It is Saturday in Beijing, and I am pretty sure I just had one of them most interesting adventures that I will have over the duration of my time here in China. However, let me start from the beginning so you are all on the same page that I was.
I received an email a few weeks before arriving in Beijing, asking for my passport number. I had been told it was for a foreigners party on saturday June 30th, and I should go because it was a great opportunity to meet other expats living withing within the same area! I jumped at the idea and of course said "sign me up!"
Today was Saturday June 30th! HOwever I think on wednesday I was told that this so called "Foreigners Party" was really a special olympics event and I should come prepared to play sports! I said, alright, it can't be too bad, sports at a picnic........well not really! So the story continues and I would be prepared with my sneakers and shorts.
Just like in any country when you don't fully understand the language, you never get the full story! By Friday I knew that this event was at the Stadium a bike ride away and I needed to show up around 7:30AM. Not the greatest time for a picnic, so I knew something was a little fishy, but thought, hey maybe this means I will get a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. You know, a little foreigners breakfast........wrong again. So the real story is I was given a piece of paper from by guest brother that explained why I was at the event and who I was. I was suppose to use this paper to find a chinese lady around the area of gate 2 at the stadium. I left the house at 7 this morning thinking it was no big deal. I casually rode my bike over to the stadium to reach hurdle one......
The Security guards just stared at me laughing. I tried explaining in Chinese that I was a new english teacher at MEG's Kindergarten and I was here to play some sports. They chuckled, and no gate was opened. So I tried again. "Ni hao! Wo jiao shi Audrey he wo shi yingwen de laoshi bei MEG's. Wo chu zai nar?) They again chuckled, and stood there. So I reached into my bag for the sign that I had with my information. The gate opened right up.......I don't have a clue what it said specifically, but obviously more information then I was giving! Over hurdle 1 and onto hurdle 2.
So I was told the lady I was suppose to find was at gate 2, however it would have been really helpful if there had been a gate 2! Also, if you think it is hard to find Chinese people you know, from personal experience it is impossible to find ones you don't know, let alone have never met. So I parked my bike near gate 1, locked it, founght my way out of the crowd that had circled around me and headed toward an area I had told myself must have been gate 2. I asked a few people, but they just smiled and stared. So yes, the stupid sign with magical words came out of my bag again and I started asking people if they had any idea where I needed to go. And then as if God knew I was getting frustrated, this sign that people hold up in the airport waiting area appeared with well, not my name but Auadrey Emaus on it. I figured if the last name was right......it had to be me. The lady happened to understand my chinese perfectly, and then told me to wait with the group. So as I got over hurdle 2 quite easily, I began to look around. I had no idea what I was going to have to do, but I did conclude one thing....this was no foreigners party. I am pretty sure that even Tianamen square doesn't usually have this many chinese people all in one place at the same time. They told me to line up, gave me a pass that had the symbol of the Beijing Olympics and also gave me a seat ticket. So hurdle 3 I labled as finding a friend. A little while later, and entire "Foreign looking" group joined us. They were all college students who were also teaching at another school in Beijing. So I said "Yes!" to myself as I made a few friends that really could understand me! They too had no idea what we were doing here.
So to make a long story short the day was pretty much more humorous then anything. In the beginning they played the national athem of China as we were led onto the middle of the stadium field. They then had a show with the dragons and tachi people, which you see all over China. They did some cool things with the olympic rings thought. After this "show" we were then told of the sports we had to compete it. I fell on the ground because I started laughing so hard. Pretty much the "real" athletes....like ones who signed up to really compete were basically Track and Field athletes and in legit uniforms and shoes. The rest of us, were made up of all Foreign Investment companies which were located in the area had about 12 "activities" that we could participate in. In other words, I didn't need my sneakers of my shorts! So the day continued and it was as if we were at a carnival. We played darts, bean bag tossed, kicked a soccer ball in a net, shot a basketball, bowled while kicking a soccer ball to knock the pins over, jump roped and then putt-putt golfed, but this was down not with a putter, but with a driver! It was impossible to get the ball in the hole! I guess the idea was to get a tally of points from your group and the Foreign Investment group with the most points would win something. While all of this was going on in the center field, there were all sorts of track and field events being run. I think the highlight was when one of the girls in our group kicked the soccer ball, missed the net and then took out one of the sprinters as the ball rolled across the track. I don't think they really thought about it beforehand!
It was a fun time, and I did meet about 5 other students that are in the area to go to different sights with. Rain however, sent down buckets and everyone started leaving. So I for the second day out of 5 got to ride my bike in the pouring rain home. I am getting quite good at riding under trees on the opposite side of the bike path to avoid puddles! I guess someone figured I needed a shower after all of those activities I did!
So the foreigners picnic/party was nothing as expected or anything like I was told. They didn't even have any food, but I had a good time and a good story to go with it. I can at least say I was part of the "Beijing Development Area's celebration to promote the 2008 Beijing Olympics!" Now who can say that!
