james shaw's blog: 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.