Opening Ceremonies & more...

The opening ceremonies went beautifully. Lauren Wooldridge, my friend and Mizzou student, is currently writing for STLToday.com during our stay in China. She was invited to watch the opening ceremonies at Club Bud, and she invited some of the Mizzou students to join her. The Budweiser company and Beijing Games sponsor opened its largest Olympic party venue ever, giving journalists a first look at Club Bud during the viewing party for the opening ceremony. The venue holds about 2,000 people, but last nights limit was 250, which was great because we all got a fabulous view of the opening ceremony. My dear friend, Sarah Orscheln, was lucky enough to watch the rehearsal of the opening ceremony on August 5th, but according to her, this opening ceremony is made for TV! We had to watch CCTV’s telecast from Club Bud, but I sat next to a couple NBC cameramen, and they said that NBC’s airing of the opening ceremony is going to be incredible! So I hope you all enjoy watching the ceremony as much as I did! I called my family this morning as they were watching the opening ceremony. I completely forgot that it was currently airing in America, since I had already watched it last night.

Tonight will be my official first day of work during the Games! My last day of training was amazing. The women’s gymnastic teams were practicing, and I was able to work as a flash quotes reporter in the Broadcast Mixed Zone. I met so many wonderful people from NBC and BBC; I can’t wait to work with all of them throughout the Games! And as Ted mentioned, if you see any interviews on NBC, we are most likely standing right next to the camera, taking down the quotes. Watching the U.S. women’s gymnastic team was incredible; I honestly can’t wait to watch these girls in action during competition! Tonight is the only time I will be covering the men’s teams; otherwise, I will be working during the women’s competitions.

As many of you have probably heard already, the U.S. men’s team lost another Hamm brother. Morgan Hamm was forced to withdraw from the Games due to a left ankle injury. Hamm's withdrawal came just 10 days after his twin brother Paul also withdrew due to a hand injury.

I have to say most of the “women” competing are girls, around 16-years-old. Shawn Johnson has the entire world looking at her, and she’s just 16-years-old. However, there was one woman that stood out in the National Indoor Stadium that training day. Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina is a 38-year-old gymnast, competing with Germany in the Games this year! She is already an Olympic medalist and World Champion gymnast. She formerly was a citizen of, and a competitor for, the Soviet Union. In 1988, at the age of 13, she won the all-around title at the USSR National Championships in the junior division. By 1990, Oksana was a vital member of the Soviet team. She was the vault gold medalist at the 1990 Goodwill Games and nearly swept the 1990 World Sports Fair in Japan, winning the all-around and every event except the uneven bars. The following year, she won gold for her floor routine at the 1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and placed second on vault. In 1992, Oksana competed at the Olympics with the Unified Team, sharing in the team gold medal. But in 2002, Oksana’s son, Alisher, was diagnosed with leukemia. Seeking advanced medical treatment for her son, Oksana and her husband accepted an offer of help from Shanna and Peter Brüggemann, head coaches of the Toyota Cologne club, and moved to Germany. With prize money earned from gymnastics competitions, along with the help of the Brüggemanns and members of the international gymnastics community who fundraised and donated to the cause, Oksana was able to secure treatment for Alisher at the University of Cologne's hospital. While Alisher underwent treatment in Cologne, Oksana trained with the German team, and she will be competing with them this year.

I had the day off a couple of days ago and attempted to find this antique mall with some other Mizzou students. When the taxi driver dropped us off in the wrong area, we decided to take a look at China’s Military Museum since it was in the vicinity. The museum is composed of two four-story wings and a main building of seven stories topped with the emblem of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. After passing through the lobby, one comes to the central exhibition hall, which contains over 500-odd photographs and more than 1,000 mementos of the Chinese revolution led by Mao Zedong over the course of half a century. The first floor is devoted to the Second Revolutionary Civil War (1927-1937), the second floor to the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-1945) and the third floor to the Third Revolutionary Civil War (1945-1949). It was just coincidence that Sarah Orscheln and I both wore our camo hats that day.

Our next stop was to the 798 Art District, which is a thriving artist community, among 50-year old decommissioned military factory buildings of unique architectural style. It is often compared with New York's Greenwich Village or SoHo. This was by far one of my favorite places in Beijing!

We also celebrated Sarah Orscheln’s Birthday on August 7th, while China celebrated the Qixi Festival, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day! In the Chinese world, Qixi is regarded as the most romantic traditional festival. This year's Qixi is quite special for many in China because it fell just one day before the Beijing Olympic Games.

We’ve also found ourselves eating at a lot of rotating sushi restaurants; however, the food isn’t quite what you’d imagine...

Raw squid

A banana sushi roll
This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity. I’m enjoying every moment I’m here, and I’m thrilled the Games have finally begun!

Sarah