Olympics - Final Notes

Before I start writing about my various journeys throughout the month of September and October, I suppose I should briefly wrap up my accounts during the Olympic summer. Unfortunately these wild memories are already becoming hazy.

Like I had stated in my earlier posts, my old Beijing schoolmates had made the return to partake in the festivities and much of my excitement was rooted in the fact that they were there to accompany me to many of these events and parties. My brother was also with me during the whole spectacle and only God knows what he had recorded on his video camera – especially while getting lucky with a Chinese girl named Ai (meaning love).

One memorable night came after the Dutch field hockey team had won the gold. The Heineken House was infamous for being the craziest of all the Olympic houses (others including the Bud House, the English House, and the Australian House) and being there the night of their victory was incredible. After walking into Beijing’s agricultural exhibition hall, we were confronted by a sea of tall people in orange (the Dutch national color) and of course, kegs upon kegs of Heineken. We drank, we danced, we sang local Dutch songs and American classics, and although cups of beer would go airborne every 30 seconds, it didn't matter – the place smelt like sweat, beer, and pure adrenaline. Finally the field hockey girls came on stage to receive a thunderous applause – and to the tune of a national favorite, the whole team decided to go crowd surfing with their gold medals hanging around their necks. European camaraderie, rooted in a deep passionate love for their country and countrymen, is something that I have never experienced living in Connecticut. When growing up in the States, competition with another country, especially on the sports field, was nearly nonexistent outside the Olympics or World Cup. Because I more akin to rooting for the New York Yankees or the Philadelphia Flyers rather than the USA, I will never be able to associate drinking with singing nationalistic songs with my neighbors. Don't get me wrong - I’m just as patriotic as the other guy, but I just can’t recall any instance when the whole country of America would celebrate at the expense of another nation’s loss (post WWII). Sometimes, I am amazed at how massive our country really is, and how fractured…For the remainder the night, we rocked out with our inebriated European cousins and it was glorious.

There were many other jovial occasions throughout the month, some blurrier than others, but all in all it was a wild and crazy time – by brother’s Olympic documentary will lay testament to this. Despite the controversies and scandals, the Olympics in Beijing, I believe, will go down in history as a great success. How has the world changed? How has Beijing changed? How has my life changed? I guess we will see.