The past few days I have been training at the National Indoor Stadium with my new Chinese friends.
This is a picture my friend Rosy (that is her English name) took the other day in our staff training room at the National Indoor Stadium. I am getting really excited about the Olympics starting and cannot believe they are just four days away! All the journalists are beginning to arrive so it has been really exciting to be at the Olympic Green the past couple of days. Two days ago my friend Sarah and I were walking around near the Lama Temple after dinner and an older man came up to us and started talking in German. After we told him we were American he started talking in broken English. He told us his name was Yalcin Ozer and that he competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics representing Germany in Gymnastics. Now, he is 66-years-old and has been to every Olympics since he first competed, except for the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Despite his age, Yalcin still has young muscles, a great sense of humor and the ability to stay out later than I can.
This picture shows just how big his muscles still are (he is very proud of them) and his kind smile makes him a friend to almost everyone - even if he doesn't speak the same language. {Check out Yalcin's website: http://www.koeln-peking.de/}. The night we met him, he told us he had two friends coming from Belgium. Sarah and I were a little nervous about what we had gotten ourselves into, but we were still standing on a very well-lit street corner in a public place so we decided we were okay. When we met his Belgian friends (Noel and Veerle) we decided to join them for a drink at a nearby restaurant. We talked about the Olympics, their travels in Russia and Mongolia, all the while, attempting to conquer our language barriers: German to Dutch to English. We decided to meet the next evening at my favorite cafe in Beijing, The Vineyard Cafe. It was crowded with foreigners (many of whom I suspected were journalists) and great food and wine. We were the last ones to leave and got to meet the owner, a British guy named Will. 
This is a picture of me, Noel, Veerle and Sarah at the Vineyard Cafe last night. I told the European group that I would be studying abroad second semester of this school year and they insisted that I come and stay with them in their home which is just an hour from Brussels. I told them that I would definitely be there! After over a month here in Beijing, I definitely realize things I miss: fresh air, fresh fruit, iron (spinach!), whole grains and of course all my friends and family. But, I have gained some new strengths and talents along the way. For example, I think I have taken over 50 taxis while I have been in Beijing and not one driver has spoken English - save for maybe two or three words. I therefore believe that my acting skills are coming into play in Beijing because I have to act out whatever it is that I want to say. Also, I have become incredibly close with so many great people on this trip. I know that I will be so excited to come home in a little less than a month, but I will also be sad to leave behind the wonderful experiences I have had here.
I know I will stay in touch with all of my new friends when we are back in Columbia and that makes me so happy! Above is a picture of me with Sarah French and Sarah Orscheln (my roomie) with some of the hotel security guards. They, too have become our friends on this trip. They are always so friendly when we come in and give us high-fives and big smiles while attempting to say "Hello" with their best American tongue. Today some friends and I went to Sanlitun to have lunch. We found this great spot called Bocata where I had a fabulous smoked salmon panini. On the walk back, I took this picture that I thought turned out quite nice when I edited it on iPhoto. Hope you enjoy it!
XOXO,
P
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