1) In the first part of the program all of the actors/participants had bike helmets on - which is ironic, given that no one in China (save expats) wears bike helmets!
2) http://www.cnn.com/ had an article on the web describing the closing ceremonies - BEFORE the ceremonies were over. We were in China, in our apartment watching them live on TV and I am reading about them on the web as if they were already over... classic - cnn just could not get 'scooped' so they published before they were over... but seriously, the story did not at all indicate the ceremonies were still happening!
3) Steph and I can't remember which comedian (Sam Kinnison? Bill Cosby? Jeff Foxworthy?)does the bit about TV when they were growing up, but the punch line is that it sucked when the president was on TV because he was on every channel - welcome to watching openning and closing ceremonies for the Olympics in China - 3 CCTV stations and the EXACT same thing on every channel!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
My First (Semi) Real Bike Ride In China
I consider my blog family infotainment - family friendly if you will... But I have to say - my ass hurts (no comments from fraternity brothers allowed)!
My friend Dwayne explained to me that there was a ride from our suburb of Shanghai (JinQiao) east to the ocean. He was explaining that it was on concrete along the canal, then it turned into a dirt path that cut through fields and small villages. Eventually it delivers you to the ocean.
I am experiencing a period of complete disinterest in going to the gym. I am excited for basketball to start up, but I am not a runner - in fact I can't stand it, it is just completely unenjoyable to me. I can manage something similar in the gym with the elliptical and treadmill, but lately, I can't even bring myself to do that.
Having gained a significant amount of weight over the summer, and seeing basketball approaching with me in no semblance of shape had me looking for something athletic to do... that's when I remembered Dwayne's ride to the ocean.
So I tried to talk Dwayne into a Sunday morning ride. He begged off for Beijing to catch some final Olympic action, but I was pretty sold on the ride. Steph had a pretty good idea where this ride was, and Dwayne explained it to me... of course he explained it in a text message as 'cross Jinxiu Lu, turn left on the small road on this side of the canal... gets confusing at each bridge/intersection... braille from then on...".
Still I was undeterred.
So this weekend I bought a bike helmet and a 'camelback' and decided on Sunday morning I would set out on the adventure alone.
On the way back from dinner with friends on Saturday night I was telling Daniel when we would need him on Sunday. I explained that we would need him starting at 12:00pm. Then I tried to explain I was planning on riding from JinQiao to the ocean. I was explaining that if I got lost, I might call him to talk to a local person on my cell phone and either come get me or explain how to get home!
He didn't quite understand, but I think thought I was just crazy (or dumb enough to do it)... So he asked 'you go with who?' I explained I was headed out on my own. He responded 'why?'. Like it was strange enough a couple of expats were going to ride out to the ocean, but unfathomable that one was going to try it by himself.
Resolved that I was doing this, I set out Sunday morning. iPod set to a special playlist created just for the ride, 'camelback' filled with water that was kept in the fridge overnight, couple frozen water bottles for extra hydration and to keep the water in the bladder cold, a couple hundred kwai (aka RMB or Yuan) in case I got into a tight spot and a cell phone.
So I put 'semi' in parentheses in the title because Shanghai is amazingly flat, so I knew that the hardest part of this ride was going to simply be the heat and how long it took me to complete it. the weather helped out and it was not too hot... probably high 70s today, maybe low 80s.
The time to complete the ride is why my backside hurts. The last real ride I did was in high school when we rode around Applegate Lake in southern Oregon. I used to really enjoy mountain biking. It turns out I still enjoy it, but my 'bottom' isn't in riding shape. It was an hour and a half out and a little under that on the way back in. Almost 3 hours in the saddle was more than my hindquarters were prepared to handle!
The way out was longer in part due to some back tracking I had to do... Dwayne was right that bridges and intersections got confusing, and I had to braille my way to the ocean at different points. One memorable point was riding along the canal when I reached another canal feeding into the larger one perpendicular... meaning I was at the corner of 2 canals with no way to cross. So I turned North and rode parallel to the smaller canal across some grass field of sorts... which was fine, until there were gullies that fed into that small canal, resulting in having to get off the bike and carrying it across the gully! This led me eventually to a bridge I could cross, then had to work my way back to the main canal and head east again. There were a couple more times I had to cut north, and then back south to the canal, but was able to make it just fine.
I realized when I got there that this was not Dwayne's route, as there were no dirt paths cutting through fields - rather this was primarily concrete out to the ocean. I found out later that Dwayne was concerned enough about me finding my way (probably due to my poor Mandarin
skills) that he didn't try to explain the more complex route - and for this, I can't blame him!
The ride was really interesting. As it headed out to the ocean it was really a 1.5 hour crash course in Shanghai - specifically Pudong. I saw neighborhoods that were some of the worst living conditions I could imagine. I saw men walking out of their shack/houses in their underwear with no self consciousness at all. I saw men swimming/bathing in the canal - which is disgusting water. I saw the neighborhood open air butcher with a fan blade over the meat to shoo away the flies - no refrigeration in site, and the meat was still out and under the fan blade when I passed some hour + later!
I also saw some seemingly very nice homes on either side of the canal at certain points. I saw many factories that no doubt employed the folks in these neighborhoods. I saw new factories and commercial buildings being built.
When I got to the ocean, I saw all the barges in the ocean lining up and waiting to be called into the port.
I called Steph at this point - I think she too was concerned I would make it! I rested for a few minutes, then rode back in.
Only 1 close call with a truck on the ride. His bumper and my wheel about 2 feet from each other... As if the ride wasn't getting my heart rate up enough!
It was a great way to spend a few hours and get some exercise. I look forward to Dwayne's ride through fields and woods. And I look forward to proper rides in the Northwest when I get home!
Cheers,
Joe
My friend Dwayne explained to me that there was a ride from our suburb of Shanghai (JinQiao) east to the ocean. He was explaining that it was on concrete along the canal, then it turned into a dirt path that cut through fields and small villages. Eventually it delivers you to the ocean.
I am experiencing a period of complete disinterest in going to the gym. I am excited for basketball to start up, but I am not a runner - in fact I can't stand it, it is just completely unenjoyable to me. I can manage something similar in the gym with the elliptical and treadmill, but lately, I can't even bring myself to do that.
Having gained a significant amount of weight over the summer, and seeing basketball approaching with me in no semblance of shape had me looking for something athletic to do... that's when I remembered Dwayne's ride to the ocean.
So I tried to talk Dwayne into a Sunday morning ride. He begged off for Beijing to catch some final Olympic action, but I was pretty sold on the ride. Steph had a pretty good idea where this ride was, and Dwayne explained it to me... of course he explained it in a text message as 'cross Jinxiu Lu, turn left on the small road on this side of the canal... gets confusing at each bridge/intersection... braille from then on...".
Still I was undeterred.
So this weekend I bought a bike helmet and a 'camelback' and decided on Sunday morning I would set out on the adventure alone.
On the way back from dinner with friends on Saturday night I was telling Daniel when we would need him on Sunday. I explained that we would need him starting at 12:00pm. Then I tried to explain I was planning on riding from JinQiao to the ocean. I was explaining that if I got lost, I might call him to talk to a local person on my cell phone and either come get me or explain how to get home!
He didn't quite understand, but I think thought I was just crazy (or dumb enough to do it)... So he asked 'you go with who?' I explained I was headed out on my own. He responded 'why?'. Like it was strange enough a couple of expats were going to ride out to the ocean, but unfathomable that one was going to try it by himself.
Resolved that I was doing this, I set out Sunday morning. iPod set to a special playlist created just for the ride, 'camelback' filled with water that was kept in the fridge overnight, couple frozen water bottles for extra hydration and to keep the water in the bladder cold, a couple hundred kwai (aka RMB or Yuan) in case I got into a tight spot and a cell phone.
So I put 'semi' in parentheses in the title because Shanghai is amazingly flat, so I knew that the hardest part of this ride was going to simply be the heat and how long it took me to complete it. the weather helped out and it was not too hot... probably high 70s today, maybe low 80s.
The time to complete the ride is why my backside hurts. The last real ride I did was in high school when we rode around Applegate Lake in southern Oregon. I used to really enjoy mountain biking. It turns out I still enjoy it, but my 'bottom' isn't in riding shape. It was an hour and a half out and a little under that on the way back in. Almost 3 hours in the saddle was more than my hindquarters were prepared to handle!
The way out was longer in part due to some back tracking I had to do... Dwayne was right that bridges and intersections got confusing, and I had to braille my way to the ocean at different points. One memorable point was riding along the canal when I reached another canal feeding into the larger one perpendicular... meaning I was at the corner of 2 canals with no way to cross. So I turned North and rode parallel to the smaller canal across some grass field of sorts... which was fine, until there were gullies that fed into that small canal, resulting in having to get off the bike and carrying it across the gully! This led me eventually to a bridge I could cross, then had to work my way back to the main canal and head east again. There were a couple more times I had to cut north, and then back south to the canal, but was able to make it just fine.
I realized when I got there that this was not Dwayne's route, as there were no dirt paths cutting through fields - rather this was primarily concrete out to the ocean. I found out later that Dwayne was concerned enough about me finding my way (probably due to my poor Mandarin
skills) that he didn't try to explain the more complex route - and for this, I can't blame him!
The ride was really interesting. As it headed out to the ocean it was really a 1.5 hour crash course in Shanghai - specifically Pudong. I saw neighborhoods that were some of the worst living conditions I could imagine. I saw men walking out of their shack/houses in their underwear with no self consciousness at all. I saw men swimming/bathing in the canal - which is disgusting water. I saw the neighborhood open air butcher with a fan blade over the meat to shoo away the flies - no refrigeration in site, and the meat was still out and under the fan blade when I passed some hour + later!
I also saw some seemingly very nice homes on either side of the canal at certain points. I saw many factories that no doubt employed the folks in these neighborhoods. I saw new factories and commercial buildings being built.
When I got to the ocean, I saw all the barges in the ocean lining up and waiting to be called into the port.
I called Steph at this point - I think she too was concerned I would make it! I rested for a few minutes, then rode back in.
Only 1 close call with a truck on the ride. His bumper and my wheel about 2 feet from each other... As if the ride wasn't getting my heart rate up enough!
It was a great way to spend a few hours and get some exercise. I look forward to Dwayne's ride through fields and woods. And I look forward to proper rides in the Northwest when I get home!
Cheers,
Joe
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Teaching in China
Intel sent me to China to do a specific job. That job is the matrixed management of several product development teams focused on developing ingredients for notebook computers. These ingredients are the boards that go inside the notebooks and the plastic cases on the outside. This is a pretty simplistic explanation of what I am doing - but enough for this post.
In addition to the job I am sent here to do, there are certain expectations about mentoring and training. I am a mentor (official and un-official) to a couple of my Chinese co-workers, and for the last 4 months or so, our internal training group (called “Intel University” or “Intel U”) has really been pressuring me to deliver one of the classes that I am certified to teach.
I have been hesitant to teach while I am here in PRC. My biggest concern hasn’t been the time involved (although the class is a big commitment – 2 days delivery and at least ½ day prep when I have not taught in a while). My biggest concern has been my insecurity over delivering the class to a group that uses English as a second language and a culture that is less direct than my own.
The class is called Situational Leadership. It is targeted to our managers. I have been teaching the class for a number of years, and generally have received very good feedback in our evaluation process. I credit the class itself for the majority of the feedback. The material is extremely well developed, put together in a format that allows the material to be engaging throughout the 2 days, and highly applicable to the participants taking the class. I have no doubt my new co-workers will benefit from the class.
So why hesitant? First, I really think the class and the material is outstanding, and in the light of Intel choosing not to continue with the best management class we have (Managing Through People – which I also facilitated), I think this class is important for managers to take and apply. I was fearful that my delivery – all in English, and sometimes too fast – would result in students not being able to fully grasp the concepts. I was also concerned that they would be hesitant to stop me and tell me I wasn’t making any sense. Surely a Mandarin speaking instructor would be better.
My second concern was that I have exclusively delivered the class to participants in the US (and occasionally one from Costa Rica or Europe). I was really concerned that the material would have parts/pieces that would be culturally challenging to apply to these people’s teams. I have learned a lot about working with my Chinese colleagues, and learned enough about Chinese culture not to make an ass out of myself in public – but fall far short of being a ‘cultural guide’.
I tried desperately to find an instructor in PRC (native Chinese, or Mandarin speaker) that would co-teach with me. I struck out.
Then the Intel U contact that owns the class started to sound as desperate as I did – turns out the Shanghai site took a ‘quarterly objective’ to get a certain % of managers trained in this material… and they couldn’t get anyone to teach.
So the desperation of the Intel U guy, along with the feedback that the organization wanted me to step up and provide more leadership for the site, outside my specific responsibilities led me to bite the bullet and agree to teach.
This week was my first class. Overall it seemed to go well. The feedback from the couple of students that did talk with me afterwards was good – they indicated that they enjoyed the class, and one asked if I was going to teach any other classes. Another indicated that he wanted his staff to attend my next class.
I lead off the class with giving them express permission to ask me to slow down if I spoke to fast, to ask me to rephrase if they didn’t understand what I was saying or trying to communicate, and to stop me if they thought any of the concepts would not be applicable to their teams/work groups based on cultural differences between the US and PRC. None of the above happened, but I don’t necessarily think it was because everything was perfectly clear and applicable. I think it was a combination of some people being there to ‘complete the requirement’ and potentially their concern over ‘questioning the instructor’.
A couple of interesting observations I thought I would share.
I struggled to get the class to engage in discussion – In the US I usually have to cut off the discussion – everyone wants to give their opinion and be heard! I really struggled to pull comments and discussion out of the group and continue to rack my brain on why that might be…
So many possible reasons were running through my head ‘they don’t understand what I am asking them – this will be the worst class ever’ and ‘they are so bored they aren’t paying attention – this will be the worst class ever’ and even ‘they are so uncomfortable with their English skills they won’t engage – this will be the worst class ever’. I do have to admit it got a little better the longer class went on, but nothing like class in the US.
The second really interesting observation was about a game we play in the class. It’s a game focused on applying the learnings from the class about management and leadership. The group is split into teams and they read scenarios and decide on the appropriate response from a list of 4 options. They get to move their playing piece either forward or backwards based on the response they choose. First team to the end of the game board wins.
In the US what happens is one team wins and all the other teams stop and put the game away. “Someone won, it wasn’t us, the game is over” – the pieces get put away.
But in PRC it was totally different. Every team wanted to get to the finish line. They continued to work on the scenarios – continued to ask me to score their answers. They worked right through their break, as it was important to them to finish. Not that winning wasn’t important – they all wanted to win… but if they could not win, it was still important that they finish.
Now, I don’t have any idea what this says about the US culture vs. the Chinese culture, just something different that I didn’t expect… And it was cool!
As I mentioned, some folks came up to me afterwards and mentioned they enjoyed the class, and they thought it was a good use of 2 days. The evaluations went out today, so I should be getting some feedback in the next few days to see what they really thought! :)
For anyone curious, I’ll post about the results when I get them!
In addition to the job I am sent here to do, there are certain expectations about mentoring and training. I am a mentor (official and un-official) to a couple of my Chinese co-workers, and for the last 4 months or so, our internal training group (called “Intel University” or “Intel U”) has really been pressuring me to deliver one of the classes that I am certified to teach.
I have been hesitant to teach while I am here in PRC. My biggest concern hasn’t been the time involved (although the class is a big commitment – 2 days delivery and at least ½ day prep when I have not taught in a while). My biggest concern has been my insecurity over delivering the class to a group that uses English as a second language and a culture that is less direct than my own.
The class is called Situational Leadership. It is targeted to our managers. I have been teaching the class for a number of years, and generally have received very good feedback in our evaluation process. I credit the class itself for the majority of the feedback. The material is extremely well developed, put together in a format that allows the material to be engaging throughout the 2 days, and highly applicable to the participants taking the class. I have no doubt my new co-workers will benefit from the class.
So why hesitant? First, I really think the class and the material is outstanding, and in the light of Intel choosing not to continue with the best management class we have (Managing Through People – which I also facilitated), I think this class is important for managers to take and apply. I was fearful that my delivery – all in English, and sometimes too fast – would result in students not being able to fully grasp the concepts. I was also concerned that they would be hesitant to stop me and tell me I wasn’t making any sense. Surely a Mandarin speaking instructor would be better.
My second concern was that I have exclusively delivered the class to participants in the US (and occasionally one from Costa Rica or Europe). I was really concerned that the material would have parts/pieces that would be culturally challenging to apply to these people’s teams. I have learned a lot about working with my Chinese colleagues, and learned enough about Chinese culture not to make an ass out of myself in public – but fall far short of being a ‘cultural guide’.
I tried desperately to find an instructor in PRC (native Chinese, or Mandarin speaker) that would co-teach with me. I struck out.
Then the Intel U contact that owns the class started to sound as desperate as I did – turns out the Shanghai site took a ‘quarterly objective’ to get a certain % of managers trained in this material… and they couldn’t get anyone to teach.
So the desperation of the Intel U guy, along with the feedback that the organization wanted me to step up and provide more leadership for the site, outside my specific responsibilities led me to bite the bullet and agree to teach.
This week was my first class. Overall it seemed to go well. The feedback from the couple of students that did talk with me afterwards was good – they indicated that they enjoyed the class, and one asked if I was going to teach any other classes. Another indicated that he wanted his staff to attend my next class.
I lead off the class with giving them express permission to ask me to slow down if I spoke to fast, to ask me to rephrase if they didn’t understand what I was saying or trying to communicate, and to stop me if they thought any of the concepts would not be applicable to their teams/work groups based on cultural differences between the US and PRC. None of the above happened, but I don’t necessarily think it was because everything was perfectly clear and applicable. I think it was a combination of some people being there to ‘complete the requirement’ and potentially their concern over ‘questioning the instructor’.
A couple of interesting observations I thought I would share.
I struggled to get the class to engage in discussion – In the US I usually have to cut off the discussion – everyone wants to give their opinion and be heard! I really struggled to pull comments and discussion out of the group and continue to rack my brain on why that might be…
So many possible reasons were running through my head ‘they don’t understand what I am asking them – this will be the worst class ever’ and ‘they are so bored they aren’t paying attention – this will be the worst class ever’ and even ‘they are so uncomfortable with their English skills they won’t engage – this will be the worst class ever’. I do have to admit it got a little better the longer class went on, but nothing like class in the US.
The second really interesting observation was about a game we play in the class. It’s a game focused on applying the learnings from the class about management and leadership. The group is split into teams and they read scenarios and decide on the appropriate response from a list of 4 options. They get to move their playing piece either forward or backwards based on the response they choose. First team to the end of the game board wins.
In the US what happens is one team wins and all the other teams stop and put the game away. “Someone won, it wasn’t us, the game is over” – the pieces get put away.
But in PRC it was totally different. Every team wanted to get to the finish line. They continued to work on the scenarios – continued to ask me to score their answers. They worked right through their break, as it was important to them to finish. Not that winning wasn’t important – they all wanted to win… but if they could not win, it was still important that they finish.
Now, I don’t have any idea what this says about the US culture vs. the Chinese culture, just something different that I didn’t expect… And it was cool!
As I mentioned, some folks came up to me afterwards and mentioned they enjoyed the class, and they thought it was a good use of 2 days. The evaluations went out today, so I should be getting some feedback in the next few days to see what they really thought! :)
For anyone curious, I’ll post about the results when I get them!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Games Of The XXIX Olympiad, Part 3 - Joe and Steph go to the Olympics
Our 'Facebook Friends', Eric and Caroline (long story) had tickets to Olympic Football (soccer) here in Shanghai that they could not use due to their trip to the States being extended. They offered them up to friends and Steph and I pounced on the Quarterfinals tickets they had.
It was men's football, and until the week of the game, I didn't even know who we would be watching... All I knew is that we were going to the Olympics, and I was excited. And even more excited that I would not have to trek to Beijing to do it!
Now truth be told, if given the choice of any Olympic sport to see, football would not have been my first choice... Football has grown on me since being in China (Women's World Cup last year, Olympic this year). I am even falling in with all the Euros here in Shanghai and calling it 'football' as opposed to 'soccer'.
My top choices, unrestricted by cost and logistics, would have been gymnastics and swimming, both second place to Team USA basketball, of course!
That being said, we jumped immediately at the offer of tickets to both experience the Olympic games, as well as for me to grow my budding affinity for soccer. Steph had been to the summer Olympics in the US in 1984, so this wasn't a first for her, but she grew up playing soccer, so she naturally enjoys the sport - compared to me, who's still trying to convince himself 'offside' is a good rule.
Our driver was concerned about being able to get us close to the stadium. He had heard from other people in town that there were many roads closed around Shanghai Stadium, and as was no surprise to us, there was no real way to know what roads would be closed at what times. So on the way to the stadium we hatched a plan for Daniel to drop us off at a Metro (subway) station a few stops away, and then we would meet him back there after the game using the Metro again.
This plan worked well, as it was obvious that there were several roads closed. We exited the Metro station and while we had to walk quite a ways, it was easy to find the stadium and where we needed to enter.
The Chinese do a number of things very well, and among them is moving large amounts of people efficiently. As upwards of 85,000 people descended on the stadium, things were very orderly and very efficient. There was a tremendous security presence. They were helpful when people asked directions and they were EVERYWHERE! There is no doubt that despite the tragedy in Beijing (stabbing of the US tourist), the Chinese are taking security very seriously and using their vast 'people resources' to provide what many would call an overwhelming amount of security.
When we got to the stadium we qued up and went through what seemed just like airport security. Bags through an x-ray machine and people through a metal detector, and after the metal detector, everyone was 'wand scanned' as well. Once inside it was easy to find our seats, there were plenty of ushers and people to assist.
Before the match was the traditional pageantry - Olympic theme song, national anthems, etc. Before the pageantry was an interesting activity - on the big screen they went through the basic rules of football. It seemed that they expected that there would be a number of people that were 'coming to the Olympics' just to 'come to the Olympics'... so in response they provided a basic understanding of the rules. I would have loved this for Judo, since it's on all the time and I don't understand the scoring one bit!
The Chinese are evidently big fans of the Argentinian football team. There were jerseys all over the place, Chinese with their faces painted with the Argentinian flag and chants supporting Argentina throughout.
I preferred to root for the Netherlands. There are 2 basic reasons I defied Darin's advice on who to root for (referenced in a previous blog):
1) I love to root for the underdog - also the reason I don't do pools for the NCAA tourney, I really want to see the #16 knock off the #1
2) Having been to the Netherlands on a business trip, a friend and I realized that everything in Holland is 'better than it has to be'. This takes a little explaining, so bear with me.
When we drove from Germany to Amsterdam on a business trip (also referenced in a previous blog) we noticed that in the Netherlands/Holland they took the time, money and energy to do things beautifully. A prime example was the cement walls next to interstates. As we drove through Germany, these cement walls were just that - gray walls. In the US sometimes we make an effort to scrawl designs in the walls to make them look like rocks - but really it's just cement walls. These barriers in Holland were beautiful mosaics or paintings - just 'better than it had to be'.
That became our description of Netherlands/Holland from that point forward: "Holland, better than it has to be' versus our description of other places, 'just enough to get by'.
Thus I was pulling for Holland.
The match was tied 1-1 at half time, with many exciting shots on goal to go along with the 2 scores. The second half proceeded scoreless. In Olympic football, in the quarters/semis/finals, when tied at the end of regulation you play 2 extra 15 minute periods. I had incorrectly assumed it was 'sudden death' - meaning the first team to score in OT won. If both 'extra time' periods expire and the match is still tied, you move to penalty kicks to decide the match.
Argentina (like the US women the night before versus Canada) scored a goal during the first 15 minute 'extra time' period. Holland had one 15 minute period remaining to tie the match and force penalty kicks... Alas, one thing that is not 'better than it has to be' is the Netherlands Men's Football team. They could not score a tying goal and ended up losing 2-1 in 2 extra time periods.
It was a great match, and a great experience for my first Olympic experience.
We headed out of the stadium - which was, as usual another example of efficiency - and made it to the last Metro train so we could meet Daniel a few stops away. They held the train an extra long time to give people the opportunity to catch it... This was not enjoyable, as the heat of the evening, and the heat of the bodies was amplified by the crush of people on the train - it was hot and sweaty!
Luckily we were off the train in a few short stops and back into the car with Daniel and air conditioning heading back home.
Daniel filled us in on the 100M men's final that was run earlier that evening. He explained the ease with which the Jamaican athlete won the 100M and set the new world record... unfortunately, he ended the story with 'we think he take medicine'. The ease and cushion with which the man won immediately opened suspicion of steroid use. This is the legacy of athletes like Ben Johnson and Marion Jones (and countless others) - when someone does something amazing - something that has never been done before, the first thing that pops into people's mind is 'they must be juiced'.
Luckily the IOC has done a tremendous amount of testing of the Jamaican team due in part to the very underdeveloped testing program in Jamaica, as well as the knowledge that the team was in contention for numerous medals. The testing has been consistent enough that the Jamaican officials are complaining... Hopefully they see this for what it is - a good thing... hopefully in a matter of days we will be seeing stories about how all the athletes passed all their tests and we can assume that the results are legit!
My first Olympic games was limited to one event. The remainder of my experience this year as been Chinese commentary on CCTV and a little SlingBox, but it's been awesome!
Cheers,
Joe
It was men's football, and until the week of the game, I didn't even know who we would be watching... All I knew is that we were going to the Olympics, and I was excited. And even more excited that I would not have to trek to Beijing to do it!
Now truth be told, if given the choice of any Olympic sport to see, football would not have been my first choice... Football has grown on me since being in China (Women's World Cup last year, Olympic this year). I am even falling in with all the Euros here in Shanghai and calling it 'football' as opposed to 'soccer'.
My top choices, unrestricted by cost and logistics, would have been gymnastics and swimming, both second place to Team USA basketball, of course!
That being said, we jumped immediately at the offer of tickets to both experience the Olympic games, as well as for me to grow my budding affinity for soccer. Steph had been to the summer Olympics in the US in 1984, so this wasn't a first for her, but she grew up playing soccer, so she naturally enjoys the sport - compared to me, who's still trying to convince himself 'offside' is a good rule.
Our driver was concerned about being able to get us close to the stadium. He had heard from other people in town that there were many roads closed around Shanghai Stadium, and as was no surprise to us, there was no real way to know what roads would be closed at what times. So on the way to the stadium we hatched a plan for Daniel to drop us off at a Metro (subway) station a few stops away, and then we would meet him back there after the game using the Metro again.
This plan worked well, as it was obvious that there were several roads closed. We exited the Metro station and while we had to walk quite a ways, it was easy to find the stadium and where we needed to enter.
The Chinese do a number of things very well, and among them is moving large amounts of people efficiently. As upwards of 85,000 people descended on the stadium, things were very orderly and very efficient. There was a tremendous security presence. They were helpful when people asked directions and they were EVERYWHERE! There is no doubt that despite the tragedy in Beijing (stabbing of the US tourist), the Chinese are taking security very seriously and using their vast 'people resources' to provide what many would call an overwhelming amount of security.
When we got to the stadium we qued up and went through what seemed just like airport security. Bags through an x-ray machine and people through a metal detector, and after the metal detector, everyone was 'wand scanned' as well. Once inside it was easy to find our seats, there were plenty of ushers and people to assist.
Before the match was the traditional pageantry - Olympic theme song, national anthems, etc. Before the pageantry was an interesting activity - on the big screen they went through the basic rules of football. It seemed that they expected that there would be a number of people that were 'coming to the Olympics' just to 'come to the Olympics'... so in response they provided a basic understanding of the rules. I would have loved this for Judo, since it's on all the time and I don't understand the scoring one bit!
The Chinese are evidently big fans of the Argentinian football team. There were jerseys all over the place, Chinese with their faces painted with the Argentinian flag and chants supporting Argentina throughout.
I preferred to root for the Netherlands. There are 2 basic reasons I defied Darin's advice on who to root for (referenced in a previous blog):
1) I love to root for the underdog - also the reason I don't do pools for the NCAA tourney, I really want to see the #16 knock off the #1
2) Having been to the Netherlands on a business trip, a friend and I realized that everything in Holland is 'better than it has to be'. This takes a little explaining, so bear with me.
When we drove from Germany to Amsterdam on a business trip (also referenced in a previous blog) we noticed that in the Netherlands/Holland they took the time, money and energy to do things beautifully. A prime example was the cement walls next to interstates. As we drove through Germany, these cement walls were just that - gray walls. In the US sometimes we make an effort to scrawl designs in the walls to make them look like rocks - but really it's just cement walls. These barriers in Holland were beautiful mosaics or paintings - just 'better than it had to be'.
That became our description of Netherlands/Holland from that point forward: "Holland, better than it has to be' versus our description of other places, 'just enough to get by'.
Thus I was pulling for Holland.
We got really lucky in the fact that the storm that had caused a 1 hour and 40 minute rain/lightning delay in the Women's quarterfinal the night before had passed/subsided such that the game started right on time, and there was no delay during the match.
The match was tied 1-1 at half time, with many exciting shots on goal to go along with the 2 scores. The second half proceeded scoreless. In Olympic football, in the quarters/semis/finals, when tied at the end of regulation you play 2 extra 15 minute periods. I had incorrectly assumed it was 'sudden death' - meaning the first team to score in OT won. If both 'extra time' periods expire and the match is still tied, you move to penalty kicks to decide the match.
Argentina (like the US women the night before versus Canada) scored a goal during the first 15 minute 'extra time' period. Holland had one 15 minute period remaining to tie the match and force penalty kicks... Alas, one thing that is not 'better than it has to be' is the Netherlands Men's Football team. They could not score a tying goal and ended up losing 2-1 in 2 extra time periods.
It was a great match, and a great experience for my first Olympic experience.
We headed out of the stadium - which was, as usual another example of efficiency - and made it to the last Metro train so we could meet Daniel a few stops away. They held the train an extra long time to give people the opportunity to catch it... This was not enjoyable, as the heat of the evening, and the heat of the bodies was amplified by the crush of people on the train - it was hot and sweaty!
Luckily we were off the train in a few short stops and back into the car with Daniel and air conditioning heading back home.
Daniel filled us in on the 100M men's final that was run earlier that evening. He explained the ease with which the Jamaican athlete won the 100M and set the new world record... unfortunately, he ended the story with 'we think he take medicine'. The ease and cushion with which the man won immediately opened suspicion of steroid use. This is the legacy of athletes like Ben Johnson and Marion Jones (and countless others) - when someone does something amazing - something that has never been done before, the first thing that pops into people's mind is 'they must be juiced'.
Luckily the IOC has done a tremendous amount of testing of the Jamaican team due in part to the very underdeveloped testing program in Jamaica, as well as the knowledge that the team was in contention for numerous medals. The testing has been consistent enough that the Jamaican officials are complaining... Hopefully they see this for what it is - a good thing... hopefully in a matter of days we will be seeing stories about how all the athletes passed all their tests and we can assume that the results are legit!
My first Olympic games was limited to one event. The remainder of my experience this year as been Chinese commentary on CCTV and a little SlingBox, but it's been awesome!
Cheers,
Joe
The Games Of The XXIX Olympiad, Part 2 - Sleeping Kids and SlingBox
Please note, have your ballot for 'father of the year' ready to fill out, so when you read this post, you can quickly make your submission on my behalf!
Sleeping Kids
So last Friday the US Women were playing Canada in the Quarterfinals of US Women's Olympic football. The game was being played in Shanghai, so I figured that surely the match would be on one of the 3 CCTV stations covering the Olympics.
I talked one of my co-workers into meeting me at a local 'American' bar which has a pretty good sports bar set up with a large screen and various other flat panel TVs. Steph was still feeling badly from a bug she picked up and the jet lag, so she opted to stay at home, and the girls and I braved the rainstorm to head to Malone's and meet Tom.
Unfortunately I learned upon arrival, that there was no football match being televised... The ever popular sports of Judo and Badminton were consuming all the televisions. I found out from the manager that the storm had impacted satellite coverage, so there was no way to get the match, and only the standard CCTV stations (not featuring football) were available - DRAT!
Anyhow, the girls and I waited for Tom and ordered dinner... Tom showed up shortly and as we were all eating, the girls were 'hitting the wall' - getting very sleepy. Normally I am a stickler for good table manners, but given the jet lag the girls were operating under, I didn't give them a hard time about slouching, our laying their heads down in between bites... We were in a bench seat with pillows, so it was so inviting for them.
And the father of the year moment - get those ballots ready:
Gigi laid her head down on my lap at one point, while eating a bite of her 'kid's spaghetti'. While I was talking to Tom I realized I felt something on my leg - it was her drool mixed with some spaghetti... it seems she had laid her head down and fallen asleep mid-bite; fork still in her hand, some food still in her mouth, some escaping from her mouth. Classic.
I removed the fork, wiped my leg and let her sleep. Tom and I were still finishing up dinner, and I saw no reason to wake her. She then prompted to wiggle around - I assume to get more comfortable... she stretched her arms a little, and one of them, when she returned to a resting position, she placed directly on my dinner plate... so image this: she's laying on the bench seat, head in my lap (at least no drool or food coming out of her mouth), with one arm up on the table, resting smack in the middle of my french fries...
So there it is - please get the 'Father of the Year' ballots in the mail as soon as possible as not to miss the cut-off! :)
SlingBox
Once I got the kids home and into bed, I decided to switch on the SlingBox and see what kind of events were being televised in the US. It turns out the US Women's match vs. Canada had been delayed 1 hour and 40 minutes to accommodate the rain/thunder/lighting. The upside of this for me was that I was able to see the 2nd half of the match from the comfort of my couch, no drooling child on my lap, no judgemental eyes looking at me saying 'how can that man bring his kids to a sports bar and let them fall asleep here, just so he can watch sports'. (Here's hoping your 'Father of the Year' applications arrive before their 'dissenting opinions'.)
The US won 2-1 in 'extra time' - basically 'overtime' as described in mainstream sports in the US. It was a good match to watch, and thanks to the amazing technology called Slingbox, I was able to do so!
The interesting thing about this was that I was sitting in China, watching a football match that was being played in the same city I was in, watching over the computer, hooked up to a TV in Seattle, watching on channel 099, which is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation! Just crazy!
Next Post will be Part 3 - our heading to the Olympics: Argentina vs. Netherlands Football!
Cheers,
Joe
Sleeping Kids
So last Friday the US Women were playing Canada in the Quarterfinals of US Women's Olympic football. The game was being played in Shanghai, so I figured that surely the match would be on one of the 3 CCTV stations covering the Olympics.
I talked one of my co-workers into meeting me at a local 'American' bar which has a pretty good sports bar set up with a large screen and various other flat panel TVs. Steph was still feeling badly from a bug she picked up and the jet lag, so she opted to stay at home, and the girls and I braved the rainstorm to head to Malone's and meet Tom.
Unfortunately I learned upon arrival, that there was no football match being televised... The ever popular sports of Judo and Badminton were consuming all the televisions. I found out from the manager that the storm had impacted satellite coverage, so there was no way to get the match, and only the standard CCTV stations (not featuring football) were available - DRAT!
Anyhow, the girls and I waited for Tom and ordered dinner... Tom showed up shortly and as we were all eating, the girls were 'hitting the wall' - getting very sleepy. Normally I am a stickler for good table manners, but given the jet lag the girls were operating under, I didn't give them a hard time about slouching, our laying their heads down in between bites... We were in a bench seat with pillows, so it was so inviting for them.
And the father of the year moment - get those ballots ready:
Gigi laid her head down on my lap at one point, while eating a bite of her 'kid's spaghetti'. While I was talking to Tom I realized I felt something on my leg - it was her drool mixed with some spaghetti... it seems she had laid her head down and fallen asleep mid-bite; fork still in her hand, some food still in her mouth, some escaping from her mouth. Classic.
I removed the fork, wiped my leg and let her sleep. Tom and I were still finishing up dinner, and I saw no reason to wake her. She then prompted to wiggle around - I assume to get more comfortable... she stretched her arms a little, and one of them, when she returned to a resting position, she placed directly on my dinner plate... so image this: she's laying on the bench seat, head in my lap (at least no drool or food coming out of her mouth), with one arm up on the table, resting smack in the middle of my french fries...
Livi also fell asleep shortly behind Gigi... And her I could not wake up when Tom and I had finished eating... Could not physically do it! So Tom is carrying Gigi (recently extricated from my lap and dinner plate) while I am dragging Olivia across the 'pleather' bench seat in an effort to get her close enough to me to pick up.
So there it is - please get the 'Father of the Year' ballots in the mail as soon as possible as not to miss the cut-off! :)
SlingBox
Once I got the kids home and into bed, I decided to switch on the SlingBox and see what kind of events were being televised in the US. It turns out the US Women's match vs. Canada had been delayed 1 hour and 40 minutes to accommodate the rain/thunder/lighting. The upside of this for me was that I was able to see the 2nd half of the match from the comfort of my couch, no drooling child on my lap, no judgemental eyes looking at me saying 'how can that man bring his kids to a sports bar and let them fall asleep here, just so he can watch sports'. (Here's hoping your 'Father of the Year' applications arrive before their 'dissenting opinions'.)
The US won 2-1 in 'extra time' - basically 'overtime' as described in mainstream sports in the US. It was a good match to watch, and thanks to the amazing technology called Slingbox, I was able to do so!
The interesting thing about this was that I was sitting in China, watching a football match that was being played in the same city I was in, watching over the computer, hooked up to a TV in Seattle, watching on channel 099, which is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation! Just crazy!
Next Post will be Part 3 - our heading to the Olympics: Argentina vs. Netherlands Football!
Cheers,
Joe
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Games Of The XXIX Olympiad
Thought I would share my impressions of watching the Olympics in the host country...
TV Coverage: It's simply outstanding. Having a state run television network has proven to be a great way to broadcast coverage of the games. The TV network (CCTV) has 3 stations dedicated to Olympic coverage morning to night. As you can imagine, they are primarily focused on the Chinese (I've seen quite a bit of badminton), but they also make an effort to show popular things like Team USA basketball.
When the TV is state run, there are the obvious downsides (see: free speech, Tibet, 13 year old gymnasts) - but one of the upsides is there is no need to generate ad revenue... there are next to no commercials on CCTV when you are watching the games. It's such a nice respite from the US where I imagine it's 2 minutes of commercial for every 10 of coverage... and you have political ads to deal with as well!
There are also none of the sappy human interest stories that NBC seems to show as many hours of as they do actual sports... I know those must be popular, and I know some of these athletes have amazing stories - but let's see the games, people! Well in China, you get the games... even if I don't understand the commentary... and sometimes the rules (see: Judo).
Of course there is no way for a non-Chinese speaker or reader to have any idea what they are showing when, there's no Comcast 'guide' feature... in fact some friends and I showed up at a bar to watch some women's football (US vs. New Zealand) to find out it wasn't being televised... but the 78Kg Men's weightlifting was very popular!
I watched the most amazing 5 set comeback in women's volleyball the other night. Cuba was down 2 sets to love against the host team China. The 3rd game they won 34-32 (games are to 25, win by 2). Then they won the 4th and 5th sets fairly closely!
At work today, they set up a TV hooked to a Classmate PC (Intel product) and using a TV tuner card were able to show the Women's (not sure why we call it 'women's' since all these athletes are really 'girls') Gymnastics All Around Final. It was being broadcast by the Chinese government over some special system they built just for the Olympics so people without digital TV (read: cable/satellite) could watch.
I looked around at one point and it was me and 27 Chinese people, all speaking Chinese, watching a broadcast in Chinese, and them all rooting for the Chinese... you can imagine who I was rooting for! It was a good afternoon to be an American as we took Gold and Silver to the Chinese Bronze! I jumped up on the ping pong table, started dancing around and yelling 'take that, how ya' like me now?'!!! OK, I didn't... and I didn't even think about it, but I wonder how many of you think I am just competitive enough to have done it? :)
Many people have asked us if we are going to the Olympics 'in Beijing' when we are here... We are in fact going to the Olympics, but not in Beijing. As it turns out many of the football (soccer) matches are being played in Shanghai. We had friends (our 'facebook friends') - Eric and Caroline - offer tickets to their friends, as they could not use them. We picked up their quarterfinals tickets - Argentina vs. Netherlands.
I asked my friend Darin (who explained a system to his wife so she knows who to root for in college athletics when she seemingly has no allegiance) who I should root for. I asked if I should root for Netherlands - a northern hemisphere thing, or Argentina - an 'our continents are closest' thing. He responded simply 'You root for Argentina, because they are going to win.' DONE - Argentina it is!
I'll post about how going to my first Olympics was sometime this weekend, or early next week.
Go Argentina!
TV Coverage: It's simply outstanding. Having a state run television network has proven to be a great way to broadcast coverage of the games. The TV network (CCTV) has 3 stations dedicated to Olympic coverage morning to night. As you can imagine, they are primarily focused on the Chinese (I've seen quite a bit of badminton), but they also make an effort to show popular things like Team USA basketball.
When the TV is state run, there are the obvious downsides (see: free speech, Tibet, 13 year old gymnasts) - but one of the upsides is there is no need to generate ad revenue... there are next to no commercials on CCTV when you are watching the games. It's such a nice respite from the US where I imagine it's 2 minutes of commercial for every 10 of coverage... and you have political ads to deal with as well!
There are also none of the sappy human interest stories that NBC seems to show as many hours of as they do actual sports... I know those must be popular, and I know some of these athletes have amazing stories - but let's see the games, people! Well in China, you get the games... even if I don't understand the commentary... and sometimes the rules (see: Judo).
Of course there is no way for a non-Chinese speaker or reader to have any idea what they are showing when, there's no Comcast 'guide' feature... in fact some friends and I showed up at a bar to watch some women's football (US vs. New Zealand) to find out it wasn't being televised... but the 78Kg Men's weightlifting was very popular!
I watched the most amazing 5 set comeback in women's volleyball the other night. Cuba was down 2 sets to love against the host team China. The 3rd game they won 34-32 (games are to 25, win by 2). Then they won the 4th and 5th sets fairly closely!
At work today, they set up a TV hooked to a Classmate PC (Intel product) and using a TV tuner card were able to show the Women's (not sure why we call it 'women's' since all these athletes are really 'girls') Gymnastics All Around Final. It was being broadcast by the Chinese government over some special system they built just for the Olympics so people without digital TV (read: cable/satellite) could watch.
I looked around at one point and it was me and 27 Chinese people, all speaking Chinese, watching a broadcast in Chinese, and them all rooting for the Chinese... you can imagine who I was rooting for! It was a good afternoon to be an American as we took Gold and Silver to the Chinese Bronze! I jumped up on the ping pong table, started dancing around and yelling 'take that, how ya' like me now?'!!! OK, I didn't... and I didn't even think about it, but I wonder how many of you think I am just competitive enough to have done it? :)
Many people have asked us if we are going to the Olympics 'in Beijing' when we are here... We are in fact going to the Olympics, but not in Beijing. As it turns out many of the football (soccer) matches are being played in Shanghai. We had friends (our 'facebook friends') - Eric and Caroline - offer tickets to their friends, as they could not use them. We picked up their quarterfinals tickets - Argentina vs. Netherlands.
I asked my friend Darin (who explained a system to his wife so she knows who to root for in college athletics when she seemingly has no allegiance) who I should root for. I asked if I should root for Netherlands - a northern hemisphere thing, or Argentina - an 'our continents are closest' thing. He responded simply 'You root for Argentina, because they are going to win.' DONE - Argentina it is!
I'll post about how going to my first Olympics was sometime this weekend, or early next week.
Go Argentina!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
