Beijing bound!

There's no place like home...

2008-08-28T09:56:00.002+08:00

It's 10 a.m.-- In 15 minutes, I'm headed downstairs to check out! Hope all goes well, except I packed my room card!!! I'll have to mail it back!

I'm all packed, I know one suitcase is overweight, another one filled to the brim! I have a HUGE carry-on that is jammed with fragile souvenirs!

We're leaving the hotel at noon--headed for Beijing's Capital Airport. We're on United Fight 850--leaves Beijing @ 4:10 p.m. and arrives back in Chicago at 4:04 p.m.-- We're traveling back in time six minutes!!!

We have a 3 hour layover in Chicago, but most of that time will be dedicated to U.S. Customs and rechecking our bags. We have a 7pm flight (United 7909) to St. Louis. THEN a 2-hour bus ride back to Columbia!

I can't wait to sleep this weekend--and recover from jet lag.

I have a jam-packed week ahead, including a Sunday live shot from St. Louis. John McCain is campaigning ahead of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

See you all back on the other side of the planet! Please keep up with this blog over the next week, I still have a few more stories and reflections to write about my summer in Beijing!!

Mark

Updated Picture Albums!

2008-08-25T21:27:00.002+08:00

I updated my Beijing Picture Albums. Feel free to look through them!

Mark

We didn't start the fire...

2008-08-25T15:56:00.003+08:00

Hi guys!

I can't believe it's over! You wait 11 months for something, and next thing you know it's gone! That's right, 11 months. It was late September 2007 when I received an email titled something like "Study Abroad during the Olympics!" My first impression was..."China, really? I've never wanted to go to Asia before." It took a little bit of convincing, but I went to the information meeting. Of the 300+ students in attendance, Fritz told us they were only taking 50. That's one in every 6...NOT reassuring! But the numbers dwindled as applications were turned in...it seemed to be a surreal prospect: I may be going to work for the Beijing Olympic Games!

Whoa! Fast-forward to last night. We decided to go grab a few pizzas before heading over to "Tun" bar in Sanlitun, the expat district. The Olympic News Service hosted a party for all the news service volunteers, the first half of the night, we watched the closing ceremony...the second half of the night, we had a party to celebrate the END! I didn't stay the whole time, a group of us wandered bar to bar finding the best drink specials, stopping to have a drink at each! We eventually made it back to "Tun"--it was over 100* inside and the dance floor was crazy! I lasted for 45 minutes...then had to head outside. There was a party of its own forming outside--and it had cheaper drinks! It was a great night!

Because I was moving from bar to bar, I caught bits and pieces of the closing. The most memorable part for me was seeing the torch extinguishing.

I wish I could explain this better, but I think there aren't enough words or experiences to adequately share what happened here over the past two weeks.

The Olympic Flame was in my face for two straight weeks. I wish you could all feel how inspiring it is to watch the torch burn atop the Bird's Nest. In the worst of times, you always have hope--and that is what the Olympics have taught me.

I can't express how grateful I am to everyone who helped me get here. From the Missouri school of Journalism to BOCOG and most importantly my family and Kristin-- I am so indebted to you all for supporting me this summer. I know it's not easy having someone you love 14,000 miles away, but we got through it. I also need to thank everyone who reads this blog! I still have so much to talk about---and TONS of pictures to post!

I had to pinch myself last night to realize what I had just lived through. I met people from almost every country in the world. Whether we were trading pins or talking on a bus, everyone I met was so eager to know about me and my culture as I was eager to learn about them and their culture.

Before I arrived, I was worried about fitting in. In the last two weeks, I realized that (and as cheezy as it sounds, it's true) we're all just one huge family. The biggest difference between us is our spoken language. I stopped one morning and smiled at an old Chinese lady playing with her (I assume) great-grandchild on the bench. I smiled at her, although I'm not sure why, and got a beaming smile in return. It shows how emotions are universal.

Although I'm not an athlete, I still walked away with the Gold. I have changed so much over the past two and a half weeks, both professionally and personally. I owe the people of China a great deal of thanks for their hospitality. "Xie Xie Zhongguo"

Mark

Silver for Simon!

2008-08-20T13:19:00.004+08:00

It's currently 1:20, and I'm just getting back from lunch. I woke up late today (11:30-ish) because I was out late last night at a Beijing Acrobat performace and a VERY late dinner. Sleeping in late also means that I'm not working today--Triathlon is OVER! It's bittersweet. I loved the work, but hated the commute!

The two days were great, I would love to share all the fun of working at the Olympic Games, but I can't. It would violate my contract (and maybe saying so violates it too?). It was a great experience that I won't ever forget.

After work on Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet one of Canada's coolest Olympians. Simon WHITFIELD (CAN) won the first triathlon Gold when the sport debuted in the Sydney 2000 games. He was a medal favorite in Athens 2004, but finished 14th. In Beijing 2008, Simon came back from behind to win the Silver medal! I was so excited to be at the finish line and watch him spring and come in second. After Simon went through Doping Control, he emerged and made his way towards the awaiting CBC TV crew. He was with his coach and saw me making my way over towards him, so he stopped and said "Hi!" I congratulated him and told him I was from Montreal, and he stopped to chat about the city for a bit. Simon grew up in Kingston, Ontario but now lives in Vancouver. Meanwhile, I had Simon autograph my volunteer shirt! What an awesome souvenir! A silver medalist signed my Beijing 2008 volunteer shirt!...and he's a Canadian silver medalist too! :)

I also touched his Silver medal. (You can kinda see it in the picture). I just have to find a Bronze medal and I can brag about touching the trifecta of Beijing Olympic medals!

A few hours earlier, I was at the post-event press conference. Simon was being asked a ton of questions, more than Gold medalist Jan FRODENO (GER) and Bronze Medalist Bevan DOCHERTY (NZL). The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun, CBC and a TON of other Canadian media asked him questions--it was awesome being in the same room as a lot of those great journalists. Simon said something about his last sprint towards the finish line that I will never forget:

"I wrote on my handlebars 'Sing like Adam Kreek'. It flashed in my head 'sing like Kreek,' buddy, and I thought let's take off, let's go."

Adam KREEK (CAN) won a Gold medal for Canada in the Men's Eight Rowing on Sunday. (See previous blog post). During "Oh Canada" Adam was so excited and proud about the win for Canada that he bellowed the National Anthem. It was a really emotional event that will be be "one of those moments" that represents Team Canada. Anyways, Simon wrote "Sing like Adam Kreek" to give himself the strength and inspiration to win Gold. Unfortunately, Simon didn't win Gold, but did get Silver-- still an AWESOME accomplishment.

Sometimes it takes little events like this to remind me why I LOVE being a Canadian! :)
Mark

C-A-N-A-D-A!

2008-08-17T22:27:00.006+08:00

Today I went two hours northeast of Beijing to the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. The bus ride was long, but we had some fun Canadians (Toronto) to chat with along the way. After chatting with Joey, I found out he knew my friend Allie from Toronto! They met earlier this summer on the subway.

There were several event, most included Team Canada. I saw the Canadian flag raised for the bronze 4-man rowing team!

The Canadian 8-man rowing team was favored to win Gold...so we were all excited to see the event. It has been the talk of the town among Canadians because we didn't have ANY medals before yesterday rolled around.

I met some more Canucks from Toronto. They were really nice and we all unfurled our Canadian flags over the fence...and in the air! Team Canada took off and had a great lead time. They were almost a full 3/4 boat length ahead of the Americans. The Great Britain team was coming in a close second, but Canada stayed strong. We were cheering so loud...but for 5 minutes and 2000 meters, we couldn't keep up. As the team got closer to the finish line, the Americans got a second wind and hauled forward...we all had our eyes glued to the scoreboard and television monitors. We were determined that nobody could take away the Canadians' Gold medal like in Athens. The race was done, in the distance, the Union Jack, the Stars and Stripes and the Maple Leaf were all being waved back and forth. We knew which teams were going to get medals...but who was first??? Did we pull it off??? Then silence.....the time was flashed up on the scoreboard....5:23:89....

...then a ROAR from the Canadian cheering section... THEY DID IT! GOLD FOR CANADA!!!

We jumped up and down, hugged and ran around with our Canadian flags flying behind us. It was a surreal and unique moment for each of us. Although some were in their 60's and some as young 6 years old, none of us had ever witnessed Canada win a Gold medal! It was so exciting... I can't imagine what it's like for the Rowers!!!

We decided to run towards the flag poles and medal podiums. We had to see it all up close! We waited for almost 30 minutes, but our time came. In Women's 8-person rowing, the Americans won Gold. I sang 95% of their anthem right, but get confused with some verses....I had actually never sung it before! Earlier in the day, Great Britain won a Gold, so I also was able to sing "God Save the Queen." Some lady saw me sing all three and asked how many more anthems I knew... I laughed and told her those were the only three I knew. I lucked out!!!

But after the American anthem... the stage was all for Canada! We were so excited for the moment we could all sing "Oh Canada!" The medals for the men's event were awarded and the flags were brought out. The music started and we all burst out in song! It will be one of the most memorable moments in my life. It was on my "bucket list." I always wanted to sing the Canadian National Anthem at an Olympic event. I got my chance. That is what the Olympics are all about!

I highly suggest you all try it sometime. WOW! Still excited about it!

Mark

P.S. Canada is ranked 17th for medals. Total: 7; Gold: 2, Silver: 1; Bronze:4.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a good singer, nor claim to be one... so Canadians, please enjoy the following clip with that in mind!

Today Show!

2008-08-15T13:10:00.003+08:00

Extra-Special thanks to Jen Reeves @ KOMU for cutting this video for me!

We had a great time and got to meet all the hosts (except Hoda Kotb). They were all so nice to us and posed with pictures. Meredith and Al spent the most time going around, I shook Al's hand twice, to which he replied "There's enough Al to go around!"

Mark

2008-08-12T13:17:00.004+08:00

Wow! What a couple of days!

The Opening Ceremony was amazing. I couldn't have imagined anything more elaborate! The night started off well, until we discovered the HUGE TV that was supposed to show the opening wasn't going to show the opening! We found a local hotel that was showing the Opening. The hotel was packed, but we were able to go into the basement restaurant and see it on a large TV. It was really interesting to sit with Chinese and hear their cheers and roars of applause for Hong Kong, Chinese Taipai (Taiwan), Iraq, North Korea and the Russian Federation. When Team Canada came out, Allie and I had the crowd cheering....but not so much when Team USA appeared. It took a few awkward seconds to get the Chinese to clap. When team USA appeared, I was able to see someone I went to high school with in the parade of nations. Ricky Berens is competing tonight in the 4x200 men's freestyle relay! I can't wait to watch it LIVE! GO TEAM USA!!!

I left the hotel early so I could see the torch lighting with my own eyes. After a 15 minute wait, I could hear the crowd roaring, then a minute or two later, Li Ning (Gymnast from 1984 Olympics) lit the torch! It was amazing! The fireworks started, and by the video I posted the other day, you can tell they were amazing! I hope you were able to get the same feeling from watching them on TV. While I was waiting for the fireworks to start, I saw President Bush and a lot of other world leaders leaving at the gate 30 feet away from me! It was really cool!

The next morning, Matt and I raided several newsstands in the area and bought a few copies of the local papers with pictures of the Opening Ceremony. Most of the papers are Chinese, only 1-2 are English.

One of the neatest parts of the Olympics has nothing to do with sports at all! When we arrived in Beijing, the University of Missouri provided each of us with 150 "University of Missouri Journalism centennial" pins. The pins are really nice, big too! I've traded 30-40 pins so far, and got a TON of cool ones. I'm focusing on collected NOC pins (National Olympic Committees) and International media pins. I don't have any NBC or CBC pins yet, but I'd LOVE to get my hands on them! I have a cool CCTV (China), RCI (Radio China) and SABC (South Africa) and a Columbia NOC pin. I have a ton of other Olympic pins....Matt and I are competing to get the coolest pins, but I think he's winning. He got a Samsung flip phone pin! It's actually slides up and down! If you're reading this in Beijing and have cool pins to trade! Lemme know!

On Sunday night, I was given a free ticket to men's volleyball. Allie's friend Max got 8 tickets to the game. His brother is competing in Wrestling, so he has the ticket hookup! I wasn't expecting to have too much fun, because I wasn't "in" to Bulgaria, Poland, China or Germany. Well...I was so wrong!!! The first match was between Bulgaria and China-- my bet was on Bulgaria. During the match, we befriended the Polish people behind us and really hit it off. Next thing we knew, there was beer coming at us in every direction. Each of the Polish fans bought us a round of beer! It was SO much fun! I had a Polish flag painted on my face and took over as their main cheer leader. I started a couple of chants for Polska! and they taught us a lot of Polish chants! I had so much fun! The game strung on past midnight and we all had to get up early..so we thought we could sneak out! The Polish fans got so nervous that they would lose if we left, although they were ahead by a ton of points! We decided to stay until the end of the game and it was worth it...the Polish fans made us "Honorary Polish" for the day.

On Monday morning, BOCOG gave us free tickets for Beach Volleyball. Although it was raining a bit, it was so worth it. We watched three matches (Latvia v Argentina), (Angola v Australia) and (Belgium v China). I have an odd way of determining who I root for, but it payed of until Belgium lost to China in the last minute!

I always root for Team Canada, followed behind by any Commonwealth country, the US, then any country that has fun fans!

Sorry for the long post, I'll try to update again in the next few days!

Mark

Fire in the sky!!

2008-08-09T17:33:00.003+08:00

This is some video of the fireworks last night at the end of the Opening Ceremony. Sorry for the shaky video. Last night was SO much fun! I'll blog about my experiences yesterday later.

In the beginning of the video, you'll may see the torch lighting. To the left of the bright light, you'll see the flickering of the torch being lit. Sorry for panning back and forth, I was really excited and wanted to get all the sights and sounds on screen! In the end, fireworks at Tien'anmen Square.

Mark

"I'm too excited to sleep!"

2008-08-08T12:19:00.003+08:00

I woke up this morning and couldn't believe my eyes-- my computer and cell phone both say: 08.08.08! It's finally here! Although it is a bit smoggy outside...the day couldn't go wrong!

Yesterday, I spent several hours around the Olympic Green searching for the best spot to watch the Opening Ceremony. I think I found it, but can't get a definite answer whether I can stand there or not. We're heading out soon...I've got my still camera an my video camera... I can't wait to see the crowds! Rumor has it the entire city is on lock-down. No subway, no buses, no flights...with many highways closed. I hope the cabs are still running!

I was hanging around the Water Cube, (looking for athletes in all honestly!) in front of the Athlete Village when I heard familiar voices. NBC Nightly News' Reporter Kevin Tibbles and Today Show health contributor Dr. Nancy Schneiderman.

I was already in 'journalism heaven' because dozens of news networks were already 'going live' from where I was...but to see the NBC crew...that made it an awesome experience!!!

I also witness a blob of metal being hauled onto the Bird's Nest. I'm not sure what it is, but it could be the torch?? I'll admit it's kind of small, but it is connected to the only large pipe running up the side of the stadium, which I figure to be the gas line. We'll find out for sure tonight! If you have any ideas of what it is...I'd love to hear them!

I'm off to the Green. I plan on finding a great spot with my friends from Missouri to watch the torch lighting and the much-anticipated fireworks!!

Enjoy the opening tomorrow night!! I'll try not to spill the secrets when I get back tonight!!

I'm on cloud 9!!
Mark

Beijing-Tianjin Video

2008-08-04T21:55:00.002+08:00

Tianjin!

2008-08-04T19:48:00.008+08:00

On Sunday, I did something I've never done before on land: I traveled at a speed of 350 kilometers an hour!

On August 1, China unveiled a new super high-speed train between Beijing and Tianjin (China's 4th largest city.) The two cities are approximately 170 km apart (105 miles) and the old train ride took about 90 minutes.

Tianjin is a coastal city, and one of China's important historic port cities. During the Opium Wars of the late 1800's, Tianjin was occupied by the French, English, Dutch and Portuguese at different times, leading to very eclectic architecture! Some streets felt like Montreal and New Orleans, others felt like Chicago, New York City and London. It was fun walking down streets with Dutch houses and others with Mediterranean-style roofs.

Our initial goal was to hit the beach, but quickly realized Tang Gu (Tianjin's coastal area) isn't the place for swimming :( We arrived in Tianjin only 30 minutes after leaving Beijing--- at 220 mph, you can get anywhere quickly!! We wandered around until finding the center of Tianjin's commercial market-- including 5 Starbucks and 5 KFC restaurants. At the end of the street was St. Joseph's, a French-style Catholic Cathedral. We spent some time looking inside where it was cool!

We also wandered into an antique market in an old hutong. There were thousands of pieces of art and memorabilia from China's Cultural Revolution in the 1940's. Mao was everywhere! I didn't buy anything from the market, but Matt did buy a US Army helmet...he was saluted by some old Chinese man when we left a McDonalds!

The only thing I bought during the trip was an England Football Uniform. It was only 65 RMB ($9), so it was a good deal! I've always wanted an England Football Jersey (my two English Grandparents would be proud!).

I also want to add... I got to play with the police dogs at the train station! Not just any police dog...but a German Shepherd!!! (My absolutely favorite breed of dog!) I was willing to miss my train just to play with him for longer!

I'll upload a video shortly of the trip! I'm planning on heading back before the end of my China trip!

Mark

WOW!

2008-07-30T16:48:00.007+08:00

Since I feel that 'big brother' is watching over me, I felt that I may turn the tables a bit...well, sorta.

Last week, I installed a tracking device on this site http://beijingmark.blogspot.com.

I have to say, I'm so glad I did...it blows my mind!

Last week alone, I had 542 people read my blog. Those people represent 63 countries and territories across the globe.The darker the green, the more visits. But anything that is faintly colored green has hosted visitors to my blog IN THE LAST WEEK!!!

Here is the ranking:

US: 252 views
UK: 55 views
Canada : 54 views
Australia: 29 views
Brazil: 12 views
Germany: 10 views
China: 9 views
India: 8 views
Mexico: 8 views
and many 'one time' viewers in 54 other countries!

Just thought you may find it interesting!!

Mark

I'm a somebody!!

2008-07-29T19:51:00.005+08:00

I'm so excited...I couldn't wait to share!!!!

My friend Jason and I got tickets to one of my favorite events! It cost me $100 USD for the tickets, and I haven't spoiled myself yet in China, so I'm treating myself to this! :)

My Athletics ticket includes:

Men's Javelin Throw Final
Women's High Jump Final
Men's 800m Final
Women's 1500m Final
Men's 5000m Final
Women's 4 x 400m Relay Final
Men's 4 x 400m Relay Final

This means I'll see SEVEN medal ceremonies!! Hopefully one of the winners will be Canadian...My goal is to sing the Canadian anthem once at an Olympic Venue!

The event takes place the night before closing ceremonies! Imagine... I will be in the Bird's Nest within 24 hours of closing ceremonies! This is "the night" for athletics! You'll definitely see it on TV in North America.

I'm so excited, it's hard to focus on the next few weeks! Matt and I are also looking at random Badminton tickets as well as Canada-Korea and Canada-US baseball tickets. This is the last year baseball will be an Olympic events...and I would definitely not miss it! (Especially if it's Canada!)

The tickets are really cool! Take a look above!

Mark!

An updated job title

2008-07-28T15:01:00.002+08:00

I got an email the other night from BOCOG: "Fw: int'l volunteers 2nd assignment."

After reading through all the bureaucratic garbage, I found what I was looking for! Mark Welsh- 1st assignment: Triathlon Venue. 2nd Assignment: Field Hockey May 9-13. YIPEE!!

This will get me a few steps closer to the Olympic Green...but not on it! If I ever want to get close to the Bird's Nest or to the Today Show-- I'll have to buy tickets for athletics or gymnastics events!

I received my uniform on Saturday...which means I'll have to wear it...and look like a goof. It's all made by ADIDAS and includes three shirts, two pairs of pants, a jacket, socks, poncho, ADIDAS running shoes (they're really nice), a baseball hat, water bottle and a fanny pack... and yes, I refuse to wear it. (When I wear it for long enough, I'll have someone take a picture for the site). Blackmail anyone??

I have to train with the Triathlon team tomorrow, the 4th and the 14th. With the Field Hockey assignment August 9-13, I'll have stuff to do during the day! The Triathlon events take place on the 18 and 19 of August...then I'm done!

As many of you heard, a group of Mizzou students stood in line to get the last set of Olympic Tickets. They went on sale 9 a.m. Friday...and we headed out to camp out at 6pm Thursday! It would've been a lot of fun, had half a million people not showed up too! Giving up on our ticket dreams, we decided to have a picnic instead. Eric drew up a sign: "Line Starts Here" and had it translated into Mandarin. It attracted SO many people...Chinese people wanted to take pictures with us, children wanted to play with us, international journalists were interviewing us...it was absolutely hilarious!...until the cops showed up!

But to prove we were really there, the London Guardian and a Hong Kong newspaper ran stories on us! Good luck finding me in the Guardian's picture...but I'm on the right side of the Hong Kong Paper.

Guardian Article
Guardian Picture
Hong Kong Article & Picture-- Unfortunately, this link isn't active anymore :(

Anywho, I'll be on my way!

Mark

I'm official!

2008-07-22T19:20:00.004+08:00

Ni Hao!

I started my 5-day weekend by finding every market in town. I bought several (ahem...40?) bootlegged movies from a market. Each was about one US dollar. I bought a collection of EVERY James Bond movie (Yipee!!) and the Godfather Trilogy. I also bought several copies of the new sexy blockbuster chick flick movie. I won't name it...but it was one of this summer's biggest hits. I tried all the disks on my computer and they all worked! (Except the "Sexy" movies). We tested them at the store, so I know they work on regular DVD players...I just think my computer knows they're "discounted movies." Now that I have another week off, I can catch up on my 007 movies!

So I went to training this morning. I was one of 4 English-speaking volunteers at the tri venue. The Chinese are very gracious and tried to translate for us, but it was a lost cause. A 30 minute lecture was usually summed up in 4-5 sentences. I got my accreditation pass, but unfortunately I can't get on the Olympic Green. Let's hope they open up the grounds when the games start... I HAVE to get in there and finally see the stadiums up close. As I type, there are discussions going on at BOCOG about where else to place me for the games. The tri occurs for two days during the second week...which means I'll be off for the first week---and I want work! I will most likely be placed at the Archery or Field Hockey venues ON THE OLYMPIC GREEN!!!

I priced out a few weekend trips, and was looking into some more for next weekend...but definitely can't afford them. A day trip to Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors costs $450 USD and Shanghai was double that...for three days! I'll just have to make myself useful in Beijing!

We discovered a new dining hall on campus! It's called "Hollywood" and it serves American food....well it's Chinese interpretation of American. All that aside, they have one of the best cheeseburgers I've ever had. I really don't think it's because I've been so deprived from them for a couple of weeks...this burger is really THAT good! I've been experimenting with new meals at the Chinese cafeteria... I found out how to order Chicken fried noodles...YUM!!!

The city FINALLY opened a subway station just north of our hotel. It saves a ton of time getting around...or it should in theory. Beijing started limiting the amount of cars on the road, which means 6.5 million cars aren't on the roads each day....and 6.5 million drivers are on the subways! You should really check out some of the pictures MSNBC posted about the subway.

I'm not really sure how I"m going to keep active over the next few days... I just hope I don't have to spend too much money to stay busy!

Hope you're all doing well, take care!
Mark

We're superstars!

2008-07-18T00:27:00.002+08:00

Here are some stories that were done on the Mizzou group since we arrived. I believe the first one is actually from May, when I was "featured" on CCTV-9. I am not interviewed in the remaining four, but I do appear in the background of some!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xiv8FFhBdqs&feature=related

http://space.tv.cctv.com/act/video.jsp?videoId=VIDE1215861787936489

http://space.tv.cctv.com/act/video.jsp?videoId=VIDE1215789801892361

http://www.china.org.cn/olympics/video/2008-05/07/content_15104737.htm

http://english.ruc.edu.cn/en/100368/56929.html

Mark

Three day weekend extravaganza!

2008-07-17T12:43:00.008+08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while...I've been really busy with touring and shopping...and it caught up with me this morning, I slept in till past noon!

Last week, BOCOG took all the international volunteers touring around Beijing. I'll go through what I saw: some of it stunning, some of it smelly!

Our first stop last Friday was at Beijing's newest water treatment plant. Yeah, not what you'd consider a great tourist destination when you have the Great Wall 45 minutes away. The water treatment plant was no different than the one that cleans the water in our American hometowns, but it was new and was boasted about by the Chinese government ahead of the games, so it was deemed a 'must-see' spot for us! It only took us an hour or so to see the whole plant. Nothing really interesting to report, honestly.

On Saturday, we visited the Great Wall at Badaling--and for the first few hours, we were packed in like Sardines at near the Great Wall. Presidente Felipe Calderon of Mexico was on the wall (I saw him later on, right before he left). Security was extremely tight, but when he finally left, several million people breached the Wall like the Mongols it was built to keep out. (Without sounding too sappy) I have to say the Great Wall was the most existential moment of my life. It was probably all the blood that was pumping through my brain after I climbed the portion of the wall at a 45* angle, in 110 degree heat! Of all the sites I've visited, it trumps them all. Vatican City, the Colosseum, Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan all seemed minuscule compared to the Wall. It stretches on for thousands and thousands of miles across northern China.

We later stopped by the Ming Tombs in northern Beijing. I'll be posted at the Tombs during the Olympics for the Triathlon. The tombs for the Ming-dynasty's Emperors were rebuilt, re-painted and emptied-- so it wasn't anything of the original tombs. That seems to be the case with a lot of the old historic sites.

On Sunday, I visited the Summer Palace and Old Winter Palace. The Old Winter Palace was in an old Park, not too far from our hotel on Renmin University's campus. It was fun to walk around and climb on the ruins. There was a really cool maze we spent an hour in, and lost 15 lbs in sweat. The Summer Palace was just how I expected: I was in complete relaxation (albeit the millions of other tourists there.) The Emperors and his family used to spend their summers at this palace, so you can imagine the extravagance! A two-story ship built out of marble for the Empress! I walked around the lake with some friends and couldn't take it all in. The immense hand-dug lake, the temples, the marble bridges around every turn, the gardens, the heat! It was one of my top 5 favorite sites in the Beijing-area.
As much as that three day trip was frustrating at times, I wouldn't change a thing! When we weren't thrilled with our sites, we made the best of it and laughed it off. I'll say again, I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be here with!

We had Monday off, so I spent the entire day inside. It was raining all day.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had training with BOCOG. We went over our rules, responsibilities and procedures for interviewing athletes. We were asked to stop talking to the media. It was basically aimed at the Missouri group since we're attracting so much attention here! There have been countless news stories done on our group, I show up in the background of most of them. I'll post the links later. BOCOG gave us the rules about blogging, so if you notice some obvious things lacking from my blogs (i.e: what happened during my training meetings, stories about athletes), you'll know why! :)

I have a five-day weekend, starting today. I'm off through Tuesday. I'm thinking of heading down to Shanghai or Xi'an with some friends overnight, or maybe camping on the Great Wall. Since everybody is wanting to do something a little different, I'm sure nobody will end up doing anything!

I went shopping yesterday and bought a brand new winter coat! I originally started bargaining at $250 RMB...but finally convinced the lady I didn't want it (which was a total lie) and said "If you really want me to buy this coat that I don't want or need, I'll pay $150 RBM. I won, and have a new jacket for $22 USD!

Sorry for the long post! It was a busy week!

Mark

Finally posted pictures!

2008-07-14T14:02:00.000+08:00

Hi guys!

Sorry I haven't blogged lately! We had three jam-packed days of touring the Beijing area and I usually came home and fell asleep right away!

I finally posted my pictures, through Saturday, I'll add Sunday's pictures this afternoon. http://picasaweb.google.com/MarkTWelsh

I ate at McDonalds last night (i.e. 1 a.m.) and something didn't go so well in my stomach, so I was up all night. I canceled my plans for today, which included a talkshow appearance because I feel so crappy... now, if i could only find some comfort food and a good English movie!!!

Enjoy! And feel free to comment on the pictures!

Mark

P.S. If you get the chance, you should watch the video Matt posted on the KOMU Blog about food. It's great! http://Beijingexperience2008.blogspot.com

Shop 'til I Drop!

2008-07-10T22:29:00.000+08:00

I spent yesterday at the Hong Qiao Pearl Market and today at the Silk Street Market. All I can say is I'm ready for bed--- I'm exhausted--both from shopping and bargaining!

At the Pearl Market, I bought three "LaCoste" polos for 30 RMB each, about $4.50 USD. They're really, really nice--but time will tell whether they'll last a washing! I was also able to get a nice D&G belt for 40 RMB. You can't beat the prices in China!

Today, Matt and I bargained for ties, ties, ties! We ended up with 8 silk ties--each for 12 RMB, or about $3.00 each. I also bought a really nice silk tablecloth for my mom (I hope she likes it!) I was able to bargain it down to 100 RMB, or $15 USD.

Matt and I also wandered around the Wanfujing Market area. We visited the flagship "One World" store that sells Olympic gear. Imagine any object, and they've got an Olympic logo on it. I saw a few of the medals they'll issue to the World's top athletes, and also saw blank wine labels with the logo on them too. They have an entire department store floor dedicated to pins! I immediately thought of one of my mom's friends who collects them-- Wow, I could spend a fortune there!

I made the mistake of walking into a tea store! Matt and I were obviously stamped with "American Tourists" across our foreheads because we were immediately taken to a tea room to sample the store's teas. They gave us a few teas to sample and when the told us it was $20 USD a box, we needed an escape plan. I said I was interested in a tea set (right, like I need one) and tried to escape--but she followed us all around the store. Finally we saw an exit and bolted-- I felt bad, but I got over it quickly.

Ok, so tonight we went out to the night food market...yes you've probably seen it circulated around in email attachments, but nothing could prepare me for it. Matt and I are currently working on creating a video to blog on the KOMU site. When it's up, I'll let you know. Until then, I won't tell you what other people ate...oye veh, it was disgusting!

Good night,

Mark

P.S. I'll add pictures when Blogger is back up and running properly... It's running really slow!

MTV Cribs: Beijing

2008-07-07T18:35:00.000+08:00

We had a "slow news day" as we like to say in the business, so Matt and I kept busy!

Enjoy, Mark

Really Cool Drum Demonstration!

2008-07-06T10:59:00.000+08:00

...so much fun!!

2008-07-05T19:44:00.000+08:00

Hi guys! I'll try not to ramble... I have so much to say! I've experienced so much in the last two days that I feel as if there isn't enough room to share it all!Yesterday, we didn't celebrate 4th of July. No fireworks, no hot dogs, no beer.
Matt and I went to "English Corner" after dinner and taught English to some Beijingers. Some knew basic English, others were more advanced, but all appreciated our help. I honestly went there for selfish reasons, I wanted to learn Chinese...but that didn't work out so well. I didn't learn a single word! It poured rain and ruined the fun atmosphere, but a nice Chinese girl offered to walk me home with her umbrella (yeah, I know what you're thinking) but she just wanted to practice English. They are so eager to please Americans. I had a hard time explaining ''who'' I am. I'm a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of the United States and student at the University of Missouri in Columbia...not Columbia University in New York City :). I had a bunch of Chinese ask me to vote for Obama because they were unhappy with "Jog Buz." It only got more confusing when I told them I couldn't vote (I'm Canadian), but I am allowed to live permanently in the United States. I was told citizenship is a whole different ballgame here... you belong to the major city you live in. You apply for Beijing citizenship, Shanghai citizenship, etc... and your national citizenship comes second. I had a lot of fun there last night, and plan to go back next Friday night with more friends.
Today, we went to the Forbidden City. WOW! Mixed in with Tienanmen Square, its architecture is almost as amazing as Vatican City. I'm not kidding about the following statement... so please take it seriously. They just closed the Starbucks inside of the Forbidden City last month. Imagine having a Starbucks inside of Colonial Williamsburg or inside of the Colosseum in Rome??? It doesn't make sense?? But they had one, our tour book advertised it, but it was out of date!
Food here is good! I'm eating a lot of chicken....and tofu...and rice....and noodles. I really think I hit those four food staples at every meal. I did have Papa John's the other night, because some of us needed "American" food. It filled the void! We don't have a fridge in the room, so we don't keep food here...it's good and bad. Good because we don't overeat... bad, because we're always starving! The food on campus is good, but cheap. A huge portion of food with a large bowl of rice and a 600mL soda is $3.00. No joke...everything in this country is cheap--as long as you stay out of the touristy and "American" areas. We're headed out to a bar district in a few minutes, so it should be interesting what drinks cost. A beer on campus and in our neighborhood is about .38 cents.

Allison (the other Canadian on the trip from Mizzou) and I were asked to appear on a Chinese-language talk show a week Monday. It's supposedly the most popular talkshow in China, similar to Oprah, but hosted by a man, so sorta like Larry King. We decided our host's name would be Choprah, which is short for Chinese Oprah. We're going to be asked questions in Chinese, have them translated and respond back.... this should be interesting. Wish us luck :)

Language is still a problem, and won't likely be solved soon. Although many Chinese know basic "hello," "goodbye," "Richard Nixon," and "Michael Jackson," we have trouble getting around. We learn basic Chinese phrases in a "trial by fire" manner. I keep a notebook of quick phrases, but keep on forgetting to bring it with me...and of course, I always need it when I don't have it!
The group from Mizzou is having fun, and we're all getting along well. I haven't laughed so much in my life... we're all having fun here, although most of us can't believe we're here! It's crazy!

I'm going to post some video tomorrow of a traditional tea ceremony in Beijing and some pictures of our hotel room.

Oh, and there are a couple of kids arriving from UNC-Chapel Hill on Tuesday. I went through the roster and recognized some names from South Charlotte Middle and South Meck! What a small world!!!!

Take care, miss you all!

Now, off to the bars!

Mark

I'm Here!!

2008-07-03T08:00:00.000+08:00

I'm in Beijing...still stunned to be in China! The flight was good...food was better! (surprisingly!)

We flew over Northern Canada (on Canada Day!), Russia, Mongolia and finally China.

We saw the Great Wall while landing, it's so surreal!

I haven't slept in two days, only got 20 mins of sleep on the plane! (I think, I'm lost in the timezones). We're 12 hours ahead of East Coast. So you're all waking up on July 2nd...I'm about to have dinner!

We drove by the Olympic Green, and I got chills! IT'S AMAZING!! It's so much more stunning in person! I took a picture and will attach it later tonight.

Beijing is smoggy, polluted, cloudy...but the city itself it really nice. They obviously know the world is coming to its doorstep, and waltzing right in. Trees are trimmed, roads are newly paved and paint jobs are being touched up. The city is ready to put on quite the show!

I still can't believe I'm in China!! AHHHHH!!! I love it :)

Mark

5 days and counting!

2008-06-27T02:25:00.000+08:00

I'm five days out from Beijing...and I don't know what to do with myself. I find myself with so much to do and so little time! It's hard to do anything (including grocery shopping) knowing there I'll be gone for two months!

I've been back at work since Tuesday and will be working through noon Monday. I still have a lot of little things to do... I have to pack...store my car...call my banks make sure they know i'm going to China for two months... make sure I have all my ducks in a row... Those are just a few of the many...trust me, this could go on for pages!

I leave on Monday from downtown Columbia. I have an 8 hour bus ride to Union Station in Chicago. I'm going to spend the night with one of my friends who just graduated from the J-school. I've got to be at the airport by 10 am, my flight leave at 12:45 on Tuesday.

FOURTEEN HOURS LATER, after flying over the mother country, the North Pole and most of Russia...I'll be in China! I picked up my Visa the other day, but I can't understand most of it cause it's in Chinese.

On that note, I translated my name into Chinese. It's "威尔士马克," which stands for Wales Mark. (Wales was the closest I could get to "Welsh.") I translated my business card, just waiting for my Chinese cell phone number before sending it to the printers!

I hope you all enjoy reading my blog. It's going to be very tough communicating (because of 12 timezones and working/studying/touring/learning the whole time) with family and friends other than blogging, so I figured I can keep you all updated (with the most details and pictures!) through blogger.

I will be on AIM (mizzoumark09) and Skype (mizzoumark09) as much as possible. I will try blogging one a day, or at least every other day. Not only is this a great way to inform you all about my travels, but I can also use this to reflect upon my trip years from now.

Last, but not least, I will be blogging for KOMU, the NBC affiliate I work for in Missouri. The blog should go "live" in a few days, but you can keep track of me there too!
http://beijingexperience2008.blogspot.com.

Thanks for all your kind words of a safe trip!

Mark (威尔士马克)

Beijing Intership

2008-02-05T08:44:00.000+08:00

I have been given an amazing opportunity to Intern this summer in Beijing, China. I will be working for the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee (BOGOC).

I will use this blog to update you all over the next few months as my Chinese adventure approaches!

Mark