A Nail Biter

On Thursday morning we got out of the hotel for a bit and ventured out on a shopping expedition to an area known as Old Town. Many of us were very familiar with this area, as it is only about a ten minute walk from where we stayed for last year’s world cup. The main attraction there was the pearl shopping and then the Coffee Bean and Starbucks. Right as we arrived, there were a few minutes of heavy rain, but luckily it held off. I did a very little bit of shopping, buying some pearls and then bargained for a few other souvenir items. The whole bargaining aspect is what makes the shopping here so fun, because you hardly ever pay what is asked, but bargain for a more reasonable price. Sometimes, it is easy to get the price down, but other times, it takes a little more work. At the end of the day, I think everyone was very happy with their purchases.
Yesterday, we played rival Canada in the quarterfinal match. It was a little more exciting than any of us would have like, but in the end, we played a great game and got a well deserved 2-1 victory in extra time. We started off the game by putting a lot of pressure on Canada and scored a goal about fifteen minutes into the half. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a weather delay about twenty minutes into the half, as torrential rains and lightning hit the area. After sitting in the locker room for about an hour and forty minutes, we finally kicked off again around 8pm local time (the game originally started at 6pm). Canada came out and got a quick goal, which tied the game up, and that was the way the score remained at the end of the ninety minutes of play, despite our team possessing the ball and creating the majority of the chances. In the first half of extra time, we got a goal to put us up 2-1, and the next twenty minutes of play felt like the longest ever. With a lot of encouragement from the bench, my tired and wet teammates fought off the Canadians to advance on to the semifinal round where we will face Japan.
This morning we left Shanghai and flew to Beijing, where we are finally getting to really experience the Olympic atmosphere and stay in the Olympic Village with the other athletes. Today was a little hectic once we arrived, because it took us a little while to settle into our suites (I am with five teammates), grab a bite to eat, and then a few of us had to leave pretty quickly to go train. The dining hall is pretty amazing. First off, it is huge. Secondly, there are so many athletes from other countries that you cannot help but people watch. And thirdly, there are so many food options that you cannot help yourself. There are so many different cuisine choices, and after eating a lot of rice and pasta over the last few weeks at our other venues, we all pretty much pigged out at lunch. The village campus is pretty amazing. The landscape is beautiful. The village is pretty spread out, as we have about a fifteen minute walk to the dining hall. Most of the other USA athletes are all in one building, but since soccer teams are always moving in and out, there is one building that has been designated soccer specific. But just in the little bit we have been here, we have run into a few other USA athletes, and I have even come across a few familiar Stanford faces. It’s nice to see some ‘familiar’ faces after having been in China for so many weeks.