I made it to the Olympics in Beijing.





Olympic Characters.

I am in CHINA. I really never thought that I would be a place like this. The way people think is so vastly different from what we experience it is hard to depict with words in a way that I we can understand. The Philippines is a place that has addapted much of the American culture and makes you feel like you are not SO far away from home. China has a strong heritage and a history dating back to??? Any one know Chinese history? People are controlled here by the government in ways you would not believe. They can not upload to youtube, can you even imagine how productive they must be at work? Let me tell you a bit about what I have experience so far after being here only a day!




meet balls

Chicken

Before I left Manila I was luckly enough to meet some freinds of the wonderful girl I am staying with (Jacky). They are from Greece but living in England and took a trip to the Philippines and made a devine meal one night. Alex and Stan (not his real name I just can't remember but it was very Greek) made a traditional Greek meal from Philippine ingrediants so it may have been slightly different. We start the course with spiced meat balls and a suculent yogurt cucumber sauce and a fresh shredded carrot salad. Some how all of these flavors magically dance across your taste buds and makes you wonder when you will be taking a trip Greece. Then for the next course they made mashed potatoes and pan seared chicken topped with a tomato and oilive oil gravy. Yes, it was as good as you can imagine.



Ink Blow Out

When got up at the ass crack of dawn in Manila to catch our plane to Beijing for THE OLYMPICS. I know it still does not seem like I am here either. I really only planned to come here about a month and a half ago. Once at the airport I quickly grabbed a pineapple shake to kill a few minutes. one of the millions that I have drinken while I have been in the Philippines. It makes me want one just thinking about it. I had to wait for Mike, Patrick, and Shannon because all of them had been in the country for way to long and did not pay only a couple of bucks to extend their visas so they had to pay thousands and thousands of pesos to leave the country. So a few hundred U.S. dollars each. Then we booked it to the plane and got our bags checked through x-ray scanners for the 3rd time. I mean freaking really, where am I going to get any thing that I can not take on the plane besides a pineapple shake. I still had a lot left so all of us drank it while the guards waited for us. hahaha they thought we were crazy. We would not let one drop of pineapple go unused. Once on the airplane we had to fill out more documents for the Chinese governemnt because they enjoy being a pain in myazz. My trusty blue pen that I have had for six years, yes that is correct for 6 years blew up in my hand and ink went everywhere. $*@($&^!@)(((@ITCH it was a tough moment for me.

One World, One Dream
Welocome to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing

One of the billion ads ~ one for every person in the country

ads that you can not read

One World, One Dream

We rode on the plane with Filipino Athletes


You can not imagine that a city can or would be able to completly transform itself in such a short time frame. We are talking about millions of signs have gone up everywhere in the city even no where close to where the Olympic Games are taking place. One World, One Dream. One World, One Dream. One World, One Dream. One World, One Dream. Beijing 2008. Beijing 2008.
Beijing 2008.
Beijing 2008. That is what you see everywhere. They have built all the olympic buildings, hotels, road ways, brought in more taxi drivers, trained 100s of thousands of people to work at the Olympic games everything from street sweepers to security guards. It has been roomered that there were 30 people dieing per day. We talked to some locals and they could not believe how clean the air is here. Since cars with certain number plates can only drive on certain days of the week and factories have been shut down for the Olympic games.





Rolling in Chinese Cash, the exchange is about 6.5RMB to 1USD right now.

I had to get to the ATM and get some RMB (currency) out asap. Then it was time to attempt to have a Chinese only speaking cab driver take us to the apartment that we are staying at. Of course Steve Jobs our lord and savior came through with the iphone (unlocked by Pwnage). I quickly referenced the Mandarin phrase book that I installed from itunes to learn how to say driving directions. The driver was amazed by this device that could let foreigners speak in Chinese and wanted to see it while driving. This quickly lead to him swerving wildly across the road. We quickly got it back. The drivers here are not so in tune with safe driving. They drive how I wish I could drive back home. Wrecklessly and wildly with one on the horn the other on the wheel and the gas pedal on the floor board. vvvvvvvvrrrrrroooooooooommmmmmmmmmmm. eeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr beep, beep, beep, vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvrrrrrrroooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.







Mr. Dong Wang checking out the iphone.


A little Market

We found this market that mike remember and he knew it was close by where we are staying so we decided to take a quick brake and get some delicious fresh fruit. The fruit here is so damn good, perfectly ripe, and so damn cheap. Then, we found out that mike forgot to print out the address of the apartment so we had to walk around to find an internet wifi connection and get into his email. Yes, once again the Chinese think we are crazy foreigners walking around with a laptop. We finally got there and it all worked out. This was a multi hour adventure getting to this place.



Where we are staying at in China for the Olympics


Cold Chinese Tea, Very hard to get cold drinks here.

---IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE READ THE FOLLOWING ----

Patrick and Shannon amazed by the duck soup. at THE RESTAURANT

Then we decided to go get something to eat since the only thing we had had to eat all day was a nasty breakfast of liquid eggs and over done dry chicken sausage on the plane. Mike suggested that we go to a great moderatly priced, authentic chinese food place he had been before close by. This sounded excellent since we are in China and have to have chinese food. I mean they are the founders of MSG and its so fresh and tasty here. We go into the restaurant with our eyes bigger than our tummys so a full duck soup was ordered along with fried rice, dumplings, and a beef and potato dish. This food was great and there was a wonderful chinese waitress who spoke very good english. Here is where it got INTERESTING. There were a couple of chinese gentlemen seating behind us and it was booth style so we could not see them and they could not see us. They were being very loud and obnocious since they had about approximently 8-12 24oz bottles between them. The very nice waitress had went over and asked them to please quiet down after not wanting to for 15-20 minutes. As you can imagine these men were drunk and did not quite down. So a man working there went over there to ask them to quiet down. All of this was in Chinese, but we could get what was going on. HERE WE GO>>> Waiter asks drunk guys to quiet down Drunk Guy 1 (DG1) goes to slap him in the face and the waiter pushes him back and then DG1 goes to punch him. Drunk Guy 2 (DG2) then takes his arm across the table sliding all of the beer bottles off breaking them on the floor. Obviously there was lots of noise, we are all watching, and then suddenly about 12 chinese men appeared. We were all like where the hell did they come from. DG1 is ripped from his chair and thrown on to the ground and then repeatedly kicked. Then DG2 goes to get up but then so drunk falls onto the table which slides out of the way and he falls onto all of the broken beer bottles while one of the chinese guys starts stomping on the top side of his body with his foot and mind you DG2 is laying in broken glass and begins to start bleeding. This was one of those moments where I did not know what to do, mean none of us knew what to do. Just earlier we were talking about what would you do if you saw some one in trouble here. We dont know local laws, we dont want to be killed, but we cant leave someone who needs help. Let me just tell you, that we all quickly learned what we do in times of stress and there are people being brutally beaten in front of you. We all faced the scenario as to not leave anyone the possiblity of coming up behind us and then worrying soley about myself and shannon, pat, and mike. This feeling came over everyone. I was able to feel emotion, I was not afraid or scared, I did not feel bad for any one involved, my sole thought was we need to find a way out. This all happened in a split second and Then DG1 Stands up and continues to yell something in chinese while another chinamen comes and beats him back to the ground. DG2 some how gets to his feet while the original male waiter walks up to him and hits him in the face as hard as him possibly can. All we hear is screaming. DG2 on the ground back into the glass, waiter screaming and holding his arm up while his hand was pointing towards the ground. I am not a doctor but I guarantee his wrist was broken in half. Now, 8 men are feriously mad at both the Drunk Guys. Two of them begin kicking them on the ground a 3rd grabs a chair and swings it over the top of his head crashing it down on to DG1. Holy F***ing Shit these guys are serious. You would swear this was the WWE, expect there is no blood, screaming, or broken bones and faces on the WWE. Still no emotion except how to I not draw attention to myself and get the hell out of here. We could not just leave because they were in front of the only entrance/exit point of the building. Now DG1 is back on his feet and a large chinaman steps out of no where punch to the face and kicks this guy so damn hard in the chest he literally flies backward out of the door onto his back in the street. My eyes were as wide as an 80 inch HD wide screen plasma. Now DG2 has all the attention focused on him and another guy goes to grab another chair while a waitress jumped at at and tried to grab it from just as he was swinging it down on to DG2. So let just say that she saved his life, that lucky mo fo. Then more guys puching and kicking this guy so damn hard it should make you cringe just thinking about it. Then some how during this Patrick paid for lunch and the two drunk guys were out side trying to get back in I am guessing to defend what honer they had left. Then the this lovely waitress girl yelled something at the workers about us. and they literally held the drunk guys at the door as we VERY quickly got the fuck out of there. (I do not like using profanity in my blog but it is needed here for emphasis of the situation and to let you know what I was really thinking)

We are still shell shocked about these telling everyone.


Now, of course there is no need to be scared this is not typical and nothing else remotly bad has happened.

So, how about those olympic games huh? Yup they are here.




All I have to say is I know I have sweet hair.


Foreign red bull not as good


Today we wanted to go and see Matt and check out the Olympic area of Beijing. So we got there by showing a picture of the Birds Nest to the taxi driver and pointing at it. This is how we communicate really is through images and a piece of paper that someone wrote some Madrin on that I have no idea what it says but it some how gets us back to the apartment. The taxi driver dropped us off in the middle of the freeway but I guess that is cool here. So we couldd not help but take a few pictures standing in the middle of the freeway.




Beijing Olympic Birds Nest Where all the track and field events are held.






After walking around for a while we met up with Matt Gentry after a while and since we are friends and family we got to go into the Canada house for free which has all the food and drink you want with professional athlets walking around everywhere. This is what you call the Ultimate hook up. Go Matt.


Thanks Canada!

An olympic Ticket that quickly left me.



The group of us here for Matt Gentry.


Mike and I at the Birds Nest.


It is so impressive how big the Olympic area is and how many people are here. There are so many chinese guards and police around here you just would not believe it. This guys are not joking around one bit. A few times we were thinking that this was the Philippines and we can do what ever we want and attempted to walk past the guards and with in a matter of seconds of just approching the gate we were told you do not have the proper drudentials and to leave. For example a lady was standing next to a fence put her purse down to take a picture 5 feet away and a guard rushed over and told her to pick it up and to not leave anything. Then we tried to gain access by going to a different entry point and these chinese guards have learned scripted english sayings. Trained to answer very specific questions with very specific answers. If you ask any thing else you get no reply of a go away reply.



Trying to hold the Torch 1.

Chinese soldiers. The are always in sync.

Trying to hold the Torch 2.


Trying to hold the Torch 3.

Not sure what this is.


Chinese Guard

This may be for detonating bombs. If you know let me know.


Everything is under construction here.

more signs


Transportation.

After walking around the Olympic area in Beijing China for a while and looking for scalper tickets failed we decided it would be best to go back to the apartment and watch the olympic games from there. You do have an unobstructed view and the air conditioner to put on. First I had to go get a corn ice cream. mmmm. corncream.



Corn Ice cream.

The ice cream had a husk.


I will post again asap.

Thanks for checking out the blog

Nick