The Paralympics, Special Oympics and a Deaflympics?

On September 6, following the Beijing Olympics this summer, the Paralympics commenced. However, I’ve hardly found anyone who knows anything about the Paralympics now that I’m back on US soil. More so, it’s often confused with the Special Olympics. This no doubt is due to the limited coverage the Paralympics got here in the United States. NBC did cover the Para- Games, however, the channel was buried if viewers had a special channel package at all. The Times gets the most kudos for its coverage but still nothing compares to the Chinese’s efforts. I’m happy to report that China kept its word on treating the Paralympics with equal importance as the Olympics. There was an entire television channel in the single digits dedicated to reporting the Paralympic Games, accessible to everyone. After the Olympic Closing Ceremony it seemed as if overnight, Beijing, which was plastered with Olympic banners, flags, and billboards, was re-plastered with the same signage but adorned with promoting the Paralympics.

I had the wonderful honor to interview track and field Paralympians for the Paralympic News Service at the Bird’s Nest. I was awestruck multiple times just watching these athletes perform given their disabilities. My favorite races to watch by far were the blind runners who ran with guides (I’ll write more on this later). However, the Paralympics truly is about focusing on athletic accomplishments, so the athlete’s disabilities weren’t questions asked in interviews. Questions focused on their strategy, technique, weather conditions, how they felt or what made that race unique. While I thought that the disabilities may have been an elephant in the room, I was completely wrong in every way. Although as cliché as it sounds, they’re regular people with extraordinary athletic abilities.

With that said, I’d like to take this chance to clarify what the difference is among the Paralympics, Special Olympics…and yes, there’s also a Deaflympics.

The Special Olympics

The Special Olympics is the most familiar of competitions among the people I’ve spoken with. This is probably because we may know someone with a child that competes in them since they are open to children and adults. The Special Olympics uses sport to empower individuals with intellectual disabilities. There are year-round training and events.

Since 2003, there are Special World Olympics that are held every two years. Fundamentally, the Special Olympics focuses on being a catalyst for social change by offering people with intellectual disabilities an avenue to build confidence. The Special Olympics is also an international nonprofit organization and has no ties as far as I can tell to the Olympics or Paralympics in any way.

The Paralympics

I can’t say it any better than wiki: The Paralympic Games are for athletes with physical and sensorial disabilities. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, following the Olympic Games, and are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Paralympic Games are sometimes confused with the Special Olympics World Games, which are only for people with intellectual disabilities, but Special Olympics participants may still take part in the Paralympic games.

If you’re curious, these are the categories that we used for the track and field events (they change and evolve with each Paralympics):

1. Classes 11, 12, and 13 cover different levels of visual impairment
2. Class 20 covers athletes with an intellectual disability
3. Classes 32-38 cover athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy – wheelchair (32-34) and ambulant (35-38)
4. Classes 40-46 cover ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities, including les Autres (e.g. dwarfism)
5. Classes 51-58 cover wheelchair athletes with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations

So if I covered the Men’s 400m – T54 race, I was covering a wheelchair sprint. The “T” indicates it’s on the track whereas an “F” indicates a field event, like discus throw.

World Games for the Deaf (also known as the Deaflympics)

The World Games for the Deaf or Deaflympics has its own competition because Deaf people do not consider themselves disabled, particularly in physical ability. Rather, the Deaf community considers themselves to be part of a cultural and linguistic minority. The competitions held in the Deaflympics aren’t adapted in any way like in the Paralympics which needs to adapt some rules to accommodate different disabilities. The only difference between regular competitions with non-deaf athletes versus Deaf athletes is how the Deaf athletes communicate.

The summer and winter Deaflympics are held every four years but not in conjunction with the Olympics and Paralympics. The Deaflympics are organized by The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (CISS), and are sanctioned as an autonomous competition under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that is the overarching governing body of the Olympics.

Numbers:

• The Special Olympics serves 2.5 million people with intellectual disabilities in over 180 countries
• The number of athletes participating in Summer Paralympic Games has increased from 400 athletes from 23 countries in Rome in 1960 to 4,000 athletes from 150 countries in Beijing in 2008.
• More than 3,200 deaf athletes and officials from 67 nations participated in the 20th Summer Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia, in January 2005. Over 600 athletes and officials participated in the 16th Winter Deaflympics in Salt Lake City, United States in February 2007.

My Top 10 Olympic Moments

Hello world again!  I know it’s been since August 20 since I last posted anything but going through the China firewall was making it too hard to post anything.  Now that I’m back in the USA, I’ll start filling in the gaps of what happened in Beijing since I last wrote.  I survived the Olympics, Paralympics and all things in-between.  I thought I’d kick off posting with my top Olympic-related moments.  Thanks to everyone who kept checking in on this blog even though I’ve been MIA…I appreciate your support and apologize for the lack of content until now.  Much more to come, but without further ado:

My Top 10 Olympic Moments

10. USA vs. Japan Baseball Game

This game was not only good because it sent the USA into the medal round but it also got brownie points for Japan. It was 0-0 the entire game which sent the two teams into overtime employing the new rule to speed up the game for the Olympics. The rule starts two players on first and second base at the start of the inning. With this USA quickly nabbed 4 runs and only let Japan grab 2 to win the game. One of the coolest things to see was after the game, the Japanese team showcased great sportsmanship through the mixed zone and took small bows to the USA team and coaches. This unlike the China baseball game reinstated more of a positive cultural and sporting exchange between two teams that I got to witness first-hand.

 

9. USA vs. China Baseball Game

If baseball reflects American culture, then this game was a microcosm of USA and China relations. It was intense. At one point, USA number 14 Nate Schierholtz slammed into the Chinese catcher who was blocking home base with his body. I later learned this was a legal move on Schierholtz’s behalf but that didn’t stop the China coach from storming the field and throwing a folder and papers into the air. It was a ferocious verbal exchange that one brave Chinese volunteer tried to separate. The Chinese coach got ejected and the game went on. China’s response? As soon as the USA was up to bat, player 44 Mathew LaPorta, gets a ball pitched to his head and lands on the ground eventually having to be carried off the field. China gets two more ejections; the pitcher and the pitching coach. After these not-so-sportsman-like happenings, the whole atmosphere of the stadium changed. Fans were reluctant to cheer and a somber tone carried throughout the evening as USA won the game 9-1. My heart was in my throat most of the time hoping something worse wouldn’t erupt during the game. What does this say about the two countries?

USA player 14 plowing over the Chinese catcher at home base

photo from http://www.nbcolympics.com/baseball/

8. Budweiser Party and Christian Cantwell, USA Silver Medalist for Shot put

Crashing parties and Olympic events became second nature this past August. So one random Monday night, I was hanging out with Laura and I get a phone call from Crysty asking if we wanted to see Michael Phelps at the Budweiser Club, a sponsor club created just for athletes to hang out during the Olympics. We were in! Crysty said that my presence was good luck although all props go to Suzy for talking the bouncer into letting all of us in –5 girls and Marc. We didn’t see Michael Phelps but a lot of other athletes sporting medals around their necks were there all toned and gorgeous. I met Christian Cantwell and talked to him and one of his trainers for awhile which was pretty cool. Somehow I think he misunderstood my connection to St. Louis – I have family there, not from there like he is…ooops!

  

Me and Cantwell and a USA gold medalist with us, possibly from the rowing team, photo from Crysty

7. VIP Room with the German Basketball Team

To be honest, the only way I knew which people in the VIP room were German basketball players was by seeing the Olympic rings shaved into their heads. And the only way I knew this was because I happened to see an article that morning with a picture of the new hairstyle. Someone definitely had to point out to us who Dirk Nowitzki was—I know, I should know these things. At one point Dirk definitely pointed me out while I was dancing (maybe a little inappropriately) with a German friend somehow affiliated with the team. Shortly thereafter, I was sitting on a bar counter, Dirk was smoking a cigar and sitting on the bar while some jersey-chasing girl was doing a body-shot laying on the bar in-between us. How did we manage this? The marketing manager at Bling, one of my favorite places to dance, called a friend to give her the heads up that the team was going to be there that night. Once we got there, we just walked into the VIP area like we were supposed to be there, and we weren’t shy to consume the free drinks that the cocktail waitresses kept bringing us. Rock star night.

 

Dirk Nowitzki, photo from Jenna

6. Baseball Men’s Final, South Korea vs. Cuba

I had to watch the 9^th inning from the doorway leading to the field from the mixed zone entrance. It was an intense inning. The score was 3-2, South Korea leading when the inning started with Korea at bat. Cuba didn’t let them score at all and went into the bottom of the ninth at 3-2. It came down to one out, two strikes, the bases loaded and one decisive play. The Cuban at bat hit the ball and Korea got a double-out securing Gold. It was intense.

South Korea won 3-2 over Cuba and I’ve never seen so many men more upset than the Cuban players despite taking home Silver. I was in front of their dugout as they had to go through the mixed zone and my heart went out to them. They showed no sign of the slightest bit of happiness even after getting their medals. Their shoulders were slumped throughout the medal ceremony and exited the field shortly afterwards whereas, our American boys who won third were taking pictures like they won Gold! I did get the chance to grab 2 American signatures and one Cuban player’s signature. He let me wear his medal for a picture which was really cool of him…even though neither one of us could understand each other’s language. As the last baseball game in the Olympics, it was truly a historic event that I’m very lucky to have watched.

Me and the Cuban player

5. The 100 meter Men’s Final

As a thank you to the international volunteers, we got tickets to see the 100m men’s final at the Bird’s Nest. On top of the amazing atmosphere, we saw Usain Bolt break a world record before our very eyes and in front of the world. We cheered louder as he approached our section on his victory lap and it didn’t matter that we were waving American flags because the entire stadium was excited about his win. To top it off, the music erupted in Reggae and had thousands of people celebrating while slightly shaking their hips. The background consisted of lights flashing from thousands of cameras wanting to forever capture the moment in time.

Usain Bolt on his victory lap

4. Basketball Men’s Final USA vs. Spain

As I watched from the press tribune I could see David Beckham on the other side of the stadium which he seemed to cheer more loudly for Spain than for the USA team. It was an amazing game and I’ve never seen bigger smiles on any of the players than that night as the USA men’s team stood on the yellow platform while receiving their gold medals. Lebron was jumping on and off it like a kid at Christmas. Afterwards I saw them all parade through the mixed zone and they were happy to hear me and another Emerson friend, as other Americans, congratulate them on a their win that reinstated the USA in its proper place for basketball at the Olympics: at the top.

USA basketball team at medal ceremony

3. USA vs. China Men’s Basketball Game

This was the first basketball game and one, if not the, most important one. Three presidents, including Bush, were in attendance and the Chinese cheered just as loud for their beloved NBA stars as for their own team. I watched it from a stellar position before seeing all the players up close as they were interviewed in the mixed zone. My Chinese supervisor watched the game beside me creating a great Olympic cultural moment! Afterwards I met up with my fellow Emersonians for late-night celebrations at a club in my full volunteer uniform.

 

Me at the USA vs. China basketball game and in the mixed zone

2. The Closing Ceremony

Yes, I snuck into another major Olympic event more or less. There were 3 stickers to get 3 girls onto the Olympic Green and 2 tickets to get into the Bird’s Nest. We talked a security guard into letting all three of us into the Bird’s Nest. Not only did we get into the Bird’s Nest, we unknowingly barged our way into a VIP area where all of the singers and performers faced while the Closing Ceremony took place. When the London bus stopped in front of us and converted into a stage, I determined at that moment, that in some capacity, I will be in London for the 2012 Games. After the ceremony, we climbed over the fence and took pictures with dancers and athletes and exited through their walkway. Later we walked right into the IBC and crashed a private B.O.B. party. Drank their alcohol and moved onto Bling where Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh made a short appearance….of which I high-fived both of them on their way into the VIP area.

 

Me at the Closing Ceremony VIP area, us with a British rower in the center of the Bird’s Nest

1. The Opening Ceremony

My first blog on this goes into more detail but this night ranks as one of the best in my life. I snuck into the Olympic Green for the Opening Ceremony with Jenna. Watched it at the MPC and ran to see the fireworks in person, landed a VIP sticker, walked by all the athletes as they exited the Bird’s Nest, walked into the Bird’s Nest from their entrance, then took our own personal tour of the Water Cube and National Indoor Stadium before sleeping at the MPC conference room/the Intercontinental Hotel’s bar couch.

  

Me and Kobe Bryant, in the Bird’s Nest and in the Water Cube after the Opening Ceremony

Skimming the Surface of Beijing Nightlife

The Scoop

While Yelp’s advice back in Boston is greatly missed, it’s forced the Emerson Crew here in Beijing to make our own set of standards on how to decide what bars and clubs make the cut and which ones don’t.  Back in the States, main decision factors may be atmosphere, price, and location.  There are a couple of twists to what we consider when going out here in Beijing.  For instance, does the bar accept credit cards?

Other key factors include does it have air conditioning or Western toilets?  Often it’s common to find Chinese toilets that are shared among the ladies and gents.  This is particularly not fun when you are craving the slightest bit of privacy as your knees are getting way too close to the pee-ridden floor.

Price usually isn’t a big concern here because everything is so cheap.  Even if drinks reach the high price of 70+ RMB, our consciences are put at rest because we pay next to nothing for everything else.

Location is another factor for consideration.  Will the taxi drivers be able to understand where we’re trying to go?  So far, every taxi driver understands the Sanlitun area in any accent!  In considering location, we also consider what other bars and clubs are close for when we’re ready to change scenes, and what late-night dining facilities are available.  To date, the 24-hour McDonalds has battled the favored 24-hour Mexican burrito joint.

Some distinguishable perks to the nightlife in Beijing beyond the cheap drinks are the late hours.  Most bars don’t shut down until 4 am so it’s easy to stay out all night and see daybreak on the ride home.  Additionally, people are welcome to take their beers to-go and drink on the streets!  This is particularly enjoyed in the Hou Hai area where locals and tourists alike rent boats and take their own boos out on the water.

Local Chinese students will be the first to recommend the KTV Karaoke clubs scattered around Beijing. While the Beijinger and City Weekend are popular magazines with good suggestions, we’ve also looked to City Weekend online where user-reviews can be found.  But by far, the best spots have been introduced by expats or by just stumbling upon them.

Some other things that make the nightlife experience worth revisiting time and time again include the dance floors, music selection, crowd, drink selection drink specials, décor and seating. However, the amount of fun can’t quite be quantified by the mix of all the other ingredients.

Atmosphere

When it comes to bars, first impressions are largely based on appearance.  The atmosphere can make or break a place. Through critical eyes, bar-goers analyze the space, the bar itself, the lighting, the music, and the bathrooms before making judgments about whether or not the bar is worth re-visiting.

Luckily, in Beijing, you can find a bar that will suit all your needs. Whereas Boston is dominated by pub-type bars of all sizes, Beijing boasts a variety of settings for thirsty consumers. Those looking to listen to Western music while sitting street-side can take advantage of Sanlitun’s strip of smaller bars. If you’re looking for an upscale, yet affordable, environment where you can lounge in plush couches or beds while listening to live music, Song or Q Bar are your best bet.

Although you can find many different bar settings in Beijing, we’ve noticed some major trends. Most bars here are very spacious, featuring areas for dancing and those for seating. Seating usually consists of comfy couches or chairs around a small coffee table. Also popular are bed-type seating where you can kick off your shoes and relax while sipping your drink of choice. As for music, house and techno are overwhelmingly preferred. Bars and clubs are usually dimly lit with florescent or strobe lights breaking the darkness.

Drinks

One of the greatest things about bars in Beijing is that most places won’t break your bank! On average, a bottle of pijou, or beer, will usually cost somewhere between 15 and 35 Yuan, the equivalent of about 2-5 U.S.  dollars. Some of the swankier bars in Hou Hai will raise the price to 50 Yuan, a little over 7 American dollars. However, most local joints will serve very large bottles of Tsingao, the most popular brand of Chinese beer, for as little as eight Yuan, which is just over one American dollar! Tsingtao is a very light, crisp and refreshing beer that is very cheap for the American drinker. However, if you crave darker beers and bars with an extensive beer list, they are hard to come by in Beijing.

Beer is not the only cheap option at the bar. In fact, hard liquor and mixed drinks are also much cheaper in relation to American bars! The cheapest mixed drinks, such as a Bacardi and Coke or a Gin and Tonic will cost about 35 Yuan, which is 5 dollars, and taste quite strong while other bars can charge up to 80 or 100 Yuan on popular nights, which is about 12-15 American dollars and not taste quite as strong. Just like Boston, you must always take chances and choose the appropriate atmosphere for your taste but you can never tell which bars are keen to water down their mixed drinks. Also, most Beijing bars won’t offer more than 2 varieties of vodka, rum, gin, whiskey, etc. For instance, while Grey Goose Vodka is a staple in most American bars, you can never count on most bars in Beijing carrying it.

If it’s cocktails that you crave, they usually cost anywhere between 60-80 Yuan, 8-10 American dollars and are by far the best bang for your buck at nearly half the price of most American cocktails. Apple Martinis, Sex on the Beach, you name it! Most of the popular bars in the Sanlitun area carry them, and every bar has their own classy method of presenting them.

Something that isn’t prevalent in Boston is drink specials and their widely available here.  Wednesday night is ladies night and always draws huge crowds.  The ladies get free drinks for a couple of hours while the guys enjoy the company.  Happy hour is another favorite where buy one get one free specials run at even the nicest places like Centro.  Something completely foreign to tourists is the ability to bargain for your beer prices at the main Sanlintun street.  The best price we’ve heard has been 10 Yuan for a liter of beer!

Thank you to Jenna Lebel and Sylvie Packard for contributing their thoughts.

Our favorite picks for bars include Q Bar, Song, Komomo and the "trashy" China Doll club.

USA vs CHINA Men’s Basketball Game

So I know that this is already old news since the USA men’s basketball team just beat Greece last night, but it was an amazing experience so here it is. I was at the USA vs CHINA men’s basketball game on Saturday, August 10, 2008, when USA dominated the second half to beat China a whopping 101 – 70.

The morning of August 10, my supervisor took me aside from my team of Chinese workers and asked if I’d be interested in going to the basketball game that night. I shook my head like a kid waiting to open a Christmas present – hell ya, I wanted to go, it’s only the biggest basketball game of the Olympics! She said that she had to get the approval from a supervisor but it was a possibility that I could go. But only one could go and I was asked not to share this with my teammates. A couple hours later she confirmed that I would be going to the basketball game. Inside I was jumping up and down.

As my teammates headed home, they worried about me staying back without an umbrella and wasn’t quite sure why I didn’t want to go home. There were another group of volunteers from the baseball venues I hadn’t met and that were lucky enough to go too. We all waited for the shuttle/golf cart to pick us up. There was a torrential downpour that night so the shuttle was greatly appreciated. All of my Emerson classmates were on the other side of town at All Star, a new bar with a ridiculous amount of flat screens tvs, as I made my way to the lit up square basketball arena through the pouring rain.

I perched myself on a railing in the media area securing a great view of the game. 15 minutes into it, my supervisor grabbed my arm and pulled me through the crowd of photographers and journalists that congregated in the walkway. Yanked away from my spot I had no idea what was going on. She wanted me to help guard an entranceway into the press tribune since I was the only native English-speaking volunteer. That was okay by me since that put me directly behind the goal post a couple stories up and close enough when the players yelled, I could hear them. And since I was in the press tribune area, I was surrounded by monitors showing close-ups of the game if I missed a beat with my own eyes. I wondered how I could be so lucky.

It was amazing to watch the China-USA game standing beside a Chinese woman commenting on the fans, atmosphere and plays. She said the Chinese fans were crazy because they still would cheer for the beloved Kobe and all of the USA team as much as the Chinese team. And when they cheered, the entire stadium erupted like thunder in cheers like I’ve never seen before.

A couple of sections to my left, President Bush sat almost aligned with my row. Despite the range, I could see him shaking his head, sitting back and then clapping his hands above his head when the USA team dominated the floor. A couple of journalists peering over my shoulder had me point him out and later I would hear them sharing the President’s location with fellow colleagues.

When there was 10 minutes left of the game, Carolyn, my superviser, and I headed down to the mixed zone to help out. My Chinese Momma was waiting there and gave me a massive bear-hug welcome. She then gave me a quick tour of the mixed zone. Itching to watch the end of the game, I heard music to my ears: they had enough volunteers to man the mixed zone so I could just watch the athletes as they went by!

Carolyn whispered that I could sneak pictures but to keep it unnoticeable. Pictures were not allowed at all in the mixed zone but one NBC guy was solely there to take pics with his personal camera and my stealthiness quickly faded when it was evident I wasn’t going to be really reprimanded for snapping pics here and there.

When Yao Ming rounded his way to the print journalists, a horde of people rushed so hard to interview him that the metal barrier barged toward the athlete! He then shook his head and wasn’t going to put up with such ruthless journalists and made his way back to the locker rooms. All the while, I pitch in in an effort to reclaim the barriers original layout.

When the USA team first walked by, Kobe and LeBron jumped the barriers, skipped half of the mixed zone, and flew straight back into the locker rooms. As Jason Kidd leisurely walked by, he looked back to a staff member and asked, “Aren’t we supposed to be talking to these people?” The staff member shook his head and then all the players were gone and left the media wondering if they were going to come back.

After what seemed like forever, the USA basketball team re-emerged for their interviews. I listened in on Howard until I was distracted by Kidd. Then I’d hop over to another lump of journalists surrounding a player. I made myself right at home and more than a couple of times, the players glanced my way probably wondering what the hell I was doing. I didn’t care, I was savoring the moment. I was by the rail as Kobe walked by. Right in front of me, he turned around to speak to someone in Italian and I so wanted to blatantly take a picture, but I contained myself. Besides, I already have one picture of me with him.

While in the mixed zone, I met Marc Spears with the Boston Globe, and he wrote a fantastic article on that night (Check it out here ). He’s been reporting on basketball for 10 years and the players know him by name which was really cool to see then converse. From that, I found out the team was heading to The Great Wall the next day and that they were having a hard time getting tickets to other events!

I’m going to use one Mr. Spears’ closing lines, “it was easy to see this was the most memorable night of basketball this country has seen,” and I was there to witness history been made.

Side notes:

-During the game, I definitely saw one journalist on Facebook

-One Chinese volunteer informed me after-the-fact, that a Chinese pop-star, Li Ke Qin, was standing right beside me!

-After the game, I met up with my fellow Emersonians in full uniform at Bling, a lush club, to partake in the last of that night’s celebrations over USA’s fierce win.

-I’ve got to run to work now…

Pictures!

Just posted my Opening Ceremony pictures this morning and thought I’d give you all a heads up.  I haven’t had time to put captions, but I think they speak for themselves!  Check them out here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/helenstravelcorner/sets/72157606701429055/

Also, you should check out Kodak’s picture of the day photos.  Kodak is a major sponsor of the Olympics and showcase the best of the best of photographer’s work.  The photos are timeless and spectacular!  Check them out here:

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=13132&pq-locale=en_US

I’m off to work to my first official baseball game tonight at 7pm.  It’s Cuba vs. Japan.  It’s Wednesday and an Emerson classmate’s birthday so I’ll be heading to Sanlitun afterwards to help celebrate and take advantage of ladies’ night.

More to come…