A new post is coming. Sorry for the delay. Tim got homo-ed. 

The Olympics at Beijing, We made it.

Day 7 I think.

Today I attended my first Olympic event of my life. And it was memorable.

So we woke up early to make it to the event. Greco-Roman Wrestling. It was at the Agriculture University. Uncle James' driver took Tim and I to the stadium. Today There was actually some sun.

It was not as crowded as I thought it would be, but there was still a lot of people from all over the world walking around. They have some souvenir stands and everything is reasonable priced. We bought some stuff to bring back to people in the states.

North Koreans. How did they get out of the country?

Kazhakstan... is the number one exporter of potassium

From Outside

Wrestling Stadium

I brought my UT BME shirt because my boss wants me to take pictures with Olympic things. I didn't want to wear it around but I carried it with me and put it on for some pictures. Here you go, Cindy. UT BME and BEIJING. 

The mascots for the Olympics. There are 5 in total each with a different theme. Read about them here. 

http://en.beijing2008.cn/spirit/beijing2008/graphic/n214068254.shtml

They are so cute. They each represent an Olympic ring. And each on is named after the Chinese words "Beijing Welcomes You." The main one is this one. 

Get out of my photo tourists.

His name is HuanHuan. He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport -- and passion is the blessing he bestows. Huanhuan stands in the center of Fuwa as the core embodiment of the Olympic spirit. And while he inspires all with the passion to run faster, jump higher and be stronger, he is also open and inviting. Wherever the light of Huanhuan shines, the inviting warmth of Beijing 2008 -- and the wishful blessings of the Chinese people -- can be felt. The fiery designs of his head ornament are drawn from the famed Dunhuang murals -- with just a touch of China's traditional lucky designs. Huanhuan is outgoing and enthusiastic. He excels at all the ball games and represents the red Olympic ring.

This one is called Jing Jing. 

Jingjing makes children smile -- and that's why he brings the blessing of happiness wherever he goes. You can see his joy in the charming naivety of his dancing pose and the lovely wave of his black and white fur. As a national treasure and a protected species, pandas are adored by people everywhere. The lotus designs in Jingjing's headdress, which are inspired by the porcelain paintings of the Song Dynasty (A.D.960-1234), symbolize the lush forest and the harmonious relationship between man and nature. Jingjing was chosen to represent our desire to protect nature's gifts -- and to preserve the beauty of nature for all generations. Jingjing is charmingly naïve and optimistic. He is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring.

You should read about the rest. Olympic spirit.

We made it.

Walking inside did give me goosebumps. The olympics at Beijing. The Worlds best athletes. We finally made it. It's very exciting to be able to see anything.

So today is not the super heavies. It was the 55 and 60 kg weight class qualifiers and finals. These little dudes are quick. China sucks at wrestling, they kept losing. We saw some pretty nasty throws as well.

Spencer Mango of USA being mounted by some dude. Get off me.

Like sweet popcorn.

Took this when I went to go pee.

I took this picture when I was peeing. Squatty Potty.

Hi I am at the Olympics.

This is for Cindy. I didn't want to put it on.

Highlight. We decided to go back outside to look for souvenirs. As we were leaving I see this huge dude and I think to myself I bet this guy loves wrestling. I look more closely. ALEXANDER KARELIN. The guy I wrote about yesterday.

AJSHOIQHR#RU(#_UFEW(H#RI!RHIHDIDGHI@H!!!!!

I was like OMG OMg oMg omG OmG. Tim take a picture of us.

His nickname was the meanest man on earth. The nickname fits. I was like can I take a photo. He looked at me and goes "Yes." In the deepest voice ever. Then he just looks at the camera. I go to shake his hand and he walks away. I awesome. I got owned by Karelin. Nice. I am glad the nickname lives up to the hype. This guy is the sickest wrestler of ALL time. The most feared man in Olympic history. Look at him. So mean.

See? Mean.

I was so excited, I wanted to do this to him. Come here big guy.

I think he just wanted to take a pee and was like get away from me.

We bought some more souvenirs and left. On the way out, I ran into some RUssians looking to score some tickets. Instead I was like do you like Alexander Karelin. Look at this photo. They were very excited and then dejected. 

THis is them. "DO you have ticket?" "No, do you want to see Karelin?"

THen I took the train back home. 

Getting around the city its relatively easy. There are olympic info stands all over the place and people willing to help. If you know English they can help you. World friendly. Good job Beijing.

Here is one stand.

We ate lunch and then Tim, Uncle James, and I went to go get a massage. It was going to be my first massage ever. 

Am I supposed to get naked and wear this?

I expected some little asian woman. Instead I was very surprised. My masseuse was a rather large man. AND he was BLIND. 

It was so painful. I was flexing the entire hour. He like dug his elbow into my back. I would like hold my breath and breathe really hard. He walked around pretty well. He kept asking me questions that I didn't understand. I kept answering yes.

Ow OW OW dude. Ow.

I feel no pain.

Then I had some apple juice and left.

I TOOK A PICTURE WITH KARELIN.

Went home. Watched China choke against Spain. Ate dinner. Almost went somewhere. But instead did not.

I am tired.

I TOOK A PICTURE WITH KARELIN.

-James KARELIN.

DUbya with Bill Gates. You didn't meet Karelin.

Alexander Karelin

No sir, I do not.

WEI GWOH REN - Foreigners

Hello Blog

Day 6.

Today we relaxed. Woke up late. Watched USA own France. Ate lunch. Planned itinerary for the rest of Beijing.

Tomorrow our cousin Jimalyn scored us some tickets to Greco-Roman wrestling. 

No attacks from below the waist. It's the homosexual one I think. Like if you give up a point, you have to lay on the ground and the other dude mounts you. Like hump you. Look at these guys. I think the one is kissing the other one.

SO random facts about Greco-Roman wrestling. Remember the name ALEXANDER KARELIN. From the former SOVIET UNION. Nicknamed the Russian Bear and the Meanest Man on Earth. ALthough he was not mean. This is guy is the most dominating Olympian of all time. 

His conditioning, quickness, and incredible physical stature for his weight, perhaps combined with his dominance of the sport, led to him being known as "The Experiment" by much of the rest of the world. The term connoted the notion that his strength and skill were the result of some kind of scientificexperiment. When asked why he thought he was called that, Karelin noted that others don't understand because "I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs.

Karelin was famous for his body lift, the "Karelin Lift," where facing the opponent who was lying flat on the mat to keep from being thrown, Karelin was able to lift the opponent from around his waist and throw him all the way over his shoulders, scoring from 2 to 5 points depending on the height of the throw. Karelin's ability to perform this throw against elite opponents weighing as much as 130 kg was amazing to audiences as well as other participants and observers of the sport. 

Here are some stats about his career.

He was a wrestler in the 130 kg, 286 lbs weight class. He won gold medals in the 1988, 1992, 1996 Olympics. He went UNDEFEATED in the last 13 YEARS of his CAREER. He went the last 6 YEARS of his CAREER without giving up a SINGLE point. In the 1996 olympics, Karelin won with a separated pectoral muscle. His opponent had previously lost to him 20 times in a row.

He lost in the Sydney 2000 gold medal bout to a worthy adversary Rulon Gardner. More on him later. His first loss in 13 years. How is this possible. It was one of the biggest upsets ever.

Here is his career

1967	Born September 19 in Novobirsk, Siberia
1980	Takes up wrestling at age 13
1988	Wins Olympic gold medal in Seoul, South Korea; also wins European Championship
1989-91, 1993-95, 1998-99	Wins European and World Championships
1992	Wins Olympic gold medal in Barcelona, Spain; also wins European Championship
1996	Wins Olympic gold medal in Atlanta, Georgia; also wins European Championship
1997	Wins World Championship
1999	Elected to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament
2000	Wins European Championship
2000	Wins Olympic silver medal in Sydney, Australia; also wins European Championship
2000	Retires from wrestling

Karelin was born an astonishing 6,8 kg (15 lb) baby. Karelin holds a Ph.D. in Physical Education. He is also active in Russian politics. 

Can you say HERO.

The man he lost to, Rulon Gardner is pretty amazing too. Not because he was a wrestler, but his amazing ability to SURVIVE. This guy survives everything. Read this. It's insane.

Rulon Gardner has had an amazing streak of luck with survival. While in grammar school, Rulon was impaled by an arrow in a show-and-tell incident. In 2002, Gardner was stranded on a wilderness snowmobile trip and had to have a toe amputated after suffering frostbite. In 2004, he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. In February 2007, Gardner and two others crashed a Cirrus SR-22 airplane into Lake Powell. After surviving the impact, they were forced to swim in 44 °F (7 °C) water for over an hour. The three survived overnight without shelter or fire in 28 °F (−2 °C) air temperature. His amazing luck streak continued when a fisherman, out of his usual route, found and picked them up in the morning.

I mean if you're going to lose might as well be to this guy. He is survivor man.

Rulon Gardner.

Ok. Then Tim and I went shopping. It was a pretty clear day from all the rain the day and night before.

A main shopping area.

Mall.

This looks like the players.

There is a lot of stuff to buy. We will come back another day when it is less crowded. It is a nuthouse. The official Olympic store is so packed. It smells like human BO. There are a lot of Wei Gwoh Ren's, foreigners. I was standing in line and this Chinese guy tried to cut me in line. I pushed him back with my elbow. OWNED.

Crowded.

Medal count.

Outdoor viewing

We will come back another day. Our cousin gave us free McDonald's meal vouchers. We just wanted the fries so we gave the rest to some homeless guy.

Trying to get home was terrible. We couldn't get a taxi to take us where we wanted. We don't know how to get back to where we live, so our Uncle wrote it down on a piece of paper. Too bad none of the cab drivers can READ. We had to call our Uncle and he had to give them directions over the phone.

More cousins are staying with us. They had a later flight and we all ate together.

Now I am going to sleep to watch some wrestling tomorrow. Nice. 

-James