So where do you go while in the host city of the Olympic Games to watch the amazing kick-off party? That was the question of the day. And no, we were not offered tickets to the event. As volunteers in Beijing, we are pretty much on the bottom of the Olympic-affiliated foodchain. As normal city dwellers, we've got it pretty good I must admit. Free transport on the subway with our accreditation, looks of curiosity and respect from Chinese men and women, ease of access to pretty much where ever we want to go in the city, and did I mention free public transportation? :)
We started our journey off at Chaoyang park in Eastern Beijin because we read online that there would be big screens in the park where people could watch the games.
Now, among the many, many, MANY things i'm learning every day in Beijing about life in this wonderful mess of a country, the thing that is reiterated the most is the fact that you can never assume anything to be what you think it will be or thought it was. The (seemingly) obvious, logical choice of a way to do something is rarely the method that the Chinese find appropriate to handle any situation. Granted, with so many people and so many mouths to feed, the country has to come up with some way to employ its population, but it's just insane to me the amount of inefficiency and just plain unconventional ways that this country possesses. One example is that on every bus, there is at least one and most often times two people working- riding the bus all day long- to check tickets, sell tickets, and announce stops, even though the bus announcement speaker system announces them too and even though the bus drives is very well equipped to make sure people pass their bus cards over the sensor and listen for the beep. But the workers sit there in the oftentimes unairconditioned buses looking bored but gracious and watching the people on the bus pass their time.
So the crazy unconventional thinking that we came across on ceremony day was this mind boggler: these screens set up in the park- 3 of them at least- (and we're talking bigggggg TV screens that take some time and effort to set up) were due to be shut down at 7pm, one hour before the start of the Opening Ceremonies. Now I dont know about you, but if i was going to set up such a scene for the "pregame" of the ceremonies, i might think it logical to just go ahead and leave them up to show the actual event. Crazy, I know. But this is not the case in China. You can never walk the shortest path to anywhere because something you had never thought could become a barrier will always drop out of nowhere and make things more complicated.
So once this idea failed, we had to think of a gameplan. We heard that there would be yet another TV screen set up on Wangfujing Street, a large pedestrian street in the downtown area, so we decided what the heck, if we are in Beijing for the Olympics we might as well jump on in and join the masses downtown to watch the games among thousands of Chinese enthusiasts. And boy, did we get what we bargained for here. All in all, i'd say this TV screen attracted between 7 and 10,000 people from all around the world.
Here is a brief glimpse, at about 6:30pm (The show started at 8).
Facing the screen (we would end up in the very front)
"Zhongguo
Watching the Ceremony
Which, by now I'm sure all of you know, was a fantastic production on China's part. I was blown away not only by the sheer size of the spectacle, but moreso by the intricate choreography and the showcase of culture. Sterotypically known as "China's coming out party," this show was its opportunity to really show they world, hey, this is China- we are here, we are intense, we know what we're doing, so pay attention. And wow did it work- for one night at least....which is another thing i've learned about China, especially relating the the Olympics. Their motto is go big, or go home.
The viewers at Wangfujing were chanting for China the whole time, and were really into it. The girl below caught my eye because half her face is painted red, white, and blue American, and the other half if red and yellow Chinese. It was pretty cool to see the juxtaposition.
Another thing that really impressed me was that the Chinese spectators also went crazy and stood up and cheered if there was someone present in the audience from one of the countries marching in the ceremonies. It really showed a welcoming and it was a genuine appreciation for these people coming to their country, experiencing their world, and participating in the Olympics. It was really good to see in a time when hatred is so prevelant.
Jen (my roomie) and me among the madness
So we decided to leave the street before the end of the ceremony because if we didn't, we'd be stuck in the madness trying to leave until the wee hours of the night, and since we had our first day of work at 8am the next day, we went home. But we also hadnt had the opportunity to eat dinner, so we stopped at the McDonalds by our university. And this is what we saw:
Apparently MacDo is the place to be!!!! So we got our food (p.s. never ever order a grilled chicken sandwich in China- their idea of chicken involves no part of the breast whatsoever and only unidentifiable chicken meat with the skin still on....) and stayed to watch the lighting of the torch with fellow students at the Golden Arches. Quite a nice and crazy end to quite a nice and crazy day:)
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