Eight is a lucky number for the Chinese. At 8:08pm this evening, Val, Chris, Alysha, Lauren and I found ourselves at Wangfujing Street near the Oriental Mall watching the Opening Ceremony on a large outdoor screen with thousands of friends from across the globe.
Alysha and Lauren made friends with some fellow Americans while Val and I bonded with a German and two Dutchies. Oh, and there were thousands upon thousands of Chinese folks there, too.
You are all going to watch it in just a couple of hours, so here's a rundown of what I saw on the street which you won't get from NBC:
Weirdest thing: Chinese people like to sit for such an occasion. So as one Chinaman was ushering us all to sit, I witnessed some Germans stand in the crowd and lecture him about how, "That's no way to party! Let the Germans show you how to party!" Inevitably we all sat down, Indian-style, in the middle of the street.
Most booed: Japan. We were informed that, "The Chinese people do not much like the Japanese."
Most randomly cheered: Tied between Venezuela or Argentina. I don't know why the Chinese love them so.
Most awkward: Chinese Tapei and Hong Kong getting massive cheers, even though they are recognized as separate from the People's Republic, according to the IOC, and march under independent flags
Reactions to USA: Very positive, lots of cheers! President Bush received some "hims and haws," but definitely not the outright booing that Japan got! Chinese people LOVE stars from the NBA, so Kobe, Lebron & friends received massive support.
Countries represented at Wangfujing (that we saw): China, USA, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Estonia, Hungary, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
Spirit award: The Brazilians take the cake with their flag-wraps and face paint.
Goosebumps moment: Raising the Chinese flag at the very beginning and the whole street-full of people erupting in harmony singing their national anthem.
Best part: We left right after China was introduced, cabbed it back on virtually empty highways, and made it home to see the lighting of the torch on our dorm TVs.
Thing I missed most: English commentary, for sure.
Tomorrow is another day off for me. Val, Christina, and I are heading out to the Badaling section of the Great Wall to see the final sprint of the men's cycling road race!!! Should be fun!
Let me know what you think of the ceremony when you see it :)
XOXO
Friday, August 8, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I have been a mess waiting for this 8-8-08 Olympics Opening.
I thot I should invite people over BUT I weighed that versus not having to play hostess...you know me...... so that Roxy and I can just sit in the middle of the floor directly in front of the TV....I don't want to miss a thing. :+)
Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream OR an upside down banana split will be in order. yummy for my tummy.
Nanno
I loved your inside stories about the opening ceremony. Who knew the Chinese loved Spanish speaking countries? It really was amazing to watch the ceremony on TV here, but I can't imagine what it would have been like to see it there. The English commentary was helpful seems how it was not in alphabetical order though!
I hope you are having fun in China. I'll be thinking of you each time I watch the Olympics! Take care and have fun! :)
Post a Comment