Medals Galore
Yesterday was a whirlwind! I got up in the morning, ate breakfast, and headed to the Olympic Green for the Men's Gold Medal Soccer game at National Stadium. After Argentina defeated Nigeria, we watched the medal ceremony, and took a walk up to the north end of the Green to walk around the Forest Park. Tracie and Brie joined Jared, Shane and me, and we hoofed it up to the North Zone Cluster. There, we watched Australia defeat Holland to earn the bronze medal in Field Hockey.
Outside, we got on a bus, knowing that we would need to transfer to another bus to get to Wukesong for Women's Basketball. We rode the #1 bus to a stop, had to transfer to another #1 bus, then had to transfer to the #23 bus. It's amazing that anyone made it to their events at these games, because the bus lines were full of people just riding around to gawk at the Olympics. They didn't have tickets to anything! It took us 2 hours to take the buses to Wukesong, which might have been a 25 minute drive by car. When we were finally on the #23 bus, we were able to relax and watch a bit of diving. It was the men's platform finals, and the Chinese divers were in position for gold, just as they have been throughout the games. As we watched round 6 of 6 start, the lead Chinese diver made a big splash on his final dive. The how bus gasped, "ooh." As the Australian diver, Matthew Mitchum, stepped up to the platform, the whole bus was quiet. He nailed the dive, and the bus erupted, especially my friends Tracie and Jared, who are Aussie. After the final diver, the second Chinese, scored in the sevens for his final dive, it became clear that Matthew had won the gold, and we all started cheering! Tracie and Jared sang the whole Australian national anthem, and the entire bus of Chinese nationals cheered! It was truly an Olympic moment, one that reminds you how sport can bring together people of all nationalities for a few moments to share in the same spirit, leaving all else behind. A moment that makes you grateful to be a part of the Olympics.
As the first openly gay Australian to go to the Olympics, Matthew Mitchum became the first openly gay person to win a gold medal. I texted my friends. Hopefully this will encourage more people to live openly and honestly and be themselves.
We continued on to the women's basketball game, where Kobe Bryant was in attendance. We watched the USA women trounce the Australian women to claim the Gold Medal, and we left a few minutes before the game ended. It wasn't much of a contes. After a quick shower, we headed to Club Bud, where the crowds were so great, we couldn't all get in. We even watched them turn away some athletes, saying that it was too crowded. I sent in some of my co-workers, and Jared, Joey, Shane, and I headed off to Destination to dance. Since the dance floor had been shut down by the police on Friday night, we were relieved to find that the club was up and running normally when we arrived. It was a fun final weekend night in Beijing, dancing to a lot of our favorite music.
Today, I've been confirmed for a ticket to Closing Ceremony, so there's a buzz in the air! We're packing up the office, getting ready to ship it out, and tonight we'll all jump on a bus to the National Stadium for one final time!
Outside, we got on a bus, knowing that we would need to transfer to another bus to get to Wukesong for Women's Basketball. We rode the #1 bus to a stop, had to transfer to another #1 bus, then had to transfer to the #23 bus. It's amazing that anyone made it to their events at these games, because the bus lines were full of people just riding around to gawk at the Olympics. They didn't have tickets to anything! It took us 2 hours to take the buses to Wukesong, which might have been a 25 minute drive by car. When we were finally on the #23 bus, we were able to relax and watch a bit of diving. It was the men's platform finals, and the Chinese divers were in position for gold, just as they have been throughout the games. As we watched round 6 of 6 start, the lead Chinese diver made a big splash on his final dive. The how bus gasped, "ooh." As the Australian diver, Matthew Mitchum, stepped up to the platform, the whole bus was quiet. He nailed the dive, and the bus erupted, especially my friends Tracie and Jared, who are Aussie. After the final diver, the second Chinese, scored in the sevens for his final dive, it became clear that Matthew had won the gold, and we all started cheering! Tracie and Jared sang the whole Australian national anthem, and the entire bus of Chinese nationals cheered! It was truly an Olympic moment, one that reminds you how sport can bring together people of all nationalities for a few moments to share in the same spirit, leaving all else behind. A moment that makes you grateful to be a part of the Olympics.
As the first openly gay Australian to go to the Olympics, Matthew Mitchum became the first openly gay person to win a gold medal. I texted my friends. Hopefully this will encourage more people to live openly and honestly and be themselves.
We continued on to the women's basketball game, where Kobe Bryant was in attendance. We watched the USA women trounce the Australian women to claim the Gold Medal, and we left a few minutes before the game ended. It wasn't much of a contes. After a quick shower, we headed to Club Bud, where the crowds were so great, we couldn't all get in. We even watched them turn away some athletes, saying that it was too crowded. I sent in some of my co-workers, and Jared, Joey, Shane, and I headed off to Destination to dance. Since the dance floor had been shut down by the police on Friday night, we were relieved to find that the club was up and running normally when we arrived. It was a fun final weekend night in Beijing, dancing to a lot of our favorite music.
Today, I've been confirmed for a ticket to Closing Ceremony, so there's a buzz in the air! We're packing up the office, getting ready to ship it out, and tonight we'll all jump on a bus to the National Stadium for one final time!
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