Today was most likely the most important day of the year for China, and what a day it was. At about noontime Our Chinese class met up for lunch with the teacher. Now that our summer program was officially over this was a last chance for us all to get together, so we all went to eat Japanese food where it was all you can eat at a fixed price. (I’m not sure if you can call it a buffet since there was service and a menu.) We had four sashimi boats, lots of sushi, tempura, and “pizza” that looked more like an omelet. The whole meal took about two hours but it was worth it.
After lunch I went on my own to retrieve my Olympic tickets that I had ordered back in March. This whole week I had been calling the ticket seller to see if they were ready for pickup but still nothing. Then finally, two days before the event they were ready. The whole process was an interesting one and goes to show how sketchy some businesses can be: their office as described on the invoice was not at the said location, but was a personal apartment in the same building. Inside there was a handwritten list of names of people waiting in line, and a long dining room table with several laptop computers and a huge pile of tickets. People waited in line to show the people their invoices so they could see if the tickets were “available,” even after they had paid. Some people were not so lucky. My friends who had purchased from the same seller were not able to get tickets to their event so they were granted a refund and substitute tickets. Other people only had part of their order fulfilled. There was one guy who had ordered opening ceremony tickets for that evening but was turned away empty-handed. I was lucky I was able to get my tickets without a problem, but was disappointed for the others. In the world of underground ticket selling, there is no fair trade. And despite the government efforts to offer everyone affordable games through a registration and lottery system, scalpers always find a way to grab the tickets first and drive up the prices. I’m sure this is a common thing for any kind of sports or concert event, but at the Beijing Olympics it is just insane.
Soon would be the countdown to the opening ceremony. The feeling was surreal: it felt like the city just hit a pause button. Many people were off from work, and the roads were almost empty, making it hard to get a cab. There was a strict no-fly period so all flights were delayed. And on the street there were security guards every 10 feet and Olympic volunteer stations on every street corner and subway station. That evening I ended up watching the opening ceremony on a big screen in a public park with hundreds of other people. The Olympic spirit was palpaple, with everyone chanting “中国加油!” and clapping as if they were at the birds nest. For that moment all those strangers became friends and family.
The actual ceremony, I thought was spectacular. I’m sure you’ve probably seen it on television, and it is amazing the amount of effort the country has put into it in the attempt to have a grand entrance to the most successful Olympics in history. This was the pinnacle, the height of all the excitement that has been building up for the past several years. If you ever doubt what China can do in a short period of time, just look at what it has done for the Olympic games: built new subway lines, renovated old landmarks, cleaned up the streets, hired hundreds of thousands of volunteers, beefed up security, and created a massive campaign to unify the efforts and promote a collaborative spirit. It is Beijing’s chance to show the world what it has to offer, and I must say that I have never been so proud of my country of origin. On this day, there is no better time to be Chinese, and no better place to be than Beijing.
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