let the olympic blogs begin!!!

Hi All!

I'm ready to begin dishing about the Olympics so get ready! Unfortunately, my pictures are limited, so my apologies. Unless you all want me coming home earlier than expected, I won't be able to provide the pictures you want!!!! But, I have done my best with my writing abilities, to invite you into my world of THE OLYMPICS!!!!

So enjoy and be prepared for lots of updates and GO USA!!

Lots of love,
Sheila.





After a fun three weeks of traveling with the boys, I am happy to finally be in the presence of some women! And, I find myself back in Beijing and living at Beijing Normal University. Since I last wrote, the factories in Beijing and other areas have ceased their work (but there is still some “fog”), and even numbered and odd numbered cars have designated days for driving. (I believe today is an even day!) So I think it is safe to say that the Olympics are pretty much just around the corner!

Beijing Normal University is the home of the USA High Performance Training Center. What this means is that all athletes will move into this campus during their training BEFORE they compete. Once they begin competing, the athletes will move to the Olympic Village with athletes from around the world. But here at HPTC, the athletes live in the same dorms as us and all of their meals are specifically designed to meet their training needs. For example, at lunch, there is a recovery menu/bar for after their morning training. This morning, I was talking to one of the boxers who was throwing what looked like five servings of food on his plate. He was going on and on about his morning run workout outside in the middle of the Beijing summer and complaining that he was “fat”. There are weight classes in boxing, so it’s vital that he doesn’t gain weight! HPTC also houses all of the accredited media and members of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). So it’s a bustling place right now and it’s just getting started!





My last week was pretty grueling. Attached to our dorm is an upscale Chinese restaurant and it is my guess that it ranks up there among Beijing restaurants. So it is only fitting that the USOC chose this restaurant for their athletes and Olympic delegation. What does this mean for me? Well, we had two and a half days to turn this Chinese restaurant into an “American” restaurant. The designers wanted every person to feel like they were in America. So I spent two days moving furniture, building furniture, and painting furniture (I must say I was more handy than I thought I was, I was definitely raised well in that area! Mom, thanks for the Bob Villa upbringing!)




I was also really lucky to work one-on-one with the designer who was hired to transform the place into a red, white and blue heaven! I had a ton of fun and learned a bunch about designing and event planning. I’ve really enjoyed watching the planning that these people have done for years actually begin to take shape. I am actually going to witness the beginning, middle and end of this entire process. There is an incredible amount of detail in every single thing they do. (for example, They can only repeat centerpieces twice!!) In addition to working my butt off last week, I also became best friends with the breakfast chef. Yes, I know that’s a selfish thing to do but I LOVE MY BREAKFAST.

(The Chinese government has stepped up security significantly!)




Now, time for the fun stuff. Work has begun and I’ve never been more tired. I have a newfound respect for waiters and waitresses. It’s exhausting! My days begin when my alarm goes off at 4.30am and I don’t think I sit down until dinner. But I’m not complaining because I spend my entire day with the US athletes. So far, the women’s soccer team, women’s weightlifters, and the men’s boxing team have arrived at the HPTC and believe it or not, THEY ARE REAL PEOPLE! The soccer players are so nice and they’re dinner conversations are similar to mine with my girlfriends. It’s so bizarre because we put these athletes on such high pedestals (as we should, they’re awesome) but when it comes down to it, they are like you and me.

(Here are two of my co-workers behind the coffee bar)




The boxing team was telling me today at lunch about their trip to the Great Wall of China and they couldn’t stop laughing because they found it incredibly difficult! At one point, their coach made them run up the wall. (So much for a day off of training!) One was describing the magnificence of it and it reminded me of my exact reaction when I looked over the edge of the wall. They are as wide-eyed as I still am!

I feel so lucky to be in this position and a part of this unbelievable event. I feel like I have been pinching myself all year and I still am! This has also been the first time in a year that I have been a room with more than seven Americans and I must say, it is pretty nice! Additionally, I haven’t mentioned the FOOD. I’m surrounded by all the food I’ve missed this year!!!! (KASHI CEREAL, COFFEE, WAFFLES, SALAD just to name a few)…American food is very exciting for me at the moment! I am definitely having a significant itch to get home, but I’m not ready quite yet! The opening ceremonies are in TEN DAYS and I have a ton more athletes to feed. (Rumor on the street is that the extremely handsome water polo players come tonight!!) ;) I’ll keep you posted!

(Here's Mark and me in our USA uniforms!)

I Acted like the Crazy Chinese on the 4th of July

Greetings from Beijing, China!

I hope my latest update finds you all well. I also hope you all had a wonderful fourth of July (I'm a bit jealous that I missed all the bbq's and the parties, but I guess I am in China...)

Since my last update, I have said my goodbyes to Tongliao and all of my Chinese friends (a very teary-eyed one at that) and am now living in the apartment where my boss for the Olympics will stay when he arrives next week. I really wonder why we're being treated like gold...we are caterers! haha. I'm not complaining though, we have three flat screen tv's with two ENGLISH CHANNELS, HOT WATER, and...............A WASHING MACHINE! This may sound sad, but the first day here, I sat in front of the washing machine and watched the worn and ratty clothing that I've worn all year, toss about for a good 5 minutes. That's what a year of hand-washing in freezing cold water will do to you!

Besides the palace I am currently living in, I've become even more familiar with this gigantic city and concluded that I am NOT a fan. I haven't seen a blue sky yet and there is bumper to bumper traffic (like 95 in CT during rush hour) ALL DAY. It's not pleasant.

But I will get to that in a future blog...here is an update about my trip to Xi'an...I hope you enjoy!

Cheers!
Sheila.


Growing up next to a body of water (even if it is the Long Island Sound), has made me a lover of the fourth of July. I love barbeque's, fireworks and the beach! So it would make sense for me, the lover of this holiday, to celebrate even if I am 7,000 miles away from the great red, white and blue right? WRONG.








Instead, on the morning of the 4th, I was woken up incredibly early after a night comparable to many of my 4th’s in the past. My dear friend Ian informed me that the Olympic Torch was coming through Xi’an that morning and we were going. In a not-so excited or patriotic mood, I rolled out of bed, threw a China t-shirt on and set off to see the torch.





We walked through the ancient and giant city walls of Xi’an into the new city to find thousands and thousands of Chinese all walking in the same direction. Not thinking clearly that morning, I had thrown on a pair of flip flops for what I thought would be a quick walk to the torch, a quick walk back and a chance to jump back into my bunk bed at the hostel. Instead, I found myself surrounded by thousands of Chinese all decked out in red and yellow. We walked down the middle of the now car-less and what seemed like an endless road. My cranky, haven’t had coffee, and I’m hungover mood quickly disappeared as I watched Chinese young and old screaming at the top of their lungs and waving Chinese flags. It was as if we were in a giant parade. You know how they say, “Everything is bigger in Texas?” Well in China, everything is more CROWDED.

This picture is me and a girl from Canada that we met at our hostel! (She didn't even realize she missed Canada Day on July 1st!)




Not realizing that we had been walking for almost an hour now, a Chinese man in his late twenties approached me and smiled. I thought to myself, “Okay, I don’t know you do I?” And then he reached into his bag, grabbed a sheet of stickers and planted two on me. (One, a Chinese flag, and the other, a Beijing 2008 Olympics sticker). I smiled back and replied, “Xie Xie.” And he continued on waving his giant Chinese flag. I felt like that was permission for me to go nuts. I grabbed two Chinese flags and joined in with the crowds who were now screaming “ZHONG GUO JIA YOU!” This translates to “Go China Go!”

Here is Ian caught in the Chinese crowds but being quite vocal!




When we finally approached the area where we could watch the Olympic Torch pass, I concluded that my 5 foot 3 body is still too short, even in China! I threw my camera above my head and began taking shot after shot, hoping I wasn’t taking photos of the porta-potty’s accidentally. There were no protestors, no one trying to extinguish the torch, but just this little white American girl on her favorite holiday decked out in China gear, waving a Chinese flag like an idiot and screaming what would sound to you all like Chinese nonsense. But I enjoyed every single second of it. (Oh and by the way, I didn’t get any pictures of the torch…oh well…or the porta-potty, thank goodness!)




A little more about the city…Xi’an is the capital of the Shaanxi Province. Xi’an is one of the four great ancient capitals of China and has a history of over 3,000 years old. (Makes America look like an infant). I think the most fascinating part of this old city is the city wall that protects the city inside and still stands today. You can actually walk or bike the entire square shaped wall and view “Old Xi’an inside and “New Xi’an” outside the city walls. It was such a site! In addition to the massive city walls, there is a large moat that also still sits beside the wall. As a history buff, I couldn’t get over it!

The picture below is really cool because to the right is the south side of the city wall and to the right are apartments and shops. It looks like this around the entire inside perimeter of "Old Xi'an."




On our second day in Xi’an, we ventured to one of the most popular sites in Xi’an. The Big Goose Pagoda was completed in AD 652 to house the Buddhist sutras brought back from India by the Monk Xuan Zang. Unfortunately, it was under construction when we visited, so we couldn’t ascend the top but we had a great day walking around the gardens and enjoying the water show on the lawn.





This picture below is one of my favorites that I have taken on our trips. This water show is held three times a day on the front lawn leading up to the Pagoda. When you stand at the very front, it is a magnificent site with the Pagoda in the background. I watched these two girls try to approach the middle without getting wet. It was so cute!





I was told by many of you before I left America, “Make sure you see the Terracotta Warriors!” I didn’t realize how important these were until recently. On my final day in Xi’an, I drove an hour outside the city to the mountains and viewed the famed Warriors. Dating back to 210 BC, the Terracotta Warriors were discovered in 1974 by local farmers near the Mausoleum of the first Qin Emperor.




When farmers began digging, they found thousands of Warriors, Chariots, Horses, and Weapons buried beneath the ground. Today, visitors walk above the pits where the Warriors were found. It was one amazing site to be seen, every single warrior was different. No warrior stood alike and they all were found facing the same way; their backs to the Emperor’s body. This of course is because the Warriors were protecting their Qin Emperor. If anyone travels to China one day, you must see them!




Overall, Xi’an is in my top five cities in China. It was fun, historical, safe, and not too overwhelming! Tomorrow morning, the five of us travel to Qingdao, China for seafood, the OCEAN, and a little more fun! (Reality is now less than 2 months away….I have to take advantage! Hahaha)