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.