First Olympic Event!

Last Wednesday, Caitlin and I got to see our first Olympic baseball game: Japan vs. Cuba! The Wukesong Baseball Stadium is actually right next to the Olympic Basketball Gynasium, so I go take a few pictures of Yao's domain :) There were a LOT of Japanese people there (complete with a few uniformed male cheerleaders). But the Chinese-- in our section at least-- were going for Cuba. The boy next to me caught the foul ball so I got to touch an Olympic ball, whoohoo! It was a neat dynamic to be an American watching a Cuban and Japanese competition in China. The beers (Budweiser no less!) only cost 5 kuai (about .74 American cents) so it's really nice they don't do the big mark-up for food and beverages like they do back home. But they dont have the vendors that walk thought the stands during the game so you have to leave to get snacks and Caitlin and I were not about missing anything! The Cubans won 4-2. It rained a bit towards the end of the game, but today is perhaps the most beautiful day in Beijing since we have been here. We hope to get tickets to see a women's football/soccer game tonight, hopefully more to report soon:)

Tokyo Times!

Some quick impressions of Tokyo...

For me, Tokyo's feels like Europe! Very fancy, clean, and expensive. Speaking of Europe, I noticed there are a ton of Italian restaurants in Tokyo!

Unlike Beijing, the Japanese don't stare at foreigners. I think it might be a combination of the being very polite and perhaps not as curious about foreigners as Chinese.

It's interesting because it seems that many more people speak English in Beijing than in Tokyo. But while the English signs here have some humorous typos and accidental miswordings (who can forget "The Anus Hospital"?) from what I saw, their English signage is spot on!

I love onsen time!

I went to an onsen (温泉), Japanese for hot springs, which are traditionally public bathing places that are a major tourist attraction because onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral content. Some onsen pump the water from underground. There are outdoor and indoor ones, I went to an indoor one and the water was 42 degrees Celsius. It's cute because many old ladies were there and a few were trying to help me through the process as I was the only foreigner on site. When I got into the water my heart started racing and after a few minutes I almost felt a little drunk! I felt embarrassingly weak as my friend later told me that there are onsen where the water is 50 degrees Celsius and that was hard for me to imagine since I almost keeled over at 42!

Taxi ties, green tea rice, 460 kinds of fish
In Tokyo, the taxi drivers wear ties, I was impressed. Also, the cabs are said to be the most expensive in the world! While I was there I didn't see any buses. I read that Japanese can't call for information on buses and it's confusing to figure out the schedule. While Tokyo is not a grid like NYC, it seems like no matter where you go, there's a subway stop only a few minutes away. They also have women only cars so women don't feel uncomfortable being squished against people. It is said Tokyo's subway is the most confusing in the world, but I am a big fan! Even I had no problems, and I went on 8 lines in 3 days.

When I went to Tsukiji Fish Market fish market, I could smell the fish as soon as I got off the subway. It's the world's largest fish market, with over 460 kinds of fish! We had sushi there and it was the most amazing sushi I have, and probably will ever have! It melts in your mouth--amazing. Another fun food find was a dish we had at an izakaya, (an izakaya is like the Japanese version of a pub). The rice is soaked in green tea and then it is served with a pot of green tea to pour over the rice. Very tasty! Like many restaurants and other places, people take there shoes off at the door. When you go to the bathroom there are toilet shoes for people to wear. Some of the toilets have facets on the back of the toilet for flushing. It was so funny, the first time I saw it I thought, wait a second, am I suppose to wash my hands here? hahhaa.

Kimonos: tricky business
Well I have to admit to being very naive about kimonos. I thought you just wrapped them around your body like a robe and then put a nice looking sash around your waist like a belt and then you were good to go. I read Memoirs of a Geisha but I still forgot the complexity. I actually tried on a yukata, which is a more casual form of a kimono. I saw many women wearing them around as they are summer garments. I also read yukata literally means bathing clothes. For men, the most common time it is worn in public is for sumo wrestlers. When I tried one on, one of the salespeople helped me, and she was using a diagram to help her, but she was also stumped a few times. It was very long and had to be folded in such a way that all the extra material could be stashed in front, underneath the obi (belt). I didn't wear the obi because I was just trying it on and could not commit to the purchase. In the end, I didn't get it for two reasons. 1. It felt like I was floating around in A LOT of material and as we all know, I am accident prone as it is! 2. I could never actually put on a yukata by myself!

How is this for random....
In Tokyo's Narita Airport, I had my first bagel in a year! This could just be me, but I have not seen bagels in Beijing. Even if I hadn't had such a wonderful time, my Tokyo bagel would have been worth the trip in itself :)

Bunjee Jumping!

Last Saturday, Caitlin and I went bungee jumping! ahhhhh! We went with our friends, Kate, Meg, Tom, and Tom's friend, Daniel. I kept vacillating between feeling sick and lightheaded to feeling excited about the free fall (30 meters). Then I think I mentally checked out for a bit until I started climbing the stairs higher and higher to the platform. It was beautiful up there, we were in the LongQingXia Gorges which are a couple hours from Beijing. The water was green and sparkling and it was a warm, sunny day. But when they started strapping my ankles I thought, "Oh no, there is just this Velcro strap around my ankles and that doesn't seem significant enough, may I please have a full body harness?! " Then they taped my shirt down and ushered me to the ledge. When I stood up, the chain connecting me to the platform clanked loudly as I waddled to the jumping point. I had asked them to please not push me, I wanted to jump myself. But as soon as I was in position, looking down, ALL THE WAY DOWN at the water, my brain just snapped into NO WAY mode. It just didn't seem right, I can't VOLUNTARILY step off this ledge and free fall towards the water without a parachute or a life jacket or a helmet or some sort of protective- something. I knew if I didn't ask him to push me, I couldn't do it, so I nervously yelped "TUI WO!" (push me) and he did--ever so gently--and down I plunged. Oh if only I could find the words for what the fall was like...of course, full-fledged panic comes to mind....also head rush, I felt like my head was going to explode, so much so that it hurt. But then there was the distraction of what I feared the most-- the jolt of springing back up, like I was being sucked up by a vortex. I got some good screams in before I decided I could wave to the people watching down below. And then the boat came with a man lifting a long stick up towards me to grab so they could pull me down and unharness me into a seat on the boat. It was rather hilarious because after we all compared notes, we realized they tell you to sit down when you are still hanging upside down with your feet up in the air. We all got a good laugh in about that....it was a fun way to tie up the adventure. Our friends took pictures which we will pass on soon for sure. I don't know if I would do it again, but I still want to try skydiving sometime! However, with The Great Wall 1/2 Marathon last weekend and the bungee jumping this weekend I am thinking the next few weekends might be good times to read and fold laundry--another kind of thrill for sure:)

Great Wall 1/2 Marathon

Well I think there is a reason The Great Wall Marathon is one of the world's five adventure marathons! They say to add about half of your marathon time onto this race, you have to fight your competitive instincts to run as fast as you can because there were many times we were lined up single file, waiting for our turn to descend using ropes or railings-- the terrain was so rocky and uneven both going up and going down. Many of us used our hands on the really steep parts, some of the steps were two feet steep, whew, talk about feeling the burn :) There were also some spots where there was actually no wall to the left so if you fell, you fell a LONG way down unless the bushes could stop you. One man tried to run up ahead and not use the railing, he fell down on his hands and knees and we all screamed but he was okay! It was a close one, if he had fallen another six inches to the left it would have been another story. Once we made it off the wall we ran down a goat path into the local villages and the support from the kids and the elderly was amazing. They would scream "Hi! Hello!" and give you high fives and scream JIA YOU! (add oil, the Chinese cheer). Some were sitting on their roofs and a few would jog along beside you to get their picture taken. Speaking of cheers, I even got some TNT cheers because I was wearing my TNT jersey, so that was great to get some Team In Training support on this side of the world. I finished in 2hrs 16 minutes, ninth woman overall, second American woman, and first in my age group (20-29 year-olds). That was such a nice bonus, Caitlin I were aiming for me to finish the race intact, so that was a great surprise!

Expatriate Writing Contest Essays Online

Hi Everyone:

Transitions Abroad has posted the wining essays online (I really enjoyed reading all the essays and I think you will too). Understandably mine has been edited and since it is a bit different, I'm also posting the original below. Papa Rhodes says the latter sounds most like me as my excitement comes across more. Mama Rhodes likes how they added headings and says it seems more concise. Sibling Rhodes says, "Hey, you're published and they gave you money so no worries!" hahaha. All in the family. Here is the link:

transitionsabroad.com/information/writers/expatriate_writing_contest.shtml

"One World, One Dream":

Buildings Rise and Expectations Soar For A Chinese City's Unveiling

Megan Rhodes

Droplets of beer slid down his glasses. I wiped off my cheeks with my beer-soaked sweater and slowly set my empty glass on the table. Now what I wanted to douse him in were my apologies. My sister’s boss had taken us to dinner. In China, when toasting people you respect, you make sure your glass is lower than theirs. My earnest attempts to ensure my glass was lower than his were matched by his efforts to put his glass lower than mine. Like racing down a ladder, we each tried to out-lower the other until both of our drinks splashed out of our glasses. There was nothing left to toast with but laughter.

It's been five months since we moved to Beijing, and we’re still discovering ways to adjust and integrate into cultural mores. "Guan xi", the relationships between people, drives China because it's the most populated place on earth. I am discovering this feeling of interconnectedness can exist between foreigners and Chinese, even if you are like me and have very few words in your Chinese arsenal.

The uniformed man who flags down the buses at the bus stop always greets me with a huge smile and energetic wave. He still compliments my first four words of Chinese I spoke to him, "Is this bus 628?" Yesterday, he told me he doesn't know any English aside from "very good". I taught him how to say "bus", "taxi", "car", and "truck". He said something in Chinese I couldn't quite understand. Then he switched to English, and said, "One world, one dream". This is the Olympic slogan on many billboards around Beijing. Although he said he didn't know how to speak English, he knew how to say this phrase. He taught me how to say it in Chinese. His English was so much better than my Chinese attempt. The line of people behind us craned their necks in interest. We both said it together in the other's language until my bus came. I jumped on, waving him goodbye as he smiled waving his red flag.

These sort of exchanges happen often, with street vendors, cab drivers, and waitresses. It's a nice addition to daily life that wouldn't happen back home in the states. A pair of 26 and 22 year old girls with lofty ideas and passionate natures, my sister Caitlin and I spent the last 21 years living with our parents in a solar-envelope house, tucked away in the tiny, woodsy New Hampshire town of Sharon (population 351 people). We moved here without a job lined up or a placed to live nailed down. We used Marriott hotel points from my previous job for our first week. My sister networked an American contact into reporting for Sports Illustrated China. Upon arriving I secured an interview for teaching English at a bilingual international kindergarten. Not only are my students amazingly lovable, but they are also incredibly bright. At three years old, my class already knows how to sing the national anthem and converses in two or three languages.

I am just one of countless foreigners teaching English in China. In fact, when meeting a fellow Western ex-patriot, he or she will ask, "What are you doing in China, teaching English?" People who are native English speakers with a college degree are guaranteed work as the demand for learning English is so high. The Chinese government is encouraging everyone to learn, including mandatory lessons for taxi cab drivers in preparation for the Olympics.

Olympic countdown clocks adorn restaurants, shops, and classrooms. Nationalistic energy electrifies Beijing as it anticipates the world's spotlight. The world's eyes turn to China. Buildings rise and expectations soar. Construction sites litter the landscape. My sister and I marvel at the progress we've seen since arriving here. Sky rises tower as high as Chinese hopes for their city's successful unveiling. I love experiencing every day life: the elderly doing taichi together with swords, (early in the morning, even when it's zero degrees) and the blinking bike symbols on traffic lights. The old men who walk their birds. The smells of warmed yams and grilled, steamed corn that street vendors sell wafts throughout the city.

As a food zealot, you don't need a lot of money to enjoy the panoply of eats Beijing offers. I consider myself a street food connoisseur of sorts. Peppered throughout the city, you can buy everything from baozi (a rounder dumping but the dough is thicker, fluffier, almost bread-like) to jian bing, delicious crepes they make for you on the spot. I eat one almost every day. They break an egg over the crepe and as it cooks they add a thin, fried, crispy square in the middle. Sauce, spices, chives, and onions are added and then the crepe is folded around the square. When my sister and I first arrived, we went on what we referred to as our "Street Scurvy Diet." If you were fried, a carbohydrate, and sold by a street vendor, we ate you. We joke about starting a new diet revolution in the states, because after about a week we both looked at each other and realized, "You’re smaller!” But soon my sister and I expanded into restaurants, realizing that waiters and waitresses are not tipped (tipping generally doesn't happen here) and tea is often free. In finding a good restaurant, you can eat well without spending much.

You can also experience what Westerners deem as exotic eats. There's a famous snack street in Wangfujing illuminated at night by strings of red lanterns. The street is almost as pretty as the wild and wonderful food that the vendors wave in front of you as they yell out their exotic names. Almost everything is speared on sticks, from fruit and dumplings to seahorses and starfish. (I don't recommend the latter as the meat was hard to eat, bitter and crunchy.) On another occasion, we ate dog. It's the sweetest tasting, most guilt-provoking meat I have tried. It does not taste like chicken. But I am always grateful for any opportunity to experience Chinese cuisine.

Another dimension of Chinese culture I’m practicing is how to give and receive gifts. It’s customary for Chinese to not accept a gift the first three times it is offered. When one of my student’s parents gave me and the Chinese teacher chocolates, I forgot and immediately took the ribboned-box. Then I watched as the Chinese teacher politely refused: “No, no, no, I couldn’t, I couldn’t….” Again. And then again. After her third-round she accepted graciously as I stood awkwardly next to her feeling like the greedy chocolate lover that I am.

As we excitedly plunge into Chinese society, sometimes we feel like we can only dive in so far. With so many people living here with proportionately few foreigners, not being Chinese makes you an instant point of focus. Sometimes we enter a bustling restaurant and upon our entrance, everyone stops mid-sentence, freezes with chopsticks mid-way to mouths, and stares at us. At other times, people will politely ask which country we’re from and why we’re in China. The “stare downs,” as I used to call them, occur daily--on the subway, at the grocery store, walking down the sidewalk. The other day I was walking along and a smiling man ran up to me, then hovered a bit awkwardly. His friend then turned around in front of us and took our picture. They took another one and then with huge smiles ran away as quickly as they came. There have been a few camera ambushes. While these sort of occurrences can take some getting used to, we understand it is simply rooted in curiosity. In fact, when we first arrived, we found ourselves doing the same thing: "Look! It’s another foreigner over there!"

But regardless of foreign or native status, we all are united in trying to stay positive about the air. Can you imagine wearing a mask every time you go outside? Many people do that here, and my sister and I have both battled respiratory track infections. The sight of a black tissue after blowing my nose startled me at first. A marathon runner, I miss running outside. My sister read that running outside on a high smog day is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes. Recently The New York Times cited research that pollution levels on a typical day in Beijing are nearly five times above World Health Organization standards for safety.

Still this comes with the territory of being one of the most populated places on earth. The highways here have 15 jam-packed lanes. Uniformed subway and bus officials push people onto the trains and buses already crammed tightly with people. I remember being shoved and heaved onto the bus for the first time---do I say "Thank you?" With hoards and hoards of people waiting to get onto buses and trains, people sometimes become impatient (I was pulled off the train once by an eager to board passenger). But in context, this is understandable as almost 2.5 million people use public transit every day. I am now accustomed to the inevitable cuddling with strangers as we stand entangled in understanding, arms squished onto each other's chests, heads pressed on each other's backs.

Such challenges, however, are part of the adventure. There is something about China, almost an intangible, magical mysticism about this culture and its people that makes being stimulated in this way part of the ride. As the weeks go by I notice the "stare downs" less and recognize the songs on the radio more. I continue to make more friends with the Yam Men and The Corn Ladies--"I missed you yesterday!" I no longer miss some material things hard to come by here: clothes dryers, dishwashers, paper towels or Ziploc bags. Seeing other foreigners doesn't elicit as much of a reaction anymore. Although friendly, knowing smiles are sometimes exchanged in passing. My immunity is stronger now as we acclimate to the air. Though my Chinese is still in the baby steps stage, I can ask for the bill without first being shown to the bathroom or given a pile of napkins. Even though my Chinese elicits giggles from my three year-olds, I've found many Chinese are quick to compliment foreigners stammered, sputtering attempts--often praising how wonderfully you said hello.

Almost six months ago, we took a leap of faith and relocated to the other side of the world. And you can’t jump that far without an open mind. Or emptying a toasting glass.

http://www.thebeijinger.com/ is an invaluable resource for ex-patriots for acclimating into Beijing life. Every foreigner I know uses it regularly. From finding jobs to looking for apartments, it's like the Craigslist of Beijing. (There is, in fact, a Beijing Craigslist, but I find "The Beijinger" is more widely used and extensive). For example, when I was looking for a Chinese tutor, I posted on "The Beginner" and by that evening my post was viewed by over 100 people and my mailbox was brimming with replies.

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/ is another rich database of user recommended night spots, places to shop and visit. Both websites have accompanying magazines that you can get for free at coffee shops or bookstores.

Eleanor Roosevelt said: "You must do the things you think you cannot do." For me, that's learning Chinese. A tonal language, many characters are pronounced the same but tones differentiate meaning. Incorrect tones could result in calling your mom a horse or your dad the number eight. http://chinesepod.com/ helps you practice your tones. It has almost 800 lessons and offers free daily pod casts, dialogues, exercises, and lesson review--ranging from elementary to the Super Bowl. Also, http://www.dict.cn/ is a terrific online dictionary that gives several examples with many useful phrases.

http://mobilenative.com/sms_help.php is like calling information in China for free. It sends free texts to your phone in both Chinese and/or English. If you are craving pizza, for instance, type that word into their search engine and lists of pizza places in Beijing appear, complete with addresses and phone numbers. Click on one of the options and a satellite view gives you a visual location as well.

Immersion Guides Mandarin Phrasebook is a phrasebook that covers everything from how to negotiate and sign a lease, to how to bargain and how to get a good hair cut. With essential phrases as well as Beijing slang, it's incredibly informative, easy to use, and funny (learn how to say: "I don't want a mullet!"). My sister and I each bought one and neither of us ever leave home without it.

fireworks, frogs, treadmills, taboo, and ten dust storms

Hello family and friends!

Miss you all and sending love from China (or last month, better known as Firework Land). As I told a few of you, Chinese New Year in Beijing is a firework-filled frenzy! So much so, that my sister and I theorize the new cracks in our apartment walls are attributed to the incessant "sonic booms" as Cay calls them. They were set off around the clock--all day, every day for the two week celebration. The purpose is to ward off the evil spirits for the upcoming year.... as i emailed a few of you, with all the constant and countless fireworks that went off here, we surely boomed and banged out the evil spirits in the western hemisphere too. It used to be illegal for people to have them but now they are permitted and it seems like EVERYONE takes full advantage... even releasing them on the cross walk outside our apt (that was a close one!). We definitely made a run for it on several occasions. We'd be walking down the street and the people we passed would suddenly set them off as we walked by. On the last night of Chinese New Year we were on our way home and they were going off in every direction, across the entire horizon. Poor Caitlin just kept yelling, "Run! Cover your head, Megan, don't look up!" All were good tips, pleased to report we emerged unscathed. My friend captured great footage if you would like to see his fireworks video: www.iaminchina.com

a runner's up essay

Transitions Abroad (www.transitionsabroad.com) is a very helpful resource for people living or aspiring to live abroad. This year is the 30th anniversary of their expatriate writing contest and i am not quite sure how this happened but my essay is one of the runner's up prize winners. Of course now that it is published I notice all of these things I wish I wrote differently...a natural reaction since I can't make any more changes. One of my professors at Skidmore once told me in his twenty-eight years of teaching, he'd had never seen a student "jump through so many hoops" to improve a paper. I am such a reviser! oh well, have to let it go. I can't wait to read the other writers essays. I think they are going to be posted soon, once they do I will put the link up on my blog.


Speaking of runner...a Great Wall run and a 200k in the works!

I figure while I am here in China, naturally I should be running races on The Great Wall. In May there is a full and half marathon. Only thing is, not surprisingly, it is supposed to be mad hard. The incline is killer, basically it's running up and down stairs for at least four hours. I was reading about it on marathonguide.com and people who ran it advised to ADD about HALF of your marathon time to the Great Wall Marathon. One woman wrote she runs a 4 hr marathon and finished the Great Wall Marathon in 6 hours and 30 minutes. yikes. While that is a bit intimidating I figure this is an opportunity that I can't pass up. I contemplated running the full for a few seconds before I realized that not being able to run outside to train pretty much precludes the 26 miler from happening. Since the air in Beijing is five times over the World Heath Organization's standards for safety (info I recently picked up from the New York Times) running outside is a no go. People get sick from it just walking to and from work and running errands. (See the dust storm section below). It's a challenge for me to envision running 20/22 miles on a treadmill to train for a full marathon so I think I am going to run the half one instead. whew, can you imagine running for four hours on a treadmill...

But speaking of treadmills and racing....my gym is actually having a race to see who can run a 200k the fastest over a one month period of time starting in April. So of course I am super pumped. I have been scoping out the competition and there are a few frisky fellas that are young and spry along with some fellow foreigners that are going to make things interesting. But I am not going down with out a fight...in to win, baby :) My sister and a few gym friends think I can win the fun sneakers (that's the grand prize, ooooo). I was thinking about it and it's like the track meet I ran for Sports Illustrated China back in October. Before the race--as I was spitting into my spit cup due to that nasty respiratory track infection--I decided to make up my mind to win. Even though it sounds silly, I think that's what helped me do it. Similarly, I've decided I can not/will not lose the 200k. I love the pressure that comes with running races. I was even competitive about signing up for the race! I signed up right after this athletic man did. When he saw me sign up he said something to me in Chinese (that I didn't understand) and I smiled back at him thinking "Oh yeah, buddy, it is ON." I am sure he probably said something very kind and sweet like "Good luck to you, Dear." But in my head I was responding with "BRING IT".

Caitlin, Joe, and Bud

Some of you may already know that the MLB came to Beijing and played their first game in China a few weeks ago. Sibling went to cover the event and chatted with Joe Torre and Bud Selig, Mister Commissioner himself. She also scored herself tickets to the gold medal game during the Olympics!

My 19 kids...a few NASA recruits to be

The kids are great, they have doubled in numbers since I have started teaching and so too doubles the daily adventures. One of my new students, Mimi, is a bit younger than the others and doesn't speak a word of English (yet). She can't say "Megan" and instead pronounces my name "Mei Guo". This is especially funny because "Mei Guo" is "America" in Chinese. The Chinese teachers--also amused--tried correcting her but whenever she sees me she joyfully exclaims, "Mei Guo, Mei Guo!" And I say, "Yes, dear, your America is here."

Also, my little friend Louie has started this new habit of standing up and saluting me when I enter the classroom. Although I appreciate the respect I have tried explaining to Louie that this form of greeting is unnecessary. I know I am trying to run a tighter ship these days with the increase in students but I think I might be just shy of drill Sargent. (Caitlin just saw what I wrote and said, "Nobody is going to believe you are tough on the kids, Megan." haha...). Oh
Louie. There are many tales to tell. Once he also almost turned trying to look like an animal. He had his hands wrapped around his neck as if he was trying to pull his head off and he kept telling me to "Look, look!" and then I finally put together he was trying to elongate his neck so he could be a giraffe (I had recently given him a giraffe sticker). Oh if only you all could know Louie and all the children. I have separation anxiety when I think about the future and how long I will be in China for and if I want to explore other job ideas....hard to imagine there will be a time when I will not be with them all the time.

As I often tell people, my kids are so smart and capable it continues to astound me. They can do so much more than I could when I was four...or fifteen for that matter.


An Aquatic Creature

My latest food adventure was listed under the "aquatic creatures" category on the menu at a Korean restaurant we went to a few weeks ago. Bull frog, it turns out, does in fact taste like chicken! As my friend puts it, it has the taste of chicken but the texture of fish. I know it's not quite up there with the craziness of past food reports--but I did notice "camel" listed in my phrase book under the "food" section so I will be sure to keep you posted on the next crazy creature consumption.

Dust storm season

Now that spring is here, dust storm season has also arrived. According to the weather forecasters, Beijing will have ten dust storm days this spring. We had one yesterday and by the time I got home I was covered in sand. In the elevator this lady and I were dusting ourselves off as we were covered from head to toe. I was spitting out quite a bit that had gotten into my mouth. I think this might be why I am sick again. It's almost reminiscent of playing in a sandbox as a kid, only you are standing up and the sand box is vertical with is full-speed fan blowing behind it.

Yahooo for Taboo

Last weekend Cay and I hosted a Taboo party at our place. haha, oh yes we did. Actually, I can't take credit for being a host because it was Caitlin's idea, she made all the food and organized the festivities...I just took out the trash and bought wine. Beforehand, it was so funny how excited people were about Taboo, as Cay had said, it will be so "lamely awesome" a party. 20 people ended up coming to our little abode, it was a wonderful crew that represented China, Italy, Lithuania and Australia. Our non-native English speaking friends kicked serious tail at Taboo. I could never play in a second language and they were beyond awesome, we were shell -shocked. Feel bad as our excitement and raucous joy definitely elicited a less-than-pleased-as-punch neighbor visit. oh dear. luckily our Chinese friends answered the door so i think that may have cushioned the blow a bit. If you would like to see some comical pictures (my favorite being Caitlin's no-messing-around-game face) click on this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/megan.e.rhodes/

Four cheerleaders, Three gals to France, Two Skidmore sightings, One Saratogian, and 180 million suitcases

Four New England Patriots Cheerleaders:

Caitlin recently interviewed the Manager for Chinese Development for the New England Patriots. He told us that the New England Patriots Cheerleaders were in town (they rotate 4 who travel) and they were going to be at the same sports bar Caitlin interviewed for her Beijing Sports Bars story. So there I was, drinking beer and chatting up cheerleaders. We even got signed pictures, haha. oh my. Two of the four were from New Hampshire, so we had a nice granite state chat--discussing the primary and the recent snow storms.


Three Rhodes gals to France

Our Uncle, Aunt and Cousins are amazingly generous and gave us their Marriott certificate to stay in France for Chinese New Year! Mama Rhodes is meeting us there. (Papa Rhodes's body isn't quite up for the flight). We are leaving on Saturday. I wonder if the country is prepared to experience their first croissant-cheese-chocolate- wine shortage. hahaha. If I have not doubled in size upon my return to Beijing, I will have failed. hahaha.

Two Skidmore Sightings

Sighting 1: A few weeks ago we were out having dinner and I saw this man wearing a Skidmore shirt. I definitely did a tripe-take. Then I bounded over to him and his friends. Turns out, he was not a Skiddy. Apparently our soccer team was in Beijing in September. He and his friend helped show them around and they gave him a T-shirt. He and his friends (I think they were all Australian) were amused by how excited I was to see someone wearing a Skiddy shirt.

Sighting 2: Around Christmas I was watching the news and they closed with a clip of 42nd Street musical-- the show recently performed here in Beijing. All of the sudden, dancing across the TV screen was my freshman year floor mate, Phil Labella. I would not have believed my eyes but last I heard he was touring with CATS. (Such a talented fellow.) The news anchor said tickets were almost sold out already and so began my fervent quest for tickets. It was quite the Odyssey, ending in my first scalping purchase which I like to think I bargained down successfully. Phil was amazing! He was featured several times, I could not have been more proud. I was sitting in the audience with a huge smile on my face the whole time. Then I got to pounce on Phil backstage.


One Saratogain

At the gym yesterday this girl was two lockers away from me, saw me wearing my "Upstate NY/VT" shirt (my Team in Training Marathon jersey) and goes, "Are you from Upstate NY?" I asked her where she was from, thinking she might be from Buffalo or Syracuse. She's from SARATOGA. I just about fell over. She's been in China for two years doing something carbon related. Can you believe it, two Saratogains, two gym lockers away from each other in Beijing!

180 million suitcases

It's Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) and presently, we're experiencing the world's largest annual movement of people. Cay and I joke that it seems like we've seen a sizable portion of this movement. Most of the people we see--and there are lots of people to see-- are carrying gifts and suitcases. About 180 million people travel during Chinese New Year (more than the population of Russia). We are going to brave the airport tomorrow, will keep you posted about France!

"The Bombshell Stomp"

In the spirit of trying anything, and embracing the why not approach, Cay and I have become...

...line dancing performers and instructors! I know, I still can't get past the wonderfully arbitrary nature of this entire situation. ONLY IN CHINA. It is just too funny. My sister's friend, Clay, told us he he had a friend, Aaron, that was trying to get foreigners involved in this line dancing troupe. He told us that if we were interested, we could be paid 100 kuai an hour, and that we would teach lessons and perform around the city. So of course, we have absolutely no line dancing experience at all but we are game to try just about anything new, so we said, Okay, we'll try it! We learned five dances to perform in front of The Lady who owns the company that we would be dancing for... I believe we'll be doing everything from Olympic-type rallies to parties to performing for govt officials. Hilarious. Of course, I am THE WORST one by far. Cay very diplomatically informed me that I am not the worst performer, I am just not the best at picking up the moves the fastest. hahaha that's for sure. So after four days of practicing we huddled into a taxi to southwestern Beijing and performed the five dances for the company owner. Dances with names like "Bombshell Stomp" and "Zjosey Funk". LOL. Our friend Kate and I kept looking at each other in bewilderment and laughter, "How, oh how did we get here? Is this really happening? Are these really our lives?" Too funny. First performance is December 15th. Will keep you posted for sure! Hopefully the troupe wont be disbanded/I wont be kicked out for not having the moves and grooves:)

The scorpion-seahorse-starfish-snake snack

In the spirit of adventure and making the most of Beijing, my friend Danny and I decided to go on a "crazy eats trek". There's a famous snack street in Wanfujing and at night the sidewalk is beautifully lite by strings of red lanterns. The street is almost as pretty as the wild and wonderful food that the vendors wave in front of you as they yell out their exotic names. Almost everything is speared on sticks, from fruit and dumplings to scorpions and snake. Danny and I decided we were only going to eat the most crazy ridiculous creatures we could find. Man oh man, mission accomplished! Here is the official breakdown :) :


Scorpions: These were not bad actually! I'd actually say that they might have been one of my favorites. Not as scary to eat as they look...we decided to go for Option A and eat the ones that were already cooked. Option B was to eat the ones that were still alive and would crawl into you so we decided to go for Option A and ate our full stick's worth.

Centipedes: As Danny says, they taste poisonous. Almost toxic....like we were really not supposed to be eating them. The meat was pitch black and it was really bitter.

Silkworms: Oh boy, these creatures....as some fellas we ran into on the street said, these creatures are THE WORST. They were the only creatures we sampled that we spit out. I felt bad, the only reason I got them was because they were the one kind of creature that Danny really did not want to eat so of course I bought them and made him eat them like a good old friend that I am. See, the thing with silk worm is that when you bit into it, there is this explosive situation inside your mouth. Danny calls it puss and I do believe he said its worm "that has yet to be fully formed...like worm fetus." sorry, that may have been too much information! hmmm. Well either way, I would have to say it wasn't my favorite.

Snake: I think snake actually tasted the best....I think that was the easiest one for me to eat because the meat was already skinned and sliced and this was the only creature we ate that didn't have it's head on the stick... no snake face stare downs!

Crickets: I think they are a delicacy in some places but for me, it wan not especially exciting. Although it was fried and anything fried tastes fun, right?

Seahorses: I was most excited to try this one, but maybe since it was a small one, I couldn't really taste anything. They are really expensive, they were selling them on the street for 50 kuai! (I think there were three or four on a stick) But we bargained on another side street and each got a stick with one seahorse for about 20 kuai.....savvy seahorse purchasers that we are :)

Star fish: This was bitter, crunchy and not surprisingly, challenging to eat. Much more fun to admire on the beach than to eat on the street. The meat inside is dark too, and like centipede, it just doesn't seem so edible. ...But still fun to give a try.

When I was eating starfish, it was funny because this man ran up to me and smiled and then he was standing there, a little bit awkwardly in front of me almost like he was waiting for something to happen. Then I turned to see his friend take our picture. Then he put his arm around me, his friend took another picture, and then with huge smiles they took off and ran away. It was a camera ambush :)

Our pictures were also taken the other day at the snack stand by our subway station, our snack selling friends asked to take a picture of my friend Carol and I...they are a very friendly bunch. They make delicious crepes for you on the spot called jian bing, ( you can buy these everywhere in Beijing, particularly popular for breakfast). They break an egg over it and as it thinly cooks they add fried crispy fun in the middle with chives, onions, and magic sauce, then they fold it up and OH it is so good. I eat one every day. I can't imagine life without them....without them or The Yam Man, The Steamed Corn Ladies, The Grilled Corn Men, The Baozi Ladies....oh where would I be without these fine food friends.

P.S.
Another crazy eat occurred a few weeks ago. I couldn't do it the first time I was here in 2001. I wanted to be strong enough but I just couldn't muster the courage. A few of Caitlin's bosses have taken us out to dinner and I politely declined the first time but the second time I decided to go for it... I ate dog! I ate it so quickly that I barely tasted it, but from what I can recall, it tastes a bit sweeter than the meat we are more familiar with back in the states. I saw a dog later and thought I was going to keel over, ohhh i am too weak, no more canine consumption for Mego.

The Sick Sports Illustrated Sprint

Last Saturday, Caitlin and I competed in an athletic competition on behalf of her magazine, Sports Illustrated China .Leading up to this event, whenever I saw one of her colleagues, they would cheer my Chinese name accompanied by a round of enthusiastic fist pumps. My reaction in my head was always, "ohhh dear. we have some elevated expectations at hand here!" My nerves were further compounded for as Cay says, the last week plus I've been "sick as a dog." I have this dreadful cough where I actually spit stuff up and have difficulty breathing, sore throat, runny nose and my abs actually are sore from the coughing. I actually had a "spit cup" I was using before my first race, and it was challenging to accomplish successful breathing just sitting on the sidelines.....but hey, breathing schmeathing.

Now, just to provide a bit of context, this is an athletic event where twelve magazines are competing against each other. To kick off the festivities, they actually have a parade, just like in the beginning of the Olympics when all the countries march in, waving to the crowd. They also had all these pigeons boxed up (I felt so bad for the pigeons) and then they had their big release to commence the kick off of the competition. Caitlin and I were like, oh no, this is on a larger scale than we were anticipating...they are not messing around here!

Caitlin was up first. The shot put. Never had she seen or thrown one before. But I had no doubt she would win. And she did! In addition to the lovely gold medal, there were fun prizes to our delight and surprise. Caitlin won a set of nice sheets...extra exciting since one sheet can run you 100 kuai here, so we were pretty pumped.

Then it was my turn to run the 800m. tissues in my short pockets, spit cup in one hand and cough drops in my other, I lumbered to the track. "Are you actually going to run with your cough drops?" asked concerned sibling. That's right, I did, because my throat felt like it was locked up and there was no clearance for the airways. I did, however, part with my Spit cup. Then a bevy of race monitors, timers, and assorted officials descended upon me since I wasn't exactly sure what was going on because:
a. i was a little bit out of sorts
b. never have competed in a track competition before
c. can't read Chinese so much which can be problematic when you are trying to follow a schedule that tells you what time you are supposed to run. (I heard it was inaccurate anyway)

thankfully Caitlin's super nice office manager saved me and got me where i needed to be just in time.

I had a good, solid start but so did everyone else. We were all together for a bit before a few of us broke away. Then I was out in front for a bit before getting passed. I think there was about 250 meters left when I passed the lead runner and powered through to the end. It was so funny because at the finish line a sea of photographers swarmed around me, and all these flashes were going off and men with notepads kept asking my name. I thought for sure my lungs were on fire. But the fans were great. A few of them yelled out "You are so strong!" and " I love you" in English. Cay and I were the only foreigners in attendance and she said she kept hearing people say, "wow, look at the foreigner! that foreigner can run, that foreigner is fast!"

Then Cay rocked her 400m--she came in fourth and I was so proud, strong to the end. She shaved off 14 seconds from her best training time, coming in at 1:26. (They didn't have my time yet when we went to check) Equally exciting is her prize, an egg cooker/boiler...and it's a cat. It was so funny, we were dumbfounded, wondering what is this cat for? Then Caitlin's colleague explained it to us and we were like Ohhhhhhhhhh. It's so random that it's wonderful. Go China.

Finally came our 400m 4 person relay. The order was one fellow, then Cay, then another fellow, then me. By the time Cay got the baton, we were behind by quite a bit. She managed to close some of the distance but we were still trailing significantly. then the third fellow went and we had fallen even more behind. We were the last by far and thought the race was pretty much done at the point he gave me the baton. Cay said later she and her colleagues were saying "its too bad, she doesn't even have a chance to catch the last runner because even the last runner is already half way done." And to be honest, I think I thought that too for a second. but then I figured, hey, here I am on the track, I might as well run the race as if it's within reach. So I went for it.

Since everyone was so far ahead I was basically running by myself for what seemed like a while . But then to my surprise, a clump of four runners started getting closer and closer until I realized I might just actually be able to catch up. At this point, the crowd was going crazy. The people in the stands were screaming and stomping and chanting, "JIA YOU, JIA YOU, JIA YOU! (pronoun ed yo) which literally translates to "Add oil!" which is a Chinese cheer. So I kept trying to find me some oil! The people on the sidelines were screaming and yelling and I heard Cay above them going ballistic. "YOU CAN PASS THEM, GOOOOOOOO!" So I passed the first four but then there was still one more person up ahead, really close to the finish line. I am not sure how but I managed to cacth up and JUST pass her at the finish line. It was so close I wasn't sure who had finished first but once all these people started hugging me and giving me thumbs up and high fives (I didn't know any of them) I heard the good news.

All this excitement made me wish I competed in track when I was younger. I bet these competitions are even more fun when you don't have a sinus and lung infection. Cay says she's always had infinite respect for me but that after that race she can never look at me the same. I'm just excited to actually have competed (everything inside my body was like no way, buster). but in the end, we have some new supportive pals, a few gold medals, a set of sheets, a cat egg cooker, a tent (which I initially thought was a yoga mat the way it was packed) and an actual family barbecue set! nothing quite like a random collection of fun prizes.

After it was all over, we went to the train station to pick up two of Caitlin's friends from Amherst that have also moved to Beijing. Now we usually get stared at but we were quite the spectacle now! I was still wearing my shorts and that would probably be enough to make people stare since they think it's cold now. But I was also carrying Caitlin's Cat Egg Cooker, my tent, and my family barbecue set around the train station. I walked by this one fellow and I heard him mutter under his breath, "foreigners, foreigners..." But then Caitlin heard some one say, "Look at those two girls, they are athletes." Whoo hoo!

Yeah, I am officially on a gym vacation now.

P.S.
I have also officially been diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection. Caitlin calls me Darth Vader, I agree, the way I breathe DOES sounds just like him, watch out James Earl Jones! Her friend also says it sounds like I am coughing up hairballs. I can see it now, the next Star Wars movie: Darth Vader Has Hairballs.

O is for....? Rainbow!

I really love these young ones. In fact, I was surprised by how quickly I really, truly fell for each of them! You know you are a kindergarten teacher when fifteen three year olds are on your mind all day every day, stickers make your world go round, your legs get hugged throughout the day, and you are incessantly singing "This Old Man", "Twinkle Twinkle", "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Music Man" (among others) to a point of driving all other non-three year old folk crazy.

Currently I am preparing them for their first test of the year (four in total). I'm constantly reviewing what we learn, like a kindergarten drill Sargent if you will. It's so funny, this morning I asked, "O is for...?" And they excitedly scream everything else we have learned this week: "Rainbow! Elephant! Blue! Five! Tuesday!" Then I tried again, "O is for...?" And then Tiger (Yes, his English name is Tiger!) jubilantly screams, "Octopus!" I was like, oh my goodness, you are BRILLIANT. Four year old geniuses, so proud, so proud....

Another funny story about Tiger, he is like a four year old line backer. We were running a relay race outside, where the kids run towards me, hit my hand, turn to run back, and hit another kid's hand. Tiger was tearing it up, he was so fast and he is such a strong, compact little fella that as he sprinted into me, he totally knocked me over. So I said, "Whoooooooooaaaa, Tiger!" And then I totally realized what I said and cracked myself up and was laughing on the ground and the kids were like, hmmm, what is up with our teacher? It was so funny. Maybe you had to be there:)

Think it is safe to say I am obsessed with the youngsters. When I am not with them, I wonder what they are doing and how they are doing and I miss them! I think one my biggest challenges is like any classroom, all of the students are at such different levels. Some can say entire sentences in English while others can barely say a word, but everyone has great potential.

Last week, we were working on raising hands when they have questions or comments, and I called on of the particularly gifted four year old, Michael, and with a big grin on his face, he sheepishly said, "Megan, you are a good teacher, Megan." I thought I was going to keel over. Officially in love with a four year old. It's nice they can be so affirming. If I slip out to go to the bathroom for a minute, when I come back, Peter runs and hurls hugs at me like we've been apart for....a bit longer than three minutes, hehe. They are such a hoot, yesterday Yuan Yuan told me she liked me too much in Chinese...it was very cute, she thought it was very funny and we had a good laughfest over it.

Also, kids are mighty fashionable these days! I have to say, their clothes are far cooler than mine-- I have a class of trendsetters! My clothes do have a mighty colorful display of recording every time we have ever used crayons. I do have a jacket that some of the girls like, and it is really cute because I help them button up their jackets for recess and now they try to button me up too.

Same with wiping noses. It's amazing how quickly illness topples through a classroom and the kids go down like dominoes. I am always on wiping noses patrol. Then when I inevitably get sick some of the kids try to wipe my nose. Or they just wipe their noses on my hands if we are holding hands! (We are working on not doing that so much).

We have gone on two field trips thus far and I have to say, such trips make me want to send thank you notes to all of the teachers that have taken us on field trips. It is hilarious because once you make sure everyone has gone to the bathroom before boarding the bus, everyone has their bags, everyone is on the bus....then comes bathroom and car-sick monitoring, followed by deboarding the bus, another round of bathrooms and car sickness monitoring, then snack time. Insert field trip activity here (even though it seems like 5 minutes, I think it is a bit longer). Then another round of bathroom visits (which is tricky in public bathrooms trying to track all the young ones and make sure they don't fall in--literally, haha). Finally it's back on the bus, if you are lucky enough to still have all the children in tow. I had a slight panic attack and thought I lost Ge Ge (her grandfather came and picked her up early, I didn't know that at first) and oh my, a whole new fear sets in when you think you have potentially lost someones child! Oh my goodness. Tricky letting the young ones run wild outside of the safe, structured confines of classrooms!

In any event, I adore my kids, every one of them is my favorite in his or her own way. To know them is to love them!

The 2 hour haircut-massage

Last week, I had almost a 2hr haircut for 3.73 American dollars (28 kuai here). This extravaganza included an hour long massage (head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and back). I remember haircutting included complimentary massages from my first hair cut here in 2001. But you know what was especially momentous about this haircut was when my hair was washed, I was actually lying down on the massage table and there is a sink just past where my head was placed. It was funny because she washed my hair first, but by the time my massage was complete, my hair had dried so she had to rinse my hair again for the haircut. My last hair cut was in May in Brasil under similar not sharing-the-same-language- circumstances. Leave it to me to show up at the salon not even knowing how to say "haircut"! But though the wonders of pantomiming and showing them pictures of what I liked, mission accomplished. The establishment was hoping! It was a Saturday night and their hours daily go until 10:30pm and I was there until 9:15pm, having arrived around 7:30pm or so. I think my massage went longer since they were backed up, she kept checking with the stylist and then the massage would continue to proceed. In addition to the stylists and masseuses, there are these Hair Holding Individuals. They sit in chairs behind the stylist and then when he blow dries hair, they spring into action and hold sections of hair in place while he wields and yields the blow drier. I couldn't help but be amused, thinking, hey, hair clips could be used here, but we can use this young little feller instead. Labor, oh labor, China style. They were a very friendly bunch and I think the next time I have a few hours and feel like getting a free massage and being fawned over by a fleet of Chinese haircutting crews, I am definitely going back!

Security Guard Triangualtion, German Cereal Triumphs, and "Frenzied, Desperate" spinning

Earlier this week I found myself triangulated by three security guards in the park by my school. I was lying down resting when I thought I heard something. I didn't see anything, but then I heard something again. I sat up to see three security guards watching me from three different angles about five feet away from me. Yikes, how long were they there for I couldn't say. They asked me questions, one of the only ones I could understand was "are you American or Canadian?" I wondered if I replied that I was Canadian they would let me stay in the park. But in flirting with the risks of park deportation, I told them I was American. Long story short, I came to understand they were worried I was sick, and wanted me to sit on my book (people don't tend to sit on the ground here. IES buds, remember squatters? People squat on streets and sidewalks everywhere all the time). Now when I go to the park, one of the security guards comes and sits next to me and we have little chats. Then the other day another one of the three came up to me and asked me questions while feeling the grass with his hands around me. He left and returned with two large, poster-sized maps of the park and lay them on the grass for me to lie on. I am very grateful and fortunate to now have park friends! I no longer necessitate guards radioing in for back up like they did the first time! hahahhahaha

Speaking of back up, Caitlin and I have learned to be resourceful in finding back up breakfast plans. We are the female versions of Jerry Seinfield, we are cereal addicts. So much so, that back home, if on those rare occasions we don't eat cereal for breakfast, we find our bodies calling for it and find a way to eat it later on in the day. But American cereal is really expensive here, some kinds can cost as much as 82 kuai, which is the equivalent to buying a box of cereal for twelve dollars in the states! We go to an expat grocery store to treat ourselves to cereal from other lands, which is comparatively less expensive. Now our shelves are lined with Australian "Wheet-bix" (sort of like a frosted mini-wheets but without the frosting and more flaky) and German cornflakes, hands down the best price we have seen thus far at 17.20 kuai per box. Our new plan is if we go home, we are returning to China with suitcases lined exclusively with cereal and paper towels.

It may be less important for me to have the breakfast of champions as I will no longer be running the Beijing marathon--still aching over missing this one! Registration is full and closed, I totally missed the boat. I tried emailing several people about still trying to register. Then someone emailed me back and told me if I could get to their office by 5pm that day, I could register as it was the last day to register in person. But I had to work so I sadly missed the boat again. But I have my eyes on another marathon in Dalian in June, and that way I have enough time to train.

Caitlin and I have both been sick for a while and I have only run outside once here! We were 45 miles north of Beijing visiting Auntie Sue and Uncle Paul's new country house. (Auntie Sue is my mom's cousin). Its absolutely gorgeous there. Their house is in a farm village of 350 people, the same number of people that live in my hometown in NH--actually, last I heard we are up to 351. In any event, Mutianyu is tucked just underneath a jagged portion of The Great Wall, and you can see The Great Wall from every room of their house, including the pantry and their shower outside. It never got old for me. Caitlin and I would be brushing our teeth and I'd go, "Hey Cay, it's The Great Wall!' Or we'd in the kitchen getting a glass of water and I'd point excitedly, "Hey, there it is again, it's still there!" We climbed it while we were there for the weekend. Too many steps and too many people to run on it, but I did run in the village and as I was on my way back, I was running with The Great Wall in plain sight, I couldn't believe it--I still can't.

So in lieu of running outside, Caitlin and I are taking spinning classes at our gym, and it's really funny because she looked up the characters for one of the classes and it translates as "Intense, Frenzied, Desperate." hahaha, no intimidation there! I don't think I have never sweat so much before, but its fun because our instructor is this incredibly merry, constantly smiling, massively muscular Chinese trainer and he cheerily sings along to all the songs and makes us happy. We are buds, Cay calls hims the Jolly Chinese Giant. The CD he plays has one American song on it, and he gives us a shout out each time he plays it. Are you ready to guess which song? Of all the songs it could be, I am sure "Who Let The Dogs Out?" was not your first guess:) Yesterday after he played the song in class he pressed the pause button and and goes, "Megan, what does this song mean in Chinese?" And the whole class, dripping in sweat, turns to me for an explanation. So I stammered out my best Chinese explanation: "Ummmm, okay. So there are dogs. And people let the dogs go outside to run. To ummm, run....run and play. But the people want to know, who is the person that lets the dogs go outside?" Oh wow. hahaha, I think you had to be there.

They also use a disco ball for each of the classes with a strobe light! YES! It really does give the class an extra special something:) We took a class from another trainer but it just wasn't the same. He didn't speak but he would occasionally hang from the pipe on the ceiling above his bike--I was jealous because it looked like fun but we didn't have pipes. It was also amusing because he was shirtless, which is fine and perfectly commonplace, but I couldn't help but think hey, if you are really hot, maybe you don't want to wear long denim shorts with a belt next time:)

Go, Caitlin! Go, Fernando!

Since my last email to everyone, Caitlin was hired as a staff writer at Sports Illustrated China! I couldn't be a prouder older sibling. Last night, I was brushing my teeth while she interviewed the agent for the first Chinese basketball player to play in the NBA! This morning, she went to a press conference and we LOVE that she gets to shake hands and introduce herself, "Caitlin Rhodes, Sports Illustrated China." (!)

In another fun development, Sports Illustrated annually participates in athletic competitions with other magazines. They excitedly approached Caitlin about what athletic events she'd like to compete in, and when they mentioned running, she said, "Oh my sister runs marathons, too bad she can't race for us." Well, they actually really liked that plan, and now on October 20th, I am also a staff member at Sports Illustrated. Here is Caitlin's email to me:

i signed you up for the 800m. it was really funny/sketchy because the office manager came over and asked me to sign up for the 800 and the shot putt...so i was like okay, and i did it, and then he looked around furtively and said..."your sister..." and I was like ohhh, you want me to.... and he nodded. so I was like uhhh and he was like ok she'll run the 800, you run the 400. DEAL! lol um...on october 20th, if we are still in Beijing, you are officially an SI employee for a day. and he said that if you run the 800 and i run the 400, we'll definitely win the competition. no pressure. love you! miss you already! ps i was like someone give me a shot put to practice with, i have never thrown one before...

Good old sibling, as she says, "I don't even know how to spell it, let alone throw it...is it put or putt?" She asked if they could give her one and they said, "Oh you want to practice with one?" And Caitlin goes, "Yeah. Also I have not even seen one before." But my money is still on sibling without a doubt.

Just when I though my little sibling could not be more of a rock star, we scored VIP tickets to The China Open. We watched Fernando Gonzales beat Tommy Rebredo 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. It was so funny to hear the collective, "Ai yaaaaaaas" and "Ai yoooooooooos" from the crowd when one of the player's hit the ball out or into the net. We were so close to the court that we realized if we cheered for Fernando, he could actually hear us! So we planned out and geared up for partnered cheers. People around us were amused and would turn and look at us every time. But we didn't hold a candle to the fiery force that was the Chilean crew behind us! People in our box took pictures of them, they were vocally gifted projectors and seriously spitted--- loved their energy! Fernando appreciated it too, he gave them a shout out during his victory speech at the awards ceremony.

Before the singles match we saw the doubles final as well. In between the two matches there were a few hours to walk around and we came upon a practice court with a good crowd. At first I could only see one woman playing on one side of the court. But then I heard Caitlin exclaim, "Amelie Mauresmo!" She was the player on the other side of the court, we couldn't believe it! I jumped up on a bench and watched her consistently nail backhands at her coach, she was drilling them with so much power, like Fernando powers his forehand. She was on a roll! Again, we couldn't believe how close she was--we could see all her muscles, she is one strong lady! Ironically, I had wanted to take a picture of her life-size poster board cut out at the entrance to the stadium but I didn't take it because I was a little embarrassed to do so in front of Caitlin's boss (even though he's the nicest guy) and now we have actual pictures of Mauresmo herself in action--captured all her muscles and everything:)

Next to Maureso, I am convinced Cay truly is the strongest and buffest gal in China. We have never seem other girls lift weights at our gym, and Caitlin outlifts some of the fellas! The other day she was lifting and one of the trainers came over and took weight off of hers to add to the person he was working with, and even after he had done so, Caitlin was still out lifting him by 22lbs! It's amazing how incredibly small the women are here. When I go shopping, I ask for the largest size they have. My skirt I purchased yesterday is an XXL, which is funny to me because in '01 I got pants here that were XXXL! A Ladies "small" in China would fit the children in our kindergarten....I wish I was kidding! Since I have been here, I would say I have seen a handful of women who are above a size 2. Negative 2 seems to be base line! And with all due respect to the fellas as well, there doesn't tend to be a whole lot to them either, especially the security guards. It's almost like a rule that to be one you have to be really thin.

Interestingly, China has security guards stationed everywhere all the time. They are at the entrance of every building you enter, sometimes you see them standing in the street. Some of them are so little, I think some are about 15 years old. I think even I could take one! My conservative estimate is that Caitlin could took take down about seven at once in about three and half seconds. It's empowering to feel so strong and big walking the streets here, oh the powers of relativity....