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We got home last night around 1AM and I didn't get to sleep for some time after that because I was studying the route for the women's marathon, which starts at 7:30AM. In order to see the runners pass by at about the 30K mark, I would have to leave the house by 8; another night to sleep fast. The day dawned cool and drizzly, perfect for the runners, and somehow I managed to wake up early and make it to the marathon course on my own in plenty of time.
After so much trouble seeing the bike race, the marathon was relatively easy. The course is marked by a blue line painted on the street and by an endless line of umbrellas skirting both sides of it. I could tell by the fact that there was still traffic on the road that the runners hadn't arrived yet, so I just started walking along the course, going over a mile before the first one showed up. The race was easy to see because at 5'6" I'm relatively tall in Beijing-I just stood behind some older people and looked over their heads. The tens of thousands of Chinese lining the route were not necessarily running fans-this was just a chance to see the Olympics without a ticket. A restaurant across the street seemed to let the whole kitchen staff out to watch-there was a line of about 20 chefs waving Chinese flags and yelling "Chi-yo" (Go!) - at all of the runners,
whether they were Chinese or not. The Romanian woman who won the race was already out front by the time they passed us, and the British phenomenon Paula Radcliffe was struggling along, just like in Athens, with a huge television truck recording every bob of her head. It took less than an hour for all the runners to pass; they all looked pretty good. It's amazing that women have only been allowed to run the Olympic marathon since Los Angeles in 1984.
After the marathon, I headed to Wanfujing, the major shopping street, to look for a present for my husband's birthday. I had thought that the subway would be less crowded on Sunday, but Susan was skeptical. She was right, it was packed; I even had to wait for a second train on the final leg. I don't like malls much and the subway station at Wanfujing empties out directly into an American style mall. At first it was a little comforting and familiar-I even went into a KFC, but then I caught myself and got out of there, opting instead for a French-style bakery and a tuna sandwich with lettuce and tomato on fresh bread. It was a good break from Chinese cuisine, without selling-out to corporate fast food.
Back on the subway, I made my way over to Capital Museum, meeting my Chinese student Luna there to view a special exhibit from Athens' archaeological museum on ancient Greek sports. Luna is interested in Greek culture so I was giving her mini-lectures as we walked through the exhibit and I ended up attracting more Chinese students who could understand English and just wanted to learn more; they even asked questions. I had seen most of these artifacts before in Greece, but it was great to see them again in China and to see the Chinese reaction to them. Afterwards we toured a great exhibit on ancient Chinese culture along the Yangtze river-including interesting bronze masks, bells, and drums from the as far back as the 13th C. BCE. Most of the museum displays the 3,000 year history of Beijing itself, from Peking man to Peking opera. By the time we had seen all 5 floors, we were exhausted and our feet hurt, but there was no break on the subway, which was standing room only.
We finally made it back to campus at 4PM. I had been on my feet since 8AM without ever sitting down. I felt like I had run a marathon myself. My plan had been to go to a kung-fu or acrobatics show tonight, but I decided to stay in and eat ramen noodles instead, watching the Games on TV, including Jamaica's clean sweep of the medals in the women's 100 meters. There must be something in the water in Jamaica-what great victories for them! My own day was more of a marathon, but I need to rest up for my last day in China.
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