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)!