China's Progression Toward Capitalism

When people think about China, people think communism. People think about the government limiting opportunities for people. And before I traveled to China for the first time, I thought the same. To my surprise, from what I experienced, it's far from that.

The Chinese people and government are quickly catching on to the ability to make money off of just about anything. Ninety percent of the historical places I visited charged an admission that was a decent amount for Chinese people. People are renting bikes for tourists to ride around the city. People are manning newspaper stands to sell noodles, Gatorade and cigarettes.

I think what I experienced was a country that is becoming more and more Western. The Western influence as it relates to business operations is very visible. For some people in the Western part of the world, that's scary. Some experts have talked about China becoming a superpower in the capitalism realm. With the progress I witnessed in a country many people thought would be far from Western for a long time, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a dominant player in the world of capitalism in the next 50 years.

Labor Surrounding the Olympics

The volunteer system the Beijing Organizing Committee set up for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was A LOT different than anything I have experienced in America.

Many of the paid volunteers were working on-site at the venues at least a year before the Games ever began. And I am talking about basic-level management positions for simple operations at venues. For instance, the manager of the "pigeon holes" at the Laoshan Velodrome will have worked for about 14 months at the venue at the completion of the Paralympic Games. Pigeon holes are essentially boxes that hold any releases published by the Olympic News Service at that venue. The manager had about 10 people working for him and the coordination of this pigeon hole operation would take no more than two weeks of planning. Yet, he will have worked about 14 months on this task.

It was clear that the mindset as it relates to the paid volunteers was the same across the board. It didn't matter that the pigeon hole operation took less time than the coordination of the Opening Ceremony. The two would put in the same amount of time. I don't know if that is exactly the case hours wise, but the thought process was similar for the two. And the result was a lot of napping. Napping and small-group games were the solutions for many of those paid volunteers to pass the time.

Also, it was evident that the organizing committee demanded devotion from these volunteers when it wasn't necessary. The Laoshan Velodrome had showers built in - not for athletes - but for volunteers. In my time there, I never would have found it necessary to shower there. On top of that, there were instances that I was told of volunteers taking sleep bags to the venues and staying overnight. I think the intentions of the organizing committee were good. It wanted the Olympics to go as smoothly as possible but the use of paid volunteers was much different many Western cultures. And in fact, in one conversation I had with the pigeon hole manager I mentioned above, he emphatically told me he would be telling someone after the completion of the Games that what they demanded of him was unfair.

Saying Goodbye to Beijing

The Olympics are over. Last night, all of us went to a former Purdue student's house in the suburbs of Beijing for a cookout and to watch the Closing Ceremony. I am definitely sad that this experience is over. I have thoroughly enjoyed Beijing for seven weeks and if I had the chance to stay longer I would. My job of gathering quotes for the media was a lot of fun and I learned a different perspective when it comes to large events operating.

I have no more volunteer duties. Today is my last full-day in Beijing. I don't have any big plans for today but I am sure I will spend plenty of time trying to pack everything I bought into my suitcases that were already busting at the seams when I got here.

I hope all of you enjoyed my blog and I think I will add a couple more updates once I get back to the States with some other material that was a bit controversial to add while here in Beijing. My plane leaves Beijing at 3:45 p.m. and I will be heading to Newark, New Jersey, before heading home to Indianapolis.

Life Outside of Cycling

When it comes to covering other events at the Olympics for the Olympic News Service, it's just not a possibility for us because we were assigned cycling. There are other international volunteers working at other sports, such as basketball, gymnastics and athletics. Some of the other schools that I know of that are here volunteering are Emerson, Missouri and North Carolina. I am not sure how the Beijing Organizing Committee decided on where to put each university, either. Also, because of the high security, our credentials allow us access to our venues only.

That's why when I was recently given the opportunity to follow David Neville's competitions at the Olympics I was stoked. Neville is a member of the U.S. Track and Field team. He graduated from Merrillville, Ind., and the Northwest Indiana Times, a paper I have done correspondence work with in the past, wanted coverage of his events. He runs the 400-meter dash and is part of the 1,600-meter relay team. So, before and after his events I have been interviewing him and his parents about the event and his results. On Thursday, he dove head-first to barely win Bronze in the 400-meter dash and tonight he helped his relay team advance to the finals.

I have been elated to have the opportunity to cover an Olympic athlete even if it is from my dorm room at the Communication University of China.

Headlines from Olympic Cycling

CYCLING TRACK COMPETITION COMPLETE

My world of cycling track ended quickly two days ago exactly the way it started - with Great Britain winning medals. Chris Hoy (GBR) became one of the first British athletes to win three Gold medals at the Olympics in a century with his Individual Sprint win. I was little bummed everything on the track was over. In the last six weeks I had grown to enjoy it and wished there was a bit more competition.

FIRST DAY OF BMX IN THE OLYMPICS

As one would imagine, BMX Cycling was really busy during its first day of official competition in the Olympics. I got to see some time trials for the men and women, along with the quarterfinals for the men. During the quarterfinals, there were tons of crashes and the Americans did really well. Mike Day (USA) won all three of his heats, while Donny Robinson (USA) and Kyle Bennett (USA) also advanced. The second and final day of BMX didn't happen. Beijing was rain-soaked this morning and the competition was pushed back until Friday morning (Beijing time).

MOUNTAIN BIKE BEGINNING

With two days of cycling competition left, mountain bike starts up. Mountain bike seems cool but it's not spectator-friendly. The only portion of the track that is viewable is the final 30 seconds. I have not done any research on any teams so I don't know who is going to do well, but I do anticipate a lot of standing around with little competition to watch. Also, the first stages of competition are going to be on the heels of the delayed BMX so Friday (Beijing time) is going to be a really long day.

A Look at the Volunteer 'Lunch'

I blogged earlier about the "lunch" that we get as volunteers. It's a bit difficult to enjoy.

What you see above is the tray of food after I ate. This photo actually makes it a look at little more colorful. This plastic container is given to us at a ridiculous high temperature along with a piece of fruit (which I will talk about), three bottles of water and a Coke.

With this particular lunch, I ate the middle out of my rice and about half of the upper left-hand corner. I think it was beef. The middle dish is a seaweed and corn dish that has been obliterated.  On the far right is, I think, beef that has bones in it and pieces of fat. The bottom left is, I think, chicken with some green vegetable. For this lunch, I took the assumed-beef and put it on my rice that I cover with some spice sauce that is offered. On most days, it's about 10 spoonfuls of substance. It is just enough to make yourself think you're full. But don't forget about that piece of fruit. The bananas we have gotten have been good but when it is a staple just about every day they get old quickly. Some times we get what I call "greens." It supposed to be an orange but it is green. It's really difficult to eat but it does the trick some times.

I don't want anyone to think that I am starving because all of you know, I don't starve. Ultimately, lunch has given me another great appreciation for other meals.

More Headlines from the World of Cycling

MORE BRITISH DOMINATION

It's clear that Great Britain got where it needed to be to dominate this year's Olympics because no other team is even close to the Brits. They set a world record in the Men's Team Pursuit, added the Women's Individual Pursuit medals and advanced three people to the final eight in the Women's and Men's Sprint semi-finals. The final day of cycling track is today, August 19, and it could wrap up the most dominated cycling track year ever at any Olympic Games. What's scary is who can imagine what the Brits will do at home in London in 2012?

NO BRAKES?! THAT'S RIGHT, NO BRAKES

If you haven't heard or noticed, the bikes in cycling track don't have brakes. The result is less weight on the bike for a quicker ride and more danger. That's why when you see one rider go down, usually the whole pack goes with him. Sure, there is little time to react but they don't have the option of stopping. To slow down riders move up the track and to stop they use railings and coaches.

CRAZY CRASH

The Women's Points Race opened up Monday (Beijing time) with some intriguing storylines: Would Great Britain medal with Rebecca Romero? Would American Sarah Hammer battle for a medal after disappointing in the pursuit? Could the roadie Vos get the Netherlands a gold?

Well, within the first five minutes of the race Hammer got cleared out in a brutal crash. The points race has about 30 riders on the track and it gets a little crowded around the turns. One of the riders moved up the track into another rider and down they went. The two of them skidded down the track and enveloped Hammer, among others. Hammer did a flip off her bike and immediately grabbed her shoulder and started sobbing. Japan and Germany also lost a riders from the crash.

FINAL DAY OF CYCLING TRACK

Today (Tuesday Beijing time) marks the final day of Cycling Track. (I have two days of BMX and Mountain Bike after this.) The final day is going to be far from boring. Chris Hoy (GBR) is in line for his third Gold medal in the Individual Sprint and I get my first live look at the Madison. The Madison is an event where riders "fling" themselves to gain momentum during the race. The odds of a crash are immense, so the video I am posting of it should be fun.

FIRST TASTE OF BMX

I went in early Monday (Beijing time) because training for Cycling BMX has started. The competition begins Wednesday (Beijing time) morning. Wow, what a different world BMX is. The atmosphere is completely different from the Cycling Track. For instance, there are people walking around with mohawks, tattoos and piercing instead of bikes that cost close to US$100,000. I am sure the BMX bikes aren't cheap but life is a lot more easy-going. I am excited to experience my first BMX competition and I will have plenty of photos and video for you to enjoy.