My Olympic experience has come to an end. I just finished watching the last event on TV while waiting for the Closing Ceremonies to begin. These two weeks were simply amazing. To be in the city that they were happening is an experience that I think will need some time to really sink in. To be able to attend as many events as I did was simply incredible. After experiencing these games on the front lines I know that I want to be back, to be present at the games again in the future. While watching on television may give a bit better view of the action, nothing matches the excitement of watching in person.
Week two brought more excitement and new events. Even though swimming had concluded by week two, I really feel like this past week offered more excitement and more enjoyment for me. The week started with a trip back out to Changping, the city and district where my school is located. I caught the women’s triathlon in the beautiful setting of the Ming Reservoir. While the nature of the sport meant that we were not able to see the entire race unfold before us, we were able to see most of the swim as well as the transitions. In addition, the athletes made their way through the stadium every lap offering us ample opportunities to cheer them on. Emma Snowsill, an Australian ran away from the competition, closing with a very fast run to pull away from the field. I was hoping for an American medal, but it was a near miss as the top American finished in 4th place.
That afternoon I got to watch Track and Field at the Bird’s Nest for the first time. The venue was amazing and the show that the athletes put on was even more incredible. This night offered just about everything we could want to see. We got to witness a World Record, an American victory, an American sweep (1,2,3 in the Men’s 400m Hurdles) and an appearance by the new World’s Fastest Man. The World Record closed out our night and was set by a complete princess, the Russian Pole Vaulter. She had only jumped two times when she had clinched the gold medal. She did not end there, continuing to jump to set first the Olympic Record and then, on her last attempt, the new World Record.
Tuesday was supposed to be an off day for me, but my friend Ed convinced me that we should try and see what prices scalpers were asking for the Football (soccer) Semi-final between Argentina and Brazil. The price was not too ridiculous so we found ourselves in the 8th row for this incredible match. We got there early to find that we did not have that much legroom in our seats. I put my feet on the seat infront of me but was quickly told that this was not allowed. A bit later I draped my legs over the seat and was again told that this was not allowed. Finally I sat on the back of my seat to await the beginning of the match. Soon the usher came up to me again but this time, instead of saying that this was not allowed, told us that she was sorry that the seats were so close together. To make up for this, she offered to move us to other seats. There were some seats reserved for VIP’s and offered not only more leg room, but also a much better view. It was a great example of the helpfulness of the volunteers at these games. Most of the time they were more than ready to help. The seats offered us a great view for the convincing 3-0 victory fro Argentina. The match featured some of the world’s best players and was one of the highlights of the games for me. Argentina went on to win the Gold and was very deserving of this. They were clearly the class of the field of the matches I saw.
Thursday morning brought me back to the Water Cube for the last time. I got to see the semi-finals of Women’s 10m platform diving. The skill of these divers was incredible and I was treated to a display of Chinese dominance in this sport. As someone that is afraid of heights, I cannot imagine why people would choose to throw themselves off of such a height as sport. I sat next to a couple that was friends with American diver, Laura Wilkinson, yet another perk of being at the Olympics.
On Friday I got to see another session of Track, this time featuring yet another World Record as well as an American victory in the Decathlon. The World Record came in the 4x100 relay by the Jamaican’s and was the third World Record for Usain Bolt. It was impressive display by the entire Jamaican team. I also got to see the latest in the line of the American Decathlon champions, Bryan Clay. It was a bit anti-climactic, but still cool to watch. He had such a large lead after the first 9 events that he really did not need to race the final event, the 1500m. He crossed the line last, but still was the gold-medalist based on his 470 point lead entering that event.
I ended my event schedule with a trip out to the west of Beijing to watch the Men’s Mountain Bike race. French rider, Julian Absalon, who from the third lap on rode away from the field, won this pretty easily. What made this event so much fun to watch was that we were allowed to line the course, without being restricted to a seat or seating area. This allowed the spectators to move around and see different aspects of the race, not only the start/ finish line.
All in all, I could not ask for a lot more out of the events that I got to see. I plan on offering my overall analysis of the city during this time in my next post a bit later in the week. The chance to see the games in person was amazing and an experience that I recommend to everyone. The chance to witness the spectacle, competition and nationalism that accompanied the Olympics was more than I could have imagined.
8.25.2008
8.20.2008
Olympics...week 1
The Olympics have been an incredible experience. The sights, sounds and overall atmosphere in Beijing during the last week has been like nothing I have experienced here before. The competitions have been amazing and the city has certainly put on its best face.
The first week of competition brought me to a wide variety of events. I have been very impressed with my seats so far, very pleased that the least expensive tickets did not put me too far away from the action.
The first event that I went to was Rowing. Unfortunately the weather was less than perfect but being at the Olympics for the first time more than made up for this downside. It was a humid day with a bit of rain so visibility was a bit of an issue. On a 2 kilometer course we were only able to see about the last 750 meters of the racing, though a large video screen did help make up for this. By the end of the session the rain had started to fall harder and eventually the session was called off until the next morning. We had other things to see in Beijing that kept us from coming back out to see the rescheduled event, but our taste of Rowing made us want to see more of the games. Looking back, this was probably my least favorite of the events that I saw. The level of excitement was tempered by the weather and lack of
visibility.
Day two brought us back out to the Shunyi Rowing Venue, but this time to watch White Water Kayaking. This has been, one of the most enjoyable events that I have seen. Our seats were general admission and because of the threat of rain most people had moved to the top of the grandstand. This left the lower rows open offering a perfect view of the course. The action was continuous and the announcer made the atmosphere much more entertaining than rowing. Even with only one competitor on the course, there was always something to watch. We witnessed our first American success of the games, cheered for the eventual Bronze medalist from Togo and met parents of kayakers from both Great Britain and Australia. This was a top-notch event that I would have loved to catch a second session.
The following morning I left my family to go through the Forbidden City while I made my way to Field Hockey. This is a sport that I knew little about but was filled in on the rules and strategy by the Australians sitting next to me. I was supposed to see two games but ran into some difficulties getting to the venue. I left my ticket at the apartment so I had to backtrack to pick these up. On my way back to the field, my bus broke down. I got off and instead of waiting for the next one, decided that the walk could not be that far, 30 minutes later I was still en route. Once I finally settled into my seat I was very happy to once again find that my seats were much better than I had anticipated. I was in the third row, right behind the goal.
Later that same day, the boys in the family went to Beijing Worker’s Stadium for Football (soccer). We saw Brazil and Nigeria play followed by Sweden and Canada. This was the final match in group play for the women and determined who would go onto the next round. Brazil won the first game. They have gone on to advance to the final this week where they will play the United States. In this match we got to see a hat trick by Christiana accentuated by a bicycle kick goal. The second match was taken by Sweden. We once again had great seats, though the legroom was a little bit tight.
The last few days my family was in Beijing I had a few days off from spectating. When they went to Xi’an, I stayed back to watch Volleyball and Swimming. Volleyball is another sport that, while familiar with the basics, I do not really follow. In the two matches that I saw, I saw Russia beat Algeria and Brazil dominate Kazakhstan. Brazil was clearly a dominant team and my pick to win the gold medal. After watching Volleyball I made my way to the Olympic Green to brave the crowds, buy some souvenirs and take in the sights and sounds of this area. The line to get into the Beijing 2008 official store took me almost and hour to navigate but I really did not have much else to do between events. The Green was amazing, showcasing the architecture of the venues and of course the official sponsors as well. The weather was beautiful, clear blue sky and dry air, a rarity this time of year in Beijing. Following the afternoon of taking in the Green I finally got to see some swimming. I had applied for a lot of tickets but wound up with only this one. I saw the preliminaries of the Women’s 50 Free and Medley Relay and the Men’s 1500 Free and Medley Relay. This broke my string of good seats as I was way far away from the pool. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to be there and can now say I have been to Olympic swimming. I saw a new Olympic Record in the 1500 by Grant Hacket and a near miss in the 50 Free by Cate Campbell.
To close out the first week I saw what has been the best match of my experience so far. On Saturday I had Water Polo tickets to three early round matches. The first was a close match between Italy and Germany, the second a blowout but the third was where the real excitement was. The United States played the defending World Champions, Croatia. The U.S. needed a victory to put itself in a position to automatically move to the semifinals. The team played excellent defense and came away with a 7-5 victory.
Over the first week there were many highlights but if I had to say, I appreciated and got more excited over the team sports. It is much more exciting to “pick a side” instead of cheering for individuals. This also helps brings the nationalism aspect into play. There will be more to come but for now this is a recap of the first week of events for me.
The first week of competition brought me to a wide variety of events. I have been very impressed with my seats so far, very pleased that the least expensive tickets did not put me too far away from the action.
The first event that I went to was Rowing. Unfortunately the weather was less than perfect but being at the Olympics for the first time more than made up for this downside. It was a humid day with a bit of rain so visibility was a bit of an issue. On a 2 kilometer course we were only able to see about the last 750 meters of the racing, though a large video screen did help make up for this. By the end of the session the rain had started to fall harder and eventually the session was called off until the next morning. We had other things to see in Beijing that kept us from coming back out to see the rescheduled event, but our taste of Rowing made us want to see more of the games. Looking back, this was probably my least favorite of the events that I saw. The level of excitement was tempered by the weather and lack of
visibility.
Day two brought us back out to the Shunyi Rowing Venue, but this time to watch White Water Kayaking. This has been, one of the most enjoyable events that I have seen. Our seats were general admission and because of the threat of rain most people had moved to the top of the grandstand. This left the lower rows open offering a perfect view of the course. The action was continuous and the announcer made the atmosphere much more entertaining than rowing. Even with only one competitor on the course, there was always something to watch. We witnessed our first American success of the games, cheered for the eventual Bronze medalist from Togo and met parents of kayakers from both Great Britain and Australia. This was a top-notch event that I would have loved to catch a second session.
The following morning I left my family to go through the Forbidden City while I made my way to Field Hockey. This is a sport that I knew little about but was filled in on the rules and strategy by the Australians sitting next to me. I was supposed to see two games but ran into some difficulties getting to the venue. I left my ticket at the apartment so I had to backtrack to pick these up. On my way back to the field, my bus broke down. I got off and instead of waiting for the next one, decided that the walk could not be that far, 30 minutes later I was still en route. Once I finally settled into my seat I was very happy to once again find that my seats were much better than I had anticipated. I was in the third row, right behind the goal.
Later that same day, the boys in the family went to Beijing Worker’s Stadium for Football (soccer). We saw Brazil and Nigeria play followed by Sweden and Canada. This was the final match in group play for the women and determined who would go onto the next round. Brazil won the first game. They have gone on to advance to the final this week where they will play the United States. In this match we got to see a hat trick by Christiana accentuated by a bicycle kick goal. The second match was taken by Sweden. We once again had great seats, though the legroom was a little bit tight.
The last few days my family was in Beijing I had a few days off from spectating. When they went to Xi’an, I stayed back to watch Volleyball and Swimming. Volleyball is another sport that, while familiar with the basics, I do not really follow. In the two matches that I saw, I saw Russia beat Algeria and Brazil dominate Kazakhstan. Brazil was clearly a dominant team and my pick to win the gold medal. After watching Volleyball I made my way to the Olympic Green to brave the crowds, buy some souvenirs and take in the sights and sounds of this area. The line to get into the Beijing 2008 official store took me almost and hour to navigate but I really did not have much else to do between events. The Green was amazing, showcasing the architecture of the venues and of course the official sponsors as well. The weather was beautiful, clear blue sky and dry air, a rarity this time of year in Beijing. Following the afternoon of taking in the Green I finally got to see some swimming. I had applied for a lot of tickets but wound up with only this one. I saw the preliminaries of the Women’s 50 Free and Medley Relay and the Men’s 1500 Free and Medley Relay. This broke my string of good seats as I was way far away from the pool. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to be there and can now say I have been to Olympic swimming. I saw a new Olympic Record in the 1500 by Grant Hacket and a near miss in the 50 Free by Cate Campbell.
To close out the first week I saw what has been the best match of my experience so far. On Saturday I had Water Polo tickets to three early round matches. The first was a close match between Italy and Germany, the second a blowout but the third was where the real excitement was. The United States played the defending World Champions, Croatia. The U.S. needed a victory to put itself in a position to automatically move to the semifinals. The team played excellent defense and came away with a 7-5 victory.
Over the first week there were many highlights but if I had to say, I appreciated and got more excited over the team sports. It is much more exciting to “pick a side” instead of cheering for individuals. This also helps brings the nationalism aspect into play. There will be more to come but for now this is a recap of the first week of events for me.
8.16.2008
Part 2
We only had about 10 days together as a family, and in that time we did a ton, saw a ton of the country and overall had an excellent time. As our family tends to do, our major activities were centered mostly around the meals that we ate. We had a ton of good food in the time while only scratching the surface of the options in the cities we visited.
On the 3rd of August they arrived in Shanghai. After checking them into the hotel and our hostel (both nice, though the hotel was incredible). We made our way to a massage and dinner. After that they crashed and woke me up early in the morning since they were just a bit jet lagged. We went to the Urban Planning Institute (an awesome place, much better than it sounds even if it sounds cool) to get an idea of the layout of the city. This, like about everything I had planned, took a lot longer than I had anticipated. This was the hottest day we had during their time here and that, coupled with the jet lag made for a bit of a rough day. We had dumplings near Yu Gardens and then went back to the hotel for a rest. We capped off the night with dinner and drinks at Cloud 9, the highest bar in the world. It makes for incredible sights and a memorable night. The next morning we waited in line for the Shanghai Museum, did a bit of shopping and had a great lunch at a place in the French Concession. In part because of so many people we took a long time to eat (over 2 hours) and then separated to shop some more on our own. By the end of the afternoon we were all tired and ready for our second stop. For most of us this was Tibet, the Grandparents made their way to Guilin.
In Tibet we arrived and acclimated to the altitude with varying degrees of success. Making it more difficult was a number of unsettled stomach's. Almost everyone was affected but we cannot figure out a culprit. It seems to finally have passed though and by the end of our time here everyone was feeling better. In Tibet we just relaxed at our gorgeous hotel the first day. Dinner was delicious but I was the only one that had much of a appetite. I finished off my Mom's, both Sister's and Brother's meal (or at least parts of it). We had started the day at 4:30 so we had an early night to get ready for the next day. The following morning we went through the Potala Palace. This was my second time through my favorite building in the world, but I had remembered very little of the history of it, making the tour very interesting. It is a breathtaking place (literally and figuratively). In the afternoon we made out way to the Barkhor for a bit more retail therapy. The things we bought were by and large relatively cheap things, but they are things that cannot be found anywhere else in the world (or so I like to think). Even if you can, the fact that they were bought in Tibet makes it so much cooler. The next morning we went to a Monastery and the Tibetan Summer Palace. Both very cool and worth the time but by the end all of the Buddha's were beginning to run together. Oh well, it is just like cathedrals in Europe…after a while, they all look the same. The most shocking thing about Tibet was the amount of police and military that were stationed there. It was super intimidating at first, but by the end I was kind of used to it. Most of them had guns but almost without exception they seemed like they did not want to really be there. The Tibetan people were just as generous, friendly and beautiful as I remembered them. They are happy to see foreigners starting to return. Our guide said that last year he had 2000 tourists but this year we were only his 3rd tour due to the regulations set by the Chinese government. It is sad, especially since so much of their economy relies on tourism income.
I was sad to leave, but excited to show off Beijing to the family. Tibet was the most memorable for me, as well as my favorite part of the trip. I did not feel like I was in charge there and was happy to just follow along. I did not have an itinerary in mind which made all of lives better. I knew there were some things that I wanted everyone to see, but I needed a refresher as well since it had been four years since I was last there. I was amazed at the changes that were there and felt very fortunate to be back.
We got into Beijing late at night and had some issues meeting up in the giant Beijing airport. On top of that, we had two different places to go and no transportation arranged. This made for the first of a few stressful situations for me, but it all worked out in the end. The weather in Beijing was less than ideal, rainy but not too hot. It seemed like every site we went we could only see a little part of it, though my family assured me that they still loved every minute of it. Our first day consisted of the Temple of Heaven, lunch at Café Zarah (my families favorite in Beijing), a trip to the Tailors and then Rowing tickets. Rowing was a bit wet, in fact, it got delayed because of thunder towards the end.
This first taste of the Olympics is still my least favorite of the events I have seen. It just was hard to get excited about watching a 2 km race when you could only see a bit of it because the humidity, fog and rain which made visibility almost nonexistent. After this we went out to Duck with my Tutor Han Yang, her husband and May (my co-teacher). To help us (me) relax we went for another massage after dinner.
The next day we went to the Summer Palace, had a delicious lunch at the Olive and then went to White Water Kayaking. This was awesome. We had great seats, it was exciting to watch and I finally felt like I was getting into the Olympic spirit. This was one of the highlights for me and I know that my Dad really enjoyed it as well. After this we went for a bit of shopping, braving Wangfujing street and the Olympic Store. The next day they tried to go to the Forbidden City while I had Field Hockey tickets but they had problems meeting up and ended up only having about 45 minutes to see this gigantic site, a trip that normally takes between three and four hours. We had a great lunch and then broke into two groups. The girls going with my friend Annie and Mamie, for a bit of shopping and a trip to the Chinese Salon while the boys went to Soccer. I had a great time at the games and we had great seats.
Wednesday was spent shopping, eating, a second trip to the Tailor for fittings and finally out to the 798 Art District. We had a great dinner helped by a bit of wine and apple brandy at a great French restaurant followed by yet another massage. The last day was spent at the Great Wall. It was a gorgeous morning, but on our way back it started to pour. We were supposed to visit my school, but it was raining too hard so we did a drive by and then headed back to Beijing to see my apartment and have a delicious normal Chinese meal. The bill came to about 25 U.S. for the 8 of us and it was one of the best meals that we had. Another good day and a good way to end their time here. I said goodbye to them at the train station and they are now in Xi'an, hopefully enjoying it there. It was great having them here and hard to say goodbye. I am pretty sure that they all enjoyed their time here even if there were times where I did not make the best tour guide.
I feel like I have taken enough of your time so I will save more Olympic stories for the next day or two.
On the 3rd of August they arrived in Shanghai. After checking them into the hotel and our hostel (both nice, though the hotel was incredible). We made our way to a massage and dinner. After that they crashed and woke me up early in the morning since they were just a bit jet lagged. We went to the Urban Planning Institute (an awesome place, much better than it sounds even if it sounds cool) to get an idea of the layout of the city. This, like about everything I had planned, took a lot longer than I had anticipated. This was the hottest day we had during their time here and that, coupled with the jet lag made for a bit of a rough day. We had dumplings near Yu Gardens and then went back to the hotel for a rest. We capped off the night with dinner and drinks at Cloud 9, the highest bar in the world. It makes for incredible sights and a memorable night. The next morning we waited in line for the Shanghai Museum, did a bit of shopping and had a great lunch at a place in the French Concession. In part because of so many people we took a long time to eat (over 2 hours) and then separated to shop some more on our own. By the end of the afternoon we were all tired and ready for our second stop. For most of us this was Tibet, the Grandparents made their way to Guilin.
In Tibet we arrived and acclimated to the altitude with varying degrees of success. Making it more difficult was a number of unsettled stomach's. Almost everyone was affected but we cannot figure out a culprit. It seems to finally have passed though and by the end of our time here everyone was feeling better. In Tibet we just relaxed at our gorgeous hotel the first day. Dinner was delicious but I was the only one that had much of a appetite. I finished off my Mom's, both Sister's and Brother's meal (or at least parts of it). We had started the day at 4:30 so we had an early night to get ready for the next day. The following morning we went through the Potala Palace. This was my second time through my favorite building in the world, but I had remembered very little of the history of it, making the tour very interesting. It is a breathtaking place (literally and figuratively). In the afternoon we made out way to the Barkhor for a bit more retail therapy. The things we bought were by and large relatively cheap things, but they are things that cannot be found anywhere else in the world (or so I like to think). Even if you can, the fact that they were bought in Tibet makes it so much cooler. The next morning we went to a Monastery and the Tibetan Summer Palace. Both very cool and worth the time but by the end all of the Buddha's were beginning to run together. Oh well, it is just like cathedrals in Europe…after a while, they all look the same. The most shocking thing about Tibet was the amount of police and military that were stationed there. It was super intimidating at first, but by the end I was kind of used to it. Most of them had guns but almost without exception they seemed like they did not want to really be there. The Tibetan people were just as generous, friendly and beautiful as I remembered them. They are happy to see foreigners starting to return. Our guide said that last year he had 2000 tourists but this year we were only his 3rd tour due to the regulations set by the Chinese government. It is sad, especially since so much of their economy relies on tourism income.
I was sad to leave, but excited to show off Beijing to the family. Tibet was the most memorable for me, as well as my favorite part of the trip. I did not feel like I was in charge there and was happy to just follow along. I did not have an itinerary in mind which made all of lives better. I knew there were some things that I wanted everyone to see, but I needed a refresher as well since it had been four years since I was last there. I was amazed at the changes that were there and felt very fortunate to be back.
We got into Beijing late at night and had some issues meeting up in the giant Beijing airport. On top of that, we had two different places to go and no transportation arranged. This made for the first of a few stressful situations for me, but it all worked out in the end. The weather in Beijing was less than ideal, rainy but not too hot. It seemed like every site we went we could only see a little part of it, though my family assured me that they still loved every minute of it. Our first day consisted of the Temple of Heaven, lunch at Café Zarah (my families favorite in Beijing), a trip to the Tailors and then Rowing tickets. Rowing was a bit wet, in fact, it got delayed because of thunder towards the end.
This first taste of the Olympics is still my least favorite of the events I have seen. It just was hard to get excited about watching a 2 km race when you could only see a bit of it because the humidity, fog and rain which made visibility almost nonexistent. After this we went out to Duck with my Tutor Han Yang, her husband and May (my co-teacher). To help us (me) relax we went for another massage after dinner.
The next day we went to the Summer Palace, had a delicious lunch at the Olive and then went to White Water Kayaking. This was awesome. We had great seats, it was exciting to watch and I finally felt like I was getting into the Olympic spirit. This was one of the highlights for me and I know that my Dad really enjoyed it as well. After this we went for a bit of shopping, braving Wangfujing street and the Olympic Store. The next day they tried to go to the Forbidden City while I had Field Hockey tickets but they had problems meeting up and ended up only having about 45 minutes to see this gigantic site, a trip that normally takes between three and four hours. We had a great lunch and then broke into two groups. The girls going with my friend Annie and Mamie, for a bit of shopping and a trip to the Chinese Salon while the boys went to Soccer. I had a great time at the games and we had great seats.
Wednesday was spent shopping, eating, a second trip to the Tailor for fittings and finally out to the 798 Art District. We had a great dinner helped by a bit of wine and apple brandy at a great French restaurant followed by yet another massage. The last day was spent at the Great Wall. It was a gorgeous morning, but on our way back it started to pour. We were supposed to visit my school, but it was raining too hard so we did a drive by and then headed back to Beijing to see my apartment and have a delicious normal Chinese meal. The bill came to about 25 U.S. for the 8 of us and it was one of the best meals that we had. Another good day and a good way to end their time here. I said goodbye to them at the train station and they are now in Xi'an, hopefully enjoying it there. It was great having them here and hard to say goodbye. I am pretty sure that they all enjoyed their time here even if there were times where I did not make the best tour guide.
I feel like I have taken enough of your time so I will save more Olympic stories for the next day or two.
8.06.2008
Family Trip part 1
I know that I have not written as much this year, and with the recent over two month break in between posts I probably lost all of the readers that I did have. But I am going to try and redeem myself in the next few weeks. Not to make excuses, but my excuse has been that I have yet to leave Beijing….at least until today. For the next two weeks I get to play host to my family, taking them all over China. This means stories of trips, experiences and things that for me are out of the ordinary. I realize that the life I am living over here is far different from the life I live at home and for most of you that means interesting stories, but it is hard to write about the everyday (for me) on a consistent basis. Please accept my apologies and check in between now and the end of September. In addition to the family trip, rumor has it that there is a big event or two going on in Beijing in the upcoming months. It should be an exciting time and I will do my best to fill you in on the details in the coming days and weeks.
Those few loyal readers that I have know that I have a love/ hate relationship with Chinese trains. I have had some great memories from past trips and some good stories as well. See Xi’an 2007. I came down to Shanghai again on the train yesterday. For those of you that think you are patient people, I invite you to spend a night sitting in a train car in China. I would not describe myself as a patient person. At times I get frustrated pretty easily here in China since the American (Western) idea of personal space is not really translated well into a country of 1.3 billion people. The people of China share space with each other every day of their lives and see nothing wrong with crowding complete strangers on public transportation, in lines and on the street. The idea of a line is somewhat foreign to the Chinese, but in all fairness, the government has worked hard to change this in preparation for the Olympics. This has not totally caught no, but as a whole it has improved.
As for on the train, this comfort with sharing space seemed to mean to my fellow passengers that they believed it was ok to talk loudly the entire night when everyone else on the train was trying to sleep, playing cell phone games with the speaker on, loudly clearing their throat’s and generally believing that they were the only ones on the train. I am exaggerating a bit and was able to sleep for a little while, but the cost savings of traveling in a seat instead of a sleeper was perhaps not worth it. That said, I survived and made it through the night without totally snapping at anyone. I stewed a bit, mumbled to myself, sent angry (or so I thought) looks in the general direction of the culprits and then realized that I could do nothing to change their behavior. I put my headphones on, found the softest music on my ipod and tried to fall asleep.
I am now in Shanghai, what I have long proclaimed to be my favorite city in China. I am no longer sure if this is true. Every day I spend in Beijing makes me like that city a bit more, even the bad days. I am, however, struck by how different the two cities feel. I have been here for a few hours but the differences are noticeable if hard to quantify. Shanghai is just a more accessible city, more modern, more western friendly, easier to walk around and even a bit cleaner (though this is not the case during the Olympics when the cleaning crews in Beijing have been out en mass). Shanghai is more fashionable, but Beijing ren (people) are friendlier and the more time I spend with them, the more I realize that this is more important. It took a while, but I can now say that I consider myself a beijinger instead of a foreigner that is in Beijing because of the Olympics.
Those few loyal readers that I have know that I have a love/ hate relationship with Chinese trains. I have had some great memories from past trips and some good stories as well. See Xi’an 2007. I came down to Shanghai again on the train yesterday. For those of you that think you are patient people, I invite you to spend a night sitting in a train car in China. I would not describe myself as a patient person. At times I get frustrated pretty easily here in China since the American (Western) idea of personal space is not really translated well into a country of 1.3 billion people. The people of China share space with each other every day of their lives and see nothing wrong with crowding complete strangers on public transportation, in lines and on the street. The idea of a line is somewhat foreign to the Chinese, but in all fairness, the government has worked hard to change this in preparation for the Olympics. This has not totally caught no, but as a whole it has improved.
As for on the train, this comfort with sharing space seemed to mean to my fellow passengers that they believed it was ok to talk loudly the entire night when everyone else on the train was trying to sleep, playing cell phone games with the speaker on, loudly clearing their throat’s and generally believing that they were the only ones on the train. I am exaggerating a bit and was able to sleep for a little while, but the cost savings of traveling in a seat instead of a sleeper was perhaps not worth it. That said, I survived and made it through the night without totally snapping at anyone. I stewed a bit, mumbled to myself, sent angry (or so I thought) looks in the general direction of the culprits and then realized that I could do nothing to change their behavior. I put my headphones on, found the softest music on my ipod and tried to fall asleep.
I am now in Shanghai, what I have long proclaimed to be my favorite city in China. I am no longer sure if this is true. Every day I spend in Beijing makes me like that city a bit more, even the bad days. I am, however, struck by how different the two cities feel. I have been here for a few hours but the differences are noticeable if hard to quantify. Shanghai is just a more accessible city, more modern, more western friendly, easier to walk around and even a bit cleaner (though this is not the case during the Olympics when the cleaning crews in Beijing have been out en mass). Shanghai is more fashionable, but Beijing ren (people) are friendlier and the more time I spend with them, the more I realize that this is more important. It took a while, but I can now say that I consider myself a beijinger instead of a foreigner that is in Beijing because of the Olympics.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
