Some of y’all have been asking about security at the venues. Here’s what I experienced today:

Before I could get into the Beach Volleyball venue, I had to electronically scan my ticket to prove it was legitimate. Then, I put my bag through an x-ray machine and stepped through a metal detector. Pretty standard.

Then it got bizarre. As a volunteer searched my bag, he asked me, very seriously, “Do you have any medicine or shampoo?” Do I have any shampoo? No. No, I don’t.

I told him I didn’t have either, so he got really upset when he found a bottle of Ibuprofen in my bag. “What is this?” he demanded. I told him it was pain killer, which was apparently a good answer. He didn’t even open the bottle to check, just put it back in the bag.

He didn’t even touch my camera, my Flip video camera or my cell phone.

Once I got through the line, I saw my roommate Stephanie arguing with her volunteer. He was trying to confiscate her gum! All of the electronics, medicines and food were OK, but gum? No way. We tried to ask why, but the volunteer didn’t speak great English. I asked if she could chew a random piece to prove that it wasn’t harmful. Still, he said no.

So if you’re on your way to the Olympics, keep this in mind. I haven’t even tried to bring bottled water or a tripod in, because I’m pretty positive they’d be confiscated. But otherwise, you’re probably fine.

Unless, of course, you keep a lot of gum and shampoo in your bag. Then, I can’t help you…
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This morning I caught a couple of Olympic Beach Volleyball matches in Beijing’s Chao Yang Park. I watched the Argentinean men beat Latvia, the Australian men slaughter Angola, and the Chinese women pull out ahead of a close game with Belgium.

This was the first time I’ve seen Olympic athletes compete while I’m a spectator, not working as a volunteer, so it was a nice change of pace. I got to sit back, relax and cheer for whoever was losing. (I have a thing for upsets.)

Tickets were only 5 RMB (less than $1), and the stadium was only about halfway full, even when China played. The weather was out of control. At 8:30, it was a sunny blue sky. Around 9, it rained. Closer to 10, it got really hot. By noon, a cold wind started blowing! By the time we left for lunch, none of knew what to feel!

Fans were dressed in all kinds of crazy get-ups to support their country. An Irish fan wore a shamrock hat and a fake red beard. Australian fans had flags and hats with their country’s flag. The Chinese had stickers, t-shirts and those balloon-stick things you bang together. After every point, English phrases would appear on the jumbotron, always with three exclamation points.

Nice!!! Ace!!! Cheer!!!
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So the U.S. men just dominated China at men’s basketball!

I watched the game with some friends at Pizza Steak, the café next to our hotel. The servers projected the game on a big screen, and the place was full of Chinese couples kissing and cheering wildly after every basket.

I left with about 4 minutes left in the game, figuring the U.S. men had it wrapped up. Campus was dead. As I climbed the stairs to the hotel, I saw the security guard watching on a mini-TV. When he saw me, he motioned for me to watch and then held a finger up to his ear, telling me to listen.

Just then, China missed another basket and a long roar rolled through campus. I think every Chinese student in a 10-mile radius simultaneously yelled at their team through the TV.

Better luck next time, China.
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This entry marks my 100th post on Lindsay in Beijing, a Neighbors Go blog!

In honor of the occasion, I thought I’d celebrate with something from the menu at the Olympic venues. Check out the picture of the menu by clicking (more) below.

I’ve been waiting for weeks to see what food is offered in Beijing’s concession stands, in part because the volunteer meals ain’t so hot, but mostly because the menu is just hilarious. I mean, who serves “pie” and “biscuits” at a sporting event? Where are my hot dogs??

Now that the food stands are stocked, here’s a Chinglish to English translation of the menu:

• Cake means snack-cakes, Little Debbie style. (I was imagining a full sheet cake.)
• President Snack Noodles means ramen noodles coated in a spicy powder.
• Sausage means just that, a piece of sausage the size of your fist shrink-wrapped in plastic.
• Biscuits means Ritz crackers. (They use British English translations here.)
• Pie means…well I don’t know. I haven’t seen anyone order anything that resembles pie.
• Popcorn means a bag of microwaved popcorn
• Egg means a hard boiled egg soaked in soy sauce and wrapped in plastic.

So in honor of my 100th post, I ate a 2 yuan egg this morning for breakfast. It was a little tougher than a regular hard-boiled egg, and the soy sauce gave it a sweet taste. I don’t know that I’ll ever eat it again, but at least I tried it!
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Boo rain.

It started pouring just as I got off the subway this afternoon after working at the National Indoor Stadium. By the time I walked back to my university, the water had pooled up to my shins!

The good news is, it was supposed to rain during the opening ceremonies. So I guess all that rain-dispersing technology is working. And maybe this will clear the smog out of the air!

The bad news? Tennis and some other outdoor competitions were cancelled. Bummer.
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My prayers and thoughts go out to the U.S. Olympic team volleyball coach and team.

The United States Olympic Committee announced earlier today that the coach's parents were “stabbed during an attack by what local law enforcement authorities have indicated was a lone assailant” while visiting the Drum Tower, a famous tourist destination a little north of the Forbidden City.

What a horrible, freak attack. I heard about it from another volunteer as I got off the subway this afternoon. None of us feel unsafe, but it’s still shocking to hear.

Here’s the link to Jim Landers’ coverage of the Drum Tower killing on the Dallas Morning News’ Olympics blog. For more about the Drum Tower, here’s a link to my blog post after I visited a few weeks ago.
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All my videos from the Opening Ceremonies are officially posted! Find a list of all 10 videos here. Links are also embedded in the blog posts.

The crazy thing? The video of the Olympic cauldron I uploaded onto YouTube last night already has almost 6,000 hits! (Apparently, no one else was nerdy enough to come straight home and post.) Here are some of the comments people left:

Goldfishfan1: “Thank you so much for being the first person on you Tube in the world to post the lighting! I live in Ripon California and there is no way I could make it to the Olympics. You made this substitute teacher very happy to get the first hand perspective.”

Natedog49: “The opening ceremony fireworks videos were awesome. So far you are the only one I could find on youtube with Olympics footage so soon.”

So check out the video and let me know what you think! Feel free to comment with your opinions about the opening ceremony.

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Just back from the Opening Ceremonies. Man, what a show.

Right now, I’m uploading the videos I took so you can see what the ceremony was like for yourself! I’ll update this post with links to the videos as I upload them on Neighbors Go.

As the videos load, I’ll start writing my story about 8.8.08. I’ll get everything to you as soon as I can!

• The Olympic Green hours before the Opening Ceremony
• Hanging with the athletes before the Ceremony
• Team USA enters the building
• Team USA says, "Ni hao!"
• Meeting the Pakistani hockey team
• Yao Ming!
• The Chinese athletes leave for the Bird's nest
  
• The lighting of the Olympic cauldron...
• ...by Li Ning
  
• Fireworks! And my reaction to the entire night.

UPDATE: Having some computer issues. I promise I'll get the videos up as soon as I can.
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And of course, the grand finale!

Here's my vlog on watching the lighting of the cauldron by Li Ning, a famous Chinese gymnast! And here's my video of the final fireworks and my reaction to the whole night.

More videos are coming! Enjoy!

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I watched the Opening Ceremonies on TV with a group of Chinese volunteers. We sat around the TV in the Foreign Language Service office, where we could see the fireworks reflected in the building behind us.

The ceremony was intricately beautiful, but I was far more interested in the Chinese students around me. They were so proud to explain the details of the production to me. “This represents China’s great inventions,” they’d tell me during certain parts. “This shows how China has always been open to other cultures.” I felt a powerful connection with them as we watched China at her best, together.

The ceremony highlighted famous aspects of traditional Chinese culture: written language, acrobatics, fashion, opera, calligraphy, the Silk Road, song and dance. By the time the ceremony was over, my new friends had taught me how women dressed in the Tang Dynasty, what the character for ‘harmony’ looked like, and what achievements the Chinese were most proud of.

Click (more) to read about the Pigeon of Peace!
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