The 2008 Olympics
The official slogan for the XXIX Olympiad is "One World, One Dream." The aim of this slogan is to call upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. China has taken tremendous initiative toward making this Olympics a turning point in history for both the world and China's place in it.
Sunny woke up early on this warm August day (Friday 08-08-08) knowing that one of the biggest events in China's recent history was about to unfold. She had been excited about the Olympics since she learned that she would be a volunteer at the main pavilion six months earlier. She would be working at a booth sponsored by the Ministry of Education, handing out literature and talking to people from all over the world. After months of training and orientation in preparation for this assignment, the big day had finally arrived.
The standard uniform for women volunteers at the Olympics included black low heeled pumps, a knee length black skirt and a white shirt emblazoned on the left chest area with the "Dancing Beijing" logo, the "One World One Dream" slogan and the 5 Olympic Rings. On the right sleeve was a small Chinese flag. Sunny felt very proud to wear this uniform this day!
After a light breakfast of fruit and juice, Sunny dressed in her new uniform and prepared to leave on her Olympic adventure. Her dad rode with her in the cab to the Beijing National Stadium where the opening ceremony would be taking place later that evening (It would start at 08 minutes and 08 seconds after 8 PM on 08-08-08). Traffic was much heavier than usual so the ride took almost an hour in stead of the usual 20 minutes. "Well", her father said. "Today you will greet the world! I am honored by your preparation and by your accomplishments in your young life. I know you will serve our country well as a junior ambassador." It thrilled me immensely to hear his words. How can I bear the excitement of being a junior ambassador for our great nation?
Upon arriving at the stadium, we proceeded to the main SOC conference room for our final orientation. I joined the rest of the volunteers in our seats while my father proceeded to the head table to join the other commissioners and dignitaries. Little did I know what was to come. After a few administrative matters were announced the Chairman of the China Olympic Committee was introduced. He gave a short speech, which he ended by introducing the next speaker. "And now, my fellow citizens. It gives me great pleasure to introduce our glorious leader, President Hu Jintao."
I almost fell out of my seat! Could it be that I am to hear the President speak live in person? My excitement could not be contained as I joined the rest of the volunteers in a wild screaming welcome!
"Thank You, Thank You," he started. "I am very glad to be here to appoint each one of you to be Special Junior Ambassadors At Large for the great nation of China. For the next two and a half weeks, you, along with our glorious athletes will be the face of China. Of course, not all the athletes will win but I am sure they will all represent their country with great distinction. But all of you here today must win. You must win the hearts and the minds of all the visitors from around the world. You are the Chinese that everyone will meet and talk to in person. Your selection to serve as volunteers was not taken lightly. You are all outstanding citizens from all walks of Chinese life and you represent the best that we have. I hereby commission you all to go forward in your respective duties, remembering the awesome responsibility you bear. I know you will all do an excellent job!"
With that delightful send off, the volunteers dispersed to their respective assignments. The Commission of Education booth was located on the main concourse between the booth for Health Ministry and a shop selling Olympics memorabilia. Although the stadium didn't open for the general public until 3 PM, Sunny was expected to be at her stand by noon on this opening day. The regular hours for the booth would be from 10 AM until 8 PM. each subsequent day ending on Sunday, 24 August. Each volunteer would work a six-hour shift. Sunny would be on the morning shift from 10 AM until 4 PM. The evening shift would be from 2PM until 8 PM. There would be three volunteers for each shift.
When Sunny arrived at her booth at 11:45 her two shift partners were already there. At age 19, May was .the oldest of the crew and as such the crew leader. Jim, age 18, was a tall boy - slightly over 6 foot. May was fluent in Spanish and Japanese, Jim could speak Russian and German and Sunny knew English and French. The three had met previously at their training sessions but this would be their first opportunity to really get to know each other. They set about preparing for the opening. There would be three different handout pamphlets, one for each level of education plus a small booklet describing the overall education system in China. The handouts were all in English except one, which gave the related web site addresses in all languages. There were two computers available in the booth. One was for use by the booth crew and one that visitors could access in any language, showing more detailed information about China's education system. The crew had been trained on how to deal with booth visitors including helping them with the computer, answering general questions and referring them to proper resources for matters not relating to education. If questions came up that the crew didn't know the correct answer for sure they could research it on their computer or call Central Control for further information.
At about 1 PM test inspectors start coming through that would pose various questions to the crew members to make sure proper procedures were being followed. The first test question Sunny got was, "Are there any religious schools in China." Sunny knew that for this type of question she would go to her computer and enter a few key words and a small pamphlet would be printed out that provided the correct information. "Good work," the inspector said.
Promptly at 3 PM the main gates of the stadium were opened and the first official visitors start streaming through. At first Sunny and her co-workers were slightly nervous, but as activity picked up, there was no time to be nervous. Sunny was surprised about the high level of interest in the Chinese education system. The most frequent comment they began to hear from many visitors was related to the intensity of education and the heavy workloads on the students and teachers that they had heard about before coming to China. Many students would ask about the availability of colleges in China that foreigners might attend. Many teenagers would ask the crew about their favorite bands, singers and movie stars. Each question relating to education was dutifully recorded so that the information provided in the handouts could be updated to better reflect areas most asked about. With the high number of visitors coming to the booth the time just seemed to fly by. Soon it was 8 PM and they would close the booth front curtain but would stay in the booth to watch the opening ceremonies on close circuit TV.
"People of the world," President Hu began his welcoming speech, "We the people of China invite you to our country with open arms and open minds. We are grateful to the International Olympic Committee for awarding the 29th Olympiad to our land and we are grateful to all the people who come to see the games and to all the people throughout the world that will follow these games on television. We welcome all of the world class athletes who come here to participate in these events. I wish to express my personal gratitude to the Chinese Olympic Committee and all of their staffs and all of the workers who have toiled so hard to make this the best Olympics ever. We hope these games can bring all people in the world together in our common goals of a better life for all of humanity. China has made tremendous progress in improving the lives of our citizens in the past 20 years but we recognize that we still have a long ways to go. We provide these Olympics as a window for the rest of the world to see into the soul of China."
"For the next 16 days, the best athletes in the world will compete for the bronze, the silver and the gold medals. Not all the athletes can win medals but all of these young men and women are winners already. Let us all make this Olympiad an event to make winners of all the people throughout the world!
Ladies and Gentlemen - LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!"
Sunny had difficulty going to sleep that night. This had been the most eventful day of her entire life and she could not help but relive all that had happened over and over again. It was well after 4 AM when she finally got to sleep only to dream more about the day's events. When she woke at 7 AM, she could still feel the excitement of the previous day. She arrived at her booth at 9:30 and this time was the first one there. May and Jim arrived shortly there after and they were easily ready to open the booth at 10 AM.
Once again they were flooded with visitors but they were able to deal with them more and more effectively as they became more adjusted to the process. Most of the questions that visitors asked had been covered in their training sessions. Some people liked to talk about all sorts of issues but mostly they wanted to talk about education or to ask about good places to visit while in China. Sunny frequently referred visitors to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is the archetypal Chinese garden, and is ranked amongst the most noted and classical gardens of the world. Since these gardens were very near her home, Sunny had visited there often and was very familiar with them.
As the days of the Olympics went on, Sunny met hundreds of people from all over the world. She even met some of the athletes that competed in the games. One day the whole Men's Volleyball Team from France came by and seemed to be very interested in Chinese education. Sunny was excited to be talking with so many handsome young men. She soon learned that their interest seemed to be more than Chinese education. As the discussions went on they were soon asking about all kinds of things about Chinese customs and politics. As she had been trained, Sunny tried to refer them to the appropriate source to resolve their questions but the guys would not have it. They wanted to know Sunny's views of these matters.
Soon Sunny's co-crewmember Jim got into the exchange. Jim had been a good volleyball player in his own right for his high school team. Since he could not speak French, the dialogue soon became primarily English. After about 20 minutes of friendly joking back and forth with them, May finally interceded by calling Sunny to the staff computer to respond to an on line inquirer. Sunny bid the group farewell and went to the computer only to find a note there from May that said he felt it best to curtail the frolicking with the volleyball team.
On one occasion a young Chinese boy came by who Sunny thought she recognized. "Chen," she asked? He looked at her and shouted "Sunny!" He ran up to greet her with a friendly hug. Chen had been a close and dear friend of Sunny all through primary school. After graduation from primary school, Chen's family had moved to New Zealand and they had lost contact with each other. They began chattering back and forth trying to make up for 5 years in five minutes. When Sunny introduced him to her crew members, May again interceded by suggesting that Sunny take a short break and go have a better talk with Chen. Sunny welcomed the offer so she and Chen went down the hallway to the nearest refreshment stand and had their reunion talk along with a cup of tea. Sunny updated Chen on all their old friends and what she had been studying in high school. She also told Chen about her plans to attend the University of Hong Kong and study journalism. Chen marveled about the changes that he had seen in Beijing since he had left. He was especially impressed with the special facilities that had been built to accommodate the Olympics. After a short while Sunny asked if Jim and his family would like to visit their home while he was in China. With a positive response, Sunny immediately got on her cell phone to her mother to ask if it would be possible to host Chen and his family for dinner. Her mom asked if Friday would be satisfactory. So now Chen got on his cell phone to his father to ask about their availability on Friday. All was arranged within a few minutes and they would meet again on Friday evening.
On Friday, Chen and his parents showed up at 5:30 PM so there would be time to chat before dinner. After exchanging pleasantries, their parents remained in the living room while Sunny and Chen sat on the Patio. Their conversation soon shifted to the topic of education. Chen talked about his school life in New Zealand and how he felt school life was much easier and more interesting than when he had gone to school in Beijing. He had much more freedom in selecting his courses and was not required to take many of the courses required in China. As a result he had much more leisure time for outside activities. He had played football for his high school team plus he and several friend had formed a small band and they played regularly at various teenage functions. He would be going to college at Auckland Institute of Technology in New Zealand in the fall where he planned on majoring in Engineering.
Sunny told Chen about her past few years in high school and about how interested she was in education in different parts of China and in different parts of the world. Her experience at the Olympics had heightened her interest in education. She said he had come to realize how important education was in not only preparing students for their future careers but also how it helped to form their view of their country and the world.
Soon their parents called them in for dinner. Sunny's mother had prepared a fine dinner consisting of (XXX - More help from Sunny here). Chen and his parents were very pleased with the (XXX) saying they had not had that good food since they had moved to New Zealand.
"Chen and I have been comparing education between New Zealand and China." Sunny said. "It appears that they have a better system there. At least I think I would enjoy it better."
"Well both systems have their advantages and disadvantages." her father replied. "You must realize that there are different conditions. New Zealand has only about 4 million population while China has 1.3 billion. We have made significant progress in China in recent years. Our university students compare favorably with those of any country in the world. Our biggest problem is uneven education throughout the country."
"But why does that have to be?" asked Sunny. "Why can't the government do more to provide equal education to all students?"
Chen's father said "The government has done much in recent years to provide equal education to all students. Most large cities now have fairly good education for all students. It is primarily in the remote provinces where the uneven education exists. In time, equal education will be available all students through out the country."
"When you compare our system to that of the US, you'll see that we have some advantages over them." Sunny's father added. "In the US, the percentage of students graduating from high school is falling while here in China it is rising. In the US, where all students have the opportunity to attend high school, they have an increasing rate of students dropping out of school. Also, our students score much higher on standardized test scores than theirs do. Their government is taking action to correct these problems just as our government is taking actions to correct the problems with our education system."
"Well, I wish they would hurry up," said Sunny, "because I think all students should have equal opportunity."
(Note - At this point additional input from Sunny is requested)
A few days after the visit from the French Volleyball Team, one of their members by the name of Maxime came by the booth with a gift for Sunny. It was volleyball signed by all the French team members. Sunny was very excited to receive the gift and expressed her deep appreciation for it. Maxime also asked if Sunny would be able to give him a personal tour of Beijing since he was really interested in learning about China from someone other than a tour guide. This time Sunny asked May if she could take a short break. With May's OK, Sunny and Maxime proceeded to the nearby refreshment stand for a friendly cup of tea. Together they planned their excursion. If Sunny's parents concurred with the arrangement, Maxime would meet Sunny at the booth on the following Monday morning, which was Sunny's normal day off from her volunteer duties, and they would proceed from there.
The following Monday, Sunny met Maxime promptly at nine AM to gegin their day long tour of BeijingFirst they will visit Summer Palace, which is close to Sunny's home so she is very familiar with it. There they will go boating on the Kunming Lake. From there they take a walking tour through Peking University. Maxime expressed an interest in Beijing's Hu Tung, so they took a pedicab tour of one of Beijings most famous one. For dinner that evening they went to the Fangshan Restaurant where Sunny suggested that Maxime order the world famous Beijing Duck.
While waiting for their meal to be served, Sunny told the history of Beijing Duck including how it is prepared, served and eaten. "The hot roast duck will be brought to the dining table by the chef where he will slice it into many thin flakes, each having its piece of crispy skin." Sunny explained. "The way to really enjoy is to first take one of the small, thin pancakes provided and spread it with plum sauce, small slices of spring onions and then add some pieces of duck. Finally roll up the pancake and take a bite. You will be surprised by the terrific taste!"
During the meal Sunny told Maxime about meeting her old friend Chen and about the meal they had had with Chen and his parents. This led them into the discussion of education in China. She asked if there were opportunities for all students in France to get a high school education. She also expressed her sadness that there were many places in China that were very poor and that many of the children in these provinces were not able to get a high school education much less college. She said that she hoped to visit some of those remote provinces some day so that she could see the conditions there first hand. Sunny and Maxime had a long and exciting day but when the meal was finished, Sunny began to be sorry that soon the day would be over. Maxime would be living for home soon and they may never see each other again. Maxime said that the volley ball team would be taking a five day tour of China after the games. They would come back to Beijing the following Sunday and their flight home was not scheduled until Tuesday so maybe they could get together again that Monday before he left for home. They would keep in contact by cell phone until then.
From the restaurant, they took a cab to Sunny's home to find that the American teacher, Jim Randolf was there as well as his new friend Mia Lee. Sunny introduced them to Maxime and they all sat around and chatted for awhile. Jim and Mia had made plans to tour the country after the games and they had been planning their itinerary. They would make a big loop around the country, often sleeping on the train or bus during the night and touring the countryside by day. Sunny noticed that their plans included visits to Gan Su and Qing Hai Provinces and she expressed her yearning that she wished that she could join them. When Maxime saw their plans he said that he like their itinerary better that the one scheduled uninteresting one scheduled for the volley ball team. After much excited talking back and forth, Sunny asked her parents if she could accompany Jim, Mia and Maxime on their tour.
With her parents permission granted, final plan for the tour were made.
(Note - At this point additional input from Sunny is requested)
Note" The author intends to expand on this chapter at a later date primarily in the area of introducing human rights issues that will be addressed throughout the novel. One primary issue that will be discussed here is that of the right to equal education opportunity.