Safely Home

Well, what a journey! After being away for 11 days, I'm finally safe and sound back in Boston. My trip was definitely once in a lifetime and I'm looking forward to sharing more stories about all my adventures. Now that I have my own computer I can also upload pictures and write more frequently.

Meinhardt Finishes 10th

How many 18-year-old freshmen entering Notre Dame in less than 2 weeks will be able to say that they not only went to Beijing this summer, but they competed amongst the most elite athletes of the world and were able to hold their own? Well, we know at least one.

Gerek fenced Egypt's Mostafa Nagaty in the Round of 32 at 10:30a.m. yesterday morning and had completely demolished Nagaty by 10:35a.m. Before facing each other on the Olympic platform, Meinhardt and Nagaty had faced each other twice and each claimed victory once. In this bout, however, there was never any doubt that Gerek was taking this one. Nagaty scored the first touch, but that was just enough to get Gerek fired up. Meinhardt went on to score the next 10 touches in a row and ended up winning the bout 15-3. And this was supposed to be hard? Gerek fenced with such confidence and intensity, he looked like anything but a teenager, and was able to move on to the Round of 16.

The second bout for Gerek was found to be a little bit more challenging, though, as he faced the hometown hero, China's Zuh Jun. As the crowd roared "Jai You," Gerek still remained strong and after the 1st round, the score was 6-5 with Zhu only ahead by one touch. In the 2nd round, the score was quickly tied 8-8, but then Zhu scored 4 quick touches in a row, and went on to win the bout 15-9.

Gerek accomplished all that he wanted to, and wasn't disheartened by the 2nd bout's results at all. He ended up 10th overall and has thoroughly enjoyed his visit to China. Just hours after his competition we went to the Super Store in the Olympic Green and wandered around other entertaining venues that displayed everything from Jesse Owens shoe to Australian swimmer, Ian Thorpe's full-body swimsuit that is now the norm in swimming competitions.

Jia You

Jia You! (pron Jyah yoh) is the Chinese cheer that can be heard everywhere and anywhere near an athletic competition. It seems to be the only cheer they know and the literal translation means to "add gas." It's hysterical. Literally, at every competetion I've been to or seen on TV so far, the crowd goes wild and chants Jia You so loudly! I interpret add gas to mean "let's go!" or "step it up!". Who knows.

The very first full day I was here we were able to get basketball tickets from the Hometown Hopefuls Bank of America Center. I have access to this venue because Gerek's dad, Kurt, signed us all up for it. He had the opportunity to get us in here because Olympians are able to invite 4 guests to be a member of the hospitality center, which provides free lunch and dinner every day, as well as internet access and other amenities (including tickets to events for that day). The game we saw was Women's Basketball, China vs. Spain. It was amazing to experience a game with the hometown team and crowd! The Chinese are very enthusiastic and proud of their country's accomplishments in providing such a memorable experience for the whole world to enjoy.

On Sunday, I went to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square and yesterday I visited the Summer Palace. We woke up early and made sure we were there as early as possible in order to avoid the massive crowds. Everywhere we go there are thousands of people. It's one thing to read about how many people there are in China, but it's another thing to be stuck in the middle of a crowd with only a very small fraction of the country's population. These 2 tourist destinations were incredible, and, something new and different for Beijing, HUGE.

Yesterday's trip was to the Summer Palace where the emperors and their families would vacation. The complex is centered around a gorgeous lake and in every direction you look there are intriguing temples with intricate designs. We climbed all the way to the top of the Tower of Buddhist Fragrance, which was quite a hike! The views from the top were breathtaking though because the smog and haze lifted for the first time since I've been here. I could actually see pretty far off into the distance, which is something that can't be taken for granted on the rare days it's not hazy. After our tour of the Summer Palace, Gerek's sister, Katie, and I went to Handball and saw 2 games: Norway vs. Angola and Korea vs. Germany. Handball looks like such a fun and intense game.

This morning we all visited Gerek in the Olympic Village because he got us special passes to enter the exclusive complex. I felt very much like a groupie because everyone in the Village is either an Olympic coach or athlete, and then there's me who is out of breath after walking around in the heat all day. Gerek let us into his room and showed us all of his Ralph Lauren gear that he got for free. We even made him model his $1200 summer weight blazer that he wore during the Opening Ceremony. http://www.ralphlauren.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=3168122&ab=global_TheOlympicGames He is in the 6th photo of the slideshow on the far right waving.

Later on today, we're going to Men's Basketball and then Gerek fences at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for details on the results of his bout (hopefully boutS)!

Ni Hao

Hello from Beijing!

Yesterday (Friday) I landed safely around 2:30 in the afternoon, which is very early in the morning back at home. I got to our hotel around 6pm, grabbed dinner in our lobby (for 16 yuan which equals only a little more than $2), and then headed to a local park where there were huge TV screens set up that were showing the Opening Ceremonies. It was incredible to watch such a wonderful event with the locals and see how proud they were of their country! They should be extremely proud of their city and country; everything looks gorgeous. No matter where you go colorful banners and flags line every street, sidewalk, and indoor facility.

The Chinese people are very different from Americans. A lot more aggressive! Just waiting in line to get to the park last night I was almost stampeded over and really had to hold my own. I thought New Yorkers were tough...they have nothing on the Chinese! The spitting in public thing has decreased a lot, from what I've heard, but it still surprises me to see it when it happens. Just this morning at breakfast a man was sitting waiting for his food and spit on the floor. I guess this is normal behavior, but I definitely need to be extra careful where I step.

Because the air is so thick and heavy, it's hard to stay outside for too long. It's like Boston on it's worst day, but instead it lasts for the entire day, even all through the evening, and breezes are rare. A lot of the places I've been to inside are AC, but even that is not something that can be taken for granted. The lobby of the airport as well as the hotel lobby aren't air conditioned. As far as pollution goes, I really haven't seen any of the brown skies that I have read about. Right now it's just hazy, but so are a lot of places in August.

Despite being 1 of 600 athletes from the US, Gerek still made his way onto the China TV broadcast of the Opening Ceremonies! As the cameras were quickly panning the American athletes, we all saw Gerek's profile for maybe 10 seconds, but it was enough for us all to get very excited!

This weekend will be mainly used to visit all the touristy destinations. I'm not sure of our exact itinerary, but I will keep you posted.

Let the Games Begin!

The Olympic Games have always represented something more than a celebration of athletics to me. For 16 days, the entire world is placing their focus and energy on the same thing. Differences are set aside, and instead of war and hatred between opposing nations, there is camaraderie and friendship that emerge from the athletes from these disagreeing countries.

The Olympics are a showcase of the most elite athletes in the world who pride themselves in their sport and have dedicated their lives to it. I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of this event and witness these athletes firsthand! Gerek Meinhardt is who I owe my thanks to for making this once in a lifetime trek. Gerek is the #1 fencer for the United States and the youngest US male Olympian in Beijing. At only 18-years-old, his composure, agility, and skill are what have taken him to incredible athletic heights at such a young age. I am very excited to see him compete on this platform.

My flight takes off tonight and will head to DC. I'll spend less than 12 hours in DC and then head to Beijing tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed that there isn't a rain delay!