Beijing huan ying ni (Beijing welcomes you)

By: Stephen Chu (WG/Lauder '09) Contributing Writer

Posted: 9/22/08

As luck would have it, my summer internship ended on August 8, 2008, the exact same day that the 2008 Be?ing Olympics began. That night, I joined friends and colleagues at a Hong Kong hotpot restaurant surrounded by steaming bowls of soup and flat-screen TVs broadcasting the opening ceremony. Promptly at 8:08pm, waiters stopped shuffling around, the chatter-filled room fell silent, and all eyes became glued to the TV screens. For the next several hours, we immersed ourselves in the oohs, aahs, and waahs of the performance (Cantonese people love to "Waah!"). Seeing the opening ceremony solidified the foolish idea in my mind that I would go to Beijing to watch the Olympics. With no plane tickets, no event tickets, and no place to stay for one of the largest events in the world, I quickly pieced together a trip to the capital with some help from friends (thanks, Zoe & Rafa!).

Being at the Olympic venues was simply amazing. Seeing with your own eyes athletes who have trained a lifetime for a single moment and sensing how badly they want to perform capture your attention and make you want it for them. From the 2nd-to-last row of the nosebleed seats in the Bird's Nest Stadium, I heard a middle-aged woman scream at the top of her lungs as Usain Bolt from Jamaica got his first gold medal in the men's 100m dash. Although she was Chinese, I'm pretty sure she was happier about the victory than he was. And this same feeling seemed to permeate throughout the Games; wherever you went, you would see hundreds of people excited to be a part of history, enjoying the interaction of Brazilians, Mongolians, and visitors from all over the world. Despite all of the political tension in the buildup to the event, it felt like the people in Beijing, both locals and visitors, were not there to create conflict or advance any particular agenda; people were in Be?ing to have a good time. In the end, it seems like the importance of the Olympics is that it brings together people who simply have no reason to be together to one place and encourages them to interact.

Now this was all fun and games before I ate a hot dog. This plastic-wrapped, cold little spirit of Satan may have only cost me a dollar, but it would eventually come to haunt me. By eventually, I mean 20 minutes. At 30 minutes, I was curled in a ball on several seats in the National Stadium, where fellow Lauderites Rafael Chang (WG'09) and Alex Athanassiou (WG'09) poked me and asked if I were ok. I replied "yes" and then promptly ran to the bathroom at a speed that would put Bolt and Phelps to shame. Food poisoning? Inconceivable! Now, don't get me wrong: I really did appreciate the fact that the food was priced economically to let everyone-affluent or not-enjoy the Olympic experience. My stomach just probably could have done without involuntary participation in the hot dog javelin event. And don't get me started on the scantily clad "Beach Babies" at the women's beach volleyball event. They obviously weren't hired for their dancing abilities, and although I admittedly snapped one (or ten) too many pictures of them, it was painful seeing them wiggle in cowboy hats to Chinese country Western music (not traditional: think Garth Brooks in Chinese). Yee-haw!

Sure, China still has plenty of problems and there were some annoyances during the games-people still spat on the streets, and the organizers probably could have used an OPIM professor or two-but all in all, it seems that they accomplished what they set out to do. People from all over the world got a chance to understand each other a little better. Things have really changed and developed in China, and the country finally had a chance to show off.

Before I left China, one of my former coworkers asked me one night at dinner, "Do you think that the rest of the world will look at Chinese people differently now after seeing the Beijing Olympics?" His eyes were cautious, curious, and a bit worried. I think the answer is: "Yes, and I bet the feeling is mutual." Now, someone should look into those hot dogs...