Beijing Zoo, Temple of Heaven and Olympic Athletes!
Here is a collection of another blog I did while in China. It’s unedited and it’s hard to put a date on them so I apologize for the bad spelling errors!
Sometime in August 2008.
Beijing Zoo and Aquarium
Katie gets her first hot dog in China at the Beijing Zoo! Delicious!
Yesterday we went to the Beijing Zoo and Aquarium after class. We first went to the train station after class and it happened to be large and kind of hectic. After we got to Beijing we took a taxi straight to the Beijing Zoo. The Zoo was pretty big and they had a nice aquarium. Let’s just say that the Zoo’s in the states aren’t like the zoo’s in China. Ours happen to be much better.
After we went to Ritan Park and ate a German restaurant. It was pretty cool because there were a lot of Olympic media there and staff from people’s teams. We saw a large group of Romanians, a group of Germans and just random other people with the yellow Olympic tags around their necks. Pretty nice atmosphere!
Beijing- Temple of Heaven and Athletes
So, yesterday after class we had decided to go into Beijing on the four day old new Bullet train. The train clocks in at 350km/h and only takes 30 mins to go from Tianjin to Beijing. This cuts the old train time from an hour and 15 mins to only 30mins! We first arrived at the new Tianjin South train station which is brand new or at least completely re-done so it was really nice there. We used the new automatic ticketing machine to purchase our business class ie. First class, seats. It was really only like $10 dollars but we figured for our first ride on the brand new train we would splurge. The seats were really nice and we were even given water. After exactly 30mins, we arrived in Beijing. The newly reconstructed Beijing South rail way wasn’t quite completed but it was nice with a mini French café, McDonalds, kfc.. etc.
After we left the railway station we left and headed to the Temple of Heaven. When we got there were a lot of tourist and the place was packed. We saw some Russian athletes and a lot of media for the Olympics there. We walked through pretty quickly taking a lot of pictures but we wanted to make sure we had enough time to make it to the Silk Market to buy last minute souvenirs for friends and family.
We left and headed to Hard Rock Café-Beijing, for lunch before heading to Silk Street Market in search of Beijing shirts and other gifts. Right when we got in we looked for the workers from our first trip and surprisingly they all remembered us from three weeks ago! It was pretty fun! The best part of the Silk Market experience was that there were over 100 Olympic athletes there! We saw athletes from Spain, Puerto Rico, Cuba, USA, Ukraine, Malawi, Malta and other athletes! Katie actually was with the USA Men’s Gymnastics team! It was an awesome experience!
Next, we wanted to head to the National Stadium and the Water cube to see it at night. We got dropped off by the Olympic village and that’s when the biggest nightmare started. The camera was left in the taxi! I sprinted down the road to try and get the taxi but by then it was dark and I couldn’t find him. I was pretty devastated and still am at this point but things could have been a lot worse. Olympic village members helped me contact Beijing taxi services, police, and lost and found boards. Hopefully it comes up in the next few days… We bought a cheap digital camera for the rest of our trips so I think it will be okay. I still am hoping it turns up…
At this point, we are a day away from attending our first Olympic games. We are going to women’s soccer with Argentina vs. Canada then China vs. Sweden and then on Thursday, men’s soccer with USA vs. Japan then the Netherlands vs. Nigeria. After that on Friday we are headed to Chengdu! I’ll update you! - Natalie
Olympic Events
Tonight is our last night in Tianjin. We leave tomorrow for Beijing before we head to Hong Kong on Saturday. I haven’t kept up on writing because we have been so busy these past weeks. We attended Olympic soccer matches and Olympic Tennis. We also have had to study for finals.
Today was our last final and that was definitely a relief. We have been so busy with classes along with Olympic festivities that we haven’t had a chance to really relax. Last week we attended four soccer matches. For Women’s soccer we saw Canada vs. Argentina and then Sweden vs. China. The next night we saw USA vs. Japan and Nigeria vs. The Netherlands in Men’s soccer. Both nights were crazy and the stadiums were really packed. Luckily our school was only 10 minutes away from the stadium by taxi. The stadium was nice but our seats were semi-high. We still had a pretty good view though. Those were my first live Soccer matches so it was pretty awesome to be in the environment.
Just yesterday we went to Olympic Tennis. I found out at 3am Monday morning, who we were going to see. We were going to see Jankovic, the number 1 female in the world, Hewitt vs. Nadal, Federer vs. Avelaro, and then a women’s double’s match. How lucky did we get!? Seeing Hewitt, Nadal and Federer!? So crazy! I was so excited.
We left after class and checked into a hostel. We usually stay at hotel’s but we figured since we really wouldn’t be there it was okay. We checked into it and then left for the Tennis match. Traffic was crazy so we decided to take the Subway and the Olympic bus line. The subway was really crowded but we ended up making it to the bus line, Line 8, to take us to the stadium. The bus line had it’s own security check point and apparently that is the place to buy/sell/trade tickets because everyone was asking us. Anyways, we hopped onto Line 1 that would take us to the Olympic Green. The bus was packed! It was crazy. Everyone was so stuffed in there and the bus was going really slow making us late to the matches. We eventually got there and had to walk quite a bit to get to Center Court because there were 9 courts that surround the big Center Court. After we got there we realized we couldn’t even get in because we had to wait until after each set because of distractions! We only were able to see the Jankovic match from behind the gate! We did get in for the Hewitt vs. Nadal match up which was amazing! They were both so good and there were a lot of times we thought Hewitt was going to take it. That didn’t end up happening but it gave me a really good first real tennis match to watch. Next match up- Roger Federer vs. Roberto Avelaro. Now, I am pretty big Roger Federer fan so when he came out I was just dying! He was amazing and he did awesome. Avelaro actually gave him a little competition throughout the match but obviously not that much. Federer is ranked #1 in the world (until Sunday) while Avelaro was 430 something. Still, there were times that Avelaro was on a roll and I wondered…
The last match we left before it started because we had a final the next morning and we wanted to get to the hostel in time to study and then get up at 4:45am to make our 6:15am train back to Tianjin. We had a final to get to!
LUCKILY, we found out that we both did well and both of us got A’s for our Chinese classes. Next up, Beijing for two days and then Hong Kong!
USA Softball
Today was such a crazy day! We had tickets for the USA vs Japan Softball match which began at 12 pm. We knew before hand there was a China vs Canada game but had woken up a little off our original schedule so we got to the stadium around 10:30am. We at first didn’t think there was a game going on but then realized after we had passed the security checkpoint there was a stadium behind the one we initially thought was it. We first stopped to get something to drink before we sat down and realized they had beer so we decided to get some since it was softball and everything! So we got some beer and started walking towards our seats. We then noticed that the USA team was warming up RIGHT in a field to our left! We started taking pictures and there were only a few people standing there. I started to freak out because I was literally just a few steps from my favorite players. As we were taking pictures we ran into a woman who looked like the ultimate fan. I’m talking USA flag headband that had a flag imprint in the air, Road to Beijing T-Shirt, the whole she bang. Right away she starts talking to us. She then yells over to one of the players and shouts something about candy. Right away I’m like “Do you know her?!” and then she explained how she has been with them since Sydney and travels with them all over. Basically a groupie yet she has provided homemade catering services to them, brings them candy to the games, even brought peach cobbler ingredients from her hometown in Alabama to make peach cobbler for the girls because it’s tradition before a medal ceremony for them to eat her peach cobbler! Crazy! So anyways, this girl gives me the scoop on where the girls go, info on who’s nice, who is not… etc! I’m in awe! Then some other people come up and our friend, Fran, introduces me to Kelly Kretschmen’s parents, Stacy Nuevman’s husband along with Jessica Mendoza’s husband. We talk and they ask us where we go to school etc… It was crazy. They were really nice though! After, Fran told us where to go after the game to get pictures and autographs and she ensured us that they would sign and be really happy to take pictures since they don’t have that many fans that travel all the way to China and watch them play. We decide it’s a good idea and so Katie and I go buy a big “Beijing 2008” flag to have them all sign. We’re pumped.
The game is about to start so we find our seats. They were in right field and they were kind of far back, still not bad. We sit there for about a minute and realize no one checked our tickets so we then decided to head over to the 1st baseline really close, so we can see the batters, pitchers and hopefully catch a foul ball! Right away we start chanting for the US in Chinese and its pretty funny. An American couple from the states, who have lived in China the past four years teaching Art and Science there, join us and we talk the entire game. I love explaining softball to people that don’t know! We were able to sell our baseball tickets to them as well, as we wouldn’t be using them since we decided to go to Hong Kong.
After the game we were told they were going to finish playing the USA vs Canada game that was called yesterday due to rain. The game started 45 mins after and USA was down 1-0. Cat started pitching and she did amazing. The girls scored 1 the 4th inning to tie and then were on a roll since then. The next inning I believe is when they ended up scoring 7 more! Now, I forgot to add. I sat alone in this game pretty much because I wanted to sit back where a lot of fouls were going to be. Katie however, sat up where a lot of the photographers sat and at the end of the game she comes up and says, “Oh, I was just sitting with Cat Osterman’s mom, aunt and brother, I was talking to them the whole time”. So yes, Katie watched the game with Cat’s mom, found out some interesting things too!
So after the game and about 200 pictures later, we hurry and run down to where they would be walking out. I run back into Stacy Nuevman’s husband and brother and he tells us to just walk into where the families go so we follow him back there along with other members of the family. First to walk out is Kelly Kretschman, then Monica Abbot, Crystal Bustos… etc! Right away we go up to each of them asking them to sign our stuff and take pictures. All of them were so nice! A lot of them thought it was a good idea I was getting a flag signed as well! Next batch to come out was Jessica Mendoza, Cat and Jennie Finch but they stayed on another blocked off spot. So, what do we do then? We walk right into the area. So at this time it’s just me, Katie, Jessica Mendoza and her husband, Cat Osterman and her brothers and then Jennie Finch. I don’t know how someone didn’t stop us but we went up to each and every one of them! They were all so surprised to see us there and all asked where we came from. They were all so sweet and nice and it made me happy because I know they were excited to see American fans there to support them.
After about an hour we left and to this minute I still can’t believe it. To be able to meet your idols growing up hits something pretty special inside….
As for now, this is our last night in Beijing. Tomorrow we hop on a train to Hong Kong! It’s going to be a LONG train ride but it will give us a chance to see more of China! Back in less than a week to the states!
