Five more days until the closing ceremonies! I am having so much fun and every day here is packed with surprises and LOTS of work.
The exhaustion has finally hit me; working until 2 am, going out until 4 am, and trying to see events, sightsee, and shop before heading BACK into work each day has finally taken its toll! I’ve been plagued with
a scratchy throat for about a week now that just won’t go away. I think it must be the air. I have a much needed day off today and can catch everyone up on the last few days’ events…
Men’s Indoor Volleyball

Germany vs. Egypt
I went to men’s indoor volleyball a few days ago and sat with the Italians for the Italy vs. Venezuela match…then sat with Germany for their match against Egypt. (Papa Massoud–I still rooted for Egypt,
don’t worry!)
The whole experience was just hilarious, with the Chinese volunteers encouraging us to cheer for both teams “to encourage a supportive athletic environment.” At 16 points, we were all instructed to do the wave and the screens are filled with the Fuwa (the Olympic mascots) saying “let’s do the Mexican wave!!!” Not sure what is mexican about the wave…which i find incredibly funny. Between sets, the cheerleaders come out and do their sparkly routines, which are a cross between Lakers Girls-meets-Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders-meets-Beijing Hooters girls. It’s a lively, entertaining experience, to say the least.
More Athlete-spotting!
Yesterday at work was busy–highlights include Tiki Barber doing an interview from our patio porch, Michelle Kwan coming in for lunch (I got to chit chat with her at length about living in LA, how her visit is going, etc–she is incredibly gracious, chic, and so lovely), and Michael Phelps coming in to celebrate his medal victory. Mary Lou Retton has also been in the house two days in a row–the other night she was there to celebrate the women’s gymnastics individuals, so I got to see Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, and all the other female gymnasts. We’ve had a bunch of other athletes around as well to celebrate their victories in shooting, fencing, etc. And I do have to say that the baseball players have been there quite frequently, and
boy, are they a hungry bunch!
Inside the Bird’s Nest at Last!
I have somehow hit the lottery here in terms of event tickets…getting a seat at the men’s gymnastics finals was pretty amazing, considering that the other tickets going around are for non-US teams in events like handball, volleyball, or baseball. Last night, 3 tickets opened up for track & field, and two of my friends
and I snatched them up and fled from work!

Inside the nest...
Being inside the bird’s nest was just phenomenal, and our tickets were on the 1st tier, ten rows up from the track. So much was going on at once; women’s 100m, women’s hurdles, men’s 1500, men’s 3000m, high jump, hammer throw, triple jump, men’s 10,000…it was just massive and filled to the brim. And we witnessed no less than 5 medal ceremonies and still left early, before the last few medals were awarded!
The crowds were overwhelming, with people flooding the entrance gates and scalpers hanging around the streets. Once inside the olympic green (where you must have a ticket to enter), it’s incredibly spacious, clean, and quiet, with people lazing on the lawns, waiting for their next events. It was a great night, capped off with a HUGE dinner to kill some time so we could actually get a cab once the crowd died down.
i think i’m going to hit some tourist spots today and take a break from events…the trip is going by so quickly and i have to see Beijing before I leave!