still watching!
Hi everyone! I didn't forget about you, I promise! Rather, I have been watching the Olympics and doing lots of things. Man! The Olympics! Wow! They're pretty competitive and exciting, aren't they?
I have been so pleased at how everyone is going! Of course, all the events are cool and all, but WOW! How about that opening ceremony, eh? That has been my favorite part of the Olympics so far. I can't even tell you how excited I was to be watching it that night. I was definitely in awe. Over 15,000 performers! The costuming, the lights! Not to mention, the FIREWORKS! I don't think I've ever seen a spectacle its equal in my life. And yes, it completely made me want to be watching it live. . . but maybe next time. Good luck to Vancouver and London, trying to top that, heh. Indeed, I wonder if it ever will be.
But the Olympics aren't just about spectacle! No, a lot of it has to do with competition and athletics. I have to admit, even in some of the events where they are competing against the United States, I have often found myself rooting for China. Maybe it is because they are just so good at everything, it seems. How about those gymnasts? Truly a joy to watch. You can tell how hard everyone has been working towards this, and how long they've been waiting for the opportunity. Not to say I haven't been pleased as punch with how well the Americans are doing too! I was totally tickled pink when our men's team won the bronze in gymnastics, even after losing Paul and Morgan Hamm. I am proud to say that at the time of writing this, the United States currently is tied with China for the most overall medals, at 31. China has more gold medals by far, however, with 19. (The US has just 10, which is still second place to China.) France has 13 overall, Japan has 10 overall, and Great Britain has 7 overall. Norway has one, a silver medal in men's 100m breaststroke; and Canada doesn't have any. My source for this: The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
I also didn't forget what I said in my last post about posting pictures. Here are some very gray photos from our adventure in Beijing.
The same day we went to see the Olympic Stadium, we also went to the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park. The towers here are the Triple Pagoda of Dali, in the southern area of the park. If you look carefully you can see the Olympic Stadium way in the background, veiled thickly in smog. The Culture Park is quite close to the Stadium, a relatively easy walking distance. Here is a quote from the brochure (from May, 2008): "The China Nationalities Museum, as the first project completed in the National Olympic Park, is a crucial venue to honor the spirit of 'New Beijing, Great Olympics', and display the theme of 'Green, High-tech and People's Olympic Games'."
This is from the Summer Palace. I think this was the day before we went to see the Stadium and all. In fact, I remember this was quite late in the afternoon, and still it was one of the most crowded places we had been. From what I've seen the Chinese are quite proud of their national and historical monuments, and we observed there were many more Chinese tourists, from all over the country, wandering around in Beijing than Western tourists. At least, it would certainly seem so.
I wish I could remember the name of this building. Jim kept the map we got, because the Summer Palace has the most elegant and beautiful names for everything.
We also went to the Temple of Heaven. Very beautiful and important. Pictured is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. This was built in the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Yongle of Ming Dynasty (that is, 1420 A.D.) - without the use of a single nail. My souvenir map says, "Its excellence does not only lie in its exquisite design, but also attributes to the fact that its constructional structure represents ancient Chinese philosophy and astronomic knowledge." There is also a pretty good Wikipedia article.
Of course, Jim has a much better picture of this, here.
Here I am in the Forbidden City! If I had posed for this picture during the time of emporers, I would have been killed on sight! This is because the Forbidden City was forbidden for peasants, and probably particularly foreigners. Since 1965 it has been open to the public, allowing people like me to wander around its thousands of rooms; it is truly huge. While we were there it was undergoing some renovation, which by the sound of it is fairly continuous. And, what else is that we see in this picture? Could it be. . . blue sky?? This was one of the clearest days we saw in Beijing; it had rained the day before.
There will be more pictures to come, dearies! I want to save some for later on. How are you enjoying Beijing so far? I hope you will be tempted to learn much more about it, it is truly a fascinating place! Since the Olympics started, our local networks have been running some documentary specials about the city, and I've watched a few with my Dad. I think he has gotten pretty tired of hearing me say things like, "OoooOOH, we went there!" and "I never saw crickets fighting, but Jim ate a bug!" Things like that. Happy memories from Beijing. <3
I have been so pleased at how everyone is going! Of course, all the events are cool and all, but WOW! How about that opening ceremony, eh? That has been my favorite part of the Olympics so far. I can't even tell you how excited I was to be watching it that night. I was definitely in awe. Over 15,000 performers! The costuming, the lights! Not to mention, the FIREWORKS! I don't think I've ever seen a spectacle its equal in my life. And yes, it completely made me want to be watching it live. . . but maybe next time. Good luck to Vancouver and London, trying to top that, heh. Indeed, I wonder if it ever will be.
But the Olympics aren't just about spectacle! No, a lot of it has to do with competition and athletics. I have to admit, even in some of the events where they are competing against the United States, I have often found myself rooting for China. Maybe it is because they are just so good at everything, it seems. How about those gymnasts? Truly a joy to watch. You can tell how hard everyone has been working towards this, and how long they've been waiting for the opportunity. Not to say I haven't been pleased as punch with how well the Americans are doing too! I was totally tickled pink when our men's team won the bronze in gymnastics, even after losing Paul and Morgan Hamm. I am proud to say that at the time of writing this, the United States currently is tied with China for the most overall medals, at 31. China has more gold medals by far, however, with 19. (The US has just 10, which is still second place to China.) France has 13 overall, Japan has 10 overall, and Great Britain has 7 overall. Norway has one, a silver medal in men's 100m breaststroke; and Canada doesn't have any. My source for this: The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
I also didn't forget what I said in my last post about posting pictures. Here are some very gray photos from our adventure in Beijing.
The same day we went to see the Olympic Stadium, we also went to the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park. The towers here are the Triple Pagoda of Dali, in the southern area of the park. If you look carefully you can see the Olympic Stadium way in the background, veiled thickly in smog. The Culture Park is quite close to the Stadium, a relatively easy walking distance. Here is a quote from the brochure (from May, 2008): "The China Nationalities Museum, as the first project completed in the National Olympic Park, is a crucial venue to honor the spirit of 'New Beijing, Great Olympics', and display the theme of 'Green, High-tech and People's Olympic Games'."
This is from the Summer Palace. I think this was the day before we went to see the Stadium and all. In fact, I remember this was quite late in the afternoon, and still it was one of the most crowded places we had been. From what I've seen the Chinese are quite proud of their national and historical monuments, and we observed there were many more Chinese tourists, from all over the country, wandering around in Beijing than Western tourists. At least, it would certainly seem so.
I wish I could remember the name of this building. Jim kept the map we got, because the Summer Palace has the most elegant and beautiful names for everything.
We also went to the Temple of Heaven. Very beautiful and important. Pictured is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. This was built in the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Yongle of Ming Dynasty (that is, 1420 A.D.) - without the use of a single nail. My souvenir map says, "Its excellence does not only lie in its exquisite design, but also attributes to the fact that its constructional structure represents ancient Chinese philosophy and astronomic knowledge." There is also a pretty good Wikipedia article.
Of course, Jim has a much better picture of this, here.
Here I am in the Forbidden City! If I had posed for this picture during the time of emporers, I would have been killed on sight! This is because the Forbidden City was forbidden for peasants, and probably particularly foreigners. Since 1965 it has been open to the public, allowing people like me to wander around its thousands of rooms; it is truly huge. While we were there it was undergoing some renovation, which by the sound of it is fairly continuous. And, what else is that we see in this picture? Could it be. . . blue sky?? This was one of the clearest days we saw in Beijing; it had rained the day before.
There will be more pictures to come, dearies! I want to save some for later on. How are you enjoying Beijing so far? I hope you will be tempted to learn much more about it, it is truly a fascinating place! Since the Olympics started, our local networks have been running some documentary specials about the city, and I've watched a few with my Dad. I think he has gotten pretty tired of hearing me say things like, "OoooOOH, we went there!" and "I never saw crickets fighting, but Jim ate a bug!" Things like that. Happy memories from Beijing. <3