A story like this you have to start from the beginning.

The Olympic Green is at most a 30-minute subway ride from Renmin University, where I live. But once I got to the Olympic subway line, I saw rows of tents housing metal detectors and security guards. It took about three hours for me to finally get into the Green, and my accreditation even got me in the special — aka shorter — staff line.

Security was as tight as you’d expect. Volunteers searched everyone’s bag. They had me take a picture with my camera, make a call from my cell phone and swallow an Ibuprofen to prove nothing in my purse was dangerous.

Once I was on the Green, everything moved like clockwork. The Green was full of people, but not crowded. Most people were climbing on railings and benches to get the perfect shot of the Bird’s Nest to show their friends. Others were just looking for food. I was one of them. I grabbed a burger from McDonalds and headed to the National Indoor Stadium, where I’ll be working during the games.

Here's a vlog from the Olympic Green.

Click (more) to read about how I got to meet Team USA and Yao Ming!

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Here's the link to the KRLD interview from this morning. Enjoy!

And if I see any 'Tofu by a Pock-Marked Woman' around, I'll let you know.

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I’ve been writing for weeks about my grandparent’s China stories. Now’s your chance to hear them for yourself!

I filmed a couple of questions for Granny and Grampa, and the team at Neighbors Go filmed and edited their responses here. You've gotta check it out. Their experience here in 1979 was very different than mine. As we watch China for the next two weeks, I think it's so important to look back and remember all the country has been through.

I’m in love the video. I’m here because of their stories, so to hear them while in Beijing is very powerful.

And you know what, Grampa? I haven’t seen a single Pecan tree here! Looks like your expertise could have been used back in ’79.
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As of 30 minutes ago, the Olympics have begun! Welcome to 8-8-08, Beijing time.

Suddenly, it’s become very easy to tell the visitors from the locals. People around me are either looking around, wide-eyed and awed, or they’re proudly waving a Chinese flag.  I see athletes all over the place: in the subway, at the mall, on the Green. All around me, I can hear one of the few Chinese words I know, “Ow-wheen-hwey” which means “Olympics.”

I was on the Green today, and I’ve never seen it look more ready to welcome thousands of spectators from around the world. All the lights are on. All the stands are set up. All the coolers are stocked with ice-cold cokes. Beijing is ready.

And once that cauldron is lit, the show will start. Welcome to the main event.
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Hey all you KRLD-1080 listeners!

I have an interview coming up at 6:50 a.m. central time on Thursday, August 7. Hope you can check it out!

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Just home from a 14-hour work day at the National Indoor Stadium.

Today was men’s podium training, meaning all the male gymnasts got to try out the apparatus…apparati…apparatuses. (What is the plural for apparatus?)

The time passed by really quickly. After they trained, the men would walk through the mixed zone, named because it’s where media and athletes “mix.” I got to interview Diego Hypolito, Brasil’s only male gymnast; and I got to sit in on AP and Reuters’ interview of Fabian Hambuechen, a top German gymnast and medal favorite. I didn’t realize how short gymnasts were!

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to write much about my contact with gymnasts. According to BOCOG standards, I can tell you how my day went, but not what an athlete said or did. So you’ll just have to check the Dallas Morning News’ Olympics Blog for more news!

Anybody have a question they want me to ask a gymnast?
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Today was kind of a bust. I was banking on seeing the last fireworks rehearsal before the Opening Ceremonies on 8-8-08, but the fireworks were canceled. Bummer. Anyone know why?

I have some friends who landed tickets to the rehearsal, though, so I’ll let you know what they got to see! Until then, I hope these amazing Chinglish phrases will satiate you!

• Send forth the youthful vitality
• Weet and Fachaned 100%
• Chance, President and Poet Leopold
• Are you ready for a instiaet of love?
• Some one who makes you believe you find special friend
• Ionship
• Lovers’ house
• Bright lights, moon lights, phosphorescent
• More you think, more you get
• SE-A-SR
• Spring has come into my life
• Sailor girl: mystic ocean waiting to be rediscovered
• Time are daddy
• From Desert
• I’ll see you in court

And my personal favorite

• Feelings Campblue Now.Wish.To.Feel.the.Cuteness

I know I wish to feel the cuteness!
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Dong’anmen Night Market has a very distinct smell. Car exhaust from the busy Dong’anmen Road mingles with the smell of roasted meat and the spicy-sweet tang of Chinese herbs I couldn’t even begin to name. Lining the street are vendors in red visors and aprons offering anything you could ever want — or not want — on a stick.

I tried the silkworms, scorpion, starfish, centipede, snail and octopus. Click the links for videos!

I really liked the scorpion. It tasted like a really crispy French fry. I ate all three of them.

As I strolled up and down the market, Chinese vendors would yell to me to buy their food: “Squid, pretty lady?” “Buy one centipede, get dog free, lady! Come try!” “One for you? Chicken? Beef? Sheep penis?”

Most of the people at the market seemed to be tourists daring each other to try something exotic, like the locusts or sea horse. Most of them were just eating noodles. A lot of the time, someone would buy something, take one bite, and then hand it to a group of strangers for them to try. That’s how I tried my first silk worm (and how I got rid of the rest of my octopus).

Click (more) for pictures!

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Remember the time I tried to get to the China Millennium Monument? Well, I was reading the China Daily on the subway the other day, and there was an article about the current exhibition in the monument’s art gallery. In honor of the Olympics, a collection of pottery and artifacts from the Ancient Greek Olympic Games is on display!

Since I had the day off, I thought I’d spend the afternoon relaxing in the gallery, learning what the Olympics were like hundreds of years ago so I’m ready to compare when this year’s Games start on 8-8-08.

The monument is only about 15 minutes away, but it took an hour and 4 different trains to get there. I hadn’t eaten, so I grabbed a KFC Mexican (the poorly translated name of a chicken wrap with salsa) and ate it on the train. When I finally got to my stop, I was ready to sit down and relax.

Then I see it, a long, long line of people hiding from the scorching sun under their umbrellas. After 20 minutes of looking for someone who speaks English, I met a volunteer named Sunny who said I would be much more beautiful if my skin weren’t so wet. I didn’t know the word for “sweaty” in Chinese, so I just asked her about the exhibit I wanted to see. Apparently, the monument has been transformed into a One World One Dream exhibition, and if I want in, I’ll need to stand in line like everyone else, Sunny says.

Click (more) to see if I ever get in.

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Navigating a foreign city while training for the Olympics is exhausting. Last night, I treated myself to an evening at the ballet!

I managed third row seats for Medea, a ballet version of my favorite Greek myth choreographed by Dimitris Papaioannou, who also choreographed the Opening Ceremonies during the Athens Olympic Games. Medea showed for two days only at the National Center for the Performing Arts, that building here shaped like an egg or a bubble.

(Check out my vlog about the Bubble building!)

To maintain its architectural integrity, there’s no door into the Bubble building. I entered through an underground passageway into the lobby, directly below where I’d just taken the video of the building. As I continued toward the theater, I looked up to see the dancing blue-and-white lights of the reflecting pool that surrounds the Bubble through the glass ceiling.

Finally, I got to the escalator that takes you into the Bubble. As I rode to the top, past old posters from previous Olympic Games, I was amazed at how remarkably majestic the building was from inside. It looks just the way it does on the outside, but with beautiful wood paneling replacing the grey metal. Through the window, I could see the area I’d just left where dozens of Chinese and foreign visitors were still taking pictures. I loved the ride so much, I went back downstairs and did it again!

Click (more) to read my review of the ballet and see more pictures of the inside!
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