Counting the Beans and Cooking the Books

I finally arrived home from my whirlwind month late Wednesday/early Thursday and am finally catching up with things. Whew!

Thought I’d share a couple more pictures of Beijing for your viewing pleasure:

Inside the Forbidden City...

The Holy Grail of event tickets - U.S. Men's Basketball!!!

My favorite part - when the Fuwa come out and dance!

Rhythmic Gymnastics - they're like little pixies!

Thanks for the memories, China!

The Bird's Nest is so gorgeous at night!

Hey everyone!

It’s been a busy few days, and I finally have the day off!!!

Highlights from the past week include:

Running into Celebs and Old Friends

Serving a dinner to President Bush (Sr), and hosting a luncheon for President Bush (Sr, again), where I was about 5 feet away from him while he was giving a speech. On the day before, I also passed hors d’oeuvres and was able to say “Hello, Mr. president, can I offer you crispy eggplant with fresh mozzarella and fire-roasted tomatoes? (He politely refused.)

The best celeb? Fuwa the mascot!

I’ve also seen Michael Phelps at breakfast (he likes cheese omelets and chocolate milk). And oddly enough, David Schwimmer (Ross from “Friends” for those not as equally obsessed with celebrity gossip as I am) was at the USA House for a meeting, since he’s apparently a big supporter of the Olympics. I also saw him later that evening at the Bud House MTV party, a Budweiser sponsored party venue.

Strangely (it is SUCH a small world), I ran into a girl i went to Claremont McKenna with (Sara Villareal), who I also recruited to work at Deloitte. We wanted to take a photo together, and she said “Oh, I’ll have Terri take it.” We walk over to her friend, who is Terri Butler, who used to work at Deloitte in LA and is currently living in Milan doing the GDP program. And I go, “Oh wait, I think I know you too!!!”

Then two nights ago, I managed to track down Jeff Horowitz, a college friend, who is in town with family and friends for the games as well. Needless to say, I’m amazed at how small the world truly can be and how phenomenal it is to see old friends and familiar places in such a foreign arena.

And Scoring Some Event Tickets!

The final scoreboard. Congratulations, China!

I also scored tickets to men’s gymnastics today (the finals!) and was able to watch the US take bronze and China win gold. I have to say, if we had to lose to anyone, I’m glad it was to China.

The medal ceremony was breathtaking, and the venues here are just gorgeous. I’m the type to cry at weddings, so there’s no hope for me at these medal ceremonies where you’re witnessing the culmination of a
lifetime’s work, discipline, and sacrifice.

When they announced team China, and the entire crowd went wild, it was like the entire country was there, celebrating not only the team’s victory, but China’s triumph as a global powerhouse and successful host of the Olympics. I can’t wait to see another event.

Well, I think I’ve covered it….lately I’ve been working from about 3 in the afternoon until we close at 2 am. It’s hard work and my feet feel like they might fall off, but I love all our guests and all the fun events we throw. Plus, I get to explore the city in the morning before I go into work.

Tomorrow I don’t go in until 5, so I’m excited to have another full day to explore and possibly attend another event. I want to see swimming!!!

I’ve gotten my hands on my instructor’s laptop for a few hours. (She needs help making schedule spreadsheets, and I am the Excel queen! Thanks, Deloitte!)

I honestly couldn’t love it here more;the people are incredibly sweet and helpful, the service is impeccable, and our work is just fantastic. What’s hilarious is that every cab driver/waitress/chinese person I have come into contact with, seems to think that I MUST speak chinese. They say “Ooh…you look like asian…” and find it incredibly hard to believe that I don’t speak chinese. They look at me with such hope and expectation, like I’ll be able to translate for the group. This entire experience with the US Olympic Committee has infinitely exceeded my greatest expectations — it is truly spectacular and special to be a part of it.

Hitting the Ground Running with Work…

We spent most of yesterday getting our venue ready to open tomorrow; it is five floors and absolutely enormous and terribly confusing to get around. It’s incredibly hot, and I think I’ve already lost 10% of my body weight in sweat running boxes up and down the stairs, getting our pantries organized, and just preparing the floor for guests. I must’ve done something right because the manager asked me to come back today to work with the interior designer, getting floral arrangements ready.

The lovely USA House!

Some of my handiwork....

Today was a full day of decorating and arranging countless bouquets and vases, but I learned so much and can’t wait to showcase my new skills at the next dinner party! It is truly amazing to learn from the people here; they are the best at what they do and I am sucking up every bit of information that I can. the caterers I work for are equally impressive; they have managed to open two full service restaurants in a foreign country, find vendors for food product, ship meat from the US, locate all the necessary kitchen equipment, etc. There are so many of us running around everyday, just troubleshooting and working on our endless list of tasks.

On a side note, there are a couple of Chinese girls here from the States, and they are volunteering as translators. They are absolutely indispensable and have accompanied the chefs to the markets, the designer to the flower mart, etc. What a great gig. I’m really just jealous because I am useless here language-wise.

And Chinese Food - wow!

Posing with the duck before eating the duck!

Food wise, I couldn’t be happier. I have longans in my refrigerator as we speak! Last night, a few girls and I went out to dinner at this GINORMOUS peking duck restaurant, where the chef came out to carve our duck tableside. The waitresses come around and wrap your duck in pancakes, complete with sauce and scallions. The service is just ridiculous, and I’m sure to be disappointed when I come home, and I don’t have someone there to open my bottle of water for me and pour it into a glass.

Buying a hairdryer is like buying a car; the whole transaction at Wu Mart involved about 10 people, ending in a lovely girl taking out my hair dryer for a “demonstration.” She laid out all the user guides, plugged it in, showed me the different heat levels…it was hilarious.

I should probably run along now– I have a few busy days coming up, but will be off this wednesday for some exploring and shopping. ’til next time!