This morning I'm dragging a bit because I'm working back to back shifts- 3-midnight yesterday and 6:30am-3pm today. But I can't complain. I switched because I have tickets to the track session tonight. I love it!

Note: I was talking to a reporter from Pakistan a few days ago who is writing a very unique story about the next generation of Chinese families. Because of the 'one child policy' no one will have aunts, uncles or cousins. Weird.

Just a few more pictures...

The first photo is of me watching Federer practice before the Games. Yes, it is him. He is even better looking in person.

The next is of me at a mock press conference during training. Embracing the peace sign.

Then the press workroom I work at each day (minus the journalists and chaos), which was taken during training.

And finally, the food we eat each day, twice a day at our venues. You make the judgement.

Let the Games begin!

I apologize for not writing in a while. Let me recap a few things...

I won a raffle last week in our field hockey venue for tickets to the opening ceremony rehearsal (pic included). For those of you who watched it, my favorite part was the opening with the light-up drums. It really was a spectacular showing by China and the New York Times nailed it when they described it as "Lavish." At the rehearsal (on the 6th) they did everything except the torch lighting and the fireworks.

On the night of the opening ceremony a large group of us went to the Green near the stadium to watch it on the large jumbo screens. With hundreds of us sitting on the street (many had waited for hours for a spot) 95 degree heat, the ceremony began. But the TVs didn't show it. This was the last straw for me. The other girls stayed to wait 2 hours for the fireworks, but I went home. You see, I had been at a pizza restaurant the night before with a large group and my wallet had been stolen. I had already spent all day looking for it, canceling cards, and figuring out how to get money. Then, my water bottle leaked all over my bag and got my phone wet, so it didn't work (fortunately I let it dry out and it's working now). I was fuming, sweating, and had to leave for work the next morning at 6:30 so I just took a cab home to watch it on TV. This was actually a good idea because I'd already seen the rehearsal and on the TV I was able to see all the athletes and a close up of the ceremony.

The field hockey games began on the 10th- let me walk you through my typical day. At about 1:30pm I head to work and hang out in the press room until the journalists arrive around 4pm. At that point, it's my responsibility to make sure they are taken care of. I have to answer any question they throw at me. And these are tired, hungry, time-crunched journalists- so any question is game. They ask about food, bathrooms, the press tribune, how to fax things, what the daily schedule is, where to find a bus, etc. And I'm basically their first line of fire when they have a problem. My supervisor says, "Just smile, Kristine." (I posted a pic of her at the help desk)

Time flies once the games start at 6pm. It's so cool when I can hear the national anthems playing outside and watch it on the TV at the same time. The US women (our men didn't qualify) are ranked 11 out of 12 and they tied Argentina, number 2, the other night! I'd never seen this sport before the Games, but now I'm so into it! After each game there is a press conference. Sometimes, if they need help, I'm able to sit in and watch. After the last press conference I get to leave. I typically arrive home a little after midnight.

This schedule is long, but managable. It will get hard tomorrow because I have a night shift right now and then have to turn around and leave for work by 5:30am. Ahhh what I will do for the Olympics!

OH- and did I mention that I got to sit in while Federer and Nadal practiced tennis?! Yeah, the tennis courts are in the same venue as field hockey, so my accreditation allows me to get in there as well. (I have a pic of me with Fed in the background, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post this)

Mizzou hooked us up with beach volleyball tickets yesterday. I saw LAT vs ARG and AUS vs ANG. They also just told us that we will receive free tickets to track and field on the 16th. This includes several finals AND- the men's 100m final!

Gardens, Fragrance, and- you guessed it - food!

After a week straight of work, we finally had a couple days off! Did we slow down? Of course not. Despite the heat, Regan, Stephanie, Sam, and I decided to check out the famous Beijing Botanical Gardens on Saturday. Apparently, this is a much anticipated Olympic tourist spot, because all the gardens were decked out with bush sculptures of the events. (I included a pic of the field hockey guy) This place is so manicured it looks like a Better Homes and Gardens magazine! In fact, as we were leaving, we witnessed a bridal fashion photo shoot going on...

Sunday, we stayed the course by visiting the Fragrant Hills. There are a few nice trails that lead you to the top of the hills (mountain is more like it.) After two grueling hours of scaling the incline we made it to the top, not to be disappointed. The view was spectacular (what I could see of it through the sweat cascading down my face.) We lucked out with a rare clear day and were able to see miles of the mountain range. The Fragrant Hills have several temples and Chinese-style pagodas you can hike to, but we only made it to a couple before we had to head down. Oh yeah... we opted for the chair lift for the return trip. I know, I know, we are young and able, but we really did have to get back for a meeting by 5:45!

Ok, so for my little food tid bit of the day... we went to a Peking Duck restaurant the other night and were not disappointed! We had made reservations and they led us to a room we shared with one other family. In China, it is rude to finish all your food. It is an insult to the chef because it implies that they didn't feed you enough. So the family of 5 next to us had mountains of food, but we ordered a whole duck for the four of us and cleaned our plates! Can't quite grasp this concept. The cultural differences at meal time are so huge, maybe this is why I talk about food so much. Oh- and I don't think I've ever mentioned the size of the plates. You get one small plate, only a little bigger than a tea saucer plate, and this is what you use for your whole meal. The first few meals we had we thought they were for bread or appetizers. Not the case. I guess you're just supposed to put one bun on at a time...

K, that was lengthy sorry! Olympics start in 5 days!

An excerpt from my weekly summary...

We have to turn in weekly summaries on specific topics- this week was about the most interesting person we've met so far. I thought I'd include it in my blog... Jessie ROCKS!

Jessie, my Chinese press workroom supervisor at the field hockey venue, is the smallest person in the room, but has the biggest personality. Unfortunately, I don’t have the correct spelling of her Chinese name, so I’ll refer to her by her American name. She’s a 24-year old journalism grad student at Peking University.

My interest in learning about China is reciprocated by her enthusiasm to pick up on all the American nuances. For instance, we taught her the “pound” hand gesture where you make a fist and hit the top, bottom, and knuckles of the other person’s fist. Jessie thinks this is the coolest. Everyday when we leave she gives us all a pound, with her million dollar grin gleaming up top.

Her curiosities about Americans have become deeper recently. Jessie and I were talking about our families when she asked about my brothers and sisters. When I told her I was the only child she gave me a shocked face. “Why?” she gasped. I told her my parents were unable to bear more children, to which she responded, “Why didn’t they adopt?” I explained that they were content with having only one child and that some American couples choose not to have children at all. This seemed to be a concept Jessie could not grasp. She asked if couples would get lonely if they didn’t have children, and I replied that married couples could still feel emotionally satisfied without children. Yet again, Jessie was floored. I was beginning to see just how important a child is in a Chinese family, especially since families are restricted to having only one. (end excerpt)

Pin trading is a huge deal during the Olympics. USA flag pins, Iowa pins, Mizzou pins... the more specific the better. I made my first trade with Jessie- a Peking University pin for my Iowa pin. The goal is to see how many different pins you can get. It gets pretty intense. They even have pin trading centers and booths, but that's cheating in my opinion! Gotta meet people and work for those pins!

History

I just realized that some of you reading this may not know why/how I'm here at the Olympics. Here's a little history...

Last fall I heard of the opportunity to volunteer at the Games through the journalism school at Mizzou. I went to the informational meetings and cleared that it was okay to do both Australia and Beijing. Then we had the application process with letters of recommendation, forms, and an interview. After making it through that round we (about 60 of us) had to attend weekly sessions on culture, the Olympics, and reporting style. I was only able to make three meetings before going to Australia, but they sent all the ppts to me by email. The rest of the group had rigorous training, including practice debates and writing exams (all of which I was exempt from because of Australia, hehehe).

While I'm here I am officially a BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) volunteer and I also have to write weekly summaries for a Chinese Culture credit. The picture is of my accreditation pass that makes me feel pretty cool, and also lets me ride all the buses and subways for free! I like to flash it to random people sometimes...

Ticket Frenzy

It has always been my dream to actually attend events at the Olympic Games... apparently this is the same exact dream as hundreds of thousands of Chinese people. The moment the announcement came that tickets would be on sale again on July 25th people showed up with their tents, mats, beer, cards, even their dogs to wait in lines. I thought I would surely be able to score tickets if I spent the night at the athletics stadium before it opened at 9am the following morning. Then I heard that there was actually a schedule- basketball and baseball on the 25th, track on the 26th, gymnastics on the 26th, etc. I made plans to secure my spot in line the next night. By the next morning rumors about the pandemonium at the ticket venues were swirling. No one had prepared for the mobs. No guards, no fences, absolutely no organization. Some of my friends who had waited for tickets said metal barricades had been bent, people had been trampled, and no tickets had actually been purchased. People who had waited for days in the heat (mid 90s) and smog (lung cancer waiting to happen) were knocked over and passed by those who had just arrived. Imagine the running of the bulls but with Chinese people. The "schedule" of ticket sales was abandoned and they sold out of pretty much everything within 24 hours.

Needless to say, I decided to try another approach. I began scouring craigslist.com, which resembles eBay, but more like classified ads on the internet (so no bidding, just selling). Of course tickets were much more expensive than face value, but still much cheaper than expected. After lots of emails and close calls I finally have tickets in hand for the night session of track and field on the 19th, including:

Women's 200m Round 2
Men's High Jump Final
Women's 5000m Round 1
Men's 200m Semifinals
Men's 110m Hurdles Round 2
Men's Discus Throw Final
Men's 400m Semifinals
Women's 400m Final
Women's 100m Hurdles Final
Men's 1500m Final

But of course the ticket buying became a fever... I found out that tickets were not yet sold out for softball (not at all popular in China) so I rushed to the venue. Stephanie and I managed to get class A tickets to USA vs. Canada and China vs. Australia in the same session! The kicker- they were only 50 yuan, which is $7 each! All tickets for all events at face value were $110 or less. I honestly expected prices to be between 200-700 dollars for the Olympics. That's the blessing of exchange rates.

I have a few other ticket options pending, including beach volleyball and another track and field. Swimming sold out long before I even got to China.

The smog was terrible today. I have a picture above. You might think it's just foggy, but really it's smoggy. I feel like I'm breathing second hand smoke all day. Journalists were able to enter the country today so I'm interested to see what they have to say...

On a more positive note- my uniform is pretty cool! Oh, and I hijacked one of the scooters at the venue. They're harder to ride than I though! hehe My supervisor, Jessie, is really sweet. Today she taught me how to count and ask a taxi driver 'how much further' in Chinese. We've been preparing for the journalists' arrival by setting up the press workroom and trying to think of all the questions they might ask us so we can be prepared with answers. The test field hockey match proved that we are still a little unorganized...

Tonight Sam, Regan, Lindsay and I found a little hole in the wall dumpling restaurant that restored my faith in Chinese food. The place is famous for their multicolored (dyed) dumplings. Was a little weird eating a purple one, but good nonetheless!

The picture at the bottom from L to R is me, Wendy, and Stephanie.

Summa time

I knew it was only a matter of time before I NEEDED to find a pool. I'm a pool rat for life, what can I say? We had the weekend off so we hit up Google to find a swimming hole in Beijing. After finding one, managing to get the front desk to translate directions, and getting lost in the taxi, we made it there. The Chinese are quite a bit more modest in their swimwear (mostly one pieces or tankinis) and I thought at any moment I would be scolded by one of the moms for an inappropriate bikini... but they didn't. It was a more of a little kids pool so we really didn't swim, but soaking up the rays felt nice. We did this two days in a row...

Also at the pool I was starving and had no choice but to try some mystery meat on a stick. They cooked it in hot oil in front of me and several days later I'm still living, so I guess it was fine. Speaking of strange food, a couple nights ago some friends and I decided to brave the night market. This is a long line (two block long maybe?) of street vendors selling food- everything from fried scorpions (which Regan tried in the pic) to silk worms to starfish on a stick. Usually I'm pretty brave with weird food, but I was already feeling a little sick with a cold so I didn't put my stomach through that rollercoaster. They did have regular food like fruit, dumplings, and fried ice cream, too.

I talk a lot about food don't I? haha Well, we were starving for mexican food last week and found a little place called La Bamba with a great happy hour, good nachos, and a pool table. They played country music while we attempted to play pool (i'm afraid we're terrible) and I almost felt like I was in Texas or Mexico or something. Was a good night.

Oh- and one of the coolest things I've seen on this trip was the Chinese Acrobat show! The ladies could pull their legs over their heads and balance little chandeliers on their feet at the same time. They must have a few less ribs than me... The men jumped through hoops and did crazy stunts- most without safety harnesses or nets! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures. When our group came out of the theater we all had our mouthes open, but were speechless!

Yesterday I had my first day of training at the Olympic Green (my field hockey venue). Although I will not be working as a flash quote reporter I've accepted my job as is and am looking at it through a more positive lens. Officially, I will be an assistant in the Press Workroom where all the journalists go to get their quotes and work on stories. I will be there to answer questions and guide them to the mixed zone (where reporters talk to athletes) or the venue. My supervisor is actually from Sydney and has worked a few Olympic Games before this. One of his jobs was in marketing at the Games, so hopefully he'll be a good contact for later! During lunch we were able to go inside the hockey, archery, and tennis venues (which are all close to each other). I actually got to stand on the hockey field and also stand over where Federer and Nadal will play tennis! This was the first time all of this actually seemed real.

Just an off day today. I'm going down to layout in our back yard of the hotel. We like to imagine that we're in Cancun cuz the restaurant has little umbrellas like Mexico would. If you just close your eyes it feels like paradise...

More later.

Correction

I have to make a correction...

Yesterday we had another ONS training session during the morning. Afterward, we were all supposed to meet with our managers to get our accreditation cards (badges that allow us into the venues.) Stephanie (also in field hockey) and I went to the person we thought was our manager, only to find out she wasn't. I will spare the details, but as it turns out, most of us who studied abroad last semester were not given jobs with the Olympic News Service, but instead with Press Operations. This means we will be doing things like crowd control or passing things out... Needless to say we were REALLY upset. We were all unable to take the exam that the Mizzou kids took in March, but were told we'd just be pushed through. We still thought we'd all be doing journalism. Several of us went yesterday to talk to the professors about this, and they are contacting our managers to see what can be done. I know Mizzou wants this to be a substantial experience for us, so hopefully they can figure something out.

SO- since my situation is evolving and still somewhat unclear, I won't begin work until next week. Today was a nice free day, just laid out by the hotel with some of the girls and talked about what else we should see in China. BOCOG set up so much for us that we've pretty much knocked out all the important tourism attractions in Beijing!

I'll keep you updated on what happens with my job...

BOCOG tour

BOCOG stands for Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games... they are who we are volunteering for.

Over the last 3 days we took a parade of tour buses with several schools from the US, Australia, and UK (including U of Iowa!) around Beijing. The first day we toured the water purification plant, where they told us it was acceptable to drink the water (??) and I was interviewed by CCTV. They were mainly yes/no questions and I've never been good under the camera's scrutiny so I'm afraid it wasn't the best interview, but oh well. We then went to this suburban area that they told us the government had built to show us what the future China would look like... I have some suspicions on this part, but probably shouldn't write in this blog. Here we also watched a famous calligraphy teacher paint some characters. I've included a photo of the gorgeous work he did in front of our eyes.

Saturday we went to the Great Wall! This was one of the things I looked forward to most... We went to the Badaling portion, which is the most touristy part, and unfortunately the most crowded. As we were entering the gates the crowds were halted from going in or out for about 30 minutes. There was a lot of confusion until a long brigade of cop cars, black limos, and motorbikes filed through... apparently the President of Mexico was visiting that day as well! Finally, we were let through the gates, but it was a smelly, sweaty herd of hundreds of us and it seemed that one in three of the Chinese had open umbrellas that got caught in my hair or poked me in the eyeball. Quite frustrating. Anyway, we finally made it onto the Great Wall and managed to climb to the top. The crowd aside, it was one of the most magnificient sights I've ever seen. The history seemed to come alive. We were also blessed with one of the rare smog free, blue sky days, which allowed us to see the mountains and the Wall in the distance.

Sunday we visited Summer palace, which served as a summer getaway for the corrupt Empress Dowager Cixi. It has several lavish buildings and the world's longest corridor surrounding a lake. I tried to imagine what it would be like with only the sound of the birds and a handful of people. That night we visited the Ming Tomb, which has a famous walkway with stone carved elephants and other animals. I was a little disappointed that we only saw the tomb and not the walkway...

Our tour guide told us the ancient 5 most important things in life. They have a saying in Chinese about this, but they are- Eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, and sleeping. HAHAHA! I guess it's true, though!

Monday was a rainy free day, which we used once again to scour the flee markets. It's hard to turn down souvenirs when they are so CHEAP!

AND- today we started training. All of the ONS (Olympic New Service) volunteers met in a hotel auditorium for 6 hours of Flash Quote training. We'll be in the mixed zone (where the athletes walk by the reporters on their way to the locker rooms) with the journalists. Our job is to listen and write the quotes word for word and submit them to the INFO2008 computer program that is used to aid all international news agencies big and small (like the Associated Press down to the DM Register.) I am officially doing Field Hockey, a sport I have never even watched, so I have a lot of studying up to do! The training was done by Australian, which made me a little homesick for Sydney! The Aussie students were also sitting behind us.

Tonight a group of us are going to Hard Rock Cafe Beijing for a little American food relief. I'm proud to say I've almost polished my chopstick skills though!

The past few days have been a whirlwind of tourism.
Friday we toured two major media venues in Beijing. The vice president at both places gave us a presentation on media in
China and how their businesses worked. I was surprised to find that many of them are pushing for more freedom for journalists. Our lecturer on the Media industry in China mentioned that US reporters got their facts mixed up on the issue in Tibet, and he said this could have been prevented had they been allowed the freedom to go on location and report. Interesting...

Saturday the university had set up a tour of some major attractions in Beijing, starting with Tiananmen Square. It was drizzling, but I decided that was better than 96 degrees... We saw the parliament building, Mao Zedong's tomb (where they kept his body for TEN MONTHS after he died for the public to pay respects), and a national museum. Tiananmen Square is located on the midline of Beijing, along with the Forbidden City, which we moved onto next. This was where all the emperors lived until 1911 when the Republic of China started.

I could bore you with all the historical facts about these places, but I'm sure you'd rather hear about the little cultural spectacles I noticed along the way. First, the toddlers don't wear diapers... they have the middle of their pants cut out and they just squat right where they are. The picture above isn't as cute now that you know what he is doing... haha! Also, I had heard that the bathrooms in China consisted of holes that you squat over, but I didn't think it was still that way- I was wrong. For the women, there is a urinal type thing on the floor that you go into and then flush. No toilet paper, no seat. It is true. I took a picture, but spared my blog audience! While we were at the Forbidden City suddenly a rush of Chinese guys came over to our professor and all wanted pictures with him. He's a tall, bald, middle aged, black man, whom they all believed was Michael Jordan!!! AHAHAHA All the Mizzou kids played along and the Asians loved it.

After these two attractions, we moved on to the Hutong Villiage where the Hutong families live. This is a huge extended family that has a rich heritage in Beijing. They were offered a large sum of money to sell their valuable, center city piece of land, but chose to retain their historical location. We were able to tour the traditional Chinese village and the shops near by in rickshas (carts pulled by men on bicycles).

After this we went to Prince Gong's Mansion, a garden and mansion preserved as a park for tourists. Here we attended a traditional Chinese tea. She prepared four types of tea for us and demonstrated the proper way for men and women to drink it. She had these neat cups that changed design when hot tea was added... I had to buy a couple for souvenirs. I'm not usually a tea drinker, but this stuff could work miracles!

Sunday was a free day, so Sam and I took a cab to a market in the city. This was the mecca of all markets! Five floors of knock off purses, bags, designer clothes, etc. Plus authentic souvenirs, wall decorations, and jewelry for cheap. By the time I got to the floor with all the silk items I was getting pretty good at bargaining... I was able to get several silk scarves for a ridiculous price! It kinda became a game to see how low we could go... good fun!

Today we had lecture on Chinese/Beijing History for 3 hours in the morning and then had the afternoon off. Sam, Regan, and I decided to check out the famous Beijing Zoo with the pandas. They're really trying to fix up the zoo and panda area for the Olympics, which was noticable, but the rest left a bad impression. There were all the standards- giraffs, lions, tigers, monkeys, etc, but their habitats were not up to Western standards. The animals' homes were not very similar to their environments, especially the lions/cheetahs/tigers. These poor fellas were in small cages. I really left the exhibit feeling pretty bad for them.

Have I mentioned how CHEAP everything is here? The zoo was 20 Yuan (about 3 US dollars) lunch is around 10 (so about $1.50) and so on! A great change from Sydney!

Tonight we have a formal dinner hosted by the university and may possibly meet the students volunteering from North Carolina. I know I'm repeating myself, but the Chinese people at the university have gone over and above to make us feel welcome! More later...

Chinatown!

I suppose I should change the title of my blog to something like Details about the Chopstick Chicas or the Beijing Babes...

After some of the hardest goodbyes of all time, Sam and I were dropped off at the Sydney airport about 2 hours and 20 minutes before our flight- plenty of time. But the line at check-in was outrageous. By the time we got to the counter we'd been waiting 1 1/2 hours! Then I found out that I was over the number of bags I was allowed and Sam didn't have her return flight itinerary. So I had to pay and she had to convince the ticket people to let her use my itinerary that had her name on it. By this time it was 30 minutes until take-off. We sprinted to security, physically perspiring by this point, where we had to cut in line several times. As our bags were going through they took one of Sam's aside and proceeded to check through it. I decided since we only had 15 minutes to board that I would go to the gate and tell them we were coming. As I'm finishing through the security line, all the sudden a security guard informs me that I will be the random search. As I'm being frisked, I see Sam sprinting past. After catching her attention and getting my privacy back, we ran to the gate- only to find out we didn't have to rush at all. There was a wind advisory and the plane was delayed for an hour! We were both panting for breath at this point after our 400m dash to the gate. Anyway, after 2 movies and 4 episodes of Two and a half Men on the plane, we landed in Beijing. But the drama continues... I get to customs and they don't believe it's me on the passport! hahaha! As if anything else could go wrong! They called over someone else and were finally convinced it was me. We found two people from Renmin University who picked us up and took us to our hotel.

Yes, I said hotel. The place we are staying for the next 7 weeks or so is actually a nice hotel! Quite a change from the Australia living conditions!

Today we were up early and were busy all day. We took a group photo and one for our ID cards right away, then tried our uniforms. We get to keep the polos, pants, and shoes. It's all Adidas and even the shoes have 'Beijing 2008' embroidered on them! OH YEAH! I will be covering Field Hockey during the Olympics, but am trying to get tickets to other events. So far it's been hopeless. Sam and I have been trying for months, but the marathon and triathlon are free so hopefully we can make it to those. Then we went to lunch at the cafeteria where we'll be eating for the duration- which only offers chopsticks. So I guess it's learn or starve.

This afternoon we had our first Chinese Culture lecture on the Chinese Media. Apparently, Renmin University and Mizzou have had a relationship for 94 years! It was interesting to hear their opinion on CNN and American media in general- they actually seem to be pushing for more media freedom in China.

Tonight we had a banquet to get to know other Chinese students and other Mizzou students. We were all presented with marble stamps with our Chinese names on them, which I found pretty touching. Everyone has been so nice and helpful, and are trying to do everything possible to make us feel at home. The Chinese seem to be such happy (and hilarious) characters!

Tomorrow we'll visit a couple of the major media venues in Beijing...

Cheers to Sydney

This will probably be my last blog until I get to China...

After Raychel left last week, it has just been Sam R and I left here. She went up to the Gold Coast and Surfer's Paradise for a few days and then I flew up to Byron Bay to meet her last Saturday. We checked into the hostel that night and just chilled out by the campfire in the back yard with some other backpackers. Unfortunately didn't get much sleep that night due to the jack hammer-like sound coming from our English roommate! It was actually so loud I had to laugh! Sam and I woke up the next morning and went for a morning beach walk, then she went on a whale watching tour while I laid on the beach and roamed the little surfing town. That night we sat by the fire again and got into conversation with some Germans and a Canadian. They were working at the hostel so they could get free accommodation- I was beginning to wonder how all these backpackers managed to pay for 3 months of travel!

The next morning (Monday) we went for another long beach walk and hopped into a tour bus to check out a few surrounding small towns and the countryside. One of the stops was at this guy Paul's house. He grows everything himself on 80 hectares of land and has not left his house for 10 years! His appearance is pretty funny, my face in the picture is after seeing the spider that seemed to live in his hair... but nonetheless his hippie home was pretty cool.

Tuesday Sam and I went for a last beach walk all the way up this cliff to a lookout spot where we actually saw whales and dolphins in the distance. You could see the whales because they were blowing air out of their blow holes and one did the big breach out of the water! Byron Bay is the most Eastern tip of Australia and all the whales have to swim by there each year in order to mate. They go all the way from Antarctica to Indonesia to do this- about 10,000 pods of them! After getting some lunch we checked out of the hostel and went to the airport.

Wednesday and Thursday I went to my final working days at DesignStreet. I was pretty touched when they bought cake and made a going away card for me. Graham made a pretty good speach thanking me for my time there. I will actually miss that place a lot. Thursday night Sam and I went to a Symphony at the Opera House. It was a bit heavy for my taste, not a lot of upbeat pieces for a concert that was supposed to be themed around love and life. We guessed he must have gotten his heart broken or something... The picture is of the inside of the Opera House (you are not allowed to take pictures in there, so hopefully I don't get in trouble!). The organ has over 10,000 pipes that can make every sound the human hear can hear, pretty amazing!

Yesterday Jonty and I went for one last surf in Manly. The waves were just my size so was a good way to end my surfing. I'll be returning my board on Monday or Tuesday. :( Last night I went over to Jonty's for a traditional South African brie. They moved here from S. Africa about 7 years ago, if I hadn't mentioned that. It was basically a barbeque, but the fire burned for about an hour before the mean was put on, which gave it a really nice smokey flavor. I brought over my American brownie mix to bake, but they already had dessert made. They are missing out, I said! Probably make them on Monday...

Today I'm just doing a few last minute things around here and heading up to a friend's beach house to celebrate his birthday. Sam and Jonty are going up with me, and we'll probably check out a bit of the Central coast tomorrow during the day.

Only 4 days left... if I don't write again, watch for my blog when I reach CHINA!!!

Cheers!

The first goodbye

Well... it's been pretty quiet around here so far this week. My roomie Sam left us early Sunday morning. I refuse to accept it though. I keep telling myself her door is closed because she is taking a loooong nap. On Saturday night before her departure, the four girls plus Alec and Kevin went on a one hour long Harbor Cruise and then to dinner. Was kinda funny because we were the only non-Asians on the boat... The night was crappy, rainy and windy, but we didn't care. On the boat we recapped all the most embarrassing, funny, awkward, exciting etc. moments of the trip.

Last week I finished my final paper and exam! Now I am just working at DesignStreet and getting ready for China. Sam R left for the Gold Coast today, and I'll meet her on Saturday night in Byron Bay for 4 days... I'm sure I'll have more to report on after that. I plan on taking my surf board for one last hurrah, but the waves have been massive lately. Since I won't have any one to surf with, I may or may not go out, depending on the wave size.

I can't believe it's almost over!

A little work, a little Sex, a little birthday cake

After applying for the working visa, my tax file number, and a bank account, I've started working as a paid employee at DesignStreet! Next week I will happily welcome my first income in 4 months! Much needed! They've had me helping Brooke with her jobs since she's so busy, so I really feel like I'm helpful now.

Last week was also my final week of classes. I'm sad to say my grades haven't been to the par I'm used to, but fortunately they only transfer as pass/fail. I completed my intern 3000 word paper and gave my presentation on Friday. It went really well, I didn't realize how much I had learned and how proud I was to be working on all those projects! I took in the Sony Vaio computers catalogue we finished recently to show... I'm so proud to say I had a part in that! I had so much to say about DesignStreet during my presentation that I actually went over my time limit. They didn't stop me, so hopefully that meant that it was interesting. I had to improvise a little because I made my powerpoint on a Mac and they only had PCs, so none of my images, including the client logo list, showed up. I still think it was one of the best presentations I've given though.

Friday the girls and I went to Sex and the City!!! We had talked it up for so long and I am happy to say it was EVERYTHING it was cracked up to be! All the loose ends were tied (I won't give details in case some of you haven't seen it) and the world is at peace. It was just one of those nights when you are so thankful for your girlfriends... all you girls from Sigtown and Mizzou- you are the BEST!

Today is my roomie's (Sam A) 21st birthday so last night we went to a club in Sydney called 'Tank.' This place was NUTS! Really a lot of fun. We all dressed up, and I was finally able to wear my blue dress I bought at fashion week! We felt like a million bucks. Sam and I were like machines on the dance floor, we danced 20 billion songs in a row, just one of those nights that we had SO much energy! So funny- she woke up this morning and was like 'Kristine my legs are actually sore!' hahahaha! For her actual birthday this morning, we went to Pancakes on the Rocks for some appetizers and chocolate pancakes... We all literally rolled out of the restaurant.

Now I have to study for two final exams... one is on friday and the other on... drumroll... gasp.... Saturday! Can you believe it?! An exam on a Saturday! I know, I was floored! But at least I'll be done with school. Then off to Byron Bay for 4 days. Jonty and I went surfing yesterday and I was pounded by the waves. It was really windy and choppy and the waves were big. I almost caught a couple and then bailed at the last minute out of absolute fear. I've just started thinking too much and when you hesitate for one minute in surfing you get blasted. I need to go back to the basics on some smaller ones again to get my confidence back. I'll take the board to Byron, maybe a couple more times before I leave with Jonty, and then I have to sell it back. They told me I get half back, some welcomed cash for China!

I'm starting to realize that I'm leaving soon... I'm not too sad about the girls, because they'll all be back at Mizzou. But there are a few other people who will be VERY missed.

The pics are of the girls out on the town for Sam's Bday, and the inside of DesignStreet. The desk on the far right behind Tracy is mine!

I got inspired to write in my blog tonight because I'm listening to my new music playlist at the moment. Got a bunch of new Australian songs to remember the trip... a lot of House (electronica) music. Really gets you fired up. I like to listen to it while I walk to work, the only problem is that it makes me walk really fast so by the time I get there I'm sweating. haha

Speaking of work, I talked with Graham (yesterday was my last day of my internship) and he's asked me to stay on until I leave. I'll be a paid employee about 20 hours a week... might as well, don't have much else to do and I could use the money! Plus I finally feel like I have the hang of things. I applied for my work visa and tax number last night so I'm starting Friday.

Last Friday Raychel's dad arrived to hang out in Sydney for a week. Mr. Duitch took us girls to dinner and we had the best Barramundi (a light white fish) and (drumroll) some orgasmic chocolate mousse. It was actually called "famousse." We rolled out of the restaurant. Then Raych, Sam, and I went to Orbit bar, this place on the 46th floor of a building that rotated. You sit by the window and slowly rotate so you end up seeing all parts of the city lit up at night. Pretty cool. Pretty expensive. So we could only afford one drink...haha. That's the nice thing about not having any cover. You can go to these ritzy places, feel like a millionnaire and buy the cheapest thing on the menu.

I went to another rugby game last Saturday night to watch Sydney vs S. Africa. I was with the S. Africans so we were rooting for them, but they lost pretty terribly. It was a packed stadium, and I think we had the loudest chick sitting right behind me. It literally severed my eardrum. The boys were in a pretty bad mood after the loss...

We are pretty psyched for the Sex and the City premier next weekend! It's also roomie Sam's 21st bday. It's going to be a packed weekend! They say that every girl in a group of friends can identify with a Sex character, but our group REALLY fits. We have four girls, the same personalities and hair colors as our characters. We'll probably dress up and go out for drinks before the show, I can't wait! More about our escapades later...

Stress is over... for now

Last Friday I finally finished all my mid-terms! I had the laziest weekend of all time... I'm mean, I slept in on Saturday morning and didn't see the light of day. I watched DVDs until 5, at which point it started getting dark. hehe Friday night we had gone to a Mexican restaurant for a birthday party and then dancing afterward. The whole back patio had been rented out for about 40 guests, but the Mexican experience was lacking compared to what I'm used to in the US. Usually the food is cheap, the margs are flowing, and the chips and salsa are free... not the case here. It rare to even find a Mexican restaurant here. That is one thing I'm dying for!

Saturday night I went to a going away party for a girl on the waterpolo team. I've been training occasionally with the girls team just to learn a new sport and have met some great girls. Her house was amazing, a huge piece of land with horses and a recently finished mansion. They cupcakes, snacks, and drinks just kept coming. There were several rooms that the party flowed into; one with a pool table, one with a dance floor, the patio area, etc. It was pretty amazing.

This week is my last full week at Designstreet. Today I am going in a little late because I went to an internship seminar on networking. The lady that spoke was from IBM and gave some valuable info, but I always feel a little panicky after these seminars. I do feel more confident in my professional abilities after this internship though. I will be organizing a meeting with Graham for next week to discuss my progress and possibly get a letter of recommendation for the future. I imagine he will be one of my most valuable contacts, as he has clients at American Express, Sony, etc.

I'm looking forward to my last little trip to Byron Bay to get a good surf in before I leave for China July 2nd. I'm meeting Sam R up there for 4 days...

Cheers!

This weekend was Fashion Weekend in Sydney... Raychel does her internship in this small design company called Fuzz Design and was able to get tickets for us to go to the event yesterday! We dressed in our most fashion-forward apparel and went. The whole venue was set up with cubicles for designers who were selling their clothes anywhere from 50-75% off! I still couldn't afford most of it, but I did get a free manicure from a make-up company and was able to see several models. They had a catwalk set up, but you had to have special tickets to see that, which we did not. It was some of the most stunning clothes I've ever seen... I did find a killer dress for a very good price, and am excited to rock the new style...

Today, I'm just catching up on work. Sorry this was a boring post!

Hello again!

I've been dormant for awhile because Dad was here and then uni started up again. I suddenly realized that I had two research papers and a presentation due within two weeks... so needless to say I've been stressed. I recently (yesterday) started a chocolate detox, and the shakes and nightsweats have begun, which are adding to the stress. haha

Ok, so back to Dad's visit. He arrived early on a rainy/cold Monday morning and we did a lovely walking tour of the city that I made up. Although he was a little sleepy he was in good spirits. Unfortunately, my friends were either in New Zealand or with their friends/family so he didn't get to meet them until the end... I'll talk about that in a bit- get excited. I took him to Pancakes on the Rocks where we had WAY too much to eat. So we walked it off and went down to Circular Quay and took the ferry to Manly Beach. Dad fell asleep. haha. That night we packed our bags to leave for the Whitsunday Islands the next day. Tuesday we went to Darling Harbour and had a bite to eat on the beautiful boardwalk and watched naughty kids debate long and hard about jumping into the fountain. Then we walked the city a bit more and went to the airport to leave for the islands. Upon arrival we discovered that the Whitsunday airport is about the size of my bedroom. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but you could literally see all two, yes two, gates when you stood in the middle of the airport. We roamed the hall trying to find baggage claim, which ended up being outside where the luggage cart pulls up. It's a free for all to find your bag off the cart. hahaha! Did I mention that the waiting area is outside? They pulled the benches out to this enclosed grassy area. The huge jet looks a little funny pulling up on the tarmac ouside of the shanty- er "airport". We decided it took awhile because the flight attendants probably had to switch into their baggage claim uniforms.

Anyway, we were going to stay in a hostel because I thought we could save money, but Dad said he was too old for that. So we stayed in this lovely resort overlooking Airlie Beach. It's pretty nice vacationing with the parents. : )

Wednesday morning it was go time. At the skydiving place we decided to go ahead and get the video and pictures with our package and were able to choose the songs for it. Soon the guys called us out and we suited up, received a brief lesson on jumping, and then Dad, this other girl, and I were into the plane. We soared up to the 10,000 ft mark and the view of the islands below is indescribable. Thank goodness for my neon jumpsuit because it was pretty chilly up there. This whole time my instructor had been videotaping and sticking the thing in my face. Pretty funny shots, though. Pretty soon the door was flung open and the other girl, who looked terrified, flew out of the plane. Then it was my turn. There is nothing like the first drop. For a moment I literally thought I had jumped to my death. Your body does not register the feeling for a few seconds. You do a few flips and then fall stomach first at a rate of 125mph. My pictures are funny because the wind pressure kept my mouth open. After about 35 seconds he pulls the chute and suddenly the world slows down. At this point you can feel the air beginning to warm. He let me hold the chute for a bit and do some turns. Before you know it, there's the ground. All the sudden the air got hot and he told me to keep my feet up for the landing. Shortly after hitting the ground Dad came in. We just stood there speechless and smiling. It's really a feeling you can't forget. After we took our gear off we headed inside and were able to watch our videos.

The rest of the afternoon felt like bliss. We were on a high from skydiving then went and stuffed ourselves with fish and chips and layed out by the pool for a few hours. That night we decided to book a sailing trip for the next day so we could explore the 74 islands in the Whitsundays. Neither of us had ever been on a sailboat before and it really was amazing. Dad volunteered to help put up the sail and really enjoyed the boat. After about two hours of sailing we anchored at the world famous Whitehaven beach. It is named for its snowy white sand and didn't disappoint! We were fed a tropical lunch and were able to lay by the crystal clear turquoise water for a few hours. Then back on the boat to sail home. That evening we repacked our bags to return to Sydney.

Friday we had planned on doing the bridge climb, but decided it might not be worth it after experiencing a skydive just a day before. So I took him on the tour of Macquarie Uni. It rained yet again in Sydney, but fortunately we had had great weather in the Whitsundays. That night I made him come out for drinks with my friends and I for ANZAC day, a holiday for Australia that is like our Veteran's day. We (Raychel, Sam, her bf Tef, Dad, and I) went to a little German pub and had some drinks. Pretty soon Jonty and his friend Samuele showed up, but were too late so they couldn't get in. We were all having a good time by then so we went to a different place down the road called Jackson's. Jonty's girlfriends had put mascara on him before he came to meet me so we definitely didn't let him live that down. The bar we went to had slot machines, which is actually pretty common here, and I pushed the button for Samuele and won $5! After Dad bought a round, Jonty bought a round, and Tef bought a round, we decided it had been a fun night and was time to go home. Somehow my old man out did all the guys... hehe The boys had a rough morning the next day and when I went to pick up Dad he looked as if nothing had happened. He'd already been up since 7! haha Anyway, I took him to the airport and we said our goodbyes.

This weekend I'm pulling out my hair to get my psych research paper done... more to come.