Arlene's Travel Adventures

More Pictures of Shaka Around Whistler

2010-02-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

Shaka and I watching the ski jump portion of the Nordic Combined team competition in which the USA team won it's very first medal in Nordic Combined. It was so exciting to see history in the making.

Ski Jumping was Shaka's favorite Olympic event.

After work we would walk around Whistler Olympic Village. It helped me to decompress and take in the sights and sounds of the Olympic tourists from around the world.

The weather was fantastic, for the most part. It wasn't until the last few days that the rain and show turned into slush. It was much colder.

Shaka's first experience standing out in the snow. He was underdressed, but the hot chocolate helped him warm up.

Shaka had a wonderful time. He was loved by everyone he met.

Workforce Break Room and Meals

2010-02-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

Lining up for the cafeteria style food.

The first place we would stop was for the delicious soups. We had a choice of two types of soups every lunch. The soup and bread was my favorite part of the meal.

This is a fellow volunteer I met during lunch one day. This is the hot drink area. We would have as much hot water, coffee, hot chocolate, and tea as we wanted. I started every shift with a cup of hot chocolate. I limited myself to one cup a day.

This is a picture from the back of the dining/break area. The breakroom really got full during lunch time. Timing was everything. If you weren't there early enough, you didn't have much of a choice. They usually had a hot meal available while it lasted, or one would have to settle for a cold sandwich or wrap. After eating sandwiches for 6 days straight, I was hoping for a hot meal. Sometimes I would get it, but most of the time I would have to make due with the sandwich.

This is a shot from the front of the mess tent. In the break room we had coverage of the Olympics being broadcasted on flat-screen TV's. I would watch the events every time I was in there, although it was hard to hear the commentary.

This meal was one of my favorite. Lasagna and salad. They had a choice of fruit and granola bar with each meal as well as a beverage. Many times I would save the bar and banana for later in the shift. I usually had either water or orange juice. I was very good. I did not have any soda. I have given soda up since last June. Because Coke was an official sponsor, it was free during lunch.

This was a Thai chicken wrap. It was tasty, but I had to eat the inside with a fork because there was too much wrap. I think that I started getting sick of the carbs. I was thankful for a free meal everyday.

Mascots and Gifts

2010-02-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

These were the gifts I received for being a volunteer: (1) Workforce Olympic Pin, (2) Miga, (3) a key chain made designed by a local jeweler, (4) a specially designed medallion, (5) a luggage tag, and (6) an Olympic Swatch watch. Miga is the stuffed animal I choose for a gift. I decided to get her because I live close to the sea. I also thought she was cuter than Quatchi.

Can you tell that I'm "Going Nuts" about the mascots. This was in front of a store in the Whistler Olympic Village.

Shaka enjoyed taking his picture with Miga and Quatchi.

Based on mythological characters, they are Miga, Quatchi and Sumi. Miga, a sea bear who lives in the ocean with her family pod near Tofino, and Quatchi, a young sasquatch, represent the Olympics, while Sumi represents the Paralympics that follow afterward. A sea bear is a First Nations creature, part killer whale, part Kermode spirit bear. While illustrated as being taller than the other characters, the mascot costume of Quatchi is the same height as the other two characters.The third mascot, Sumi, an animal-guardian spirit, is a Thunderbird that wears the hat of an orca. Sumi will be the mascot of the Paralympics. In 2004, the Times Colonist suggested a marmot might be a good mascot, except for their winter hibernation. The organizers still chose one, named Mukmuk, as their "virtual only" counterpart. I took these descriptions directly off of the mascot website.

Sites On the Way to Whistler Olympic Park

2010-02-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

This is what I was able to look at every morning before work. It is so breathtaking.

My view as I opened the front door of my condo.

I walked up to the bus stop that I took to work.

This is where the spectators and workforce would get on the buses up to Whistler. They were from all over Canada as well as the United States. All of the bus drivers were so nice.

A beautiful semi-frozen lake I passed every morning on the bus to WOP.

I took this picture on the bus up to work.

Once we arrived at WOP we had to walk down this path to the security tents. The workforce and spectators entered different security screenings.

This bus grabbed my interest because on the side of it there were the faces of famous Canadian celebrities. I grew up watching many of these actors and entertainers.

This was the Whistler's Olympic Park venue's landmark.

These are two of the security guys who read the barcode on my accreditation every morning. If you look closely, you can see my picture on their monitor.

Every three days that the volunteers worked, we were given nice gifts. The next two pictures are of some volunteers who gave us our gifts. I'll post a picture of all of the gifts I received.

After going through check-in, I had to take a shuttle to the cross country and ski jump venues. The bus was always filled with work force team members and the media. Most of the time I had to stand because it would be full of people off to work.

This is Nixon. He is originally from Uganda, but now resides in Vancouver. His job was to make sure pedestrians were safe while walking across the road. He was such a happy and friendly person. I think that everybody knew and liked him. His smile and attitude was contagious.

These are my Press Venue Managers, Elissa and Alessandro. There are fantastic leaders. I'd work for them again. They were so focused and organized.

I Got a Bonus Day Off

2010-02-25T23:52:00.000-08:00

To my surprise, by supervisors have given me another day off. I plan on trying to finish most of my blog, get ready for my trip home, and attend the volunteer appreciation party. It will be my last day up to Whistler Olympic Park. What an adventure I've had. Stay tuned.

Ski Jumping Venue

2010-02-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

This is the site I see when I exit the shuttle bus at work. They were having practice jumps. The ski jumps are so big that I can barely see the athletes when they are jumping unless you are at the base of the hill.

This is an awesome venue. There is the large hill and the normal hill. The same three medalists who won on the normal hill also won on the large hill in the same finishing order.

Second and Last Day Off

2010-02-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

I've been home blogging all morning and watching live Olympic coverage. My roommates are out sightseeing, but because I came down with a cold, I decided to recuperate here at home. I still have 5 more days for work and do not want to be sick when I return to teaching. I slept for 11 hours last night and feel so much better now. I'm glad that I decided to stay home. I'll be able to go into the village for dinner now that I feel much better. I think that the worst of my cold has passed.

It's been nice getting to post my pictures. I have to take more in the coming days.

May Nodar Kumaritashvili Rest in Peace

2010-02-21T14:39:00.000-08:00

My sympathy goes out to his family, friends, and all of his countrymen and women.

It's no doubt that the saddest event during these games was the death of 21 year old Georgian, Nodar Kumaritashvili. I'll never forget working in the press venue when word of his death spread throughout the venue. Many of my colleagues were talking about seeing the video coverage. We were all in shock. I said, "What?!" I cried. I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't watch all of the film coverage of the crash. Afterwards, the big story was about how dangerous the sliding venue was. Much controversy surrounded this incident. I felt bad for the beginning of the Games and for Canada.

As I walked into Whister Village last night, I saw this memorial. Many people have stopped by to pay their respects and leave notes. The memorial grows bigger everyday. People have left flowers, Olympic pins, and flags from their countries. It's very sobering experience. I wrote a message.

Watching these games and being a part of these games have given me a better understanding of how dangerous winter sports are, especially in the Alpine events. These athletes are daredevils. Unfortunately we were reminded of just how dangerous it is.

It's Not Just All Work

2010-02-21T14:06:00.001-08:00

Team USA Volunteers

It's amazing how athletes get in the sleigh. It's very narrow and cramp. This is stationed in the middle of Whistler Olympic Village. There are always lines of tourists waiting to take a picture here.

The Olympic Rings are next to the Olympic Medal Stage. Look for the flame in the middle of this picture.

I wish that I could get a picture right in front of the Olympic Rings, but there are just so many people.

Every night after work Kathy and I go back to the village to have dinner. We have discovered local hangouts that are very delicious and reasonably inexpensive. Unfortunately, Lynn works at the sliding venue and has a different schedule. Kathy and I have been exploring together. The weather has been perfect and the nights are very clear and crisp. We do window shopping and bought very few souveniers. We don't stay out too long because we don't care to be with the hundreds, if not thousands who come to party every night. So far we have avoided the drunk party goers. Lynn says that when she walks through the village past midnight, people are seriously crazy. They try to kiss her.

Kathy and I are generally home by 8:00pm so that we can watch the Olympics and get to bed by 10ish. I get up around 6:00am. I wish that I had more energy to stay out longer.

Inukshuk-A Symbol of the Vancouver Games

2010-02-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

This is where all workforce get dropped off for work.

Kathy, one of my roommates, works at the biathalon just up the road from my workplace.

Shaka, my traveling gnome, is next to an inukshuk that someone built next the entrance to the press venue at WOP.

Shaka loved that they have inukshuk in his size.

I took this picture while waiting for the shuttle back home after work.

The inukshuk is a stone landmark built by humans in the Arctic region. It has been used for navigation as a point of reference a marker for hunting grounds, or as a food cache. This symbol can be found everywhere. I've see then in random places around WOP, Whistler Olympic Village, and on sides of the road. They are made from rocks, boulders, and snow. I just had to buy a pair of earrings with dangling inukshuk.

Home Away From Home

2010-02-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

In front of the condo before going into town.

Cozy living room where we watch the Olympic coverage, laugh, and get to know each other.

I feel fortunate to be the one to have my own room.

Lynn said that I should get it since I was the one who found this nice place.I am very comfortable staying here.

I feel so fortunate to have rented a very warm, beautiful, and cozy condo. Kimiko, the wonderful woman who owns this condo, was so helpful and welcoming. We were so lucky to have found this place to call our home away from home.

Spruce Grove's Beautiful Surroundings

2010-02-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

I took this picture of the snow plow so that my students can see what is done after a snow.

I was in the condo when I heard this tractor. It was just outside my door.

It's nice that they clear the roads whenever it snows.

This is a morning after a night of snowing, Feb. 16th.

This was the view outside my condo window.

This was the morning of my first day off.

This is the view from a bridge just a few 100 yards from my condo.

A picture that I snapped on my way to eating Sushi after settling down in my place.

The walk was only 10-15 minutes.

The place that I am sharing with two other American volunteers is lovely. It is very comfortable and only 5 minutes transit ride from the Whistler Olympic Village where I have to take my bus to the Whistler Olympic Park (WOP).

Canadians Have Been So Kind

2010-02-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

This is Grace and her traveling stuffed animal, Squirtle. It's been wonderful working with her and riding home on the bus home together. She knows so much about the Olympics Games. I love her energy and enthusiasm. She wants to become a sports writer. I know she can do it.

I have met and talked with many Canadians. They are so helpful, welcoming, and friendly. I strike-up conversations with the people I sit next to on the bus. The buses are for volunteers as well as spectators. About half of them live here in Whistler, and the other half are from other other parts of Canada. About 10,000 people live in Whistler. Many of those currently living here are transplants because they came for holiday and fell in love with the town, it's people, and of course the mountains. It seems as though most of them ski and love outdoor sports. During the summer people for all over the world visit to hike and mountain bike.

When I tell them I'm from San Jose, CA, they are all surprised and ask what I'm doing volunteering here. My standard response is, "I'm here to help my neighbors to the North." It shocks them to know that I have paid my own way here and that I also pay for housing. One lady said that she would have hosted me for free if she know I needed housing. They are thankful for all volunteers. There are many international volunteers.

I am impressed that they have a great love for their country and of winter sports. Since I work at the media center, on a couple of instances I have informed them that Canada won another medal. They are so happy and proud.

Hopefully I have made a good impression on them. Like any other people, they have preconceived notions about Americans. I'd like to think that I am a good ambassador for the USA. I love making connections with people of all cultures.

I'm A Blue Smurf

2010-02-18T16:17:00.000-08:00

Right after arriving in Whistler, I went to try on my uniform. This pile of clothes are what I wear to work everyday. These two gentlemen were very nice and helpful. They said that I should say hi to my students in San Jose, CA.

I also had to get my accreditation before receiving my uniform. I have my accreditation with me always. It gets me into work and free transportation during the Games.

If you've been watching the Olympic coverage, no doubt you have seen the workforce dressed in the teal/aqua blue uniforms. They are really nice and since I seldom go to the snow, I'll most likely never have to buy clothing for snow. They are of good quality and look nice.

I've hear some Canadians call us blue smurfs. I like them and would definitely use them especially the waterproof jacket. Some of the volunteers have said that they would never wear them again. I will wear it to school when it's raining.

We received a jacket, vest, two long-sleeved shirts, and snow pants. I also purchased a nice backpack that matches the uniform.

Because we all have the same uniforms, I mistakenly took my roommates jacket one day and thought that someone had mistakenly taken mine. I'm just glad that I didn't lose mine jacket. I'm much more careful about looking for my name on the tag.

Another perk we get for volunteering are little gifts every 3 days we work. I've received a workforce pin for the Vancouver Games and Miga the Sea Bear stuffed animal. I will receive two more gifts by the end of my stay here. I am halfway through my shifts for the Games.

Typical Job Tasks for Press Assistants

2010-02-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

This is the journalists section of the press workroom.

The workroom has a capacity of 350.

This is the photographers section of the press venue.

This the the view I have from the help desk.

Press Conference Room for the Ski Jumping, Cross Country Skiing, and Nordic Combined.

This is my immediate supervisor, Natalie Bartleson.

After working for the past four days, I finally have all of the different jobs clear in my mind. In the beginning 12 volunteers at our ski jumping, cross country, and Nordic Combined venue were trained to do all of the different jobs needed to help run the media venue. No matter how much preparation in done, not until the event happens does one see what adjustments need to be made. We all have to be flexible and calm under pressure. Now we have settled in on specific jobs. I believe that specializing is making our operation run smoother and smoother everyday. Our main clients are international journalists, photographer, and broadcasters.

I really like the venue managers, Elissa and Alessandro, my workroom supervisor, Natalie who is a Gold medal Olympian in synchronized swimming, and Paula. They are all professional and hardworking. I can tell that they did a lot of organizing before the Games began. I've spoken to other volunteers who have not had the same positive experience. I think that the difference is that my bosses are experienced and work cohesively as a unit.

The different jobs that a press assistant does is (1) give, find, and post information to journalists that they need to do their jobs, (2) clean the workroom, (3) check accreditations, (4) man a help desk, (5) work in the Mixed Zone (an area located where the athletes exit the field of play and enter the broadcasting area and journalist area), and (6) get the press conferences ready and pass microphone around during the news conference for the medalists.

My main duties are to assist Paula. She is in charge of setting up the press conferences and getting the conference room ready for each press conference with the medalists. We must keep track of the events so that we know who the possible medalists are because we have to print out names of the medalists to place in front of them during the conference. We find out highlights about the athletes by reading their biographies and what languages they speak. We have to get pertinent information about the athletes for the moderators to use during the conference. Alessandro and Elissa are the moderators for the cross country and ski jumping events respectively. Either one of them moderates for the Nordic Combined events which involved both the ski jump and cross country events. I also help get anything that the interpreters need like flash quotes from the medalists. These are the quotes that the Olympic News Service (ONS) get just as the athletes finish their events. I have learned a lot from the interpreters. For instance, the difference between interpreters and translators is that the interpreters interpret what is said and a translator will do the written word. I did not know that before I spoke to them.

I enjoy working in the press conference room even though it may be hairy at times. The media is under a lot of pressure to get the stories out first, to get quotes , and photos.

In addition to working with Paula, I am stationed in the press workroom that has the capacity of 350 journalists and photographers. I clean up after the journalists and photographers. They can be so focused on their jobs that having a clean environment is not their priority. I can spend a lot of time sorting out paper, general garbage, compostable, and plastic bottles. We are trying to be as green as possible, but that is difficult when others aren't as vigilant about sorting trash.

When I first arrived it was a bit difficult to find my niche since most of the volunteers had already been there for about 3-7 days ahead of time. It was a lot to comprehend and learn. I told my workroom supervisor, Natalie, that I was a fast learner and that I would do whatever she needed me to do. Even though I've been working in the workroom and press conferences I let Natalie know that I would also like to get some time out in the mixed zone. I'll be out in the elements, but will get an opportunity to see the athletes performing even if it's only during practice runs. I am satisfied with my part in the team effort. I glad to be a part of the Olympics. Every job is crucial to the team. Our managers are very pleased with our work.

The other day the biathalon venue needed extra help, so I was able to see what it was like in the mixed zone. The broadcasters, photographers, and journalists are only allowed in certain sections. Of course everyone wants to get to the athletes first, but there is an order, so the press assistants have to check for accreditations to make sure who is allowed where. They are so aggressive and if one isn't firm with the press, it would be a mob scene. We try to make it as organized as possible. At times this is a tough job, especially since there are multi-language issues. I can feel helpless at times when I cannot communicate.

The key to doing this job is flexibility and being calm, cool, and collected.

My First Day Off

2010-02-16T11:40:00.001-08:00

Today is my day to recuperate. I watched the Olympic TV coverage last night. It was the first night that I've been able to do this. I usually go to dinner and then go to sleep. I watched the Chinese pair figure skaters take the Silver and the Gold. I was really happy for them, especially the pair that had the male skater who was the first ever to compete in the winter games in 1994. It's took him 4 Olympic Games. Perseverance is his middle name. They were given an standing O.

I stayed up until midnight watching TV and then slept in until 9:45am. I can't remember the last tie that I slept for almost 10 hours. Earplugs are worth every cent I paid for them. I woke up to freshly fallen snow. I took pictures from my upstairs bedroom window.

I had left over pizza for breakfast, yum. The restaurants are quite expensive. In the words of one of my Canadian friends, Cheryl, "The prices are Olympic prices." I work between 8-12 hours a day and get lunch free as well as snacks during the day. We can have bananas, oranges, apples, granola bars, and chocolate chip cookies. They also provide coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Granola bars have been a lifesaver.

Mild Weather

2010-02-15T21:51:00.000-08:00

When I first decided to volunteer for the Olympics, my biggest fear, next to not being able to get around on public transportation, was freezing. The last time I lived in a place that snowed, was the early 1970's when I lived in Norfolk, Virginia. Since then I have only lived in Hawaii and California. I am usually warm, but when my feet get cold, it takes me anywhere from 2-3 hours to warm my internal core.

Well, unfortunately I've brought Nor Cal weather with me. It's beautiful when it is a clear day, but I feel sorry for the Vancouver Olympic Committee. One thing they cannot control is Mother Nature. It's been in the low 40's. The weather has been cooperating for the ski jumping events. The first 3 days I worked at the ski jumping event, it was clear and sunny with very little wind. As soon as the last athlete jumped, the clouds appeared and it began raining and in some cases it was rain and snow flurries. I was glad that the conditions were perfect for a fair competition.

The temperatures are so much warmer than anyone expected. Everyone of my volunteer friends who have come from out of town, has said that they have brought things that are too warm to wear. I guess that better safe than sorry. There is only about 3-5 degrees difference between day and night temperatures. It's been pleasant to walk around a night in the Whistler Olympic Village. This morning I was able to leave the house wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a fleece vest.

Tomorrow is my first day off and it's supposed to be raining until 3pm. I plan to sleep in, watch Olympic coverage, blog, and walk around the Olympic Village.

I'm Learning New Things Everyday

2010-02-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

I'm getting to learn my way around Whistler on the bus and by walking, On my day off I plan to walk all around town. They have a good public transportation system around town. The bus usually comes ever 5-7 minutes during the Olympics. This makes it convenient. It usually takes me about 1 hours to get to work. I'm glad that instead of 3 hours a day commuting by bus, it only takes 2 hours round trip. All volunteers get free public transportation if we are wearing our credentials. Even though I spend 2 hours on the bus, I end up talking to people from different cultures, places, and walks of life. I believe that this is the most interesting part of my Olympic adventure.

I've also learned that I could never be a member of the press or media. It is a very competitive occupation. It's cut-throat and they do whatever they can to get the story first. The pressure is incredible. It is my job to help them as much as I can. Sometimes I answer questions about the media center, transportation, events, and Whistler Olympic Park. I also make sure that the workplace is clean and tidy and that all paper, compostables, and plastic bottles are sorted. The Games are trying to be a green games. Unfortunately, not everyone is mindful of this. Lot's of paper is wasted making copies of results, athletes, and any other information that is needed to know about the events they are covering.

Since I am working at the ski jump and cross country skiing, I am learning so much about these two events. I've been able to watch some of the practices and events on the many flat-screen TV's in the media center. Today's Nordic Combined, which involves both of this events was so exciting to watch. I got goosebumps. Johnny Spillane was the first American to ever medal in the Nordic Combined. I've been working at the press conferences and I got to see him because I'm the one who passes the microphone to the reporters who have questions. The athletes are so young. It brings back memories of my days as a high school and college athlete.

On matter what other issues people have concerning the Olympics, it makes my heart happy to see athletes from all over the world compete to the best of their abilities. I have seen the joy they are having here. It is their passion and hard work that makes every Olympic athletes winners. I know that is sounds like a cliche, but as a volunteer I am in awe.

Difficult to post pictures

2010-02-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

Since I am using a wireless connection, it is extremely difficult and time consuming to post pictures, so I will be going back and posting them once I return to California (I promise). I will do it when time allows.

Getting around on public transportation

2010-02-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

I have to take public transportation everywhere I go. In Whistler, unless you are a resident who has as a Sea to Sky pass, you have to take public transportation. No private cars are allowed. Only official Olympic vehicles are on the roads besides the buses. This adds at least 1.5 hours to the workday. If you miss a bus, it could take an hour more. The place that I am staying is in a great location. I only have a 5 minute bus ride to Lot 5, the bus to Whistler Olympic Park (WOP). This is where the ski jump, cross country skiing, and biathalon events are taking place. It takes about 45 minutes into the mountains to the valley where the competition occurs.

I have met many nice people on the bus. The first day, I had to ask for directions every step of the way. The Canadians are very helpful and kind. Today on the way down from WOP I sat next to a very nice man who said that, "He finally met an American he liked." We had a good laugh about that one. Of course he was just kidding, but nevertheless, I was honored. He shared many of his life stories. He could have played hockey in the 1952 Olympics, but instead choose to become an airline pilot and traveled all over the world. He is very involved in hockey here and has the job of setting up the cross country skiing start and finish line.

I look forward to meeting and talking to more people on public transportation.

Canada Here I Come! Ready or Not

2010-02-11T04:51:00.000-08:00

Well, the day has finally arrived. It 4:52 am in San Jose, Ca. I'm leaving to the airport. I'm glad that I'll be able to rest on the plane. My students just completed a reader's theater play about getting enough sleep and the effects of the lack of sleep. I'm operating with 3.5 hours of sleep and the brain isn't working as well as it should be.

Peruvian and Andean Cuisine

2009-07-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

Can you say starch and carbohydrates? Peru is the home of over 8,000 types of potatoes and over 80 spieces of corn. I had many a meal with a potato dish, corn, and rice. I loved all of the traditional dishes that I tried. I have to admit that I did not try the guinea pig or alpaca (sp?). I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was not as adventurous as most of the people touring with me. Yes, guinea pig. It is a delicacy here in Peru and is usually served during special occasions like birthdays and weddings. Families raise them for consumption and they don't name them. We visited a family in the countryside who had about 25-30 of them just running around in the kitchen with a cat sleeping on the stove.

We had to be careful not to eat any raw vegetables, even when they were washed because of the water. I ate steam, baked and boiled veggies. They were very tasty. I did get hives once from eating the ceviche, but I loved it. Thanks goodness for benedryl.

For breakfast we had fresh fruit. The mangos, cantelope and papaya were so sweet. They also had several types of bread with strawberry jam. They also served papas (potatoes) and scrambled eggs.

One of the things I looked forward to was the different salsas/chilis. They are really spicy and flavorful, but I think that in some restaurants they made it much milder for the tourists.

They have sauces with almost every dish, just like in the Philippines. It was like having comfort food. I ate mainly chicken and beef. The dishes are filled with spices. Yum!!!!!

Inca Ruins in Cusco, Brick homes, and land

2009-07-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

I will be blogging about particular subjects during my trip since it is too hard to give a blow-by-blow account of my days. Everyday has been jammed-packed with activities. I'm beginning to forget what came first.

I have visited several ruins while in Cusco. By-the-way, you may find two spelling for Cusco this is why. When the Spaniards came they spelled it Cuzco. Because of the damage the Spanish caused to the Andean people (this is what they call themselves), the Andeans didn't want to use their spelling.

We hiked around for hours. The weather was terrific. There was blue skies and moderate temperature. I wore long sleeves, capris, a big floppy hat, and hiking boots.

My guide, Freddy, had a vast knowledge of the Inca's history. It is simply incredible how precise they were in the building of the temples and surrounding buildings. In many of the Incan buildings, the trapezoid was a prominent figure used to assure structural integrity. Like California, it is earthquake country. In fact, when we were in Machupicchu, they said that we there was one. I didn't feel it as I don't feel them unless they are over 4.0 .

The boulders that were used to make the buildings are huge. I can only imagine how many people were killed while working on them. The people had to transport them many miles for the mountains to the cites. Most were rolled on some kind of logs or slid them most of the way. They were boulders that weighed tons. It took at least 100 years to build on of the ruins that I explored. I am sorry that I do not have the exact names of the ruins since I am in the Lima airport and all of my paperwork is in my suitcases. We are leaving for Quito, Ecuador.

In Cusco (the pronounciation is like Costco), the elevation is 11,000+. Yes, I was sucking air for the first several days. I was like the tortoise in The Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady wins the race. I'm so glad that I had walking sticks. This saved my knees. The paths were not paved, but very rocky, dusty, and the steps were very uneven. I really had to concentrate on every step I was taking.

I have never seen so many land with so many stones, rocks, and boulders. The land has a lot of clay. The people use this to their advantage. If you are familiar with the adobe brick buildings, you will understand how the Andean people make their bricks. We were fortunate to get to see how a family on the side of the road was making bricks for their home. They take the clay from the land, break it up, add water, and then place it by hand into a wooden rectangular mold. They continually add water, stomp on it with their feet, and add straw. Afterwards, they remove the mold and let dry in the sun for several days. In the countryside, almost all of the buildings are made with the clay bricks. Some are lucky enough to have a clay-tiled roof or corrigated metal or plastic roof. If they don't have the money, when it rains, they have to rebuild they home. We saw a house about 12'x12' that housed 2 parents and 8 children. The people in the countryside only have a house to sleep in. The rest of the time they are working in the fields to make a living.

More about the people who live in the countryside later.

Cusco, Peru

2009-06-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Day 5, June 29, 2009

We left Lima this morning and arrived in Cusco, Peru by 11:00am. Going from sea level to 11,ooo ft. is pretty rough on the body. I had been worried about the effects of altitude sickness. When we arrived we were given cocoa tea. This is from the leaves of the plant that the locals uses to battle the effects. It worked... for a while.

After checking into the hotel, we took a bus ride to Cusco´s Main Square. Here we walked around looking at the beautiful buildings. Walking around was slow going. It was difficult to breath, but we managed. We had to breath deeply through the nose and exhale through the mouth. This helped to.

Next we went went to lunch at The Inka House. Here I was pleasantly surprised by being serenaged by an Andean 5 piece band. They were terrific. The entire restaurant sang Happy Birthday to me and the band sang a Mexican birthday song called, Las Mananitas. Later I bought their CD and had them autograph it. Our entire tour group ate chocolate cake and lucuma ice cream. The food was delicious too.

Afterwards we went to the Temple of the Sun. I made 85% of the tour and then the altitude brought me down. I had to sit and do my breathing exercises while the others proceeded without me. I felt better, but still not 100%.

Then we went to the Silver Jewelry Factory and had some more cocoa tea and I was up shopping in no time. I purchased 2 pairs of earrings. I have already worn both of them. The factory was were local artisans are taught and practice their craft. It´s amazing what they have to do.

We went back to the hotel, rested, and had dinner. During dinner a wonderful harpist played for us. I bought his CD.

Overall it was a wonderful birthday.

Day 4 in Lima

2009-06-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Today we visited a fisherman´s market. The men generally go on either paddle boats or motor boats out at night at about 3 am and have their catch cleaned and sold by their wives when they return in the morning. Our guide said that because sea lions biting through their nets, they must repair them every day by hand so that they are ready to use the next morning. They are very hard working people who have no insurance. If there is an accident, others in their community might hold fundraising activites to help the family.

Afterwards, we traveled to the shanty town of Villa El Salvador.by Villa El Salvador, a shanty. Some of you may not be familiar with this term. It is a place in which groups of people who migrate from their homes and take over land hoping to turn it into a thriving community. Some people would call them squatters. When the government tried to kick them off they raise the Peruvian flag and said that they were Peruvians and that in Peru everyone has the right to have land to live on. In Villa El Salvador people from the highlands of the Andes come in most cases with little or no money to set roots where ever they can. They have to live in the same land for 7-11 years before being recognized as land owners. So they much prove that they can sustain themselves and that what they call home is permanent. They do this by building more sturdy homes with some part of it concrete, planting grass or some kind of trees, bushes, or flowers. They also need to find a job. If they can do this when they are recognized as land owners the water and electrical companies can come into their community and put up electrical wires and dig pipes for water.

Villa El Salvador has made a name for itself around the world. Even the late Pope John Paul II or is it III, visited this shanty town because it is an example of optimism and hope that if people work together they can make life better for themselves. Here the men try to find jobs in the city while the women run the household. Family and education is formost in their minds. We visited a phase I section of Villa El Salvador where Maria, mother of 6 and volunteer forthe community soup kitchen, invited us into her home and the soup kitchen which she runs and is a part of her home. We met her beautiful daughters all 4 were no older than about 12. They too help in the soup kitchen. She is also one of the main leaders for the shanty. The community is very close knit and does its own policing. People from out side the shanty sometime try to steal from them.
Our guide today said that they may not have very many materialistic things, but they are not poor. Several times I had to hold back tears after hearing about their struggles, bravery, and stories. Maria is a wonderful role model for women and especially for her daughters who are very proud of what she has accomplished in 3 short years. I was inspired and overawed by my experience here. I will never forget it.

Just to give you an idea of how tough it is here, the minimum wage in Peru is 128 sol per month.
I just finish eating a nice lunch that cost me 27 sol. I am so grateful for the life I have. Life is good!

This will probably be one of the last times I´ll be able to blog in Peru and I don´t know whether I´ll have the opportunity to do any in Ecuador. I´ll be keeping a journal so that I can remember all of the fabulous times I had on this trip. I will update the blog whenever possible.

Day 3 in Lima

2009-06-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 27, 2009

This was a day full of activity. We had a tour of Lima City. We had a tour guide named Vanessa. She was so knowledgeable about Peru´s history and her English was excellent. We saw Main Square and Cathedral, The National Museum of Anthropology, the Catacombs of St. Francis of Assisi Church, The Juaca Pucllana Ruins (Pre-Inca times), and Miraflores and San Isidro Districts.

First we went to the National Museum of Anthropology. Here we were giving the history of Peru which started thousands of years before the birth of Christ. We were given so many dates that I can´t remember exactly. Just know that it was a long long long time ago. Basically several groups of people were in power way before the Incas conquered them. The Incas absorbed the other ways of living all over Peru in the 1500´s, but again don´t quote me on the dates. This was a wonderful way to begin learning about Peru. It gave us the background to understand what we were and are about to discover during the rest of our trip. The museum has the largest public collection of artifacts in Peru. Vanessa had to really move us along because there was so much to see and those into photography were slowing the tour down. There was so much to see.

Next we saw Lima´s Main Square. Here we saw the beautiful Cathedral, The Govenor´s Estate, and the Changing of the Guards. Everyday at noon they have an elaborate ceremony with bands playing, people watching, and a parade around the square. It took about 45 minutes. There were many school children on field trips. Each group of students had their own school uniform sweats outfit that had the name of their school printed on the back. We saw them at ever attraction we went to except the ruins.

Next we went to St. Francis of Assisi Church. It is still being run by the Franciscan Monks. We could not take any pictures here. The most interesting thing we saw were the catacombs. I have never been in an underground grave site before. Our guide explained that it was a public cemetery with 3 levels. Those of higher status were buried on the first level, the one we were able to see. It was creepy to see. We usually think of individual places for each body, but this was not the case. Bones had been classified and placed in groups. For instance, the humorous, femur, and skulls were place in separate rectangular dugout boxes, for lack of a better word. Each with bones of many people in each compartment. It reminded me of a place in which Hollywood props were keep except they weren´t props, they were real bones. The bodies of 25,000 people were in the catacombs. We also say a well which was about 33 ft deep that had skulls and leg bones arranged in a semi-circle design that made me think of a sun. People had painstakenly arranged these bones. It was a work of art. The enitre time I had to keep reminding myself that these were really bones that belonged to people. Being Catholic, I kept wanted to make the sign of the cross out of respect for these people. The tunnels were perfect for someone of my height. If you are taller than about 5´7¨ you would have to duck.

After eating another delicious meal, we proceeded to the Huaca Pucllana Ruins. But before writing about this, I want to let you know that here in Peru lunch is their biggest meal unlike dinner in the US. I don´t think that it is possible to go hungry on one of these tours. The food it terrific and we get 3 square meals.

Back to the ruins. To our surprise, the ruins were in the district of Miraflores very near to our hotel. Our guide told us that the ruins were discovered under what looks like a huge hill. In fact, when people began building on it they would find human remain and just dismissed them. Soon other remains were discovered and this took the attention of foreign archeaologists. It was only after these scientists become interested that archeaologists from Peru began digging. They believe that the ancient pyramid and it´s surrounding buildings covered 18 hectors, but because people had built their homes and other structures on top of it, only 10% survived. I can´t wait to show you some of the pictures. The architecture is amazing. Those who built this had knowlege of how to make it earthquake proof. The pyramid was where human sacrifices were make. They were young girls whose dismembered bodies were found. Our guide told us that when each level of the pyramid was done being used, they would cover it with dirt and rocks and begin building another level on top of it. We were able to see how they made the bricks and stragetically placed them. In some parts of the walls, we saw hand prints. The process in which they made the bricks was very similar to how adobe bricks were made except they didn´t use molds or straw. Instead they shaped them by hand and used stones, mud, and shells. They would mixed these by stomping on them with their bare feet. I took a picture of a foot print. This was so fascinating to see and experience.

After about a 2 hour nap, we went to dinner in which we saw traditional Peruvian dances. Freddy ,our Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) guide in all of Peru, told us that we were going to see the best of the over 100 cultural dances that they have here in Peru. We ate at a buffet with terrific traditional food and fantastic dances. The dances, dancers, and costumes were beautiful. We enjoyed this very much. Again we walked home to try to burn off some of the calories we had consumed.

This was a day full of fun and adventure.

Day 2 in Lima

2009-06-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 26, 2009

After arriving at our hotel, Jose Antonio, we had breakfast and then slept for a couple of hours before we went on our orientation walk of downtown Miraflores which means ¨Look at the flowers.¨

Our hotel is very comfortable and the staff is very pleasant and helpful. The room is spacious enough for us and the beds are nice and firm like we like it. We slept like babies. We were both blissfully snoring away.

Since Peru is a developing country, their sewer system is not yet capable of accepting toilet paper. It´s something that everyone, no matter what economic status one is, has to deal with. At least they have western style toilets, which wasn´t always the case in Beijing.

Today we took about a 5 mile trek around Miraflores, a middle class area of Lima. There are 42 districts with each having it´s own mayors. Most tourists stay in this district. It is safe to walk around day or night.

We took more time than anticipated as their was much to see and about half of our on the tour are avid photographers. Several of them have very high tech and have all of the lenses and camera gear. I can´t wait to see them. We will be sharing pictures with each other after the tour is over. This will definitely be to my advantage. Their cameras are so much more sophisticated.

Our hotel is about 6 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. There are many casinos and places to eat. The food here is yummy. I´ve enjoyed everything I´ve eaten. The tour includes meals in nice restaurants and also allows us to eat in places of our choosing. We ate in a Chefia restaurant which is a blend of Chinese and Peruvian cuisine. It was excellent, but many of us commented that it tasted like a really good Chinese restaurant in the US. We were stuffed and decided to walk home. It was about 1.5 miles away. I think that many of the people in our group were freaked out by the taxi ride to the restaurant. I was used to it since I have had similar experiences in the Philippines and China. I felt perfectly safe. Others were on edge. The walk was really nice because it gave us the opportunity to see the city at night and the temperature was perfect for a stroll in the park. Crossing the streets were more harrowing than riding in the taxi. There are very few signal lights and most intersection didn´t have stop signs. Basically it´s everyone for themselves. As my driver´s ed teacher used to say, ¨He who hesitates waits.¨

We saw several parks. Miraflores Park is next to Kennedy Park named after JFK. Peruvians credit JFK for beginning the development projects in Peru. The park is a gathering place for the locals as well as the tourists. There is a playground in Kennedy Park and may artists bring their wares to Miraflores Park to sell daily for about 5pm to 10pm.

Another park we walked to during our tour is called Lovers Park. There is a beautiful wall full of mosaic designs and saying and thoughts that people here have about love. It is located high atop a cliff that is next to Coastal Verde, ¨The Green Coast¨. In the center of the park there is a large clay sculpture of to lovers kissing passionately. I was able to snap a picture of two couples making-out near a tree.

We had a fun time walking around the area. We were all tired and ready for bed because many of us were running on less than 6 hours sleep in the last day and a half.

Peru here I come

2009-06-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Day 1, Thurs., June 25, 2009

I am attempting to blog yet another of my once-in-a-lifetime adventures. My sister, Anne-Marie, 12 other traveling buddies and I are going on a 19-day trip to Lima Peru, Cuzco Peru, Machu Picchu,Quito Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands.

With the end of school being so hectic and having my niece, Tarah-Anne, and my nephew, AJ, visiting, I had only a day and a half to pack and begin thinking about this adventure. I was finished with packing at 1 am and had to catch a flight at 12:00pm from SFO to Miami. I woke up at 6:30am and decided that I was going to stamp 4 Thank You cards. 1 for the tour guide in Peru, 1 for the tour guide in Ecuador, and 2 for the host families who are preparing us lunch and inviting us into their homes.

My cousin, Ron, drove us to SFO at 9:45. We were the early-birds of our tour group. With all the traveling that we did as children, we learned to get to the airport early. When we did our self-check-in, we noticed that our luggage was check straight through to Lima and both our boarding passes were printed. Our vacation had finally begun. Our flight on American Airlines was on time and we had a pleasant flight to Miami inspite of the fact that I was in the second to the last row in an aisle seat, and Anne-Marie was in row 24. Being in the back of the airplane has it´s advantages and disadvantages. It was great to be able to stand without being in anybody´s way, but unfortunately I was also close to the bathroom. Without my ear plugs I could hear every time the toilet was flushed. Fortunately, I always travel with ear plugs.

When we arrived in Miami we had enough time to walk around and stretch our legs. The flight was pretty full. I had a tasty beef dish for my meal, but it could have been warmer. Since my personal movie monitor wasn´t working correctly, I put the ear plugs in and put on my eye mask and slept until they woke me up for preparation for landing. That was a quick 3 hours.

We landed in Peru at 5:40am. I was tired, but at least I had several hours of quality shut eye.
As my sister and I watched the luggage carrousel go around and around, we got the sinking feeling that our luggage was lost. Everyone else in our party had their luggage and so we went to investigate. Thank goodness our friend Mercy, who teaches Spanish, was able to assist us. For some unexplain reason, my luggage had been taken off the plane and placed on the far wall of the baggage claim. At least I had found my luggage. My sister was another story. The good news is that they knew it was still in Miami and that we would not be able to get until the following flight had arrived. Luckily she packed extra clothing in her carry-on. Let this be a lesson for all. She was without her luggage of a day and a half. The airlines had it delivered by the afternoon of the following day.

I don´t know how many days I´ll be able to blog as we will be leaving for the highlands soon. I will not be able to post pictures right now. Sorry. Trust me, I´m taking a lot of them.

Last Day at the USA House in Beijing

2008-08-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today has been a bittersweet day at the USA House. I watched the extinguishing of the flame at the Closing Ceremonies and said my goodbye's to my new friends at the House. It was a painfully slow night at the store. Most people were partying and not really shopping.

The night shift crew went for a foot massage after work. I had one earlier this week. It really saved my feet. I'm definitely going to miss them.

Even though I'm officially finished with my job here in Beijing, I still have much to blog. Stay tuned. When things settle down at home in San Jose, I'll post more of my adventures in Beijing.

Women's Marathon and Bird's Nest

2008-08-20T22:11:00.001-07:00

Performers all doing the splits.

A very excited boy and his parents who sat next to me.

Oldest winner in the history of Women's Marathon, 38.

Terrific sprint to the finish for silver and bronze.

The finish!

Color guard performers.

Hundreds of performers entertained us while the women could be seen running on the big screen.

In-line skaters and bicyclists with flags make their way around the track.

Tai Chi performers with fans that they would open and close.

Before the beginning of the Women's Marathon.

They're off!

I'm so glad that we decided to buy tickets for the marathon. They were only $11.00.

Cheryl, Anne, Ben, and Melissa showing their spirit. Melissa runs marathons.

Drummers in the marching band perform before the beginning of the race.

Finally a picture with my traveling gnome, Shaka. Sorry for the blurred picture.

The Bird's Nest is probably the most photographed of the venues. It AWESOME and AMAZING!

The Olympic Flame

There were several groups of cheerleaders at the marathon, one big on the left of the staduim and one large group on the right of the staduim with pom poms. These were the ones closest to my seat.

Here are the leaders of the cheerleaders. They looked so cool when they moved together.

Sorry that the pictures are out of order. I've been on-line now for 3.5 hours posting the pictures from the events I've attended. It's off to relax.

Men's Volleyball and Women's Softball

2008-08-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is what they flashed on the screen at the men's volleyball game that encouraged the crowd to do the "Mexican Wave." I'd never heard of it being call the Mexican Wave before, but the Chinese all knew what it was. The crowds at the game were so spirited and really into the match.

This was Germany vs. Serbia. It was an outstanding display of strength and athleticism. Here the German's put up a 3-man block that stuffed the Serbian attack.

Germany was the being cheered on by the Chinese. I guess they like to cheer for the underdogs. They kept on chanting for Germany even when the German crowd wasn't and in some cases they lead the cheers. It was a really good match. It was so entertaining. Serbia ended up winning 3-1. The last game was only decided by 2 pts. It was so close.

Topiary of volleyball player.

This was this little girl's first softball game (she's here to watch USA Women's Soccer). This is the crowd's reaction to the monster home run by Crystl Bustos.

Team USA acknowledging the crowd's support during this overtime win.

Here you go Judy. Ginkgo trees outside of softball stadium.

Introducing Team USA and Team Japan.

One of Crystl Bustos' fans. Crystl was instrumental in hitting a 3 run homer in extra inning to sent the team into the Gold Medal Game. We were in pins and needles the entire game. I met Crystl's cousin in the USA store and he gave me tickets to a game.

Crowd and team after a home run.

This was from the first Japan vs. USA game. The ladies scored 4 times in the first inning. The first batter hit a home run.

As we walked to the China vs. Canada, we saw Team USA warming up. They are right next to us. We wished them good luck.

This boy was one of many groups of Chinese children at the game.

Our original seats were in the bleachers. We stayed here for awhile and moved next to our friends who were in the shade. It was a hot and clear day.

It was a great day to see a ball game.

Jumbo screens like this one were at every venue telling people to cheer. I loved the enthusiasm of the fans. It was nice to know that the everyday person in China could afford to see most of the events. The tickets were about $10-20 USD.

The perimeter of the softball stadium were lined with these very clever softball planters.

Little Japanese girl with her mother in the USA vs. Japan game.

Melissa in front of the softball stadium entrance.

Team USA warming up for their game with Japan. There are two warm-up fields next to stadium.

Softball Sculpture

This was a beef noodle restaurant we went to after the game. It was special for us because it was the first restaurant that only locals ate in and the first one that didn't have any English menus or English speakers. The people were all staring at us. I don't think that they get very many foreigners here.

Table Tennis and Baseball Events I Attended

2008-08-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

This was the match right in front of the front row seats that we had. The only problem with the seats was the railing in front of us that was at eye level. It was there to prevent anyone from falling into the pit. We had to watch the games between the middle and top railings.

These are just 2 of over one million Chinese volunteers at the Games.

There were beautiful sculptures outside most of the venues. This is table tennis doubles.

Steps leading to and from the table tennis venue.

Dereck and I attended table tennis. We saw men's and women's singles, doubles, and team competitions.

I call this the ping pong pit. There were 8 matches occurring simultaneously.

This was an amazing match. German vs. Poland. The gal in the aqua blue who is serving, had only one hand. Her right arm only went just below her elbow. She was an inspiration to all. Unfortunately she lost by the slimmest of margins. She however won her doubles games.

It was at this venue that I realized that the Chinese crowds could "will" their countrymen to win. In the Chinese vs. Australia men's singles team matches the Australian team seem to jump out in the lead only to lose by 2. One Chinese man was behind 1-7 and came back to win 11-9 after the Chinese began cheering for him. They wouldn't all cheer at the same time, they were take turns cheering from different sections of the gym. This always gave the Chinese competitors that extra boost of positive energy. It was something to see and feel.

I attended a baseball game for Chinese Taipei and The Netherlands. This was a hit for a double.

Chinese Taipei won 5-0. This is the traditional high five's after the game.

There are 2 baseball fields just next door to the basketball gymnasium.

After each game, there is an army (about 20) of grounds keepers that were preparing for the night game in which the USA was scheduled to play.

They shovel up the chalk lines and then re chalk them.

View of basketball venue from the bleachers in the baseball stadium.

Subway Adventure on 08-08-08

2008-08-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

Beijing had several new subway lines made for the hundreds of thousands of people attending the games. They are easy to use, clean, free with an event ticket, and a wonderful way to stay out of traffic. One can get to the venues as well as most tourist locations and shops.

Before the games there were only 2 subway lines and now there are 10 and all of the trains are brand new. I'm so happy for the 11-12 million people who live here in Beijing. It's mind-blowing to think that they think a city is "small" if it has 4 million people living in it. Talk about population density. Beijing is high-rise apartment after high-rise apartment.

The only mishap we had is when we wanted to go to the Forbidden City and without notification, the train skipped the stop that would have let us out right in front of it. Instead we had to walk a long distance and ended up walking on a crowded street with about, in our estimation, 70,000 other people. It was the day of the Opening Ceremonies. The Chinese businesses were closed that day and it seemed that everyone was enjoying the day with their families anticipating the beginning of the Olympics. Everywhere we walked, there were people who were selling temporary tatoos of the flag of China. People were buying flags and stickers. Olympic fever was in the air. It was the day the entire country was waiting and had dreamed about.

National pride was evident everwhere you looked.

Family just hang around tree-lined streets to enjoy a day out with each other. It was tough walking with the thousands of people on the street.

This was a newly reopened shopping street. Because it was a hot and humid day, we decided not to stop and look.

These are the lights in the subway line near our apartment. They make me smile. There are little details everywhere that remind you that Beijing is hosting the Summer Olympics.

Ira and Cheryl help me to navigate through the subway lines.

These are the some of the tiles that decorate the subway walls. They depict some cultural event.

This Olympic mosaic can be seen on the wall at the subway station by my apartment.

The trains have monitors that have Olympic events showing on them. This is a ping pong men's double's match.

Famous Dumpling Restaurant in Xi'an

2008-08-17T05:19:00.000-07:00

The first 3 pictures are examples of the types of dumplings we had. They were filled with shirmp, fish, lamb, pork, and chicken.

Beautiful bowl in which our last course of dumpling soup was warming and was served in.

Melissa is smiling because she was getting good at using chopsticks.

Melissa and I outside the restaurant on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

This is were we went for dinner after our trip to the Terra Cotta Warriors. For 100 RMB ($20 USD) we had 18 courses. Each and everyone was delicious. We were stuffed and ready for the plane ride back to Beijing. It was the end of wonderful trip to Xi'an.

More Pictures of the Great Wall

2008-08-17T04:50:00.000-07:00

This is were I rested after becoming a "man". The view was breath-taking. I was so grateful for the breeze. The Wall seems to go on forever. The left side of all the pictures is China and the otherside is Mongolia.

After the exhausting climb, I could only watch my friends climb this tower.

One of the farmers who helped me up the mountain. In the background is were she and her family farms. I suspect that they make a lot more money selling items on the wall and helping people like me up to the wall.
View from my place of rest.

One of many switch backs we had to climb. It was very steep.

My friends leaving me in the dust.

Cheryl going down the zip just before me. Look at the reflection of the beautiful blue sky.

Keeping Extremely Busy

2008-08-16T03:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not updating you, but I've been working until past 1am every night, waking up around 8am and attending Olympic events. I've seen baseball, softball, volleyball, ping pong, and will be attending the women's marathon, women's basketball, and USA Softball tomorrow on my day off. It's been really nice, but I have to take a nap before my night shift. I'll try to do more blogging, but rest is a priority at this time. I had a foot massage to die for today. My feet have really taken a beating from work and walking. I'll be visiting the spa at least one more time if not two more times. I think that I've lost about an inch off of my waist. Sweating and walking will do it everytime. We walk a mile home after work, so I usually get to bed around 2am.

It's Hard Becoming a "Man".

2008-08-13T21:57:00.001-07:00

View from Gondola.

Jagged mountainside. They planted trees to prevent erosion.

Here is Chris and Melissa as we begin climbing down 5 towers to get to the zip line. My quads were screaming by the end.

See the reservoir below. That's were we had to go to catch the zip.
The steps were uneven and very narrow at times. This section of the wall didn't have hand railings.

Cheryl "Vanna" looking through an arch way in one of the towers. The right side of the wall is Mongolia.

This was taken on the side of the tower. We could go through the towers or around them.

This boy was on the wall with his parents who make a living by selling items on the wall.

Reservoir that we went over on the zip line.

This was taken by me on the way down the zip line.

Melissa and I strapped in our gear and ready to go.

Ira and Cheryl are the first two to go.

These critters were everywhere on the path up the mountain as well as on the Wall. When we sat down, we had to be careful not to sit on one or have one crawl up our legs.

Boat Driver

Exhausted climbers on our way back to Beijing.

Sorry for not posting the last couple of days. It's getting harder and harder to find time because of work, sightseeing, and attending Olympics events, not to mention finding time to sleep.

They had a saying here in China that "When you climb the Great Wall, you become a man." Well, I'm officially a "Man". That was one of the toughest things I have ever done. It reminded me of my hike up Yosemite Falls, only much harder. My apartment mates and Chris, the Nike representative, had a once in a life time adventure up and down the Great Wall. We rented a van with a driver for the day. It's nice having other volunteers here who live in Beijing. Jason hooked us up with this driver. The part of the wall that we visited is call SiMaTai. It was approximately 120 km (70+miles) away from Beijing. The last 15km were winding up the mountain. It is the furthest of the 3 main parts of the wall that people who go to Beijing visit. It is the least commercialized and most like how the Wall would look because it hasn't had many modern improvements done to it. This section was originally built during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577) and rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (1573-1620).

I overcame my fear of heights. First we had to take a gondola. It wasn't as bad as I thought considering I've never been up on a ski lift before. I rode with Chris. We had to jump into and out of the gondola because the lift never stops. This took us 2/3 the way up the mountain and then we walked the rest of the way up. There were spectacular views and many switch-backs. They have local farmers wait on along the way and try to sell souvenirs. When I politely said "No," they continued to follow. This was a good thing for me, because the altitude coupled with my asthma made it difficult to climb. This lady escorted my up to the wall. She would fan me when I'd stop to rest. As I approached the top, my friends saw that now 2 ladies were helping me and they Melissa and Cheryl shouted, "Here comes Queen Illa with her escorts. Hail to Queen Illa." (They took a picture of me, but I'll have to post it another time.) It took me about 45 minutes. It was hot and I was sweating like crazy. After resting for about 20 minutes I joined the others. Initially I felt pretty bad, but after the rest we began walking 6 towers down to the inertia rope (zip-line). It was either the rope ride down or the climb. At this point exhaustion won over fear. There was no way that would be able to climb all the way back down the mountain. We had already climbed about halfway down. The inertia rope was thrilling, exhilarating, and quick. Afterwards we took as short boat ride to where we began our climb. We were all proud of our accomplishment.

As soon as we got home, we took showers and it was off to do our night shift at the USA House.

In the house that night, I was assigned the duty of "bouncer" at the door to a special event in which members from different international delegations were invited to a dinner. It was my job to make sure that only those with proper credentials were allowed. I stood at the doors to the event area and the outside patio for 3 hours. This is were it began to be painfully clear that my legs were exhausted. It took about 2 days before the pain in my legs subsided.

Two gentlemen at the party noticed the job I was doing and decided to give me their country's Olympic pins. One was from Gambia and the other was from Korea. My boss told me that she had received positive comments about the good job I had done that night.

I didn't get home until almost 2am. We walk home every night past 1am. The streets are virtually empty and the city is quite. It's a nice way to decompress and wind down. I felt totally safe walking around at night.

I'm so happy that I was able to overcome my fear of heights and conquer the Wall. I'm glad that I did this when I was still "young".

The Flying Acrobats

2008-08-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

My friend, Cheryl, and I had the day off yesterday and so after a day of relaxation and blogging, we decided to go to a Chinese Arobatic Show and dinner. It was simply AMAZING!!!! Talk about balance, strength, and artistry. We were thrilled and in awe the entire time. Most of the acts were totally new and mind blowing for me. I was especially impressed by the trio of strong men. It was incredible how flexible and strong they were. They weren't particularly bulky, but lean and powerful.

The show's theme was mainly about birds, but dealt with the respect they have for the sun. Birds represent freedom and the Sun respresents warmth and ??? (I think it was blessings. My mind isn't what it used to be. Yikes!)

With my ticket, I was given a very nice program which I will take home and share. I'm glad that we were able to see a show.

After the show we went to dinner at this place called Morel's. We had been there before and absolutely loved the steamed mussels. This is the first time that I have ever eaten them without eating any grit. They were so tasty that Cheryl and I decided to go there again. It was an adventure getting there. As we left the theater, it was pour rain, we're taking cats and dogs. Thank goodness we both brought umbrellas. Hailing a taxi in the rain is no fun, but we managed to get one. It was a bit of a struggle to get the taxi driver to understand where we wanted to go, so we asked our friend Jason, a volunteer, to translate for us. Since he didn't know how to say Morel's in Chinese, he gave the driver directions to a place across the street. When we got to the place we asked the driver to drop us off on the other side of the street, but he didn't understand and so he just stopped and let us out. We had to cross the street that by this time was a flowing river. I can't remember the last time my shoes got completely drenched. The water was ankle deep. We finally made it to the restaurant and sat down for some delicious mussels. It was definitely worth it. By the time we finished dinner, the rain had stopped. We walked home and I was thankful when I could take my wet shoes and socks off.

Islamic Market in Xi'an

2008-08-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

After seeing the Wall, we went to a market place that we could bargain. I purchased an owl thimble and a Christmas ornament with pandas on it. Once out of the big market, we went down this street that sold very exotic foods and items. The US Health Dept. would have had a field day. I don't think that there are any food regulations in place. It must be a very popular place because people from all walks of life were shopping there.

City Wall in Xi'an

2008-08-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken at ground level. I don't recall what this building was originally used for. There is an identical building on the opposite side.

Stairs leading to the top of the wall.

The gangs all here: Cheryl, Matt, Sue, me, Ira, and Melissa.

Cheryl rubbing the dragon for good luck.

Cannon on wall.

This view is from the opening where the cannon was on the picture above.

Building in which we learned more about Feng Shui.

The more animals on the roof top, the more important the building.

View from the top of the wall showing contrast between ancient and modern Xi'an.

Bicycles for rent.

Wall goes on for miles. Not too many people out walking in the heat.

Queen for the day. Ira (left) and Matt (right) are my man servants.

After leaving the Terracotta Warriors, we went to the city wall which was about an a hour away. The wall was built 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. I don't know how far it stretches, but from on top we could see it for miles. Because of the heat, we really didn't get to walk much of it.

More Pictures from Xi'an

2008-08-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

View as you approach Pit 3. I am standing on the original site.

(See picture below.)

This is a picure of what the area looked like when originally discovered (dry orchard) and the present day museum that is now on top of the old farm field. It's truly amazing what they have built to showcase the warriors.

The back of the kneeling archer still has some of it original red color.

This soldier is probably in an air-tight glass container becaue it still has it's color. Scientists still haven't found a way to preserve the color of the warriors and that is why many have yet to be unearthed. All of then were painted.

This is how many of the warriors were discovered.

During the peasants' revolt, most of the real weapons were stoled because the area was not yet being guarded.

Horses at the repair station. Notice that there is a hole where their tails should be. They too are hollow. This is were the steam could escape when they were being fired.

Front view of the horses being repaired.

This is one of the ramps that was used to cart the terracotta soldiers into the pit. Although they were hollow, they were still extremely heavy.

This is the ashes left from when the original roof was burned.

This part of the roof was still intact.

Pit 3, the largest of the pits.

The soldiers were hollow and made in two pieces, the head and the rest of the body. They were made hollow so that when they were but in the kiln, they would not break.

Repair station. The original roof that protected the soldiers caught on fire and collasped on the soldiers, so a team of archeologists come in everyday to piece the horses and soldiers together. It's so unbelieveable. I don't even have the patience to do a 1,000 piece jugglesaw puzzle.

Another view of the repair station.

Solider at the repair station.

This is a diagram of a bronze chariot that was found in the pit.

This was the largest of the pits. There are an estimate of 8,000 unique warriors altogether in all 3 pits. It's the size of several football fields.

Do you see how small the people look on the opposite side of the pit?

The Terracotta Warriors are located next to the Jaida mountains. They are full of jade. This is a solid piece of jade from these mountains. Jaida jade is said to be the hardest of all types of jade.

Flowers Everywhere

2008-08-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

Flower arrangement at the Hilton Hotel, the Headquarters of the USOC.

This Olympic symbol is in Tian'anmen Square.

Here you can see what I mean about potted plants grouped together. These were on the steps leading up to one of the pits with the Terracotta Warriors.

This is in the Beijing Airport. There are carnations.

The tree is formed by placing many colorful potted plants on what I'd describe as a Christmas tree with flat surfaces.
Even though there are many cars, there are still many bicyclists.

I saw these "trees" on my scavenger hunt.

Where ever you go there are flowers. It's interesting that even though much of there city is paved or cemented they group flowers that are still in the pots to make a nice arrangement. When I walk late at night I see couples walking together and the woman may have a huge bouquet of beautiful flowers.

I'm A Quick Study

2008-08-09T02:25:00.000-07:00

Did you like my pictures? Once Matt showed me how to add pictures, I went hog wild. Now I will be able to post more pictures. I feel so proud of myself. The low techie is learning. :-)

Pictures of My Apartment

2008-08-09T01:34:00.000-07:00

Apartment view from the front steps. We are on floor 3A which is actually the 4th floor, but the number 4 is an unlucky number therefore they have named it 3A.

This is the kitchen with refrigerator, gas stove, and sink.

Shower that we us at least twice a day

Our washing machine. There are no dryers to speak of. Everyone that we know here dries their clothes on a rack or line.

Proof that I have been hanging my laundry up to dry. The weather is so warm that is usually takes only an hour or two to dry.

This is the view when you enter the apartment.

This was the blue sky we saw as we walked outside our apartment the morning of our trip the Xi'an.

Here's my roomie, Melissa. She's a tech goddess.

Here is our living room furnished with TV, DVD, and comfortable couches.

Here is our western toilet and basin. We are so thankful for it.

Our quaint little dining table for two.

My bedroom is spacious with lots of closet space and the bed is very comfortable. I have an air conditioning unit in my room.

Is you can see our living arrangements are very nice. It's our home away from home.

The Lack of Pictures

2008-08-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

Rest assured that I have taken many more pictures than I've posted. I'm still a rookie at this blogging and need assistance to do this. My coworkers work different shifts and are out and about while I sit here blogging. Many of the volunteer are downloading our pictures on Picasa, a free Google website, but I still haven't tried to figure out how to access it yet. When I figure out how you can, if you can, I'll let you know. The internet connection in our apartment is billed by amount of hours, so I really don't have unlimited time to do this. I have so much more to blog, but time is an issue. I'm doing my best without seeming like I'm a internet hog. My friends have been gracious to allow me to use their computers.

My first day off besided the day I visited Xian is tomorrow so I'll be able to use my day pass to go into the house without my uniform on. Here I will be able to take more pictures of the House and blog more.

I'll be going to the Great Wall tomorrow morning. Stay tuned...

First Night Shift At USA House

2008-08-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Now that the games have officially opened, I will be working from 7pm until at least 1am. My boss says that depending on the medal celebrations, I may have to work until 2 or 3am. Those will be long shifts.

Yesterday was the Opening Ceremonies and there was quite a party in the House. My friend, Cheryl, works at the main reception desk and told me that there were quite a few Olympians past and present who came into the house. I know that I must have assisted several of them in the store, but didn't recognize them. I did speak to a former ice skater, but I didn't recognize her name. Everyone has been really nice and appreciative of all of our efforts in the House.

I am always busy, which makes my shifts go by quickly. There are some jobs that don't get much action. I'm grateful for having a lot to do. I watched half of the Opening Ceremonies while packaging 200 packages of 4 CDs. They will be placed in a gift bag. Afterwards I went down stairs to help in the store. There were a lot of shoppers. The 3 of us on the night shift in the store are constantly refolding and cleaning up. I'm really getting good at folding shirts quickly.
I pretty much know where everything is in the store. My team works well together. There are no slackers.

While packaging the CDs, a group of us were watching the live feed of the ceremonies. Everyone was mesmerized by the performances. It slowed down our productivity, but nobody cared. Many of the USOC staff members sat down to watch them with us. We also took our dinner break during this time. It was really exciting.

I was down in the store when the parade of athletes occurred. It seem to take forever before the US athletes came out. I think that the athletes looked sharp in their Ralph Lauren outfits, but others thought that they didn't look like athletes. I am bias because I have been working closely with Jimmy, the representative from Ralph Lauren. He and one of my bosses, Bill, were responsible for getting them clothed. Jimmy personally fitted all of the athletes in San Jose when they were doing their processing. He begged Kobe Bryant to wear his hat correctly in the parade. When the US athletes came out there was a thunderous applause in the House that continued for several minutes. There was such a moment of pride. Many of the people there have been working since the closing of the Torino Winter Games.

The night was a great way to kick off the Games. It's only the first of many celebrations.

Mr. President

2008-08-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the honor and pleasure of shaking hands with President George H. Bush Sr. Originally the volunteer staff was to be a skeleton crew, which didn't include me, but at the last moment I got the call to work in the store. I think that our bosses in the store really like the work that we do there. So I jumped at the opportunity. All I knew is that there was going to be high security and that "The President" would be coming for dinner.

As it turned out, I didn't end up in the store, but at one of the "Welcome to the USA House reception desks. My boss, Elissa, had not been told that they needed a volunteer to check in guess for a private function. It wasn't the main welcome desk, but it was in the lobby that lead to the store. Not everyone has access to the entire house. Many of the people only have credentials to go shopping in the store which is located in the basement or lower level. I had to man (woman) the desk to make sure that only the special guests for a private dinner down on the store level could enter. Besides the dinner for the president, there were 3 other private functions for donors and sponors.

I never realized that the main function of the USA House is to do business. As I said before, only 14% of the USOC's budget is given by the government. The other 86% comes from businesses, donors, and sponsors. In addition to that, people from the Chicago's 2016 bid for the Olympic Games were having business meetings to promote the city. There's lots of high powered meetings occurring on a daily basis.

Getting back to my chance meeting with Pres. Bush. My position at the reception desk was quite uneventful for the first 3 hours as there were only 25 dinner guests for the private function downstairs. Suddenly a secret service agent stood in front of the reception desk and then I knew that the President would be exiting through my lobby after shopping in the store. It happened in a matter of minutes. As he came up the stairs he approached our desk and Benecia (she's in charge of special events) told Mei Li and I to come and stand in front of the desk. I recognized him immediately and smiled. As he approached us, he waved and smiled back. Then he said, "You should look like you are busy." We chuckled. As we stood at attention, he walked closer and warmly shook our hands. At this point the camera man snapped a few pictures. The President was kind, relaxed, and jovial. He reminded me of a gentle grandpa. I enjoyed my brief encounter with the 41st President of the United States.

Michael Phelps Debit Visa Card

2008-08-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

A cool thing happened to me a couple of days ago in the USA House store. One of the biggest partnership that the USOC has is with VISA. The second day of the soft opening(opening in which only sponsors, partners and other invited parties can come) the boss of VISA was in the store while I was punching what seemed like the 2,000th VISA hanging card (advertising their sponsorship)to the merchandise that day. He was so pleased with all of the VISA hanging cards volunteers and staff members has attached that he came over and gave me a hug
and then handed me an envelop with the words Michael Phelps $25 written on the outside of it. He thanked me for my hard work and asked to have us punch another VISA advertisement on the Ralph Lauren USA Team hat that he was buying. That was so exciting. I actually have a debit card with a picture of Michael Phelps swimming the butterfly and with his name on it. I'll keep it forever.

Update on Air Quality

2008-08-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

For the past several days blue skies were hard to find. It's really hard to determine whether it's haze, fog, and or smog. All I know is that I've met American's connected with the USA House and they say that when they were in Beijing a year ago the pollution was so bad that it made their eyes water. I'm glad to report that my asthma has not been acting up. I can tell the instant I enter a place where the air is really harmful. I have only experienced that once in China and that was in Xi'an. It becomes hard to breathe and my chest tightens. It's a little scary.

Although it's been humid, it hasn't always been very hot. It's been breezy at times and that can be refreshing. Being hot and sticky reminds me of my visits to the Philippines. Hydration is the name of the game. We're lucky that we are allowed to get as much to drink at the House as we want. I bring a bottle of water wherever I go. My roommate and I are finding that we are having to do laundry more often than we thought. Since we have to wear a specific uniform shirt everyday, we have to do a wash about every three days.

Generally it has been warm and humid. It can be uncomfortable, but what can I do? I'm learning to tolerate it. Everyday I adjust more and more. Whenever I walk outside for any length of time I immediately begin to sweat. Originally the plan was to walk to and from work, but because of excessive sweating, we usually only walk home at night. I don't think that the taxi drivers like to drive us such a short distance. It's probably only a little less than a mile, but we get drenched everytime we walk. I may try to walk to work today wearing a non-uniform shirt and then change once I get into the house. I hope that I don't regret it. It's an important day in the House, but you'll have to stay tuned to find out why.

Trip to Xi'an Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008

2008-08-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

After two days of orientation, my apartment buddies and I took a 1.5 hour plane ride to the city of Xi'an. The city is southwest of Beijing. As soon as we landed, but secured a van and driver for the day. Our driver, Jack, drove us to see the warriors and the city wall. Afterwards we ate at a legendary dumpling restaurant that some of our fellow volunteers had recommended.

Emperor Qin Shhuang's Mausoleum is located in Lintong County, 35km east of the city of Xi'an. It took about an hour to get there. The roads were fantastic. They are two lanes in each direction and remind me of an expressway. They were smooth and with very little traffic. We passed through the countryside where we saw orchards. It's really green. The air quality was very poor in the morning and cleared up by the afternoon.

It is estimated that 8,000 terracotta warriors and horses will be unearthed for the three large burial pits located east of the mausoleum. The museum was built to protect these treasures. Our guide, Anne, told us that many of the warriors are still under a layer of terracotta because they have not figured out a way to preserve the color. They were originally painted red and blue, but once exposed to the air the color disappeared.

Each warrior is said to represent a different warrior in the emperor's army. They are all unique. It took 38 years to complete the army. The ones that appear to be in one piece, were actually found in pieces because the roof which was protecting them caught on fire or was set on fire (I can't remember which) and then collasped on the terracotta warriors. I have other pictures that show the repair station. There were only a handful of warriors unearthened in one piece.

The pits were several football fields in size. The museum building is beautiful.

One of the pictures I posted was of the Jaida Mountains. Inside the mountains a large quantity of Jade can be found. I purchased a circular jade pendent with the Chinese characters for good luck and good health written in gold in the center. I love it!

Afterwards our driver took us to the city wall which was built over 600 years ago. It's quite impressive. I can only imagine how enormous The Great Wall is. Here we learned more about Feng Shui. The sun was really intense. It's been hot and humid. Because of the heat, we really didn't walk too much of the wall. There were places for people to rent bikes. Thank goodness for air conditioning in my workplace and apartment.

At the end of the day, we were taken to the big city market place where I bargained for a thimble and Christmas ornament. We also strolled down a street teeming with food vendors and people. I saw crickets in cages just like the kind in the movie Mulan. They were very noisy, but I guess if I was stuck in such a confined space I'd complain too.

Finally we ended up at an amazing dumpling restaurant who's name escapes me, but I have in my pictures. For $20 USD we had 18 different dishes. We were stuffed and the driver took home 3 to go boxes for his family. The dumplings were delicious. Some of the ingredients were: shrimp, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, and mushroms. We also had beef soup as well as a chicken and dumpling soup at the end. I'd recommend it to anyone.

We arrived back in Beijing at midnight.

Visit to the Xi'an's Terra-Cotta Warriors and City Wall

2008-08-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Since some of you are hungry for pictures, here are a few. I'll comment more about the trip later as my new friend Matt has graciously agreed to help me post them.

First Day in Retail

2008-08-04T03:06:00.000-07:00

Today was my first official day in the USA House store. Since the Olympics has not begun, we have shorter shifts. So far we straightened out all the merchandise by putting the clothing in xs-xxl sizes, folding items that customers looked at and returning them to the shelves, and putting hats, pins, and misc. items in their places. I also helped customers with sizing and pricing. I'm still learning what we have in the store, so I'm hoping to be able to know where everything isand what merchandise we have within a couple of days. The tricky part is trying to remember the prices. Some items have prices and some don't.

The merchandise seems to be flying off the shelves. Even though very few people have entered the store, the ones that do are going home with bags full and intend on returning. There have been positive comments about the store's look. Those who put the house together really did an amazing and miraculous job of transforming the Jasmine Restaurant in to the USA House.

I'll have to purchase my gifts early as I fear they will sell out. The store's goal is to sell at least a million dollars of merchandise. I don't think that it will be a problem.

We Are the World

2008-08-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

One the main goals of the 12 hour+ first day orientation was to get to know and learn about the other volunteers at the USA House and the United States Olympic Comittee's (USOC) Headquarters. This was accomplished by participating in 2 activities.

The first was having to come up with a song to introduce our table members using a nursery rhyme tune. My table was thankful that I was an elementary school teacher. I'm glad that I could help, but it was amazing how few of them they knew. We finally settled on "Are You Sleeping?" This was a fun activity. It got to show off our creativity and good nature.

The second was a scavenger hunt all around the city of Beijing. My team members consisted of Paull (that's the correct spelling), Gary, and John.

Paul is in his 3rd year at Yale and is the son of the US Ambassador to China. He was the only one of us who could speak Mandarin. He is about 6 foot 3 inches and was born in Hong Kong. He is an amazing person. I loved his knowledge of Beijing, his kindness and friendliness. He was so nice to invite us to his family's home.

Gary is the legal council for the USOC. In other words, he is their main lawyer. He is the one who would handle any of the medal disputes or any legal services that the athletes or USOC members may need. He gave me incite into the political party of the Games. He must be really good at what he does.

John is also a lawyer. He works as the athlete's ombudsman. He too works for the USOC. He has been dealing with the disqualification of the swimmer who failed a drug test. He was kind and very down to earth. He had a lot of knowledge of the Olympians past and present. We had something in common. We have both traveled to the Philippines many times.

The scavenger hunt had us walk, and ride the subway as well as taxis. The first 5 hours was easy as we had Paull translating and communicating with us. After 5pm he had to leave his 3 non-Mandarin speaking so that he could be present at his father's dinner with some top CEO's. That's were we were faced with the challenge of communicating non-verbally. Thank goodness for the Chinese guide in which we were able to point to the Chinese word for restroom. It was challenging for us to get a taxi as well, but we did it. If I was on the "Amazing Race," I'd definitely be eliminated. We were the last time to arrive at Paddy O'Shea's Pub. We were an hour later than scheduled. John took this picture of Paul (left), myself, and Gary (right). Sorry, but I can't believe that I didn't take a picture of John. Bummer!

The hunt was good in that we were able to see Tiananman Square, the Bird's Nest, the Silk Market, and the Forbidden City. We were are given tasks like find the most unique item you can at the Silk Market and bargain for it, take a picture of you group in front of the Bird's Nest, take a picture of the portrait of Mao on the Forbidden City, and bring back your subway ticket.

When we arrived, we shared our adventures with the other groups. We all had a great time. It was really wonderful to start to get to know all of the volunteers. We are from different countries, we are of diverse ethnic backgrounds, and range from 21-early 60's in age. It's a nice mix of personalities. We will have to work together to help make these games the best ever for the athletes and their families.
It was fun and exhausting. I enjoyed the company and the fact that we could get to know each other better.

I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone

2008-08-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

Many of you are wondering just how bad the air quality is. It's so sad to hear that the Beijing Olympics is getting so much negative publicity because of it. The stories about the athletes should be in the papers and not so much about how horrible some people think the air is.

Having lived through several months of terrible air quality due to the fires in CA, I can tell you that none of the days so far have been as bad as it's been in CA. Remember the Friday in which the sun and moon was glowing red? In June I had respiratory issues because of the fallout from the fires. The soot particles from the fires blocked out the blue sky for over 2 weeks. I haven't seen that here. It has rained a little bit and that certainly has helped, but even before it rained, I never felt as if I was going to have an asthma attack. I've been walking around the city everyday and not once did I feel like I couldn't breath well or that I had to stay indoors. I will be posting pictures tomorrow and you can be the judge.

The air quality isn't terrific, but it's not as bad as the media has been portraying. It's not ideal, but in my opinion, Los Angeles has worse air quality than Beijing has right now. I think that having only half the cars on the road at a time is really helping. I'll keep you posted about this issue. I hope that you can breath easier now.

Taxi Ride to Sun City Apartments in Beijing

2008-07-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

The gentleman driving me from the airport spoke no English, but I was able to phone my landlord and she was able to give him directions. If I wasn't awake at the time that I entered my taxi, I sure was from the moment he began driving. I knew that I was in for an exciting experience. This driver was clearly experienced and knew how to "drive". I felt as though I was watching a car chase in a movie. He wove his way in and out of traffic with pinpoint accuracy. It was both thrilling and a little nerve-racking, but at no point did I ever feel that my life was in danger. He taught me that pedestrians definitely didn't have the right of way. It doesn't even matter if the walk sign says, "walk". It really means, "Walk at your own risk."

I'm Finally Here

2008-07-30T20:58:00.001-07:00

This is the first time that I've had access to internet. I'm in China safely and borrowed someone's connection. Everything has been going smoothly. My roommate arrives tonight and as soon as we set it up, I'll be able to post more then.

My air travel when off without a hitch. If anyone is planning on traveling internationally, it would definitely recommend flying Japan Airlines. I had 3 fabulous meals and two snack times. The meals included salad, entree, bread, and desert. I was so overjoyed when they served a big Nestle's ice cream sandwich for a snack. It brought me back to good memories from childhood. On my way to Japan, I was able to sit in a window seat with nobody next to me. The gentlemen on the aisle seat had never traveled internationally and couldn't believe the service.

The new Beijing International Airport is an architectural wonder. It was enormous, beautiful, and clean. I had no problem with customs and baggage as we were the only flight that had come in so late. I soon found out that several of the airport volunteers really couldn't help as they didn't know English. It is quite a challenge trying to communicate with the Chinese. They couldn't even tell me where the ATM machine was. Luckily I was able to find it so that I could pay my taxi fare.

Friends for Life

2008-07-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed to have you as a friend. Whether you have known me for over 35 years or only a few months, I consider you a friend for life. You are part of a circle that I call family. I love ya! I can never say it too much. I love ya!

I've been having such a good time meeting with friends who have wished me safe passage, bought me goodies for the trip, taken me to lunch or dinner, given me great advice, and some spending money for the trip. You will all be in my heart. I'll be thinking about you as I travel and attempt to share with you my adventures through this blog. I will be keeping it rated G for the benefit of my students and those who may be offended by strong language.

I will be leaving in three days. Can you believe it?! Thanks for your love and support. (Gosh is this sounding mushy or what! But who cares.) Your friendship and our experiences together weave the amazing tapestry I call, "My Life."

"Face your fears Ms. Illa."

2008-07-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

I once had a student named Danielle who said to me, "Face your fears Ms. Illa." This statement comes to the forefront of my thoughts whenever I get nervous and scared to do something that goes beyond my comfort zone. Traveling by myself internationally in a country with such a different culture, is one of those trying times. Even though I am thrilled and excited to be going to the Olympics in Beijing, I am not quite sure that everything will go off without a hitch. (I hate that voice of doubt.) This will be the very first time I will be going it alone. (My brothers would call me weak, but I have to prove them wrong.) It's one thing to go into unknown territory, but it's quite another to travel by myself to a destination in which the language is totally incomprehensible. I'm thankful for my colleagues at the USOC who I could call if I was in a real jam.

I can really relate to my immigrant students who step foot in my classroom knowing little or no English. I tell them that they are brave and I try to reassure them that they can trust me. I'll have to put my money where my mouth is and suck it up. My students inspire me to be courageous when I have to go through seemingly difficult situations. I will be thinking a lot about them. Their bravery will give me strength.

I think that I've done everything in my power to ensure that I get to the apartment safely. What scares me is that I have to rely on strangers to help me. Thank goodness for them though. Without them I would be totally freaking out. I have all of the addresses in Chinese characters on bright pink card stock that has been laminated, hoping that the person translating it didn't make a mistake. I was told to show this card to a taxi driver and they would be able to get them there. I hope that my driver can understand some English otherwise, it's going to be a long 20 or so minutes. Can you believe that I have never been in a cab by myself, let alone at night. I am supposed to arrive at 9:05 pm on Aug. 29.(Remember China is a day ahead of CA) After immigration and a long wait for a taxi, I may not get in until about 11pm. Yikes! All I know is that I won't be able to relax until I get into my apartment where I will meet the owner for the first time. I keep telling myself that I have to have faith. I wish that I was arriving during the day.

Now that I've thoroughly freaked some of you out, I intend to make a posting ASAP and I will call my sister when I'm safe in my apartment. Did you know that I could be such a nervous wreck. I hide my fears quite well.

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

Housing

2008-07-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

Finding a place to stay was a challenge to say the least. When I first agreed to volunteer I knew that it was my responsibility to secure a flight as well as a place to stay. Normally I could rely on my sister planning the trip, but China was unknown territory. Finding a reasonably priced place would take a lot of time to research . Teaching a 4/5 combination class this year took all of my energy, so I couldn't bring myself to do the leg-work. I took what I thought was the easy way out.

Originally I had planned on staying at the Beijing Normal University Dorms because of several reasons: (1) It is going to be the high performance training center for the US Team, (2) $130/night included meals, (3) High security, (4) 2 in a room, and (5) Access to training facilities. Things changed quickly and the price became $175/night with 3 people to a room. I remember how crowded San Jose State Dorms were with 2 people sharing, so I went for another option. Housing at the US Olympic Committee's (USOC) Headquarters, Beijing Hilton. It is a really nice place, with an even "nicer" price of $6,000 for the month and no meals were included. YIKES! I thought for sure that I was going to have to live like a pauper all next year.

You might think that I was crazy to even contemplate staying in such an expensive place, but I didn't know where to begin looking for a place in a foreign country that I had never been too, in a city as big as Beijing, and in a country I couldn't read the language. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take, so I decided to stay where I knew I could survive. I still don't have a good grasp of the money exchange rate. It's frustrating. :-(

I will be sharing my housing with Melissa. This is her first time to travel internationally. She will be volunteering and working the same 7pm-1am shift that I have at the USA House. I have only emailed and spoken to on the phone. $6,000 was not what we had anticipated. Fortunately she happened to meet a couple in Colorado Springs, CO who helped get us connected with Dan, a business consultant for the USOC. He was a LIFESAVER! Dan was responsible for securing their apartment. Timing is everything. As Dan was picking up the keys to their apartment, he bumped into a friend, Angela, in the same complex. She told him that her apartment would be available in Aug. because she was going to need a larger one. As luck would have it, we were able to rent her place. It gave me peace of mind to know that Dan had also lived in this complex.

The apartment has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, air conditioning (a must), it's fully furnished, all appliances including a washing machine, kitchen, security guards, TV, internet access, and a land phone line for $3,500. I just wired my share of the rent, $1,849. I couldn't believe our good fortune. Melissa and I are so relieved. Who knew that we could find a really nice apartment that is walking distance from the USA House for an affordable price at the very last minute. Funny how things just sometimes fall into place. What a load off of my mind. :-)

Welcome!

2008-07-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

Aloha Everyone,

As many of you already know, I have been very busy getting my classroom ready for the first day of school. I leave for the Beijing Olympics a week from today and will be returning the day before school starts. I'll be taking the first day of school off in order to get readjusted to Pacific Time and life back in the states.

I spent the day doing errands and doing lunch with friends before I leave on this once in a lifetime adventure. Yesterday with the help of my sister, I had a bon voyage barbecue/pool party. It was terrific spending time with everyone. I feel so blessed to have such supportive friends and family. The food was delicious!!!!

I'm hoping to be able to post an entry at least every other day. Let's see if this low-tech person can do this. It's worth a try.

Take care.

Peace, Arlene:-)