I love the Olympics--love the stories and the sense that for a few weeks we all focus on excellence. I realize some of this is illusory, but I still like the idea. I'm a big fan of swimming, especially Dara Torres competing at 41 and so far looking really good.

Local stories always hold a special place. Here in Sacramento one that is being watched is the US Women's rowing team. The cockswain is an alum of Sacramento Adventist Academy so she even got mentioned in church this past Sabbath.

Also, I seem to have mastered the art of falling asleep around 9:30 or 10 and then waking up just for the magical moment that NBC has saved for the end of the coverage. Thus I got to see the spectacular swim of Jason Lezak that gave the US Men's Team the gold in the 400 meter relay last night.

Wasn't that great Bonnie? I went from kind of tuning out when it looked like the French were going to win to jumping up and cheering - which was kind of embarrassing because I was alone - everyone else had gone to bed. What an amazing race.

I've turned the next two weeks into our homeschool curriculum and already we've learned a bunch of geography and culture. Character lessons of course are abundant and social studies and justice (Joey Cheek) are everywhere. What a fun way to learn! And my kids, who never get to watch TV except for sports, are in seventh heaven.

That was an amazing race! My husband and I started cheering so loudly that our dog thought something might be wrong! It's hard to imagine a closer race. I went to bed thinking that yet again in the legends told years hence, the lesson that "pride goeth before a fall" (ala Odysseus) was reinforced in a highly dramatic way.

I work for a major multinational corporation with large facilities in numerous locations around the world, including China. Our CEO has an internal blog and posted an entry a few days before the games noting China's development and the role it plays in our corporate future as well as the world's future, and then cheering on the games. He noted that it is still a developing country and has further improvements to make, but that it can rightly be proud for what has transpired thus far.

When I looked today, there were over 230 posts by employees from around the world responding to his blog. It was interesting to read the different perspectives. Several Americans criticized him for cheering on the Olympics in Beijing because of China's human rights record, Darfur, Tibet, etc. Others were critical of China because it was Communist (several posts along these lines displayed a profound ignorance of world affairs and life outside a small parochial part of the U.S.).

It was interesting to contrast these posts with those from our European colleagues, who noted a number of human rights abuses by the U.S., the land grabs of the U.S., genocide of native Americans, deaths in Iraq, etc. And our Chinese colleagues--interestingly, not just those in China but also those now working in the U.S.--were openly proud of what the Olympics mean to China and the opportunity this affords for the world to look at China and see the many great things China and its people bring to the table. They acknowledged that things weren't perfect in China, but that they were much better than they were a generation ago and getting better fast. They urged us all to consider their stage of development, have an open mind, and above all, to come and visit before spewing opinions shaped by a press that they consider at least as biased and manipulated by the government as their own.

It was interesting to hear the different perspectives. The Olympics gives us the chance to not only cheer on sport, but to realize we are one human family. How much better to have a discussion about and cheer the differences, not just criticize others, especially when we have a log in our own eye!

My boys have watched several mornings in a row. Their favorite is swimming and the Phelps phenomenon. My favorite is always equestrian, and I've been thrilled to see so much of the eventing (though I missed the dressage grand prix--hoping to see more dressage tonight). It helps being in HK--we get a little of the equestrian almost every night it's on.

Being in Beijing just before the Olympics was interesting (we left 2 days before the opening ceremonies). They have worked hard to make the city more user-friendly. The Olympic volunteers were very helpful the several times I needed their help. But beyond that, the hotel we stayed in, while very much a budget hotel, was clean, comfortable, and the people were very helpful. The hotel's restaurant had great service. (every time we came in, we'd hear the workers telling each other in Chinese, They don't eat meat, LOL)

The city itself has undergone such an incredible transformation since the first time we were there, 14 years ago. Then, I looked out my hotel window and saw a donkey cart going past and couldn't believe my eyes. Now, I'd say it's moving toward being a world-class city. Yes, there are still difficulties, but really, 14 years is a life time. (my friend laughs when I point out things that are different--she tells me I'm living in the past!)

China is a developing nation. The standard of living has generally improved across the board (of course there are exceptions). The architecture is moving away from the nasty bleak gray Soviet style so favored in earlier times. From having public phones in every housing area, now everyone has a mobile phone. There are multiple TV stations. Internet. Solar water heaters. Solar panels for power. Supermarkets with food from all over china and outside. (in my memory, everyone eats "da bai cai" otherwise known as "bok choi" all winter long--that is long outdated!) Homes/apartments in the city are comparable in size to US homes (my friend's apartment is the same size as the house we sold before moving to HK--where, by contrast, we live in bread boxes because the cost of housing is so high!).

Granted, if you go to "other" parts of the country, you will hear other stories. We spent some time in one of those "other" parts this summer and heard stories that people in the more "modernized" parts frankly don't believe. There is a great gap between rich and poor (hm, of course, we couldn't say that about the US, now could we?), and between the east and the west. But there is a great deal of education that is lacking, leading to these misunderstandings. People in parts of the country where there are more "minorities" (compared with the majority Han) tend to view the government with suspicion, no matter what decision the government makes--they will view every decision as being against them, even if the gov. has their best interests at heart. (again, we certainly don't have issues like that in the US, do we?)

Daneen--I wish you well in your quest. The Chinese culture is endlessly fascinating, whether you're looking at the history, literature, military, philosophy, food, language--whatever. Ask your neighbors to tell you about where they're from (probably the south?) and what they love about China. Ask them for resources for learning more about the country. Subscribe to "steve's china news" on Yahoo to read news articles relating to China every day.

M