We are home. It is 1:12 a.m. this time. With a little sleep, we have been awake for a long time. Traveling back from China, through Toronto, takes a long time. We had to go through customs in Canada, the wait was about three hours to get it all done. We have lots of stories and pictures for everyone to see. I hope you logged into shutterfly to see our photos posted on the web. We will bring you additional news as we go through the rest of the games from stateside.

Rick and Christina

We will soon be on our way back to the states. We arrive at 11 p.m. on the same day we leave Beijing. Funny about the time change. We have many stories to tell anyone who is interested in hearing about the trip to Beijing 08. This is my fifth Olympics and they were very different from the past games in several ways. Nothing tops your first games, so Barcelona ranks up the highest for me, but we can talk about this one for hours.

Christina did have to go shopping this morning. We are bringing back two extra suitcases. See you soon.

Rick and Christina

Today was our last full day in Beijing. We did not have tickets to an event, so we decided to do some other things that were on our list of "to do's," starting with shopping of course. Christina was in charge of the morning so that is what we did. We "had" to go back to the silk market and do some more buying/shopping/bartering. Many of the vendors are wearing lanyards with pins on them, so we can trade our pins with them. It is also a great place to meet people from all over the world since it is a popular tourist stop. You see many of the Olympic athletes and the coaches there if they are done with their competition.

After shopping we met our friend from the hostel and his girlfriend. Adam is the son of the woman who graduated from my high school with me. We have gotten together with him and Ting Ting on a number of occasions. It is great to travel around Beijing with them because they both know the city and they both speak the language. So, getting into a taxi and giving directions, is not a problem. Adam chats with the driver the whole time, while we three ride in the back and talk and take in the sights.

We had asked them to take us to lunch at an authentic Roast Duck restaurant. They did not let us down. We had the "soup to nuts" version of the lunch and we ate until we could eat no more. We paid for the meal and the total for the four of us was under $100 US dollars. The carver came to the table and carved the duck for us table side. I ordered a Sea Cucumber, which is a delicacy in Beijing. It is similar to Eel, but it has to be specially cooked in order to preserve the taste. It's a seafood that tastes similar to a cooked mushroom. I guess I'll try anything.

This brings me to the title of this post. Beijing fast food is really like the US, except in one specific area. I hope the pictures do it justice. It's a block long venue of what China refers to as fast food -- a collection of booths that sell fruit, fish, eels, squid, shrimp, silk worms, scorpions, etc. for the eating. They even have a soup that is sheep intestines (no, I did not try that). I did eat the fried squid and the fried scorpion. The squid was much the same as I have had in the states that we call Calamari.

Not much of and adventure for me, so Christina challenged me to try something that was out of the ordinary. I opted for the Scorpion. There were three of them on a stick, fried, and then handed to me. There were a lot of international people standing around watching me eat this. I did insist that Adam have one of the three. They were crunchy and tasted like the oil used to fry them. Actually, they were very tasty. When in Rome ...


We left the "fast food" and attended a performance of the Beijing Opera held in a tea house. A very interesting experience. A varied performance with some opera and other things added in.

All in all, this was a great ending to our trip here to Beijing. We are not done blogging and we hope that you will continue to check in with us. We want to share some of our Olympic "friends" with you -- people we have met over here. One of the benefits of coming to the games is that there is an instant connection with people. Everyone is here for the same reason. Soon we'll share some of those experiences with you.

Rick

For those of you up-to-date with the blog, you will know that today's morning was softball. There are always two games each session. The First was China vs. Japan, which is a big rivalry. We decided to split up today since I wanted to go to softball first. Christina did not arrive at the venue until the end of the second game. She had transportation problems that I will let her blog about. She was ready for a beer by 11 a.m. today.

The worst part about her arriving late was she saw a shortened game. When one team is ahead by seven runs at the end of the 5th inning, they stop the game. Mercy rule you could call it. US was up by seven at the end of the fifth on some key hitting and the marvelous pitching Jenny Finch. The US softball team has a nice tradition after the game. They come to a fenced area behind the stadium and do a "meet and greet". This is mainly for the players to catch up to the friends and family and say hi since they are sequestered in the Olympic village with little play time.

My dream came true today as Jenny Finch, the pitcher for today, stopped to have her picture taken with me. She also signed my ticket. We asked her to do this since we did the same thing in Athens, so now I have two pictures of Jenny and me.

We took a taxi to the other side of the city - when I say other side, I mean a trip. It cost us 60 yuan which is about 10 US dollars. In Philly the trip would cost a lot more. You have to show your destination to the driver in Chinese. Some of them know some English but it is usually limited to hello and thank you. If you show them where you are going in English, they get confused.

We stopped at the Today Show and had some fun times with the tech guys and met some more
Americans there. Matt Lauer was not on the show today, so no picture of Matt and Christina this year.

Tonight we went to the green for Track and Field and it was awesome. 90,000+ people -- mainly cheering for China. We saw the finals of the heptathlon. The US woman took bronze and seemed surprised at her finish. The highlight of the evening was the men's 100 meter finals. Usain Bolt cruised to a world record time. He even pulled up at the end of the race to "hot dog" it for a few strides and still got the world record.

An amazing day for our last days of games. We have plans to see either Beijing Opera or Acrobatics tomorrow and a lunch of Roast Duck -- the one meal I have missed so far. I haven't eaten anything real exotic. I have not had Scorpions, yet. I did have sauteed eel that was tasty and spicy.

Check in tomorrow - you never know what we will do.

Rick

When we woke up this morning, there was blue sky. This was the first we have seen. It was a beautiful day. A light breeze, sun, and blue sky. Perfect for our first trip to the Birds Nest and a day in the Olympic Green.

We headed via the metro for the Green. We "had" to get back to the Olympic Store to buy more pins. The Chinese have really taken to pin trading. They see you wearing pins and they approach you and stand in front of you with the intent to trade. They have really gone for some of the pins that I brought with me that were very colorful from previous games. These are all duplicates for me, so trading them just adds to my collection. I have pins on my wall at home from all of the games I have been to, so I need to add a Beijing collection.

The "hot" pins are from the various sponsors. I have gotten some of them while here. We "scored" a Today Show pin this afternoon. We hung out at the Today Show set and talked to many Americans. We were there for the start of the filming and, we hope, that some of you saw us standing behind Matt and Meredith for the introduction. We were with a group of people all cheering U-S-A. The first interviews were with Nastia and Shawn from the Olympic All-around Gymnastics finals in the morning. You already know that USA took Gold and Silver. We met and had our pictures taken with each of them. We missed our photo with Matt Lauer and hope to catch him tomorrow when we are there.



We went to the Birds Nest for the opening of Track and Field. We saw the first gold medal ceremony of Track and Field and an American won silver in the shot put. Track and Field is like a three ring circus. There are events going on all the time and it is a little hard to focus your attention. Especially when your tickets put you in the nose bleed section. So much for E-bay. Tomorrow we are in the lower tier, right near the infield area of the Birds Nest, in row three.

That is the night of the men's 100 meter finals. We saw Tyson Gay, the favorite, in his early heat tonight. He cruised to an easy placing for the semis. We are excited about our Saturday.
We have US womens softball in the morning. Christina will probably come late to the event. I want to see China vs. Japan in the first game before the US women play. We hope they have a "meet and greet" area behind the stadium so that I can get my picture taken with Jennie Finch. I will add it to my picture with her from Athens.

We are coming close to the end of our stay at the games. I am sad that it has to end, but it has been great and just as tiring as all the others.

In case you are curious about the best Olympics in my experience, it has to be Barcelona. It was my first, in a foreign city, and it was just electrifying. Nothing beats your first Olympic games. Each one after that has been special in its own unique way. Athens was special because of the history of the Olympics dating back to 776 B.C. in Olympia. The Athens Games were part of the Pan-Athenic festival in honor of the goddess Athena. Her statue stood in the center of the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis.

We have been having a great time in Beijing. We hope that you, the readers, have enjoyed catching up with our journeys and adventures. We love to get your comments back because it tells us that people are onto the site.

We have posted pictures on a sharing site called Shutterfly. Go to: www.rsandcv.shutterfly.com to look at them.

Rick

Hello Readers - here is a challenge for you.....What is queueing?

If you are American - you may not even think twice and say - well, of course, you wait your turn....stand politely in a line...be kind to others...but in other parts of the world - there is no such thing as waiting in line. So - my challenge to you -where did we come up with the idea of waiting in line? Is there some history to it?

We we not thrilled as we waited in line to get onto the subway - with people pushing their way into the train; but then we met an American living in China for 7 years and he told us that about two years ago the Chinese governmnent started line monitors in the bus and subway lines, to teach them how to queue. This man told us that before two years ago that people would push you down just to get in front of you. He suggested that we be thankful that they have learned as much as they have!!

It was raining when I was leaving my great shopping trip from the Silk Market today - so I thought that I would take a taxi to the apartment, rather than taking the subway. I went out to the street to hail a cab and quickly realized that I was not aggressive enough to actaully make that happen. Others were jumping in front of me when an open taxi came by. I was standing with a very nice couple from, I think, Britain, and they were getting annoyed (and wet) as others jumped in front of us to get the next open taxi. They soon discovered that there was a taxi line in a parking lot, so we thought we would try to queue to get a taxi.

Fancy idea, but even with a line of people waiting, people still jumped into the next taxi that was open, even if they were in the back of the line. Even though it was annoying, I soon discovered that I was in line with the German badminton team manager and coach. They had lost their matches the day before and were done with competing and were shopping at the silk market. So - even though I kept losing the taxi - I had the great opportunity to meet people from all over the world.

So - what is our challenge to you.....teach us all the history of queueing...what countries do it....what countries don't......what do you think about it? Are we too nice to stand in line?

Thanks for your input!

Christina

Just arrived back at the apartment from many hours of shopping at the Silk Market. To my shopping girl friends - I know that you are shocked that I actaully went shopping! To those who do not know - I hate to shop! But as I blogged before - this place is amazing. I took some video and will try to figure out how to download so that you can see what I mean.

So - again today - it was Rick's idea to shop - he wanted some knock off products - and boy oh boy - are there knock off products there! I turned my back and he had bought a "Spider" ski jacket for $60. (those who ski know that is a great deal) But - I think that the jacket has the zipper on the side that is typically the side that female clothing has the zipper. Many would say - big deal - but think about it - when you zipper - men and women typically zipper on opposite sides!

But - Rick had plans to go to Team Handball with our new friend Adam - so he left me at the Silk Market. Now...was that a good idea???? I started out going to the foot massage section of the market. Our friend Mel (who should be here with us) told us that foot massages are cheap and great! So - I thought - when in China - do as the Chinese...I got a foot massage. But....as typical...there were many, many, many more services offered. "...lady, do you want to add this clay to your pedicure - it is good for you?....lady, you need to polish your nails - look, I do one for free...." )(I promise, I am not being politically incorrect - these are exact words!!) By now, I have learned to ask how much, but still have a tough time saying no! and Mel - things are MUCH more expensive now that the Olympics are here in Beijing! But - I got a fabulous 75 minute pedicure, foot and leg massage and clay footbath for 360 RMB - which is about $45....and I got to meet a representative from the Indian Olympic Committee, an atletic manager from Washington state and a student from the University of Notre Dame traveling in China.

Not bad for my first 75 minutes alone in the Silk Market....Rick would be happy with my money spending...

ah - but then - I went to the upper floors - remember that I told you that is where the higher quality shops are?....and well...I shopped!! Now - here is something interesting....when we took our flight over - we flew on United. We had a GREAT, GREAT flight crew. Robert was kind enought to charge my phone in the first class section that he was working in; Denise was GREAT with giving us data about things here in Beijing. They gave us some shops to visit in the different markets. When I told a few locals about this - they did not respond favorably. They indicated that there were kick backs for the whole process.

But - my take - it is much easier to shop when you do not have to negotiate every single dollar. So - up at Katherine's on the top floor of the silk market - they told me that I got the "special" price - what that means, who knows for sure....but, in my mind I got a good deal. (hmmm, maybe when Rick sees the credit card bill, he may not agree!!)

I went back to the lower floors and stopped to get a few tops on my way out...since I am not a shopper, I really have no idea what a good price is - but, I got three "fake" polo shirts and an Olympic pin for 150 RMB - about $23....I am thinking that I could have gotten them for less, but I was ready to get out of there and really had a tough time with how much work it is to bargin.

Rick is due back from the team handball event - he wanted to see the men play. Tomorrow - Friday - we have tickets for track and field - so we get into the Bird's Nest.....will report about that experience!

Thanks for reading!! Please post your comments and order your subscription for the Daily Local News!

The Olympics changed in 1996. When we were in Atlanta for the games, we had the "central" area for people to gather. It was Centennial Park. It was a fun place to be. It was the cultural and entertainment center of the games. It was crowded to say the least. One night we were there late and were taking in the sights. I was with my boys and we also met Christina that night. We separated at that point for the boys to return to our place of lodging and Christina went with me to meet two of my high school classmates. We "partied" to the wee hours of the night, dropped Christina off at her house, and, on the way back, stopped at a Waffle House for an early morning breakfast. While in the restuarant, two woman came in with the news of the "bombing" in the park. They were ushered out of the park after the incident. Things changed after that. Security check points went up and no one got into the park without going through them.

From that point on, we have seen a different mode of operation for the games. The main venues at the Athens and Beijing games have been inside a central area. These areas are fenced off to the public. The only admittance to this section of the games is with a ticket to an event on the exact day that you are there. This area in Beijing is called the Olympic Green. It is the main attraction area for the games. There are many cultural and entertainment sessions going on all around the city, but this is the hub. So, without a ticket to a venue in the "Green", you do not get in. We spent the second half of yesterday there. One day this week, we had tickets to the lower section of the "green" to see Team Handball. We were not allowed access to the central area of the "green" while there. We were upset about this. You have to understand that the "green" is huge. It is immense. Much larger than the area in Athens. There are three areas. One is north which houses the hockey, tennis, and archery venues. One is south and contains the water polo, team handball, and equestrian venues. The center area is the main "green" and has the Birds Nest for Track and Field and the finals of Soccer (Football over here), the Water Cube for the swimming and diving, and the National Convention Center which houses the fencing venue. Last night we had fencing tickets, so we got into the "green".

It is an awesome place with sponsor venues, attractive gardens, statues, the main Olympic Store, and, the only main place to eat, McDonald's. (Christina ate at McD's)

I am really torn in my feelings about this area and the limited access. When the games are over, I am sure that this will be an open area to the public. The shame of it is, there is such limited access to this beautiful area that many of the people who would like to be in there can not get there because they do not have tickets to the events in the "green". We have met many people from America and other countries who would love to get to this area and are limited by their tickets. I can't solve this problem and I am struggling with how I would do it differently. If we opened the "green" to the public it would be too crowded. But how do we do it differently so that the people who are here from other countries to be a part of the games and the Chinese culture can get in? We are fortunate. We have Track and Field tickets for Friday and Saturday night. We'll be in the "green" and we can see all of the things we want to see. I think I already stocked up on my Olympic pins, so shopping may not be on the agenda. We will be there the night of the men's 100 meter finals with front row seats that we "splurged" for.

Please comment back as to what you have seen on the TV relative to the "green". If you watch the Today show on NBC, it is shot from the "green". We got there yesterday to find that our friend from the show did not make the trip due to some cut-backs on the staff. It was fun to hang at the site in Athens where we met many athletes being interviewed for the show.

Rick

There is a natural bond that occurs between people of the same country and also some bonding that occurs with other people. We were in the Olmpic "Green" area today after a morning of Archery. One of the dissappointments of the games in not being able to get into the "main" Olympic Green" area unless you have a ticket for an event in the green. We scored them on CoSports and were able to see the men's epee Gold. It is restricted to ticket holders Face day or the event. Good luck in your pursuit.

Rick Stevenson

Tuesday August 12th was a hang out day for us. I needed some chill out time - doing the Olympics is a lot of work - lots of walking, lots of figuring out which way to go and then walking further!! (but of course all worth it!)

So - after Starbuck's in the morning - we played on the Olympic ticket website - Co Sport - the official ticket seller for a number of countries - said that they would release tickets as they became available. It is an annoying process because you have to click every single event to see if there are tickets available. So - those of you who know me - know that I kept at it until I had success!! We found fencing tickets for Wednesday the 13th. The cool thing with this is that finally we will be able to get into the Olympic Green.

The Olympic Green - you have all seen it - but we have not - you probably have seen much coverage on it - with lots of commentary about what everything is. But we have not - so we are VERY excited to get up there. (and yes Chris - to see if we can visit with Matt Lauer!! - or at least get our picture with him!) We are heading up there to archery this morning and then to fencing tonight.

We are excited to be taking two new friends to fencing - a young couple - the son of Rick's high school classmate and his girlfriend. We had dinner with them last night - they are great folks and we really enjoyed our time with them.

So anyway - when we went to pick up the tickets - we hung out at the ticket office visiting with people from all over the world - talking about who had been to what event, what to do in the city, etc. To me - that is one of the special parts of the Olympics - being able to connect with so many people - all with one common passion!

Now - the wild and crazy part of the day - Rick had the crazy idea to go to the Silk Market! A few of you told me about this place and each said that it is hard to describe - you are right - I am not sure that I can pen the experience! It is a large building - with 6 or 7 floors - each floor filled with hundreds and hundreds of vendors - each selling their wares. All I could do was walk around and say "oh my gosh" - each vendor saying - "you lady - you want ______ "(whatever they were selling). We ventured to the top floor where they were selling the real pearls (my girlfriend wants pearls) - and it was larger stores - less aggressive sales, but higher dollar products. I understand that the prices of these pearls are very reasonable. Of course, if my shopper girlfriends were here - they would be able to tell me what the best deal was.

We went back to the lower floors to shop - I wanted a pretty hair clip that all of the girls here wear - so we found a booth - we pulled into it and started bargaining. Rick and I have an arrangement - I pick the item and he bargains - what a process!! I actually never got my hair clip, because you have to be willing to walk away - and we did for that deal.

We will go back again - because it is so amazing - to watch, to shop, to bargain - to experience the very Chinese practice of bargaining for the best price. One new friend who lives here explained to me that she does not shop that way - that it is too much work for her and that she would rather shop at the malls and just pay whatever price that they list.

After the Silk Market - we went back to the 9 Dragons Youth Hostel - to hang out with some of our new friends. We had dinner with Adam and Ting Ting - it was fun to be in a restaurant that they could order for us - rather than just pointing to something on the menu! Since they live here - they know all of the great, inexpensive places to eat - so we had a great meal for a great price! Then Rick and Adam went to an Olympic Boxing Match and Ting Ting and I hung out at the hostel and visited with people from all over the world! What a great experience!!

Okay - off to archery!

Until next time
Christina

For those of you who are reading, keep the comments coming. We love to hear from you 1/2 a world away and know that there are people following our adventure. If you have a question, we will try to answer. By the way, Stephanie, the boy babies do not were anything. Some of them have open pants in the back with a "window" to their bottom.

We had a morning of Team Handball and we returned tonight to see the China women against Romania. It was an electric environment with the Chinese playing. We saw France vs. Kazackstan (sp) and Brazil vs. Hungary. Hungary tied the game with a last second shot. There was no overtime and the game ended 30 apiece. We also saw Russia vs. Sweden and Russia prevailed. We were able to speak to some Americans who were unfamilair with the game and let them in on some of the rules. I still do not understand the foul calls.

I titled this edition "Empty Seats". I will have to admit, I have to eat my words. I predicted before the games that the venues would be crowded. I thought that the Chinese would pack the arenas. When we got here, the bank that was selling tickets to the Chinese was sold out. We have been on the CoSports website and there are not many tickets available. There are still some on E-bay. What I do not understand, and this is my fifth time attending the games, is why are there so many empty seats? Especially when some of these empty seats (look at the picture I posted) are in blocks of seats. Are these Corporate seats that do not get used? I have been to big events in the past where there are many empty seats. We attended the Women's Gymnastics Team finals in Athens and there were many empty seats. This is a fascinating phenomenon at the games. Why are they empty when there are so many people who would love to occupy them. Maybe some day I'll find an answer to that. It is as much a mystery as to why they do not throw the ball to the first baseman in pro baseball when they throw around the horn. Someone come up with the answer to that one for me please!! Weightlifting and boxing tomorrow. Never been to Weightlifting. Should be fun.

Rick

When in another country, there are always strange customs and ways of doing things. We heard, before we came to China, that there were such practices as no tipping. It is very true. The Chinese do not expect a tip. From wait staff to taxi drivers, they do not expect a tip. When we have offered one, it was accepted almost with regret. We spent the entire day with the driver who took us to The Great Wall. The price was arranged ahead of time and we spent more time on the wall than expected. Our hotel person, who arranged the trip, told us 600 Yuan and no tip. When we got back, he was happy to collect his fee.

Another practice that we are struggling with is the act of queueing or waiting in line. While getting onto the subway, or going to an escalator, or getting off of a vehicle, the Chinese are not waiting for anyone in front of them. We met an American today who has spent the last 7 years in China. He said that this practice is far better today than it was 2 years ago. They have had queueing "monitors" in place at bus stops and subway stations "teaching" people how to wait in line. We were on a boat trip across the lake at the Summer Palace and, when the boat docked, the people on the back of the boat raced to the front to get off before we did at the front end of the line. When you are used to certain practices, it is hard to adjust and accept what appears to be rudeness on the part of other people. This is just their way of behaving and it is acceptable to them. The American told us today that it was so bad at one time that they used to throw each other to the ground to get onto a bus. We have not seen that.

The last practice that we have experienced, and we were told about this before hand, is the art of bartering. In America, we would not thing of walking into a store and not paying the asking price. We often barter at a flea market or garage sale. (if you are not familiar with this practice, it is simply offering less than the asking price for a product). Our first day here, Christina walked into a store and bought some scented oil. She paid full price for it without thinking. I asked her why she did not barter and she basically said that she had forgotten. The sales woman was beaming. I said that we had just covered her rent for the month. There is an art to it and Christina has not mastered it at all. There is a lot of work in the process. I have had some real success at it, but you have to be willing to stick to your guns about it.

When we were at The Great Wall, there was a row of tourist sales people there to sell you the "priceless" treasures that all tourists must have. I watched a married couple work their magic for about a half and hour and sized up the products that we wanted to get. When Christina and I met up, we walked to one of the booths to make our purchases. I knew from watching and looking exactly what I wanted. I grabbed the articles and piled them up on the table. People have told us to hear the asking price, make an offer, and then pay about 1/4 of the asking price. After piling all of the articles up, I received an offer. It was 795 Yuan (6.77 Yuan to the dollar - you do the math). I had a lot of things to buy (I had to have these treasures). The woman went back and forth with me not accepting her offer. I had put 200 Yuan in my pocket prior to making the attempt to buy. I reached into my pocket and put the money in her hand. She deftly palmed it below the piece of paper she was using to make offers to me. She did not want to accept that low of an offer and kept trying for higher prices. I finally said no and started to walk away. Christina said to me that she still had my money. I knew this, but wanted to make the point that we would not accept more. I went back and stuck my hand out to get my money back. She said no and that she would accept my offer, all the time telling me she was losing money. I just nodded sympathetically, took my goods, said thank you in Chinese and left. You have to have a figure in your head when engaging in the practice. You have to know that most of these goods probably cost far less than you end up paying anyway. All in all, it is a fun thing to do. Christina says it exhausts her.

Today we did not have an event, so we went to the Temple of Heaven and shopping. More bartering. Tomorrow we have two sessions of Team Handball. No, it is not played inside a court with walls. This game is a cross between Basketball and Soccer. I will post some pictures tomorrow after the sessions. Most of you do not know the game because you will not see it on TV. Why? Because the Americans are not in the tournament for Team Handball. We do not qualify. The only times that Americans competed in Team Handball was in 1984 in LA and 1996 in Atlanta. We competed those times because the host country gets an automatic berth in any event in the games. So what are you watching? I can answer that probably. You will see the usual. Track and field, gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, basketball, boxing, and anything else where the Americans are entered and may have a chance to medal. Do you think you'll see any Badminton? Forget your stereotypes of the game, it is the most popular racquet sport in the world. It is one of the hottest tickets at the games. This is why I am in China. I get a perspective of the games that most Americans will never have via NBC's versions. If it does not sell commercial time, you will not see the event. Maybe, someday, Americans will appreciate what the true perspective of sport is all about. I'll get off my soapbox for now.

Rick

We are unable to view the blog from China, but your comments are being forwarded to one of our e-mail accounts, so do NOT stop commenting and asking questions about the China experience. It is an awesome feeling to know that we are "connecting" to people who are half a world away from us. We appreciate your attention and willingness to check in on us.

So, here's an attempt to answer some of the questions.

Many of you have asked about how it is with the blending of the old and new
Beijing. It is amazing to see the old structures and then to ride or walk and see some of the new modern buildings. The new CCTV building is one example of modern architecture that is a wonder to behold. Sometimes it feels like walking in center city Philadelphia. You see the high rise modern buildings and then you come upon something like Independence Hall. It sits there among all the newness of the modern era with its historical perspective on the growth of our nation. The main difference is that the buildings in China have thousands of years of history.

Jared mentioned the flag bearer for the US delegation. The US has a history of making statements at the games. We are still the only country that does not tip its flag during the parade at the opening. I think the choice of the flag bearer was a subtle, but obvious, statement of our nations thoughts. Enough said on this public forum. Jared also asked about ticket prices. When you go onto the "new" source for tickets, E-bay, you can see how overpriced things are. We picked up our 4 tickets to Boxing yesterday. Christina purchased them from CoSports months ago. They were $5.00 each. Wow - such price gouging!!!!

Segan - thanks for checking in. I rose to the "challenge" of The Great Wall. It was a huge effort to make it back up to the top of the tower where we had entered the wall. It was nothing compared to what you experienced at The Rising Juniors Program. I appreciate your interest in the blog and hope that you continue to check in.

Pop - my classmates name was Susan Anderson. She remembers me and she remembers you as her Physical Education teacher.

Barry - the Chinese love to have us here. For the most part, they love to see the influx of all of these nationalities. The Chinese want to have their pictures taken with Americans. We have been approached on a number of occasions. Generally speaking, the populace wants the invasion because it is associated with the Games which are very important to them.

Christine - the apartment is beautiful, located in the "ritsy" Central Business District, and with a view from the western wall (entirely made of windows) that looks out onto the city. No, we have not yet seen Matt Lauer. We will be in the Olympic Green area tomorrow. We'll say hi for you.

Michael - Beijing is becoming western. It, apparently, has happened rapidly over the last number of years leading up to the games. One influence that has not made it completly is the western toilet. OK, for those of you who are sensitive, skip over this while I try to describe a Chinese toilet. It is not raised. It sits flat to the ground, like a larger version of the top of our toilet. You have to stand astride and squat extremely low to do your business. It is awkward to say the least. While in an Olympic venue yesterday, I went to the restroom half hoping to find that the arena had been updated with new western-style facilities. I was dissappointed.

Michele - Christina did not eat the Shark Fin. It was the broth in my Hot Pot. The others had a meat-based broth.

Don - we have not seen the Water Cube, the venue for the swimming. We do understand that an Exton Co., Bentley, was instrumental in its design and that they are currently working on many of the structures for the 2012 games in London. It would be great to know someone who works for the company and could get us tickets to the Water Cube!!!!

Yesterday was the first event day. I had a great experience. As I mentioned before, we had 4 tickets to the boxing. While at the CoSports place, we met a number of people picking up tickets. Since CoSport sells tickets to America, we ran in to a lot of fellow citizens. One family was at their first games. They are from the Boston area. Christina offered that I would take them to their first Olympic experience. She wanted to have a day in the apartment to "get settled" (you have to know Christina to appreciate that), so she offered me as the official Olympic tour guide. It was great sharing this experience with three Olympic novices. We talked about my previous games and shared the Boxing with the same confusion. The scoring is very hard to understand.

This was my first Boxing experience so we were all rookies in that sense. There are 5 judges who watch the fighters. When they see a legal punch landed, they push a button. If 3 of the 5 judges score the blow, then the point is awarded. It seemed that there were many punches landed that did not receive a score, so it was a little confusing. In each case, though, the boxer who was the better fighter prevailed. We did see one American fight and he won his bout in the middleweight class. The one Chinese fighter we saw in the light heavyweight class was greeted very enthusiastically by the large Chinese crowd. He won his bout, but will not last too long in the tournament.

We are off today from events and intend to go to see the Temple of Heaven and shop in the Silk Market. Tomorrow is a full day in the Olympic Green area.

Rick

Hello from Christina in Beijing - the first day of the games is over - the city was hopping with activity. We began the day at the ticket outlet picking up some tickets that we had ordered from Co-Sport. Co-Sport/Jet Sports is the official ticket brooker for the United States and a number of other countries. They have a small office here in Beijing where we have to pick up tickets from the recent phases of ticket sales.

The question of ticket availability is what the press is asking. I was interviewed by a non American press in Tian'an Men Square the other day and that is the question that they asked - did I find it difficult to get tickets. We spent some time at the ticket office today, trying to trade or purchase other tickets. There was a news team from the San Francisco NBC affiliate that we visited with - talking about ticket sales. I think that I dissapointed them by saying that we did not have a difficult time getting tickets - as we mostly used the Co Sport site to purchase tickets. We did purchase a few sets on EBay, but they were pretty reasonably priced.

We had 4 tickets for boxing today (I purchased 4 a number of months ago - not sure if anyone else would decide to come with us). While hanging out at the ticket office - we met a family of 3 from Boston at their first Olympics. They were so excited to be here (as we all are) - they have a pre teen daughter who wanted to go to boxing. I was very willing to "pawn" Rick off on them and head back to the apartment for a quiet cup of java. (anyone who knows me, knows that I periodically need alone time!!) So - Rick took Steve, Pat and Merideth White to the boxing event today. Rick said that there was a knock out and that is not usual at the class of boxing - so it was a memorable event for all. Me - I sat looking out the 20 floor window in the Van Palace building (our current home) at the Coca Cola venue and reading Chinese history.

Imagine - that their history goes back even further than 5 thousand years. It is amazing. And the Chinese seem very proud of that history. Hopefully we can get to a few museums that will teach us more about this amazing country.

We have tickets for various events, but the focus is getting into the Olympic Green - which is where everything is "happening" - that is where the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube are, where the media tents are (yes, that is where Matt Lauer is!!) and just a great place to hang out. But, and it is a big but, we have to have tickets to an event in the Olympic Green in order to get in. We have some archery, athletics and team handball - which are held up in that area. I have been searching on Co-Sport to see if anything else comes available so that we can spend more time up there.

Don Ash asked about the Water Cube - yes, you said that it was designed by Exton based Bentley Systems. I heard the local news announce that on the television. But - it sure would be great to have some contacts at Bentley to get us tickets to get into an event in that facility. It looks amazing!

It is odd to think that we are 12 hours ahead of you on the east coast - my computer time is still set to your time. But - it is after midnight here, so more about the games later!

Hello everyone - yes, I am here - even though Rick has been writing all along. I am still amazed that we are actaully here in China. Every minute is a new experience - from the 13 hour plane ride.. to the luxurios Shangra-la Hotel..to the language (which we have only mastered two words - nihao and xiexie - hello and thank you). I have been sitting and watching - the way the Chinese queue to get onto the train (or I should say - do not queue!); the way that the boy babies do not wear diapers; the way that we have found that we are ignored when in a restaurant (we sat for 20 mins this evening before anyone approached us to take our order, but we did get our check right away!); the way the Chinese are very dedicated to their country.

We actaully had a tour guide tell us that Beijing does not have any pollution, that it is fog - and she seemed to believe it. We watched thousands and thousands of people stand in Tian'an Men Square for over an hour to watch the National Flag lowered for the day. They say that there are just as many each morning of each day. I am not certain that I could imagine people gather in Washington DC each day for that ceremony.

And then, if I close my ears - it is just like any other city in the world - the hustle and bustle - people everywhere, buses, subways, taxis....McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken. There are many tall buildings, and then small neighborhoods squashed in between them. There are fancy cars and bicycles carrying garbage (okay - so you don't see so many bicycles in New York City!!)

We are settled into our friends apartment in the CBD (Central Business District) - and it is much like the business district of other cities - quiet on the weekend - fancy hotels, Starbucks and taxis.

We are trying to set up a photo account - on something like Snapfish so that we can post all of the photos (does anyone have any suggestions for which one to use?) That way we can post what we are doing each day.

I will end this general post and take more time to post some specifics.

Thanks for giving us this opportunity to share our experiences!!

Is China ever ready to host these games? You can take that one to the bank! I have seen preparation for the games in the past in several host cities, but none surpasses the work that the Chinese people have put forth to bring a set of games to a host city. You will not see what I am referring to in the states. You will not see the huge number of enthusiastic volunteers on hand to welcome the people of the world. You will not see the infrastructure of the city that moves hundreds of thousounds of people efficiently through a city to the venues. You will not see the thoushands of people who are on hand to welcome you to places such as the metro entrances and stops - they all have an enthusiastic greeting and broad smiles. You will not see the city in total preparation for the games - ie: decorated buildings, banners hung from every possible place, and the cleanliness of the city. Despite the haze, (smog if you prefer), Beijing is ready.

Yesterday, we toured the Forbidden City. What an awesome place. The sheer size of the city is overwhelming. We gave it about 3 hours of walking and listening to the audio tour and we did not see the entire area. It is unbelievalble to think of the history of the city.

Last night we spent away from our 5 star hotel. In the mayhem of booking ourselves into lodging for the games, we inadvertently missed one night. OOOPS! The best laid plans...
So, to fill in the gap, Christina went onto the internet to find us a room. All of the "Western" hotels were booked, so she tried to get us an overnight at The Great Wall in a hotel but it was cost prohibitive. We found an International Hostel in one of the hutong areas of the center city section near the Forbidden City. We left our 5 Star accomodations in a taxi yesterday morning for a trip to an area of the city that was "extremely" less exclusive. I have to admit that I was very reluctant for this transition. We arrived in a "back" alley type of area in one of the hutong areas and disembarked from the taxi. We were greeted warmly by one of the attendants at the hostel. We were introduced to an American who worked there and was in China for the past four years studying the language. As we played the six-degrees of separation games with him, it turns out that his mother was a high school classmate of mine, lived in Springfield, PA, and went to Central ES, ETR MS and graduated from Springfield HS the same year as me. What a small world. The difference between the two lodging environments could not have been greater. While at the Shangri-La Beijing, we experienced some of the world's best cuisine and service in an environment of ellegance. When we were at the hostel, we were surrounded with people from all over the world who just loved to be in Beijing for the games. The hostel hosted a make-you-own-chinese-dumpling party that night. We made dumplings with people from India, Australia, Sweden, Germany, and England. What an international group. When the dumplings were served, we all sat and ate and drank and shared Olympic stories.

Friday morning was a private tour to The Great Wall at Mutianyu. We hired a taxi to take us there. It was about a 2 hour drive. We took the cable car to the top. In either direction, it looked daunting. What a magnificent structure. It is hard to imagine the (person) power it took to erect this wall. We were told that those who died during construction were buried at the wall. We decided to walk in a direction that looked, to Christina, to be unencumbered in its ascent/descent to tourists. We originally intended to walk on the wall with Christina spending more time than me. Most of you realize our age difference and she would be able to handle this trek. After a while, we separated and she intended to walk down while I returned to the cable car for the descent. Much to my dislike, I had to walk up-hill back to the cable car. Wow! It was quite a challenge. We had arranged to meet at the bottom and I arrived at the walk-way ready to wait for Christina to arrive. I waited, and waited, and waited, and finally walked down to another area, all the time harrassed by sellers of "priceless" memorabilia (yes, Chris, we did get you a t-shirt), and I waited for her to arrive at the bottom. I heard her voice call to me from down the path to find that she had taken only fifteen minutes to descend because she rode down on a "sled-like" ride. So much for "taking-in" the wall.

We are now watching the Opening Ceremonies on big-screen TV in the apartment. I hope you enjoy them tonight. They are spectacular. Let the games begin!!

Rick

Today was a trip to the Summer Palace. This was a place for the Emporers to go to escape the city heat. They would ride a boat from the Forbidden City to the Summer Palace. This was last used by an Emporer in 1916 and is run by the Government now. We took a Dragon Boat from the hotel area to the palace and we had our own private tour guide. She walked us to the palace and gave us the history. It is a beautiful area with a huge lake and many houses other than the palace. There were many Chinese citizens there and also lots of tourists from other countries, who, we assume, are mostly here for the games.


Lunch was another adventure in eating in a Chinese restuarant where they spoke little English. We were able to get a very nice lunch for under $20.00 for the two of us. Everyone who we have met so far have been very friendly and polite. One question we have received on a couple of occasions, is related to how our impression of China is now, after a couple of days, compared to our preconceived ideas of the country. People seem very interested in impressing us.

Tonight we went to meet our landlords for the second part of our stay. They live in a high-rise apartment in the Central Buisness District which is on the east side of the city. They took us to a type of restuarant that features a cuisine that is very popular in China. It is called Hot Pot. It is similar to what we call fondue, but each person gets their own pot with the steaming broth for cooking in what flavor they have chosen. I chose Shark Fin. We ordered a variety of vegetables and meats to cook in our pots (these we all shared) and we had two sauces to dip into. It was a fun experience and a great way to meet our landlords.

We are excited about the upcoming games. We went to the bank that was selling tickets and found out that the games are totally sold out. That is the first time I have heard of that occuring in my Olympic experience. It will be interesting to see what is available as we get to the games. The internet has changed the way we do business with tickets today. We were able to get some of our tickets through E-bay. If you are curious as to what a ticket to some of the events can command, go onto E-bay and do a search for Beijing Tickets. I think you will be surprised.

Rick Stevenson

We slept in. We had to - the flight from the US did us in. Breakfast in the hotel was traditional Chinese. So, don't even think about eggs with homefries. There is a lot of fruit, cheese, yogurt, and a person who will make a drink from a "juicer" of wheatgrass, celery, and other healthy things. Good way to start the day. I had some dumplings, steamed vegetables, and a lo mein that were all good. When in Rome, do as........ This is the interesting part of travel. We get to experience another culture and what they are use to. With the experience comes the opportunity to say you have been here and done that.

We set out to do some sight seeing and got ourselves to Tian' an Men Square. This is largest squre in a city in the world. There are several massive buildings around the square such as

Chairman Mao's Mausoleum, The China National Museum, and the main entrance to the Forbidden City. We were approached by at least four couple of Chinese people who wanted their pictures with us Americans. We obliged and they were very friendly, and appreciative, even said she was "honored" to have our picture taken. In the square, Christina was approached by two foreign journalists to talk about where she was from and why did she come to Beijing? There is only positive to say right now since games seem weel organized, there are a lot of people here already, and all ticket have been sold out for the games. It will be interesting see what comes available other than on E-bay. We will go back one day to do the Forbidden City.

We got adventurous and wanted to eat and get a drink of something. When we looked in the boook, the closest one appreaded to be a 4 block walk. Let me tell you, a Beijiiig block is not like a "Phillly or West Chester" block. We walked 10 to 15 minutes on one block. We finally found Christina's mission - to find the MALL. We found the biggest and most glorious mall we have ever been in. It is mostly the top end of the line merschandise. Chrstina was hungry and did not want a meal with the wait person, the wait for the food and all that. So we tried a "fast food" Chinese chain. We odered by picture on the menu and we made out pretty good. Lot'of veggies.

Some pork in sauce and everthing on a bed of rice. If that is way the staple of the diet will be for two weeks, we'll live to tell about.

One interesting experience is that four sets of people came to us and wanted their pictures taken with us. They wanted a picture with Americans. They were very appreciative and one girl said she was honored.

Christina Valcochi

We have arrived in Beijing!! What a LONG flight - 13 and 1/2 hours in a plane. I watched 4 movies, we ate 3 times, and tried to sleep. We met another couple on the plane. They have 3 young children and they came to Beijing for the Olympics. We have plans to get together with them during our stay. They are from Washington, D.C.

Beijing has certainly prepared well for the games. Our first exposure to the smog was pretty good. We saw a haze over the city, but not a bad smog. The airport and the train and subway stations are all decorated with posters and banners advertising the games. We did spend some time getting around on the transportation system getting to our hotel. Made a couple of mistakes in that process, but we are going to get the hang of it in the next couple of days.

The first couple of days we will spend touring and shopping and getting around to the various venues for the games. We will try to find a place to watch the Opening Ceremonies on TV since the tickets had to be printed with your name prior to the games. I have been awake for 24 hours, so I am going to conclude and get some rest.

Rick