me and the horse!

Just came back from Llasa, Tibet. After four oxygen bottles and an IV treatment, I survived the high altitude environment. My favorite part was definitely riding on this little horse going to the namco lake.

Here is very dark photo inside the potala palace restroom. The highest toilet in the world they said...

the olympic hero

Aunt lu (we call her the "olympic hero") took a break from her busy schedule and spent some time with her family and I. We were able to have special access and get into the Olympic forest inside the olympic park that the public can't get into. They don't sell tickets to regular chinese citizens or foreign spectators because the chinese government built the forest for the athletes.

again... no idea what was going on!!??

I went to the boxing competition last night at the worker's gymnasium and watched 12 matches of boxing. I still had no clue how they score or count the points. It is all very very very confusing.

what is in this jar??

I went to 798 Art District where they have most of the Chinese contemp art exhibitions. I LOVED IT!! BUT WHAT IS IN THIS JAR???

The Art District used to be these German industrial facilities. Once the companies closed in the late 90s, the artists used the space to display their paintings and installations and formed this art zone.

Watching the games live!!

Indoor Volleyball and the crowd at the security check point 8 trying to watch the fencing competition.

Is a very confusing experience...they don't have anybody telling the spectators who the athletes are or what they are about to do. So half the time, it is a guessing game! My aunt gave me two tickets to fencing for Saturday morning. I had no idea how to watch fencing!! It took me 20 minutes to figure out how the competitors score points. The hardest part is trying to see which country is competing since they only spell out three letters on the scoreboard. WHAT IS "MAR"?????

Also watched indoor volleyball Saturday night at the capital stadium. WAY more exciting than fencing...

the girl on the uneven bar!

Everybody needs to watch this little Chinese girl, He Kexin's uneven bar performance!! It was out of this world!! Her major release skill was super difficult. I don't know how she was able to hang on to the bar. If you didn't tivo the program, make sure to check it out on the NBC website.

CLEARLY these gymnasts are NOT 16!!!! One of the little Chinese girl had a missing tooth!!! She is probably 12! maybe 11!!!!?????

QingDao

My relatives in Qing Dao -

I am an aunt now!!!!!!!!!!!

Team Gold!!

Yay!! The Chinese Men's Gymnastic Team won first place!!! THIS IS HUGE!!!

I left my aunt's house around 9am because the gymnastic competition started at 10am. It took me an hour and half to find this sports bar to watch the game. Once I got there, they didn't even know gymnastics were being broadcast live!!!! The waitress took another 10 minutes to "find" the correct channel. Somehow the bar didn't have CCTV!! They had 15 HD televisions with these weird satellite channels. I was almost going to pull my hair out! I had to watch the competition in English!! WTF??!

finally...

8/8/2008 - As you can see from one of the photos above, people who don't have an opening ceremony ticket cannot even gain access near the stadium. The government mobilized thousands of soldiers to guard the area around the bird's nest.

I watched the beginning of the ceremony at the Worker's Stadium, where they have all the soccer games in Beijing. Then my friends and I walked over to the brand new San Li Tun shopping center because they have this giant screen sponsored by Addidas. Also, the very first APPLE store opened at this mall.

It was very exciting watching the ceremony outside of the house because the area I was at had many foreigners. So as each country's athletes walked out, some of them cheered very loudly for their own country.

YES!! - SOME PEOPLE WHO STOOD BEHIND ME WERE CRYING WHEN THE CHINESE POP SINGER WAS PERFORMING. I WAS ALMOST GOING TO CRY, BUT I DIDN'T BECAUSE IT WAS TOO BUSY LOOKING AT THEIR TEARS.

**I guess you guys didn't see Jackie Chan and Andy Lau!!! I know CCTV didn't broadcast their performance. So I am pretty sure NBC didn't either. **

Going to see Chairman Mao

8/7/2008 - Took the subway to Tian An Men Square. Last time I was here back in 2005, I got super sick and couldn't get out the car. This time, I was determined to see the new tian an men square decorated specially for the olympics.

Getting inside the square was pretty insane. They had security check points at all four corners. All bags MUST go through an x-ray machine. Once I got in, it was pretty cool to see all the different designs.

There were roughly 10 TV crews shotting the crowd when I was there. When I passed by an associated press crew, I tried to take a picture of them so my co-workers Sara and Shelby can see it when I get back. As I was taking their picture, they started talking to me. While I was chatting with the producer, the camera man started to shoot our conversation!! Then all of the sudden, it became a full five-minute interview at tian an men square!!!!! It was a pretty surreal experience knowing that AP syndicates to pretty much everybody!

all day

shot stuff all day...we think we captured some interesting stuff. Nothing political of course!!!!! :-)

Here is a little booklet we found in an apartment complex for all residents in beijing to follow during the olympics. The booklet teaches you what to eat and how to stay FIT!

what you will NOT see on tv this friday night...

This post will be pictureless because I couldn't bring any recording devices inside the rehearsal hall. (AKA bird's nest)

I am sure millions around the globe will be watching the opening ceremony in high-definition. The show was definitely beautiful, spectacular, and VERY Chinese. I wish I had watch the entire performance with a NBC broadcast announcer over my shoulder. I looked at the screen that was literally across the giant stadium to figure what was going on... it was very hard.

So I am not going to reveal anything you will see on Channel 4... instead, I am just going to say the following:

1. Towards the end of the show, a dancer in a white dress PASSED OUT!! She had to be carried off stage. (Yes, it was THAT hot inside.)
2. We had to walk two bus stations from the stadium. This means, unless you have a hard ticket, you can't even get close enough to see the fences around the entire Olympic village. There are security guards EVERYWHERE!!!!
3. At the concession stand, TsingDao beer is $1 per cup!!! Hot dog is not a "real" hot dog. It is actually a sausage in bread.
4. There are 4 event volunteers per section by the seating area. Each section holds up to 100 people. Each section has its own "cheer" volunteer captain. The cheer captain is in charge of teaching the audience how to do the "wave". My aunt and I did the "wave" about 20 times. They also taught us the "official" cheer.
5. Try to count how many performers there are in the first act. Just try...
6. Watch the show until the very very very end. I don't know if they will show this on TV, but the last performance we saw was pretty cool. (This is after each country's flag has been carried out.)
7. If you think Chinese culture is weird, DON'T WATCH THE SHOW!!!! You might have a heart attack.
8. If you think Chinese culture is amazing, then you'll see some pretty exciting stuff.
9. Apparently, hand towels = toilet paper in China.
10. I am excited to see who will carry the Olympic torch inside the stadium!

I an VERY VERY VERY glad I arrived here a couple days early before the ceremony to watch this last rehearsal show. It was definitely very special!!!!!!! Go Aunt Lu!!

rehearsal!!

I just saw my Aunt Lu (My dad's sister), who is organizing the olympics. Thankfully she took time out of her extremely busy schedule and had lunch with me. She gave me rehearsal tickets for tonight!!! So my aunt Xing (My mom's sister) and I will be watching the entire opening ceremony!!!!!!!!

Aunt Lu was in her full on "olympic staff" uniform and barely had any time to eat. I think she finished her meal in 10 minutes. At times, I was too scared to talk to her because she was directing people over her headphones.

Tomorrow - the olympic torch will finally arrive in Beijing. I will try to go find a good route to catch the torch.

Arrival!!

Just got here in Beijing, and I can already feel the festivity pretty much everywhere. Most people on my flight from Seoul to Beijing were all here for the games. It seems like the most important question of this week is "What games are you going to see?"

It was very exciting to arrive at the new TERMINAL 3 at the Beijing International Airport. The terminal was build especially for the games. They even had these special olympic dolls there to greet us!!

My aunt picked me up from the airport and informed me that there is a chance I'll be able to see the rehearsal show for the OPENING CEREMONY! We just have to wait and see if I can get in. So fingers crossed....she said we can't bring cell phones, cameras, or any recording devices. Bummer!!

-Emily