it leaves me speechless.

I was speechless. I stood there and I watched the chaos that was the mixed zone. I was helpless; I was speechless. They had practiced the medal ceremonies a hundred times, but they forgot one thing. You know, that large group of people that let the rest of the world know what is happening. No one knew what was going on or how to fix it. There was a mad rush at the gates and the once-organized journalists flooded into the mixed zone only to be herded behind another fence. It probably didn't help that the competing teams in the gold-medal game were China and the Netherlands...Let me start at the beginning.

There are three things that happen after the gold-medal match: the mixed zone, the medal ceremony and the press conference. At the last minute, 15 seconds before the end of the game, the competition manager decides that the medal ceremony should happen first. The journalists, unaware of this split-second change in plans, think someone is holding them up at the gates that would normally open when the game was over. A few volunteers help to create a human gate, but it doesn't last for long. The journalists break through and are herded into a square corral. They can tell by now that the medal ceremony has taken the place of the mixed zone. A calm starts to settle... until the competition manager changes his mind again. Mixed zone is ON! We remove the gates barring the "press" and "broadcast" sections. Normally the journalists aren't supposed to mix, but there is no way to avoid it this time. People scatter. We, as volunteers, try to organize them and piss many off in the process. Well, I do. The Chinese volunteers don't do much because of their passive attitude. The mixed zone proceeds, but is cut sort because the medal ceremony has to start. Another "oh shit" moment occurs as the host broadcasters realize that the journalists in the mixed zone are in the way of the camera view of the flagpoles where the winning team's flag was going to be risen. The journalists are herded (angrily, on their part) away from the camera's reach. We move the mini fences too. When the ceremony is over, we give the journalists another shot at their desired athletes in the mixed zone, but people are so mixed together now that no one really cares. Uncredentialed volunteers are running around taking pictures, climbing on the podiums and creating all kinds of unprofessional havoc, the journalists are pissed about the disorganization and our supervisors are nowhere to be seen. We have two medal ceremony nights in Olympic Field Hockey. This was one of them, and I hope that the last shot at it is 5 million times better.

the days are all running together.

The Olympic games have run by me in a blur. It is hard to differentiate between days, hours, games, and people I have met. I expected nothing less. Soon I will be going home, and I want to make the best of this situation before I won't be in China anymore. I am taking the hits and the gifts this experience has thrown at me, and I am keeping all of it.

Tonight was the best night of Olympic field hockey yet. The funny part is that both of my most memorable moments have to do with the same hockey team. ¡España! In one of their preliminary matches, the score was 0-0 until the last 13 seconds. Spain scored to win the game, obviously. The players on both sides gave it their all until those last 13 seconds, and I could tell. It was a really exciting game. When the player for Spain scored, all of the other players on the field collapsed in exhaustion. I finally realized how important these games were to them. It made me love hockey. Tonight made me love it even more. Not only did I get to watch the semifinal matches from the press tribunes, but they were AMAZING games. The first game ended its regular session in a tie so it went into overtime halves in which no one scored again. Afterwards, both teams execute 5 penalty strokes each (like a penalty shot in ice hockey only without the running/skating start). Those ended in a tie as well. Sudden death penalty strokes gave the win to Germany, and that was a huge upset from the Netherlands. It was INSANE!

Anyway, since the game went on longer than planned, the teams for the next game began practicing on the field when the mixed zone was in operation. There was a spare Australian ball that was shot out of the field and I pocketed it.

The second game was really exciting too. Spain beat the favored Australian team 3-2, and I decided I wanted the Australian team to sign their practice ball I stole. I waited after the game and everything had ended and went over to their buses. Not only did half of the Aussie team sign my ball, but they also signed my friend's shirt and we got to talk to some of the Spanish players! They felt very start struck because hockey is generally not popular in their country so they were excited to talk to us and have fans. It feels weird to know so much about these players and have them know nothing about me. I mean, I have followed their games for almost 2 weeks. We talked to this player that was a college student in Madrid and he was really nice. When we said our goodbyes, he kissed us each twice on the cheeks and got on the bus. It was amazing. Tonight has been a good night.

you get to hear all about it!

The bus turns the corner and I can see that it is going to be a long day.

On a bus with barely 20 seats and a maximum capacity that cannot be more than 75, there are probably close to 90 people riding this morning. Since I don’t have a choice, I squeeze myself onto the crowded vehicle and it takes off for the next stop, only to pick up ten more people. For 45 minutes I endure the sardine-like experience because, as it turns out, everyone on the bus wants to get off at my stop—Lincui lu, right outside the Olympic Athlete Village. We all stumble out of the sauna that was bus line 7 and go our separate ways.

I walk up the street a couple of blocks to get to my venue security booth. Just like every other day, I take off my fanny pack, scan my card, send the pack through the x-ray machine and get wanded by a nice Chinese girl whose English vocabulary probably only consists of ‘please turn around’ and ‘thank you for your cooperation.’ I exit the security tent and make an immediate right into the building where I am supposed to ‘check in’ for the day. I scan my accreditation and accept a meal and four drink tickets—three for water, one for a soft drink.



Afterwards, I wander over to the fenced-off media area where the number four on my accreditation card allows me access. I say ‘hello’ to all of my fellow volunteers (the ones who aren’t sleeping in the press conference room) and sit down to watch whichever sport the lone press conference room TV is playing. Dinner is delivered to the dining areas at 5:00 pm, and we head over to eat at about 5:30. The two small dining warehouses always smell the same, and it is never a good smell. I hand the woman at the door my meal voucher and proceed to the row of tables stacked with coolers containing our Chinese TV dinners. Moving down the line, a banana, dessert, napkin, wet-wipe and a spork are placed on top of my tray. We sit together at a long table and take the lids off our dinners. We find rice, as usual, accompanying several dishes of pork, chicken or beef, a pickled something, cabbage and a roll. Yum. I pick through my dinner avoiding things that look too slimy or green, and wait for the others to be finished. We take our trays outside to a set of six trash cans: two for ‘other waste,’ two for plastics and two for ‘kitchen waste.’ Avoiding spilling something on my pants again, I put everything in its appropriate cannister.

The first hockey game of the night is about to start! I take my place with some Olympic News Service reporters in the press area and take in all that is Olympic hockey. I know more about this sport than any other now, and I am even keeping stats of the teams in the tournament they are playing. With ten minutes to go until the end of the game, I venture down to my post in the mixed zone. The gates separating me from the field of play open when the game is officially over and I take my position at the corner of the field. In the beginning, I helped journalists get to their positions, but now everyone seems to know the drill, and we all know each other’s faces. I watch over the mixed zone operation as the athletes file by me either overjoyed at their win or disappointed with their performance. Journalists grab who they want from the procession, ask a couple questions and hurry off to finish their stories before deadline. The mixed zone empties out, so I go and sneak into a seat in the back of the press conference room for the post-game press conference. By the time it is over, it is time for another game to start, so I go do it all over again. After the last game’s press conference, I leave the venue with some fellow students and pack onto the crowded bus down the street from the security check. In a days work, I have seen several Olympic hockey games, interacted with journalists and athletes from all over the world and met some rowdy fans as far away from home as I am.

What makes it all worth it doesn’t happen until I get out of the bus and start the trek back to Renmin University campus. Occasionally, we run into others walking on the streets and sometimes they strike up a conversation. One night we were walking back, and a group of teenagers said ‘hello’ to us.

We were going in the same direction, so we start a casual conversation about volunteering in the Olympics.
“I just want to say thank you,” one of the girls says. “Thank you for coming here to help us.”

It was just two little words, but those words have stuck with me through the tougher times of working for the Games. It makes it all seem worth it in the end.

pins, pins, PINS!

With the start of the Olympics, thus begins the start of the pin trade. Avid fans, athletes wanting to remember the games and volunteers like us whip out our pins to trade with others. Not only have I traded pins for pins, but also pins for things at the markets. In a city with such diversity as it has, these pins seem to provide a memory of the foreigners that were here. The Missouri School of Journalism gave each of its volunteers 150 J-school pins to barter off during the games. While the pin is not that popular with the spectators (because of its lack of Olympic rings), the journalists are thrilled to have a 100 year anniversary pin. I have heard of a pin-trading market and people waiting outside the venues for prospective tradees. So far, I haven't racked up any unbelievably awesome finds, but with time, I am sure the "Great Olympic Pin Exchange" will harvest some good ones. So far, fellow journalism students have given/traded pins to many well-known people including Matt, Meredith, Al and Ann from the Today show and countless athletes. We are getting our name out there , and it can only get better!

the Olympics!

The Olympics started, and I am busy! They have me working 4-midnight every day which isn't that bad if you think about it. I get to see the later hockey games if they let me into the press tribunes. I have had some trouble with that, but I think it is all worked out now. I am a pro at my job. If you didn't know, or I hadn't told you, I am a mixed zone assistant. I help operate the area where the print and broadcast press talk to the athletes after the game. I have gotten up close and personal with not only the athletes, but also the journalists. I met a journalist with the New York Times yesterday. It was nothing special, but he knows my face. I planted the seed, if you will. One of these days I am going to take photos of my day at work. I never remember to whip out my camera while I am doing things. I need to start!

it is not ABOUT CHINA.

People seem to think that in supporting the Olympics, you are supporting the country where they are hosted. This is not the case.

In applying to have the position of an international volunteer at the Olympics, we not only had to write an essay, take a test and attend countless meetings that prepared us for what we would be facing, but we also had to participate in a mock-debate. One of the debate topics was ‘Is the Olympic Dream dead?’ Now, because it was a debate and you need a positive and negative side, a team had to be on the ‘Olympic Dream is dead’ side. We debated long a hard for our respective sides, but I don’t think anyone that had to make the others believe the Dream was dead actually believed their position. After all, the reason we are here is because we think so highly of the Games. We argued that political drama and/or social drama would put an end to the Games that have brought countries together for ages, but it was all a facade. In reality, most of us here (including myself) think that if the Dream is alive in one person, it will still be carried on. Yes, these Olympics are being held in a somewhat conflictual country, but the reason for the games has nothing to do with the country’s social or political turmoil. The Olympic Games are about sport. Nations come together peacefully to show their strongest, fastest and toughest. The athletes have trained for years to compete, and not letting them show their strength or agility for completely unrelated reasons seems pointless. Being here among the athletes and journalists has really given me strong feelings of pride for the Olympic games. This is truly the largest sporting event in the world and I am so thankful to be here.

they love their Fuwas!

The Fuwa. A group of five characters created to promote the Olympics in Beijing. Previously called “friendlies” or “good-luck bears,” these five animal-like creatures have taken China by storm. At the Olympic merchandise stores, the cute little bears appear on everything from backpacks to shot glasses to pen sets. Don’t get me wrong, there is some thought behind the Fuwa. Each has their own personality, background and designated sport group. Their names also have significance. In order, they are named Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. The names, when not doubled and said together, create Beijing huanyingni or “Beijing Welcomes You,” one of the themes of this Year’s Olympic games. I am not sure how long ago these creatures were developed, but they now star in their own television series. Coming to China, I did not think much of these creatures. In fact, I thought they were quite ridiculous. Over time, though, I have learned to love the little bear-like beings. I added the facebook application telling me which one I resembled, bought the stuffed version of the cutest one and even attempted to watch one of their television series. I have been sucked in to the Fuwa madness and there is no escaping their unbelievable cuteness. At work one day, I was wandering and I saw that the Fuwa were rehearsing for their half-time show during the upcoming hockey games. There were inflatable Fuwa costumes and plush Fuwa costumes all dancing around the hockey pitch. It was the cutest thing ever! Despite my previous assumption of these fuzzy creatures, I have realized that there was much thought behind them. They are symbolic to Chinese culture and they have caught on like wildfire!

you meet some interesting people.

The following I copied and pasted from my weekly memo I had to turn in today explaining the most interesting person I have met so far. The memo is very PG rated, but I still find it 'class.'

All week long I have been racking my brains trying to think of who has been the most interesting person I have met so far. As of Thursday evening, I was still coming up with a blank. However, and most unexpected, I met my most interesting acquaintance while out for a girlfriend’s birthday last night.
While leaving a bar, we heard someone calling us back in. We ended up sitting with four guys from the UK. They were all from different parts, and some had met each other at a hostel down town. After much deliberating and barhopping, my friends, new friends and I went back to the hostel to hang out. I ended up talking to a man from Newcastle for hours and hours. He and his buddy had come from St. Petersberg and Moscow last week and were on a self-tour of Asia. He told me all about his adventures, problems he ran into and gave advice for traveling to other parts of the world. While he had not done that much traveling before his current adventures, he was animated and still had “class (or great in English-speak)” advice for me. Another interesting aspect of this guy was that even when he was speaking English to me, I could barely understand the words he was saying. I had never realized that there could be such a difference in accents and dialects among English speakers. Apparently people from Newcastle have a reputation for being incoherent.

it makes me too busy to blog!

So much has been going on the past couple of days. I haven't had time to keep up with it. I will try my best to relay what I have done in my absence...

I did a bit more sight-seeing on my days off from work. A friend and I went to Beihai park to take photos and such of the beautiful scenery. We got directions the subway and then a bus, but we really had no idea where to go in reality. We got off the subway and on to the bus without a hitch, but when it came to the Beihai bus stop, it looked like we were dropped off in the middle of a residential street. We walked onwards thinking we were just missing something until we saw the back end of the Forbidden City. After a couple stops for photo ops (this guy had an awesome kite!), we found the entrance to a park. However, since the tickets to get in were only 2RMB, we quickly realized that it was not the intended destination. We went in anyway, and I am glad we did! The park is basically a gigantic hill made from the earth dug for the moat around the Forbidden City. On the very top is a temple, and you could see every building 's rooftop of the Forbidden City. It was a sea of golden roofs I had never realized how big it was until then! We climbed down and out the opposite gate and continued our search for Beihai park. Luckily it was not too far from the west gate of Jingshan park--the one we had just explored. Once we got there, we were immersed in the beautiful scenery. We walked around, climbed up to the tower on the jade islet and took tons of photos. We couldn't have asked for a better day weather-wise.



The next day I decided to have for myself. I had been wanting to go to Factory 798 since I got here, but could never find anyone willing to travel that far. I got bus directions from the ladies at the front desk of our hotel, and started my trek across the city for a day of art. It took about an hour and several confused bus drivers later, but I made it in one piece! Factory 798 was amazing. It is a grid of streets lined with old warehouses that have been remodeled into individual art studios! It was awesome to see the Asian contemporary art. It was something I had not experienced. The exhibits ranged from housing sculptures and paintings, to a 'motion' exhibit with a cage and more than 10 out-of-control electric wheelchairs. One of my favorites was the Comme des Garcons display. It contained huge billboard-like works of art putting a different perspective to contemporary items. I almost felt bad taking photos, but everyone else was doing it too despite the 'no photo' signs everywhere. I took a break from the exhibits for a while and sat in a coffee house to read. It was a very relaxing day.  Another thing I came across was (for lack of better terminology) a shrine to everything Nike. It had a collection of Nike shoes dating back to the early 1900s, and sporting mannequins dressed in the Chinese Olympic team uniforms representing every sport China is in. Go go product placement!

Afterwards, I met up with some friends at Hard Rock Café! The food was just like being back home and we all appreciated it very much. It gets a bit boring eating the same old rice and entree dish every day, Hard Rock was a familiar change.

Training at work is over with, and the venues officially opened on the 5th. Still, nothing really happens at hockey until the 10th. They have us checking IDs in the press area until then. Everyone is getting really excited and I, for one, am so ready for the Olympics!

PS- I will upload more pics soon. Blogger isn't letting me do it at the moment.

I am more appealing here.

I don't know what it is about this country, but for some reason I have been very popular with native and foreign boys here. I have met several Chinese guys that have given me their number, gifts, stalked me via phone calls, etc. I am not bragging either. I find it odd. What is it about me here that I don't have back home? Well, obviously besides the natural beauty. But seriously. I know I am foreign, but my friends are too and they don't attract near as many admirers and well-wishers. This post doesn't have much to do with China, but my personal inquisition to the male mind. The ones you don't like want you, and the ones you want don't want anything to do with you. I have gotten some cool stuff out of the deal though. Wow, that makes me sound horrible.

Anyway, I am off tomorrow and I am planning a longer post about more of the goings on of me in the fair city of Beijing. Stay tuned!