Like Cramming for a Final

With the Olympics just days away (I know it has started, I'm just trying to catch up), the preparations I've seen have been incredible. You've probably heard that nearby factories have been shut down. It's helped: in my first day here I saw a clear blue sky. Crazy. They've also instituted a policy where only cars with an even-numbered license plate can drive on even-numbered days of the month (and odd-numbered plates on odd days). This had helped some, but since taxis are exempt, it probably hasn't had the effect anticipated. The entire city is covered in Olympic banners—even places that don't seem to be frequented by foreigners, or even local Chinese for that matter. Every light pole proudly displays flags proclaiming "Beijing 2008: One World, One Dream". Shrubbery in parks has been molded into Olympic athletes and, as if that wasn't enough, people have started carving it into their hair. I saw this kid on the subway the other day, so I asked his parents if I could snap a picture of his hair. Pretty intense.

Running down the street I'll see people erecting even more Olympic propaganda in places I didn't think they could fit anymore. Taxis have rough translations in English, and sometimes the drivers can communicate too, even though I never really find out since I just speak Chinese, but that's word on the street. People have even started queuing up for the subway (most of the time)—I've never seen this before in my life. Usually it's survival of the fittest—this must be some sort of attempt to seem more civil or something. Sidewalks are incessantly swept, flowerbeds pruned, and what little grass there is in this city, cut. Volunteers are crawling the city in their white and blue shirts, ready to help anyone find anything.

In hindsight, I'm actually kind of happy I didn't get accepted to the volunteer position. I applied back in September, but in usual Chinese fashion, they never even responded to me telling me either way. Oh well. Recently, with my volunteer work with McDonald's, I've gotten to see some pretty cool stuff. I was able to see the torch relay the other day, which was pretty cool. They sure don't let them run very far—couldn't be more than 100 meters or so. My McDonald's crew and I got to cheer them on while sweating our behinds off in the ridiculous late-morning heat. Then there was the press conference with McDonald's China CEO Jeff Schwartz (who I met in Shanghai...see pic), Jim Skinner (CEO of all of McDonald's) and a couple other pretty important guys. I was allowed VIP access, and got to hear every question twice, since everything was in Chinese and English. The Chinese people love to ask multi-part questions—seemed like every one was "20 Questions" or something. Anyways, the energy's been pretty awesome, this place is ready to explode, and I think Beijing is preparerd. (Oh, and jeez are there a lot of foreigners here—sometimes I feel like I'm back in the States)