"Unforgotable"
Trip Start
Jul 21, 2008
1
4
22
Trip End
Aug 28, 2008
Beijing,
China
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Gregg and I didn't get to attend in person. While we would have loved to have gone, we did end up having a wonderful experience watching it unfold on TV!
We decided to go out to a restaurant that we had stumbled upon one day for lunch. It is a place called Beijing London Pub. The guy that owns it is a sports enthusiast and huge Olympic fan. We were wandering the streets one day and just saw it. We went inside, and were the only lunch guests.
Since we were the only ones there that day, the entire staff was focused on Gregg and me. We were in uniform and had our accreditation around our necks, so they wanted to find out who we were and why we were there. By the end of the meal, we had gotten a tour of the restaurant, made new friends, and they invited us to come back again.
Cultural sidenote: Most places of business, from hotels, to clothing stores and restaurants are what we in the West would consider to be overstaffed. Whereas in the US, you may not be able to find anyone to help you, here that is never a problem. For example, if you approach the front desk of a hotel to ask a question or change money, you may likely be greeted by an orderly line of 5 smiling faces, and they may start to address you all at once! There are always LOTS of people around, and they tend to hover over you while you shop or look through a menu. They are there to be helpful, but it does feel awkward and odd to us. I especially feel pressure looking through the menus, (which are often as extensive as a Cheesecake Factory menu) especially since you have to guess what the picture represents! They don't seem to mind, so we try not to be bothered as well. :o)
The Beijing-London restaurant is decorated with all kinds of Olympic memorabilia (as we had seen on our proudly-presented lunchtime tour a few days earlier), so we felt like it might be a nice place to watch the big kick off of the Opening Ceremonies. Turns out we were right!
We left the hotel and encountered the most eerie sight: DESERTED Beijing streets! The normally constantly clogged, frenzied, honking, take-your-life-in-your-hands-and-ride-with-with-your-hands-over-your-eyes streets were nearly empty. It was early in the evening, but felt like it was 4 am. Every last Beijing resident was home to watch it on TV.
We were a little worried that the restaurant might be empty too, as it was before, but hoped it would not be since we knew it would make them happy to host a party for the big day. We walked in and found it packed :o), and the servers, hostess, and chef all gave us a big sweaty hugs and asked us to sit at their table! The placed was filled with people from all over the world, and the ceremonies were playing on several large screens. Perfect!
Our favorite server brought us drinks and said "These are 'in the house'!" :o) They were all so fired up and having a great time. We enjoyed delicious food served to us personally by the chef. When Gregg wanted a local Chinese beer that the restaurant did not serve, they went out to buy it for him. We were able to chat with some locals, and the whole place was cheering for their countries as the various athletic delegations marched in. (Only our President Bush got jeers, but Siscely, a local woman we had met, countered our embarrasment with cheers of "USA! USA!")
Incidentally, our favorite server, spent some time as an exchange student in Texas. Yeehaw! He and I made up our own greeting: "Nin Hao-dy y'all!" :o)
We knew the Chinese delegation was coming in soon when they started passing out flags. When the huge and colorful Chinese team appeared, there were cheers of "Zhong Guo! Zhong Guo!" (China! China!) and much clinking of glasses. And, naturally, much picture taking!
Gregg's Dad, Walter Cahill, whom I call the unofficial mayor of Lowell, Mass., sent along Lowell City Hall pins for us to trade. We shared them with our new Chinese friends, who were very excited to get them!
The climax, of course, was when Li Ning, a well-known Chinese Olympian, lit the cauldron. They were jumping up and down when he "ranflew" with the torch in his hand. (He also has a clothing brand...look for his name and an emblem similar to the Nike swoosh on the Chinese Olympic Team uniforms.)
We tried to pay for our dinner and drinks, but they would not take our money. They said, "Tonight, you are in my home."
I don't know if I would say that our night was better than it would have been watching it in person, but we certainly didn't feel like we missed out, since we were able to share the Olympic spirit with such nice folks.
As we left, there were many more sweaty hugs, and our favorite waiter said "Tonight, is unFORGOTable!!"
It really was.
Comments
Opening Night
Thanks for sharing. It sounds like a perfect night! I feel like I was there with you guys. Chris, you have a great way of expressing yourself. Love to both of you. GO USA
Opening Night
Thanks for sharing. It sounds like a perfect night! I feel like I was there with you guys. Chris, you have a great way of expressing yourself. Love to both of you. GO USA
THE Perfect International Greeting!
Nin Hao-dy ya'll! What a perfect greeting! The universally polite 'Hello' coupled with the indispensible, all-inclusive Texas pronoun, 'ya'll'! You may have the beginning of a new, world-wide language.