Friday, July 11, 2008
Why do I keep doing this?
I forgot to mention that our trip/blogging experience received a plug in USA Today. Check it out here.
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Your antidote when things go a bit crazy: Following one Indianapolis native Purdue student's journey to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
Confucius say, "Baseball all wrong. Man with four balls not walk."
During the summer of 2008, I interned with the Olympic News Service at the Beijing Olympics as a part of a study abroad program offered through Purdue University.
A group of 15 students and one professor spent seven weeks in Beijing at the Communication University of China. We spent the first five weeks touring, sightseeing and simply surviving on our own more than 7,000 miles from home.
During the two weeks of the Games, I was a flash quote reporter at the Laoshan Bicycle Cluster covering track cycling, mountain biking and the Olympic debut of BMX cycling.
This blog was updated five times weekly throughout the trip and chronicles many of my adventures, misfortunes, discoveries and lessons learned.
Thanks for visiting. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me!
BEIJING TRIP PHOTOS 7/4-7/26
BEIJING TRIP PHOTOS 7/27-8/27
BEIJING TRIP VIDEOS
A group of 15 students and one professor spent seven weeks in Beijing at the Communication University of China. We spent the first five weeks touring, sightseeing and simply surviving on our own more than 7,000 miles from home.
During the two weeks of the Games, I was a flash quote reporter at the Laoshan Bicycle Cluster covering track cycling, mountain biking and the Olympic debut of BMX cycling.
This blog was updated five times weekly throughout the trip and chronicles many of my adventures, misfortunes, discoveries and lessons learned.
Thanks for visiting. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me!
BEIJING TRIP PHOTOS 7/4-7/26
BEIJING TRIP PHOTOS 7/27-8/27
BEIJING TRIP VIDEOS
Class Blogs
Trip Timeline
July 5- Fly out of Chicago to Beijing (connecting in Shanghai)
July 6- Arrive in Beijing, check in at International Exchange Center of the Communication University of China
July 8- Tour of CUC campus & community
July 9- English lecture on Beijing history & customs, meeting with Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG)
July 11-13- Beijing city tour
July 15- Olympic venues open, training begins
August 8- Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics
August 24- Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics
August 25- Fall classes commence at Purdue (without me!)
August 27- Leave Beijing, fly to Chicago (connecting in Shanghai)
September 1- Labor Day in the USA
September 2- My first day back at Purdue
July 6- Arrive in Beijing, check in at International Exchange Center of the Communication University of China
July 8- Tour of CUC campus & community
July 9- English lecture on Beijing history & customs, meeting with Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG)
July 11-13- Beijing city tour
July 15- Olympic venues open, training begins
August 8- Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics
August 24- Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics
August 25- Fall classes commence at Purdue (without me!)
August 27- Leave Beijing, fly to Chicago (connecting in Shanghai)
September 1- Labor Day in the USA
September 2- My first day back at Purdue
Links
- Today's Weather in Beijing
- Purdue Study Abroad: Beijing Olympics
- Beijing Olympics Official Website
- Olympic News Service
- Laoshan Velodrome
- Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue
- Laoshan Mountain Bike Course
- CUC International Exchange Building
- In the News: The Purdue Exponent
- In the News: The Lafayette Journal & Courier
- In the News: USA Today
Chinese Fun Facts
China Standard Time is 12 hours ahead of Indianapolis, so 8am Indy = 8pm Beijing
Exchange rate: $1 USD = ¥6.898 RMB
China, like much of the world, runs on the metric system. One liter = .2642 gallons, 1 kilometer = .62137 miles, and 1 kilogram = 2.2046 lbs
More than 4,000 baby boys and girls in China have been named Aoyun, the Chinese word for Olympic Games.
2008 is the year of the rat, according to ancient Chinese tradition
Beijing's average temperature through July & August is 30*C (86*F), average rainfall is 36cm (14") over the two months
Red is considered a "lucky color"
Since the Olympic bid came in 2001, China has spent over $17 billion on improving the air quality and reducing pollution in Beijing (air pollution levels are nearly 5 times over the World Health Organization's standards for safety)
There are over 40,000 written characters in the Chinese alphabet
Beijing is the capital of China, the 2nd largest city, and home to over 16 million people
The Olympic News Service will provide news service in 55 languages during the Games
Over 1.36 million people worldwide applied to volunteer at the Games, just 70,000 were selected
Exchange rate: $1 USD = ¥6.898 RMB
China, like much of the world, runs on the metric system. One liter = .2642 gallons, 1 kilometer = .62137 miles, and 1 kilogram = 2.2046 lbs
More than 4,000 baby boys and girls in China have been named Aoyun, the Chinese word for Olympic Games.
2008 is the year of the rat, according to ancient Chinese tradition
Beijing's average temperature through July & August is 30*C (86*F), average rainfall is 36cm (14") over the two months
Red is considered a "lucky color"
Since the Olympic bid came in 2001, China has spent over $17 billion on improving the air quality and reducing pollution in Beijing (air pollution levels are nearly 5 times over the World Health Organization's standards for safety)
There are over 40,000 written characters in the Chinese alphabet
Beijing is the capital of China, the 2nd largest city, and home to over 16 million people
The Olympic News Service will provide news service in 55 languages during the Games
Over 1.36 million people worldwide applied to volunteer at the Games, just 70,000 were selected
About "A Little Hemlock for the Shelf"
The origin of my blog title goes all the way back to ancient Greek times. In the Athenian day of Socrates, it was a sign of a highly educated and sophisticated man to have a vile of the poisonous hemlock on your shelf. High status citizens were ready to throw down a dose in a time when death was more desirable than surrender or exile. If things got a little crazy, hemlock was the antidote. In fact, Socrates himself drank the poison after he was found guilty of "corrupting the youth" and was sentenced to exile.
In a much less intense kind of way, I hope that my blog can be a little break from the monotony of everyday life. It's a little dose of the other side of the world. Just a fix.
I sincerely hope you find my commentary both educational and entertaining. Please don't hesitate to ask questions or leave comments; I love reader feedback! If there's something you want my perspective on, just let me know. Please keep in mind that this blog is the basis for my study abroad grade, and a very wide range of people are reading!
In a much less intense kind of way, I hope that my blog can be a little break from the monotony of everyday life. It's a little dose of the other side of the world. Just a fix.
I sincerely hope you find my commentary both educational and entertaining. Please don't hesitate to ask questions or leave comments; I love reader feedback! If there's something you want my perspective on, just let me know. Please keep in mind that this blog is the basis for my study abroad grade, and a very wide range of people are reading!
My Contact Info
- Email: khabig@purdue.edu
- AIM: BoilermakerKELS
- Skype: BoilermakerKELS
Blog Archive
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2008
(61)
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July
(34)
- Beijing Welcomes You
- Cycling Schedule Up
- Beijing Belly
- Clean Sheets Day
- Shopped til I Dropped
- Le Tour de Beijing
- USA via International Eyes
- "The difference between loving it and hating it is...
- Some Serious Grubbin'
- Chinese Karaoke
- The Night Market Experience
- Bow before the Mao
- YouTube Videos are Posted!
- The Bongo Treatment
- It's a Zoo Out There
- May the Work Force be with You
- Can I ask you a question?
- Death by PowerPoint
- The Peking Opera
- Cracking Down on Smog and Crowding
- Goodness! Gracious! Great Wall of China!
- Why do I keep doing this?
- I ate Peking Duck!
- By the way...
- What is Forbidden Might Actually be Within
- A Culture within a Culture
- "Andrea's gagging worse on a prune than I did on p...
- Photo Album & Day One
- Live from the Shanghai Pudong Airport
- Happy 4th!
- Taxi cab instructions
- Beijing is Boilermaker Country
- Maybe I'll take the train?
- Boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it.
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▼
July
(34)
"Always think for yourself, and always be straight up and down with people. Everyone respects a straight shooter." -David Teague
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