My first olympic event

Well the 11th of August has finally arrived and in a couple of hours I will be going to see my first ever Olympic event live. Men's 10m platform sychronized diving final. I think I have a decent seat It is the most expensive of the tickets I got though it still was not that expensive. I got it through the ticket lottery 15 months ago.

I have just checked and Canada is not in the event. The countries diving are:

		Australia
		Cuba
		Great Britain
		Germany
		United States
		Colombia
		China
		Russian Fed

I will be cheering for China......got to find a flag now.....

The weather is so much cooler, thank goodness. It is 73 degrees today with humidity but it is raining a bit so that will account for it.

I am also going to ride Beijing's new subways today and see what all of the hype is about.

Opening Ceremonies

The opening ceremonies were everything we had hoped they would be and what the organizers had promised. I watched the Ceremonies at the Goose and Duck pub on English satellite with about 300 other people. It was exciting. The crowd was strongly Australia but Kiwi's, Canadians, Brits, Chinese and some Americans were in the crowd.

We all learned the Aussie chant that consists of someone yelling "Aussie" and the crowd responds with "oy". That goes on for a while and then you hear, "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" and the response is "oy,oy,oy" I noticed that none of my New Zealand friends participated. :)

The largest "boos" for the night were reserved for George Bush in fact there was only a tepid response from our crowd when the American team walked. My American friends were not too sure if they should wave their flags. Of course, when Kobe and the boys walked in there was a huge response from everyone.

The sight of Federer and then Nadel brought huge cheers as did thesight of many soccer stars that I don't know anything about.

There were big cheers for Afghanistan when they walked in as so many of our countries are serving in that war zone.

When the country of Georgia walked in there were also big cheers because it had just been announced earlier in the day that they were back at war and a peace agreement only lasted 24 hours.

It was exciting to share the experience in Beijing with people from all over the world.

There were the loud bangs as people let off the exploding noise makers every view seconds. I am still covered with all of the metallic paper.

The humidity of Beijing was so evident at the Nest but what a fantastic show. The Lighting of the Torch was truly breath taking. The man was the first Chinese gymnast to win gold at an Olympics and that was in Los Angeles in 1984. He said he practice for a monthand struggled with the wind.

I left the Goose and Duck Sports Bar early and came home. It was earie. Other than a few taxis and cars there was no one on the streets. Usually at 11on a hot Friday night the streets would be croweded with people but no one. Even when I walked into my complex which at that time is usually busy with people trying to get cool and walking their dogs, there was no one. Truly all of Beijing was focused on the Opening Ceremonies.

Later I didn't see any fireworks but I heard them late into the night.

It is hard to believe the Olympics has arrived. Ever since I arrived in Beijing 4 years ago the Olympics "One World, One Dream" has beenthe focus.

I am going to celebrate the dream for the next two weeks.I understand the political ramifications but Iam going to enjoy the spectacle.

As I write this China has just won it's first gold medal. A 100 pound woman lifted 235 pounds. Second was Turkey and third was Chinese Taipei (Taiwan).

This morning I have the choice of watching women's volleyball, men's preliminary gymnastics, or fencing (sabre) which is focusing on the Chinesewomen. At the moment oneChinese woman has won andnow it is between China and Russia with theRussian woman a head on points. The Chinese woman has just been injured andthey are taking a break to check her ankleand spray her down.

Of course, all of this is in Chinese but who cares.I am watching the Olympics live. The coverage so far, has been incredible. Four years ago,we only saw events the Chinese athletes were participating in and that consisted of table tennis, endless shooting andvolleyball. Much has been learned. They are bringingthe Olympics to the people.

China just lost two sabre matches.

My first tickets are for Monday when I will go to the Water Cube and watch men's 10 metre syncronized diving.

The heat and humidity continues to be a problem but this is Beijing in August. What can you expect? I am staying inside.:0

One Day and two hours

It's not an understatement to call the chinese governement paranoid. They have gone to extremes to present their city to the rest of the world. What is hilarious is the instructions that the government has given to the people of China to abide by for the Olympics. They are as followed:

1) all cab drivers must wear matching yellow dress shirts, black and yellow striped ties are optional.
2) no public nose-picking
3) no spitting
4) no rolling up of shirts and displaying belly to cool off
5) line-up
6) cheer for when China wins
7) cheer for when other teams win as well
8) don't ask foreigners how much they make
9) be pleasant and helpful
10) learn the official Olympic clap
12) don't wear more than three colours at once
13) don't wear white socks with black shoes
14) don't wear pyjamas outside.......

These rules are posted on all the billboards and there are police officers everywhere monitoring that these rules are being put into place. Although, I have seen a few bare bellies around; and i can see the frustration in the faces of the oldies who love nothing more than to head out to the park in their pj's, with finger half way up their nose!

Today we received the information at a staff meeting that we will finish work at noon tomorrow as the government has added more Opening Ceremony restrictions. We have long known about the fact that there will be planes allowed to land at the airport during the three hour show but the rumors about traffic movement have proven true.

As of 11 tomorrow morning no traffic will be allowed inside the second and third ring roads. At 4pm that restriction will extend to include the 4th ring road. This is where I live. What that means if I have no way to get to the Olympic Opening Ceremonies Party I have been invitedto attend as I have no way there and no way home. So I will stay home and watch the Ceremonies on Chinese tv as that is all that they will show.

We have also been told that there will be no delivery service for food and a lotof restaurants will be closed.

So that is the update from the Olympic capital.More tomorrow probably.

Three days and counting - security

Ever since I read about the attack on the policemen out in Xinjiang province yesterday that killed 16, I have realized that for the first time in my life I am living in a place where the possibility of terrorism is very real.

I have tickets for 4 events over the two weeks. I will be at the Bird's Nest twice and the Water Cube twice. I also have a ticket to the Opening Ceremonies of the Paralympic Games on September 6th.

Xinjiang Province and Kashgar are a long way away from Beijing. I was there on holiday two years ago and it is an incredible place but its location right next to Pakistan means that often the influence and the physical look of the people is less Chinese and more turkish. The Uygeher (pronounced Weeger or at least close) people are the main ethnic group in the province and a number of years ago, according to what I have been reading, there were a lot of attacks on policemen and many killings. Because of that the security measure in Xinjiang Province are strict.

I expect that every group will have an agenda for these Olympics. They are, as CNN said the other night, the biggest sporting and news event to happen. We usually have one of the other but not both. What better way to try and get your message out? Use the Olympics.

Security in Beijing is tight and it is getting tighter. It is affecting all areas of our lives including our school. We were informed today that a number of our families who had to go home are having difficulties getting re entry visas, so no one is too sure exactly how many students we will have on the 25th of August. As the security on the visas is supposed to last until the end of September it could be a while before everything is straightened out.

One of my Canadian colleagues told us today that when she flew into Beijing a week ago there were 200 empty seats on a flight that had been booked solid for months because visas were not being issued. Hotels are only at 40% occupancy and have no real hope of improving. Of course it is a good time to stay in a great hotel as there are great reductions.

OK, back to what I was saying originally - while the realization that I am in a high risk zone does give me pause it will not keep me from attending my events. My life is in our Father's hands.

I have great faith in China - much prayer has gone up for these Olympics. Friends are meeting frequently to pray for safety, protection.

Oh yes, one more thing. The pollution was bad this morning and as the temp. got up to almost 40 degrees it was almost unbearable with the humidity. Then a nice breeze came in over the city and by 2:00 pm when pollution is usually at its worst we had blue skies and whitish clouds. It was beautiful. Of course, being in Beijing in August is always brutal. Thank goodness for air con.

August 4th is here already

When I left school on June 28th I knew it was a shorter holiday this year because of the Olympic scheduling but I didn't realize exactly how short. It seems like I just turned around and it is time to go back to school.

Of course, when I look at everything I have done and the countries I visited then I know I did have a lovely vacation. But it still seems to have flown by and here we are again ready to start another year. Now to be perfectly honest, I only have to work for 5 days and then I get the two weeks of the Olympics off, but tomorrow I have to throw the brain into gear and start the process again.

It is hard to believe that this is my fifth year at Yew Chung. This is the fourth new cohort that is coming in since I started. Actually, I am the only one left at the school that started with me. There are only 4 teachers in all of the school that have more seniority than me. Wow!!!!!

I am amazed at how my life has changed and expanded since I came to China. My friends are now literally from around the world and in both hemispheres. It became really clear to me last week when I asked for prayer for my family and I sent emails to people all over the world. As the responses started coming in from England, Australia, New Zealand, England, China etc. I had to smile and think how exciting it was to actually know people from all over.

The learning curve has been huge and in some ways it continues to be huge. Things are different right now with the Olympics only 5 days away. Security is tight and often the normal things that we do are affected by new special security systems. I told someone a couple of hours ago that while the Olympics hadn't started yet I was already tired of them because of the inconveniences into our everyday life.

Of course, there is also the exciting side as we all report to each other by text which athletes from which countries we have seen. The latest for one of my friends was the US women's volleyball team. She said there wasn't a woman under 6'2" in the group. I am definitely going to watch that as you think about their size and the size of the Asian women they will be playing against.

Anyway, I am wandering and it is now time to go to bed. Tomorrow I will begin my 35th year of being a teacher.

Last week before back to school

How fast 5 weeks has gone by. I can't complain because I have had a nice vacation. I have travelled, seen so many things, spent time with special friends, slept and rested but it is hard to believe that it is almost that time of year. Of course, our schedule is a big wonky this year because of the Olympics. We go back to work next week and then have the two weeks of the Olympics off and then school starts with the kids on August 25th. During those two weeks I plan on slowly acclimatizing myself back into school mode.

The weather continues to be brutal in Beijing. Today should reach 35 degrees with 85% humidity. We have a white/grey haze over the city and I can't tell whether it is the weather, smog or a combination of both. They say it is going to rain tomorrow but we will see.

I found out an interesting fact yesterday about travel into Beijing. If you do not have a Beijing licence plate then you are not allowed into the city. For example, if you a licence plate that shows you are from Tianjin but don't have the proper papers to get into Beijing then you are not allowed in. Feels strange. The first symbol on licence plates indicate what city the car is registered in and so that is how they tell. Apparently, you need to have an invitation from someone within Beijing to come through and they are checking all of the roads. It doesnt' affect me in anyway except how I feel inside. Interesting.

When I was getting a massage yesterday at one of my favourite places we found out that their clientelle had really fallen off as so many expats were not able to get their visas renewed and had to return home. The usual process when this happens is that you can go to Hong Kong for a couple of weeks, apply for a visa and once you have it you come back into the country. That is not what has happened this year as people have had to go back to their home countries and apply most of which are not approved. Again, interesting.

Even though I am living in the Olympic city I don't feel as much of the excitement as I would if I was back home as I can't watch it on English tv and at the moment I don't have access to news except through the computer. My main information about the Olympics comes from Discovery Channel, believe it or not. I am sure everyone at home knows a lot more about what is happening then I do. This will be the third Olympics I have watched in Chinese....I hope we will see things other than shooting, table tennis and archery. :)

The city, except for air quality, looks incredible. Beautiful greenery everywhere, gorgeous flowers, intricate flower designs. I will take pictures once I get back out again traveling around. Right now I am being lazy and it is too hot to learn to ride a bike. :)

12 days to the Olympics

I am experimenting with another blogsite that may be easier to access in China rather than my wordpress blog which I need to have a secure tunnel to access.

Anyway, this is just a short note about the success of the environmental plan here is Beijing. It is now 11:57 pm on Sunday night, the temperature is still 31 degrees and there is a general haze hanging over the city. Air quality experts say that ever since the plan went into effect to stop all the pollution we have had more bad days than we had had for a month.

We need rain. It feels like raining outside, the trees are blowing and my head tells me there is a storm out there somewhere with Beijing's name on it. We certainly need it to calm everyone down and make life easier in Beijing.

Ok - that is the Sunday night update. Each morning I get up and look outside and expect to see blue skies but that has only happened 2 days this week. Hopefully, it will change.

More later.

H