And so it begins...

I don't know if I'll regret not going to Beijing for the Olympics. I tell myself that the crowds, the craziness, will be too much and that I wouldn't be able to see the key sights that I want to see and would grow discouraged. However, after watching the opening ceremonies on TV last night, I can't help but wonder if I've made a mistake and that just being there, breathing in the excitement (it is the cleanest the air has been in Beijing in a decade) would be worth all the hassle. It's too late for me to get to Beijing, but here in Shanghai I'm still smack in the middle of Olympic fever.

I watched the ceremonies at work with my fellow teachers from around the world. Sitting in a class room after work watching the countries march in, cheering for countries we liked and critiquing each countries clothing while sitting among an international field of teachers may be the best way to watch the Olympics. Some of my Chiense co-workers even shed a tear, saying they'll remember this moment forever. We had people from China, Brazil, America, Austria and Australia, the latter two of which were upset that instead countries entering in the traditional alphabetical way, the Chinese method of stroke count to write the name was used, resulting in Australia being 3rd from last. I didn't get to see the entire thing; despite EF sponsoring the Olympics they didn't cancel class so I ended up missing an hour in the middle to teach - I feel it's slightly ironic that by moving closer to Beijing, it ensured that I wouldn't be able to watch as much of it.

With the games underway, I feel a little more relaxed about the China/World Press/Foreigner in China relationships. China, eager to prove they're as secure and technologically advanced as anyone, is unfortunately hindered by their track record and belief that a visible military presence can achieve this aim. The tragic result is that they look typically overbearing and oppressive, not modern and developed. Two nights ago at the main subway station there were police officers forcing everyone with a bag larger than a small purse to pass it through an X-ray machine. Although the lines were massive the system was no more secure as dozens of other entrances were unguarded, serving as an odd example where China can be both oppressive and inefficient at the same time. Plus, with the western media left to chase down stories before the games surrounded by suffocating government controls (not to mention some press who want to pick a fight with a country which manipulates it's news more than Fox News), it's no wonder there have been so many articles which put China in a rightfully questionable light. Now with the games started and sports offering actual stories to cover, hopefully these stories will subside and the spirit of friendly competition can continue - allowing China to relax and stop flexing its terror inducing muscles in response.

The games will be memorable, the opening ceremony and the build-up has seen to that. Now I can only hope that for the most part they are uneventful. China is changing, slowly, but still changing. We can't expect them to become angels overnight when no country every has, but we still must encourage them to make strides of progress. So for the next two weeks I hope the media can put aside how far China still has to go to focus on how much China has already accomplished, which as my presence here will prove is quite a lot.