Opening Ceremonies Madness

The majority of our Purdue group went to Paul's, the aforementioned North American-style diner owned by a Canadian, to watch the Opening Ceremonies on NBC via satellite television. A handful of us, however, including myself, wanted to experience the next best thing to being in the Bird's Nest. Tiananmen Square doesn't have screens to play live feeds, so Alysha, Chris, Kelsey, Val, and I took a gamble on Wangfujing, a car-less shopping area located next to the Oriental Plaza Mall and the flagship Olympics store. Chris calls it the "Times Square of Beijing"; it has beverage stands, cosmopolitan shops, and most importantly, huge screens. There were rumors there wouldn't be an outdoor broadcast, but stubbornly, we took the subway there anyway, looking for a miracle.

It paid off ten-fold.

Wangfujing was madness, completely perfect Opening Ceremonies madness. We arrived about an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, and hundreds of people were already rallying for China, chanting into megaphones, pumping their fists in the air, waving huge Chinese and Beijing Olympics flags. People wore stickers on their faces and tied red headbands around their foreheads. Our spots were great, less than 50 yards from the screen without any major visual obstructions. Thousands of people soon filled the plaza. Brazilians wearing bright green wigs, football-style face paint, and yellow jerseys climbed onto each other's shoulders. Men from the Netherlands in orange joker hats serenaded passers-by with their national anthem. Germans, Australians, and Russians shook their flags in the air. Mexico, Venezuela, Sweden, Hungary, New Zealand, France, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, and God bless it, America, all had representatives cheering wildly in the sea of Chinese spectators. It was like a European football championship without any animosity. When one country chanted loudly, the Chinese would start chanting louder, but it was all good humored. All of us were proud to be there, in the heart of Beijing, celebrating the greatest event in sports that brings the world together.

China's communal spirit goodheartedly ruled the crowd; when the ceremony first sparkled across the screen, everyone sat on the ground so we could all see equally. People climbing in nearby trees were shooed down to prevent injuries. Human chains formed passageways for people looking to leave or get into the plaza.

The Opening Ceremonies gave me chills. Stunning, regal, ornate, absolutely gorgeous. I felt very proud of China. This is the place I've fallen in love with for the past five weeks, I thought. Please give it a chance.

When athletes began to march into the Bird's Nest, however, the crowd became even more jubilant. Everyone cheered for each other's country. The Chinese went nutty for Taipei, Hong Kong, Korea, Venezuela, and Russia. All the foreigners hollered for their favorites as well. When the slew of American athletes went around the track, we almost lost our voices whooping "U-S-A! MAY-GUAH!" The Chinese cheered with furor for the U.S., but there were a few murmurs when President Bush was shown. The only country booed was Japan.

Slick with sweat, we wandered out of the hullabaloo to get water from a nearby popsicle stand. As we took pictures with random people and breathed some fresh air, the Chinese athletes arrived, and the masses erupted. People ran back into the crowd, breathless, delighted, screaming.

Shortly after, we opted to take a taxi back to the university to avoid the inevitable mass exodus from the plaza. The streets of Beijing were empty, and we made it to the dorm in time to watch the torch ignite the Olympic cauldron.

Although I didn't get to see the ceremonies at the Nest, the night couldn't have been more perfect:

I took video of the all the commotion. I hope to upload it later, but right now I'm off to see if I can catch a glimpse of the cycling road race today; I want to explore the city again and see the changes that have been made in the past two weeks.