Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Now That I'm In China
So far, our Olympic Adventure has gone quite smoothly. I was briefly detained at customs at the Beijing Airport. The border agent apparently somehow had confused Francis Spakowiak with Franko Spankowicz, who is a (gasp!) journalist from Poland. When the Olympic Representative who was traveling with us pointed out that Franko Spankowicz was 20 years younger than me and that I clearly did not understand even a word of Polish, I was allowed through with apologies. Another border agent asked if Maribel was Courtney Cox. When it was pointed out that Maribel is 20 years younger and six inches taller than Ms. Cox, the agent just looked sheepish.
Beijing is a city of something like 26 million people, 15 million living within the city limits and 11 million in the surrounding suburbs. I come from a city that has maybe
100,000 people, so to me it seems like there are people, shoulder to shoulder, everywhere. I have yet to take an elevator with fewer than 20 people in it. Even though Beijing was founded 2500 years ago, it seems like almost everything is completely new. Of course, that’s because most of it was built since 1980. The rest was built around 180. What isn’t spectacularly new is spectacularly old.
We have spent our days watching various events and our evenings taking in Chinese culture. We’ve seen many basketball games, although I have skipped some of the USA games because I did not think they would be competitive (which they weren’t). I’ve watched a few team handball games. If you’ve ever seen team handball, you know why I think it is a fun and exciting game. If you haven’t, you probably think that I’m odd. We’ve also seen a little swimming, some volleyball (the indoor variety), badminton and table tennis, as well as softball and baseball. Some of the tickets were supplied by the Olympic Committee. I won’t talk about how I obtained the others because I scalped them and the Chinese authorities get very mad at scalpers. I have not watched any gymnastics because if I want to watch little girls do somersaults, I’ll go down to my local schoolyard.
We have discovered some excellent Chinese restaurants. Not Chinese like the ones so ubiquitous in the U.S. These were real Chinese where real Chinese people eat. Maribel befriended one of the players on the Chinese women’s basketball team (so it wasn’t Yao Ming), and she directed us to a few excellent establishments. They weren’t fancy, they weren’t expensive, they were more like a mom and pop diner, but they were fabulous. I would tell you more about what I had except that I cannot pronounce their names or their ingredients. That was fine by me as they tasted, well, fantastic.
On Friday evening, Maribel had a date with a Jamaican sprinter, a handsome and limber gentleman. Being old and poopie, I went to bed early while my daughter went dining and dancing with one of the finest athletes in the world. She returned to our room just before sunrise. When I asked her how she had spent her time, she said she and her escort had hooked up with several other Jamaican and American athletes and talked basketball all night. They were impressed that she had met and played with the US Women’s basketball team. I wondered if she had perhaps engaged in other activities that involved removing one’s clothes, but, after she returned, she talked on the phone for an hour with The Boyfriend, telling him in considerable detail about her night. If she had slept with someone, I don’t think she would have been so animated with him.
We will spend the morning watching some of the track and field activities, then head for the basketball arena for the men’s quarterfinals. Afterwards, I will probably have a light dinner and spend some time with my pillow, whilst Maribel has plans to drink with beer with some members of the basketball crew, although not players as the women’s team will be in the semifinals on Thursday.
I was afraid that I might get bored watching so much sports in two short weeks. However, the experience is so much more than the competitions. Meeting so many folks from other parts of the world, sharing their experiences, learning about the history and culture of this ancient and modern country. I have also learned so much about how sports are viewed in other countries. So many athletes truly compete only because they love their sport. They will never make any money, never become world renown, but they are already heroes in their own countries because they are here. I find their stories more interesting than those of the superstars because they are more courageous, more refreshing, and, if I may say so, more fantastic.
Beijing is a city of something like 26 million people, 15 million living within the city limits and 11 million in the surrounding suburbs. I come from a city that has maybe
100,000 people, so to me it seems like there are people, shoulder to shoulder, everywhere. I have yet to take an elevator with fewer than 20 people in it. Even though Beijing was founded 2500 years ago, it seems like almost everything is completely new. Of course, that’s because most of it was built since 1980. The rest was built around 180. What isn’t spectacularly new is spectacularly old.We have spent our days watching various events and our evenings taking in Chinese culture. We’ve seen many basketball games, although I have skipped some of the USA games because I did not think they would be competitive (which they weren’t). I’ve watched a few team handball games. If you’ve ever seen team handball, you know why I think it is a fun and exciting game. If you haven’t, you probably think that I’m odd. We’ve also seen a little swimming, some volleyball (the indoor variety), badminton and table tennis, as well as softball and baseball. Some of the tickets were supplied by the Olympic Committee. I won’t talk about how I obtained the others because I scalped them and the Chinese authorities get very mad at scalpers. I have not watched any gymnastics because if I want to watch little girls do somersaults, I’ll go down to my local schoolyard.
We have discovered some excellent Chinese restaurants. Not Chinese like the ones so ubiquitous in the U.S. These were real Chinese where real Chinese people eat. Maribel befriended one of the players on the Chinese women’s basketball team (so it wasn’t Yao Ming), and she directed us to a few excellent establishments. They weren’t fancy, they weren’t expensive, they were more like a mom and pop diner, but they were fabulous. I would tell you more about what I had except that I cannot pronounce their names or their ingredients. That was fine by me as they tasted, well, fantastic.
On Friday evening, Maribel had a date with a Jamaican sprinter, a handsome and limber gentleman. Being old and poopie, I went to bed early while my daughter went dining and dancing with one of the finest athletes in the world. She returned to our room just before sunrise. When I asked her how she had spent her time, she said she and her escort had hooked up with several other Jamaican and American athletes and talked basketball all night. They were impressed that she had met and played with the US Women’s basketball team. I wondered if she had perhaps engaged in other activities that involved removing one’s clothes, but, after she returned, she talked on the phone for an hour with The Boyfriend, telling him in considerable detail about her night. If she had slept with someone, I don’t think she would have been so animated with him.
We will spend the morning watching some of the track and field activities, then head for the basketball arena for the men’s quarterfinals. Afterwards, I will probably have a light dinner and spend some time with my pillow, whilst Maribel has plans to drink with beer with some members of the basketball crew, although not players as the women’s team will be in the semifinals on Thursday.
I was afraid that I might get bored watching so much sports in two short weeks. However, the experience is so much more than the competitions. Meeting so many folks from other parts of the world, sharing their experiences, learning about the history and culture of this ancient and modern country. I have also learned so much about how sports are viewed in other countries. So many athletes truly compete only because they love their sport. They will never make any money, never become world renown, but they are already heroes in their own countries because they are here. I find their stories more interesting than those of the superstars because they are more courageous, more refreshing, and, if I may say so, more fantastic.
Comments:
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I was lucky enough to be able to visit Beijing a few years ago, although not for anything as impressive as the Olympics. It is definitely a unique city, enjoy it!
Great post, the olypics are very exciting seeing so many young athletes follow their dreams of being the best in the world.
# posted by 
: August 22, 2008 1:52 AM
: August 22, 2008 1:52 AM
Frank, I'm super jealous! I've been following them as much as I can here, but to be there....wow. Enjoy!
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# posted by : August 22, 2008 9:56 AM
: August 22, 2008 9:56 AM << Home
