Lauren & the Olympics

The beds here are very firm. So firm that if you belly flop on one, it will knock the wind out of you. We're pretty sore, so yesterday a group of us got 50-minute full body massages (cost: about US $10). We (including four manly men) had to change into provided pastel pajamas; the massage was painful/wonderful, except the "blind" masseuse going to town on me was slapping and punching my behind so hard I sounded like a fleshy bongo drum. No one else got punched. It was great. At least I got watermelon after. 

I also broke out in hives. I tried a Chinese face mask from the supermarket. Large welts ensued. It was taken care of.

There have been a couple of other interesting developments in the past 24 hours. It turns out I am going to be doing flash quotes for volleyball and cycling events. The cycling flash quote reporters had to put names in a hat, and one of us, Patrick, had to switch over the volleyball completely. The other four of us selected have to shuttle to cycling events after volleyball. I'm excited. More behind-the-scenes-action. I'm just worried that I'll end up missing BMX or something like that. But we'll see.

We're going on a three-day tour. It starts at 8:25 a.m. today, and we'll get to see the Beijing sewage treatment plant, eat Peking duck, walk along the Great Wall, visit the Summer and Winter palaces, and go to the opera. As a group, we've already wandered around Tianamen Square a few times and visited the Silk Market, but it will be nice to have tour guides explaining these iconic places to us. We've also been invited to participate in a Chinese talk show on Monday. I'm not sure if we're going to be in the audience or what else will arise. 

Remind me soon to tell you the story of how I ate a large square of congealed pig's blood.