A Truly Cultural Experience

Friday 08.08.08 was declared a national holiday. People were given the day off and I heard rumors that they were encouraged to stay home...to make less traffic? To create a more peaceful atmosphere? Not sure. But in any case, we were going OUT!!! But everywhere we went it was strangely quiet and rather empty.

Anyway, 08.08.08 I woke up early and headed over to Jordan and Sonya's apartment. We started the day by going to one of the two "Coca-Cola Zones." We got there at 11 and they said "no more tickets. Please come back at 1:00." But, as with everything here, we knew that could be negotiated. My friends have a baby and so they said "can you ask if we (4 plus 1 baby) can come in? We have a baby- can't come back later bc she needs to have a nap." So they asked and sure enough, there was room for us. Oh, and this "zone" was at a place where the largest TV screen in the world is. :)

We entered through this huge archway and into a tunnel that looked like an igloo. As we passed through, we were handed free bottles of coke. The tunnel opens up into this huge open area. To our left are kiosks to buy your own pins. To the right, a pin trading area. Straight ahead is a huge stage where the crowd is participating in all the typical things- sing-a-longs, dances, group games. Everywhere you look, all the "volunteers" are in Coke colors and there are Coke and Game themed decorations everywhere. We walk through a walkway around the stage and into another open area. To the right you can buy a coke and choose your own plastic cover and go around behind the counter and wrap it yourself (put the sleeve on the bottle and stick it into a machine that shrinks the plastic to fit the bottle). There's also an area where you can get your picture taken with a life-sized cut out of Yao Ming holding one of the actual torches...you get to hold the torch (well, you get to touch it) with Yao. There are also huge, colorful terracotta soldiers that you can take pictures of...I guess just for something cultural? The cool thing was that the entrance "tickets" were free, you got a free bottle of coke, could trade pins (free), and if you chose to wrap your own bottle, it was only slightly higher than the normal price. So any person could afford to go and enjoy it.

We went back to Jordan and Sonya's for naptime (we all napped). Then stopped at the countdown clock to get a picture (there were LOTS of people there taking pics). I got a picture at 2 hrs to go! There were no taxis, so we had to all (our group had 6 plus a baby now) get on a bus. Of course, lots of people were going to the same area as us. The bus evidently had an altered route for the night and wouldn't be driving near the stadium. So our walk was longer than we'd hoped. We stepped off the bus into a sea of people. Fortunately, we knew a shortcut that took us to less crowded streets and then back into the sea of people. Four friends met us at an intersection where people looked down the street for about 8 blocks to where the building that looks like a flame is (it's next to the stadium).

The park where we'd watch was packed with people. We squeezed through to an area where we had a clear view of the giant TV (one of many that was built for this purpose) and a clear view of the sky above the stadium, where fireworks would be. We could see the beams of huge spotlights coming out of the stadium. But our TV screen was black. People started yelling "turn on the TV! turn on the TV!" I texted a friend in another city and he said the only thing happening was important leaders arriving. At 8, we saw the fireworks...but our screen was still black. People filed out towards home, or someplace else. As we left, we spoke with a group of men in uniform who told us that our TV was, in fact, broken. So we asked about the giant TV that's near my friend's house. "That one's broken too." Turns out many of the giant TV screens were "broken" that night...including the one that's on the "flame building" which is right next to the stadium. Mysterious...the screens all were miraculously fixed by the next morning, of course.

So we went with the status quo and decided to be good citizens and go home. So we left the fireworks and the masses and tried to find a taxi...there were none...or a bus...there were none. We finally found a taxi and got home an hour later (the drive is about 15 minutes). Watched it all from the safety and comfort of my friend's living room. We missed the first hour, but got up Saturday morning and watched the re-broadcast ...which was, of course, at 8 am...if you haven't figured out, 8 is a lucky number...there are even 8 rainstorms "predicted" (or should we say scheduled?) during the Games!

The ceremony itself was amazing. I've watched parts of it over probably 5 times...every time I find a channel re-capping it, I find myself captivated again. Wow. I'm not even sure I can pick one thing I liked the most.

Anyway, now when I'm free, I channel surf to see what events are on TV. There's no tv guide, so there's no way of "planning" to watch anything. But of course, most of what I do come across is the local teams...and none of the channels have English commentaries (including opening ceremonies), so I'm learning some new words! On the 21st I'll be going to handball with a friend!!!! What's handball, you ask? No idea...but WHO CARES!!! I'm GOING to the Games!!! And yesterday someone said they had one ticket to a volleyball final and they can't go. So I might be going to that too!!! Woo-hoo!!!