The Olympics, and Goodbye China

It's been an amazing two weeks since the Olympics started. Here's what I've been up to.

Week 1, Tuesday: Went to see women's soccer, Canada vs. Sweden. Even though the match was sold out, the stands were only ¾ full. About 90% of the spectators were Chinese, who were like mercenary fans. I got the whole section chanting Jianada, Jiayou! (Let's go Canada!), but 5 minutes later a Swedish guy had them all chanting Ruidian, Jiayou! (Let's go Sweden!). Canada lost the match 2-1, and, thanks to the pollution and the cheering, I lost my voice.

Week 1, Saturday: My dad arrives and the good weather starts. Since Saturday, there's been 5 days of blue sky and 1 day of clouds and pollution. 5 clear days, more than there had been to that point all summer.

Week 2, Sunday: Watch the women's marathon in front of Tiananmen Square, which these days is occasionally closed, for some reason. Along the crowded sidewalks, we find a good seat on the road next to some proud Japanese fans, who have about a 3 meter buffer zone from the Chinese on either side of them.

Week 2, Monday: See the preliminaries of the women's ping pong. Skill level of the ping pong: very low. But it was worth it, even if it was just for the entertainment value

Week 2, Tuesday-Saturday: Track and field at the Bird's Nest every night. Where do I start? Seeing the stadium at night is even more impressive than on TV- the colors are amazingly vibrant. Tens of thousands of people fill the Olympic Green, which is very clean. At night, there's an amazing panorama of the red Bird's nest, the blue Water Cube, and some amazing new hotels that have just been built in the area.

The athletics events themselves were amazing, and probably the greatest sports events I've ever seen. I saw Usain Bolt break the world record in the 200 meters and tons more exciting finishes in other events. The lines to get food were ridiculously long (It was same catering company that the Skydome in Toronto uses, no wonder), but the experience was unforgettable.

I go home this afternoon. I'm looking forward to going home, but I'll definitely miss China a lot. The studying was arduous but worthwhile, and the cultural experiences were second to none. And I think I'll even miss the food, too.