Thank god for ESPN

August 30, 2008

It’s a peaceful Sunday morning here in Beijing. The sky is clear and blue. The campus streets are bustling with new students and their parents preparing for the start of Monday classes. The few Christian churches in the city are filling with tourists for morning mass. And on any other Sunday, I’d be joining them. But today I have a different church.

For half a world away lies the promise land. You would not know its powers except for the large green field and booming voice from the heavens. My fellow believers are already there, dressed in the holy colors and praying the sacred hymns of our forefathers. I, myself, am at my computer – my altar – not being able to make the pilgrimage but still praising my savior. Thank god for ESPN!

My father asked me how a Tiger sports fan, like myself, could miss the football opener in St. Louis. I thought about breaking into Hooters Beijing to watch the game, but with it not opening until 11am, the timing wasn’t happening. 8:30am games really don’t work for me. ‘Tiger’ Mike Kelly is good to listen to, but I needed to see to believe. Just short of making my parents buy a webcam and pointing it toward the television, I was about to submit to the sacrifices of a foreign land when I had one more idea – ESPN360.com. The words rang from the heavens.

The Black and Gold never looked so good. With Chase Daniel presiding and JMac leading the procession, the church of football is in session in Beijing. Who would have thought that 6760 miles was only a minute delay. Laying on my bed and sporting my MIZZOU tee, the hotel staff probably thinks I’m dying with the rate I’m screaming. But I don’t care. My Tigers are on the prowl and looking for indian blood.

So, I will say my prayers and turn my rosary. And next week – Paralympics-schedule permitting – I will sit in the very front pew. But right now, the Almighty must be a Tiger fan. Miracles do happen, Mizzou. Now let’s take it to the house! M-I-Z…!

16 days, and for what?

August 28, 2008

Sixteen days. That’s all it was. Well, not quite all it was.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics are the most expensive Games in history, totaling $40.9 billion US in six years on infrastructure, energy, transportation and water supply projects. There were nearly a dozen new subway lines built, 12 eye-catching venues constructed, and millions of temporary jobs created.

And for what?

For 10,500 athletes from 204 countries to come together and compete for 300 pieces of gold – or gold covered metal. For 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records to be set, and a record 87 countries to win a medal during the Games. For two-thirds of the world population (4.4 billion) to watch the same thing, just at different times. For a thin veil of peace and harmony to cover the other world headlines of war and troubles. For China to finally have its day in the light and show the world remarkable traditions and customs – no matter what the price may be.

China will get back a little of that money. With 70,000 visitors a day to the superstore on the Olympic Green, it is estimated $70 million was spent for 5,000 different types of souvenirs. I think I commented on it before, but they had EVERYTHING except embroidered badges – sorry daddy – and books. Of course, since everything was made in china, who would want a Chinglish book anyways? And that superstore was only available to staff and people who had tickets to specific venues; 230 additional stores covered the rest of the population.

NBC also paid China for the historic Games. For a mere $894 million, they could have sole rights for the US. In return, they produced 1,400 hours of coverage on six television networks, 2,200 hours of live competition from Beijing available online. NBC averaged 27.7 million viewers a night for its prime-time coverage, and while it won't top the 33.1 million average for Atlanta, it’s not too shabby with the 12 hour time difference. I’m still not sure it’s worth it though… 16 days? That’s $55 million a day. Obama could only raise that much in the entire month of February. The Dark Knight didn’t even reached that each day in opening weekend.

So now, Misty-Mae can shake her groove-thang on Dancing with the Stars, though hopefully with a bit more clothes on. Phelps can be on SNL (although we’d like him to not put clothes on, thank you). Millions of dollars can be exchanged back in the US on endorsement deals.
And what about China?

The day after closing ceremony, although many woke up a bit later than normal, things ran as if nothing happened. Cars were back on the streets. A thick smog once again covered the city. Old men sat out on the sidewalks playing cards or Chinese Checkers while little lap dogs explored nearby and wives sat fanning themselves in the heat. The airport was undoubtedly busier than normal, but that was the only city sector bustling with activity. Even the Silk and Pearl Markets, which raised haggling prices for the influx of foreigners, were marking things back down and readjusting to lower profits.

The only thing in Beijing that screamed “Olympics,” besides the banners being torn down or swapped with Paralympics ones, was the constant replay of Chinese victories on CCTV. And they keep coming. And coming.

Now is the IPC’s turn to shine. While 52 of my Mizzou colleagues boarded a plane this afternoon for the US, 6 of us are still doing time. Parts of us wanted to depart with them. That would have been easy. But we still have three weeks to experience something new, something only 30,000 other volunteers get to do (while that sounds like a lot, there were 1.5 million volunteers for the IOC events).

It will be interesting to see how China reacts. Already, they are spotlighting athletes once kept in the dark for their disabilities. And while only 50% of the city is handicapped accessible, it’s a huge jump from the previous percentage.

Why did we stay? We get to report on sports not everyone knows about and about athletes people should! Olympics athletes have amazing stories, yes. But some of that is still fame and privilege. I want to learn the story of the wheelchair fencing champion. No one can say he/she is in it for the fame and glory. At least, I don’t think. I’m scheduled to cover wheelchair basketball for ten days, one of the premier events, and can’t wait to get started!

Wrapping up one; still a month to go

August 23, 2008

(Photos to come when I can. I have many, just been busy. In the meantime, look at the panos page, there are several new ones with more of those to come as well)

So, once upon a time, there was this thing called time. And it was in the future and present tenses, not past tense as we know it today…. Where did that time go?

And where did I leave off so long ago. Oh yeah, track and field. So everyone knows Bolt (ironic name, isn’t it) broke the 100m – the night I was there. I surely hope he’s the real thing. It would be so sad if something like that is artificial. And he’s the same age as me! I can run the 100m too… in about 4 times as long. That’s not who I was watching though. I was watching Richard Thompson (unfortunately spelled with a ‘P’), who got silver. I think he’s actually gotten two of them now. Go figure: “For the silver medal, Richard Thomson” hehehe. I like the ring of that… (for those who don’t know, Richard Thomson is my fiancé, Richard Thompson is from Trinadad.)
Just a question. What is up with countries using the wrong colors? (This blog is going to jump – my mind is like that right now) The Dutch are always clad in brilliant orange. The Aussies use yellow and green. The Italians, at least this year, are dressed in blue and silver. And NONE of their flags use those colors! It’s like gymnasts’ ages; they just don’t make sense.
As far as work goes, it was busy but soooo fun. The individual events were amazing to witness in person. Even though we are supposed to be unbias, it’s really hard to do. You just want the red-white-and-blue to win. And they have, with 107 medals at this count and a few more to go tomorrow. BTW, I sing the Chinese anthem in my sleep now. That and the Fuwa song they played in between each apparatus rotation in the NIS.

Yet, gymnastics had to come to an end, and overnight the venue was transformed into reckless world of handball. Let me tell you, the difference in the crowds… wow. I didn’t realize how quiet the previous fans were, even with a Chinese gymnast due up. I also had to bid farewell to my FQR job, at least for now. Heck, I don’t know anything about handball. Let the reporters who’ve been covering it do the job. Now I’ve been working in the Press Workroom – basically doing nothing but waiting to help a journalist who may need assistance.

Before the Olympics started, the city of Beijing put up posters for their residents about questions not to ask foreigners. Among them were: don’t ask about relationship status, don’t ask about jobs, don’t ask about politics, don’t ask about salary. I have gotten all of them – multiple times even. So, next time you just meet a stranger on the street, ask their salary (or the average salary, or my parent’s salary, one guy was very persistent). Hey, it’s what the Olympics people do!

And my job title should officially be changed to ONS Flash Quote Reporter and Foreign Visitor Services. I’m not as bad as my friend Ted. He is Korean (adopted as a baby, grew up in the states), and must be approached 30 times a day by Chinese visitors needing assistance. He’s definitely a good sport about it, and sometimes is lucky to have someone also speak English. But while in uniform I too am fair game for natives and Westerners alike. My favorite comment, from an Aussie I think, was “What, you’re not Asian?” hehehe. Ummm…. Sure. Let’s go with that shall we.

I do admit, some of the genuinely need assistance. And I have noticed many of the volunteers make up answers when they don’t actually know. The Olympic Green has three parts: the North Zone, the Olympic Common Domain (the main center), and the South Group. And, unfortunately for many tourists, they have been letting all three onto the OCD even though the other two are over a mile away. NO, water polo IS NOT in the Water Cube! Read the ticket! Hehehe. They could give people maps too, that would help.

However, with two Californian’s misfortune came a good surprise for me. I always go in at least an hour early to work, just to hang out and trade pins. As I was passing the NIS, I saw two men, one of them rather elderly, arguing with the security at the staff entrance. Knowing full well they speak little English, I go up and offer to help. Sure enough, they need Handball and Water Polo (both in the South). They tell me they have been wandering for hours on bad directions, have no water, and are extremely late (like 2 hours after their first ticket started). So, I offer to take them to a cab and to the other entrances – offering my water bottle of course. Come to find out, their names are Robert and Alexander (Sandor) Tarics. That last name may not mean anything to you, but it should. Sandor turns out to be the oldest living gold medalist. And at a youthful 95-years-old, he is still pretty spry, even with heat exhaustion. He competed at the Berlin 1936 games in Water Polo for Hungary. I was unfortunately not able to set up an interview with him due to my work schedule, but it really made my day. I just wonder how much the event has changed, good or bad, in that timeframe. People have claimed both to have very political overtones. Both are during a time of uncertainty in the world. Did a gold medal mean or symbolize something different back then? There are just so many questions to think about.

All work and no play ... heck with that!

August 13, 2008

When going to the Olympics, you must know a few things. First, sleep does not exist. Especially when the games are 12 hours ahead of their main audience (because even though the US is not the center of the universe – sorry to break that bubble – it is the money center). So, events that normally would be played at reasonable hours are now being played from 4 until midnight, and then picking up at 9am the next morning (basically a backwards schedule, so the finals can be shown live in eastern prime time). We were actually shocked that opening ceremony wasn’t at 8am, but I guess then the fireworks would be quite as amazing. Again, did you see that production!? We are still talking about it!

You could just feel the excitement in the air today after yesterday’s men’s gymnastics (GA) team finals (USA-USA-USA…). I admit; I watched the men in my room. On a rare day off, I wasn’t going to fight the crowds when I had AC, a "comfy" bed and a front row view on my flat screen. Plus I could root on the team with fellow countrymen online and without my supervisor correcting me – volunteers aren’t supposed to have bias.

Anyways, 5am wake-up calls are never fun, but I won’t complain when they come before Women’s GA team finals :) At least I’ve always been able to get up to the alarm *cough – roommate was late.* hehehe. Just walking into the arena before the competition, I could feel something new in the air that was absent from qualifications. There were actually people there for one; granted 3/4 of them were for the home team. Flags were dangled from balconies or clutched in anxious fans’ hands. The Aussies had their blow-up kangaroos (many jokes there, believe me) and giant '#1' fingers. The Brazilians had their crazy wigs and face paint (remember, these guys go all out with football/soccer). And the Americans, though outnumbered, had their mighty "USA" chant. Of course, as soon as they’d start that, the Chinese would counter with their own. "Zhong Guo -- Jiayou (gee-I-O)," or "China -- add oil," has actually been promoted by television programs, video presentations, commercials and official cheering squads for months. And personally, it’s getting on my nerves – but that’s not hard.

There’s no real way to describe it – you just have to go to an Olympics event. On one hand, you want to promote peace. On the other, you want to totally cream the other countries. It brings out a kind of patriotism you never knew existed. It’s not that you hope the other team falls… well… you just want them to look bad. Ok, that totally didn’t sound right, but it’s true. Not even a MU-kU game stirs that type of hunger. It comes from someplace else. Probably because we already know Kansas sucks :)

Boy, was that a long tangent… The second thing you must know when coming to the Olympics is the art of pin trading. That’s right. There are even specifics on categories and terminology. The hobby is said to have started around the 1896 Athens games (so it spans all of modern Olympics) when every judge, athlete and official was given a cardboard circle with a ribbon to designate their stature. Since then, it had grown to an obsession for some. People will travel halfway around the world with no intention to attend games; just to trade. The concept is easy enough though: take your pin and trade it for another. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Luckily, Mizzou knew this phenomenon and hooked us up. Unfortunately, the 150 pins each of us recieved say nothing about anything in Beijing. But we still have them. And they are very popular with our Chinese counterparts and McDonalds staffs. Hehehe.

The third thing to know, at least for an American, is to come prepared for Today Show sign slogans. It took us a couple days to come up with one we thought would work. Of course, in China, apparently you also have to bring your own poster board, since they sell it no where. Not even Kinkos. But we lucked out and it paid off. Did you see us Monday morning? If you think the crowds look slim behind the window, it’s because only people with a ticket for that day’s events on the Green even have a chance at being there. More room for us I guess, since we were on nearly every other commercial break and in the background of most segments. We even got Al to say "MIZZOU" after our chant. GO TIGERS!

I know. I'm a little behind everyone else. I wasn't able to get in until after the photo. Still, I'm there (with some friends we met from the US). Thanks for the photo Monica!

And the fourth and final think to know: HAVE FUN! You can definitely get frustrated when you’re so tired and caught up in everything. Going to games helps, if you got those tickets I talked about before… or these:

Yep. I scored. Twice. We went to beach volleyball the other day, and get to go to track events inside the Bird’s Nest this weekend. Now to only uncover some Water Cube seats. Heck that whole all-work-and-no-play thing is totally not for me. I’ve gotta play sometimes – in between sleep. Too bad I can’t "play" at the equestrian events. I’ve been unable to watch them before tonight, much to my dismay. But tonight I got to see dressage on tv. Yummy! Very pretty eye-candy (and not the same kind as men’s gymnastics). I’ve gotta volunteer for that next time. Of course, I might be asked to leave from petting the competitors too much. I know I’d get in trouble from too many photos. Ah well, worth the risk.

On a side note: are you tired of seeing McDonalds and Visa commercials yet? I’m not. Because the government runs the media here, we have NO ads. You heard me right. From Opening Ceremony to every competition right down to badminton, they are all completely uninterrupted. The only bad thing about that is the configuring of bathroom breaks.

Hello boys...

August 9, 2008

It feels like the first day of school all over again. You go in knowing what you have to do (in this case, find an athlete and get quotes), but it never quite ends up exactly as expected. I've talked to athletes in training. I even fought reporters for quotes (here and elsewhere). And of course I've watched gymnastics before, many times. But to put everything together is a whole other ballgame. And you really take NBC's scoring totals for granted. You know how hard it is to watch 6 different events simultaneously, keep track of who did what and why (fall, shaky, whatnot) since they're all competition and still focus on the few particular men who you're going to interview?

Today I went in early. First off, I wanted to see the totally cool cauldron. It must look a lot better from the inside than out. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice – maybe it was all the smog today – it just didn’t impress me as much as I’d have imagined. It does look very cool at night though. I’ll have to get some pictures.

Because I went in early, the first subdivision was still progressing (I was to work the second of three). While watching it in our little office, my manager came in and said one of the individual athletes had finished and was already in the Mixed Zone – and I needed to quote him. At first I’m like “ok, who the heck is it!?” since I hadn’t done much studying of the other subdivisions. But with a 2-second rundown I was out, acted like I knew everything about him and was published as the first official flash quotes of the gymnastics competition! Woohoo! He was really nice, too, and talkative for only speaking English as a second language. Seems to be my specialty.

I technically worked all three subdivisions, voluntarily staying late to help with the last one too. I don’t think my feet or back can take that kind of schedule again tomorrow, but I was happy to help where needed. It’s a real rush to be in the thick of things – journalists from 5+ countries all crammed in trying to get the best quotes possible from their chosen spokesmen. I did screw up once – pretty big in my mind – but I think my overall work made up for it and they didn’t yell at me too much. It’s the first true day of competition, for them and me. I’ll blame it on that. That and the chaos that defines the press Mixed Zone.

Sorry for not being more specific – I'm super tired from 12 hours on my feet. You’ll just have to watch and see…

Green does not mean go

August 8, 2008

Green definitely does NOT mean go! So I started writing this blog at exactly 8pm, on 8/8/08. Yep, it’s Olympic time! Over 91 thousand people are packed into the Bird’s Nest. I’ll guess that over 1.5 million are packed onto the Olympic Green, or OCD (Olympic Common Domain), to see the fireworks. Where am I? In my hotel room waiting for a pizza and watching the ceremony on tv…

Five hours ago, I thought it might be fun to get onto the Green to watch the ceremony. Not into the stadium of course, but the Green at least. Five hours would be enough, right? My sticker to designate permission was accidently given to another student, but I thought I’d try. All the other volunteers for NIS were on the Green. Well, after standing in line for 90 minutes at security, I had moved a foot (I’m still 50 ft away from the first checkpoint). And that was the line “for staff”. There were dozens of other lines for ticket holders. And, right when I was questioning whether I wanted to continue standing in the heat and humidity, they decide the line behind us is too long and split it, moving the people behind us next to us. We of course are still filing into the same little gate, but now there’s twice as many people in front of me.

It wasn’t a total waste of time though. Since I was wearing my fashionable blue volunteer uniform, I had probably a dozen westerners come up to me needing assistance. “How do I get to the Green,” they would ask in the slowest voice possible, like I didn’t look American or something. Some were obviously from Europe, so I understand, but someone from Boston should know better… “Well, you have three options: wait in these lines, which will probably take 3 hours or more, ride a bus and wait in another security line, or walk the 2 miles and wait in another security line.” They didn’t seem happy. I guess they assumed the same as I did: five hours would be enough, and Green would mean go. Hehehe.

Oh well. TV is better anyways… more close-ups, and I have air conditioning :) Wait till you see this production. If there were any unemployed people in China before, there wasn’t any tonight. The theatrics of it all! I won’t spoil anything, but if you were questioning whether to watch it or not, there should be no option now! I only wish I had NBC to translate it all :)

So, on to tomorrow. Work is amazing. Yesterday we saw podium training, and got our first taste of what it’s like in the Mixed Zone with other journalists. And our first shot of actually wrangling athletes. I still mainly interviewed people of other languages, so I’ll have no clue if they’re used except for maybe like the British. But that’s ok. It’s my job, and I’m loving it! Tomorrow starts men’s followed by women’s qualifications, so every gymnastics star (minus the Hamms of course) will be walking past me. YUM! Hehehe.

Green night

Temperature outside: 75, but it’s early, just wait. It is “blue sky” though. We’ll see how the forecast is over the Green
Words I know in Chinese: 28, learned one yesterday, though now I have to remember what is it...
Gymnasts we hope show up today: the USA women’s team. Woohoo!

Ok, so I HAD to write. Yesterday started out not a good day for me. I think I got whatever stomach thing is going around. Icky! So when Ted called after work to say he had good news, I was expecting him to say he’d found another NBC place (he’s been stalking them, hehehe, I’m only partly kidding).

To my surprise and joy, he pulled out a pass saying “Rehearsal” on it. Ok, so it wasn’t actually a pass into the Bird’s Nest for the opening ceremony rehearsal, but it was a pass onto the Green. As Richard put it, it was a pass to stand around outside. But it was MY pass! Hehehe.

We got there kinda late, since we waited for people, so the good spots I wanted were taken. But we set up just south of the Nest over the pond and waited. Luckily, they didn’t disappoint us. Not only was everything lit up last night, but they shot off fireworks several times throughout the practice. Now, if I had my tripod and wide angle lens, these would be awesome, but they’ll do :)

As people were swarming out, one of our Chinese colleagues mentioned her friend getting inside after the last rehearsal. Yeah, right. I was very skeptical. But, sure enough, no one stopped us.

It is completely amazing. Walking between the huge pillars that make up the outside of the nest, you can only see a little sliver of what’s inside the stands. But, as you approach, it just opens up into an amazingly huge stadium. Everything circles around unobstructed to the very top. While not as decorated from the inside as I’d have imagined (maybe they’ll do that before the 8th), it is something to behold.
Check out my panos

What we have here is a failure to communicate

Temperature outside: 82. Sunny and “blue” sky. Why couldn’t it be like this yesterday for the eclipse?
Words I know in Chinese: 27, we’ll get to one of the new ones later.
What I was watching when I started this blog: Chinese version of the Price is Right.

I know, I know. I need to post more. It’s been crazy busy, and things won’t be getting any less calm. This week starts “podium training” for the gymnasts. Nope, it’s not showing them what it’s like to win a medal, though that would be kinda cool. Athletes get to train and work out on the equipment in the FOP (field of play), which then journalists and FQRs can watch and ask questions.

I finally got my first true Olympic interview. Granted, it was 2 questions because the athlete was in a hurry, but it still counts! INFO ‘08 published it! I haven’t talked about INFO, have I? Well, we as Flash Quotes Reporters do an interview with an athlete, and then run it back to the office where we take a copytaker takes it down and sends it off to the editors. Then, if it’s approved, it gets published on INFO 2008, which is the internet one-stop-shop for accredited journalists. Complete with everything from daily weather and traffic to full coverage of past tournaments and biographies, it makes research soooo much easier. That’s actually the center of my masters research, but that’s boring stuff.

This interview also was my first use of an interpreter, since she was a Japanese gymnast and spoke no English. You really take language for granted, and I’m sure this won’t be the last time I would be lost in translation without them. It went well though. I got the quotes, and printed them out to prove it, hehehe. Now I just need to learn Japanese to see if any newspapers use them.

So, what else has been happening? Two nights ago we ventured to an amazing dumplings restaurant across town. Think pot-stickers or ravioli from the US, but ten-times better. Another Mizzou student found it first, so we can't take credit. First off, they have dozens of fillings and combinations to choose from. Lamb, pork, leek, fennel, egg, etc. And then, you can pick colors. Eating a bright eggplant-purple dumpling definitely takes some getting used to. But it’s tasty :)

As we were finishing, one of our friends wanted to bring some back for her roommate. So, we ordered another 2 helpings (12 dumplings in all), and tried to figure out how to get it to go. “Not a plate. A box”, gesturing with our hands. “Box to go? Box… to go?” It took a second, but she seemed to understand, repeated it to us, wrote something down and left. We should have known that she didn’t speak English and probably didn’t get it. So, we paid and waited. Sure enough, 12 dumplings come out on a plate. “Can we have a box to go?” She nodded, said something like “just a minute” and ran off. We saw them stacked near us, and 5 minutes later when she still didn’t bring out something, we got it ourselves. So, we get up to leave. “No, no, no…!” We are completely confused now, wondering if we need to pay for the box or something (since we pay for plastic bags at stores). By now four other servers and workers come over, everyone’s staring and we’re trying to figure out what they want. What we have here is definitely a failure to communicate. Another diner said some about us ordering more, but we motion that we just wanted a box. Box to go, right?

Long story short (too late), sure enough they bring out a large plate with potatoes and sugar syrup. The waitress brings the menu out and points to an item on the back page (all in Chinese characters, we have no clue). “Boc-su-ta-go.” It’s very good. Tastes just like the ingredients: white potatoes cooked lightly with a sugar syrup coating. I’m sure they were laughing at us the rest of the night. We were. I’d highly recommend getting a box-to-go next time you’re in Beijing. If it’s on the menu of course.

Line 8 subway finally opened. Except, it actually makes commute more troublesome. You can’t just transfer from 10 to 8 like you do the other lines. Because they built it underneath the Olympic Green, we must exit the subway line 10, go around the block, through 2 security tents, back down and around to where we started so THEN we can ride the line. Efficiency anyone? At least going home is easy – only staff can ride it right now, so there’s no one on the trains. We used it to take nighttime pictures the other night. Someone should have told us it closes at 10pm though, since we were stuck on the Green at 10:30 not knowing how to get back. Oh well. Got good pictures (and eventually found our way to line 10).

<-- Official BOCOG photo released the first day Line 8 was working. It was used in a newspaper, I just don't know which one :) Ok, I have three other posts in the works right now, so I should get more than ONE next week. I have Panos too, so be on the lookout for them in a few.

The Green is just as stunning at night. Runway-style lights line the huge plaza as each building is lit to emphasize its unique grandeur. The Bird's Nest and NIS were dark when we got there, but the Cube and tower were both in full splendor. I'm sure as soon as the tourists arrive, the scene will feel like a wonderland. We saw stages and screens set up everywhere. I can't wait for the Games to start.