Tonight was a night of gold, as I witnessed three gold medal ceremonies. I was essentially bar hopping from one venue to the next to the next, taking in all the Olympic glory that I was able to sustain in one night's time. After a relaxing day, I met up with Max at the Soho Office and headed out. Max had ridden his bike to work so I hopped on the back of his electric bike and he rode me to the subway. He dropped me off and we agreed to meet at the Dhongzhimen Station, near his apartment. I walked into the subway and boarded the Line 1, took it one stop west and then boarded the blue line to the North, which I took for 3 stops. I exited out of Gate A, upon Max's request, met up with him and hopped on his bike once again. On our way to his apartment we turned a corner and were greeted by the incessant yapping of a ferocious little red dog. He was one of those little dogs that maybe had a little of the small dog syndrome as he lashed out towards anything larger and moving. We rode to his apartment where he changed clothes and then we grabbed a cab and headed out to the Woman's Water Polo Gold Medal match....the US versus Holland! We found our seats and quickly discovered we were seated in the Holland athletes family and friends section, clearly unacceptable. Max gave it the old college try, to get us into another section, but security was pretty tight and in the end we found two seats a bit closer to the middle of the pool. The game began with four successive goals from the Nederlands, and their fans were certainly letting us hear it. Even though we were completely not sure how to interpret it. The US scored two goals and the game seemed to get much more evenly matched. You could hear the US fans.....U...S...A....U....S....A. and then the Holland fans would shout back....It was a very raucous crowd, perhaps a few drinks had been passed around....Max and I were sure to join in the cheering, and we also shouted USA..USA....Max even started losing his voice a little bit. This was his first water polo match. It was very high scoring, very intense and came down to one final shot for the US woman's team. From the doorstep of the goal, one last valiant attempt for U.S. Gold was thwarted by the Netherlands goalie. Just like that, agonizingly close. As we sat and watched the medal ceremony we realized just how disappointed we were. 
We had really hoped to sing the US National Anthem, something we have yet to witness first hand. 
Following the water polo match at the Natatorium, we debated about which activity to check out next. After another cold, frosty budweiser (yes I am supporting my hometown of St. Louis) we headed in the direction of the water cube. The approach we took to the water cube and the Olympic Green was all lit up....the Cube shining it's distinct, water-esque blue color and the vibrant red of the Birds Nest, with the Olympic Media Tower peering over the top of the Nest.
It was then that Max and I realized just how lucky we truly are to be able to experience what we have. According to Max, the spot we were standing in was "one of my favorite spots, this approach to the Olympic Green, when I realize exactly where I am and what I am doing." I agreed whole heartedly with him on this one. We finally had decided to head in the direction of the water cube, where woman's diving final round was taking place. We did not have tickets for this event but knew that we could use our accreditation to enter the building. From there it was up to us to navigate and maneuver our way into the event. Most of them are extremely easy to get into, but BOCOG cracks own on the Gold Medal Matches. Max and I walked quickly past the volunteers without a second thought. I have learned that as long as you seem to know where you are going and you go with a purpose no one will stop you. We made it through to the inside of the Cube, and now had to try and find a seat. This proved to be a bit more difficult than we thought. We took a moment to take in woman's diving. The twists, turns and somersaults in midair, coming off of a high dive, it was incredible. I am still not sure how these people make their bodies twist like they do.
We arrived in time to see the final round of the finals. Round 5, saw a Canadian female diver lead for the majority of the final round. However, on the last dive of the night something magical happened. The final diver was a member of the Chinese team. She made her approach, calmly stopped, gracefully turned, paused, arms extend, and then into the air she went. Two seconds later or so, she hit the water perfectly, with a tiny splash and the crowd went nuts. Every Chinese person in that stadium, hollering, screaming, high fiving. THey all knew she had done well, but when the final scores came in, 4 perfect 10's, two 9.5's. The Chinese female had clinched the gold on the final dive of the night. 
Our last stop for the night was the Indoor Stadium for Handball, a sport I know very little about. This game proved to be yet another gold medal match, which Russia won. The game itself was explained to me as "soccer but with hands" and it seemed that way to me. We were there for the final period, or quarter, I am not so sure on this one.
At this point Max and I decided that we were hungry and should probably eat something. We headed via subway to the Sanlitun district in an effort to meet some other friends at some point in time. Max led me to this "Chwar" place, which makes grilled meats for a very inexpensive price. We ordered a couple of tall Tsingtaos, practically like water these days for me, along with some chwar and a rice dish (I had the Kung Pao Chicken and Max had the Savory version of the Kung Pao) While waiting for our food we made small talk with the neighboring table, two guys from South Africa and a woman from Beijing. The woman was extremely interested in Max's chinese. The gentlemen was in school and had been here for 3 months, with 9 more to go. Max wished him all the best, while silently cheering for having just 9 days left before going home.
No comments:
Post a Comment