Only three of the foreign teachers attended, Nadine from Germany (girl in pink on left), Laurie from the U.K. (center in gray), and myself. The rest are all students of ours at the EF school.
We ate a variety of dishes including a delicious beef with carrots in a red wine sauce, some very spicy shrimp and potatos that rival anything you will get in Louisiana, a spicy chicken and peppers dish, among some other stranger dishes: cow's tail, tofu soup (I abstained from these two.), potatos cooked in coffee (quite good actually), and of course there was mi fan (white rice). I also enjoyed unlimited coca cola and some partook of unlimited Nanjing Beer. The Chinese really like their beer, but you know what, I have not yet seen a single one of them drunk. The grand total for this massive feast for 22 people? 770 yuan. (112 dollars).
Some food pictures:
Spicy Chicken And Peppers
Potatos And Coffee- Strange... and Magical!
One of my favorites- mushrooms with cabbage.
Cow tail for everyone, cow tail party... Who has money?
As far as the ceremony goes, it was amazing. It was very surreal to watch the ceremony knowing it was actually happening just a short taxi ride away. My friend Josh Maze has spoken recently on Facebook about the idea of a global community. I must say lastnight really felt like that. We had four nationalites gathered around the table and we were all cheering for each other's countries as our teams entered the stadium. To describe the ceremony, I really can't. You will have to watch it for yourself. Think of it as a China themed Cirque du Soleiel. The most amazing thing was to see the pride in the faces of the Chinese people as they observed what their country had accomplished. Don't believe the hype put out by the Western media. The Chinese are a very happy people and are very proud of their country. The tears in their eyes as the torch was lit proved that.
One of the Olympic clocks around town.
If you would like more information on what the ceremony was like, here is a link to an article for The China Daily, the country's only English language newspaper:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-08/09/content_6918885.htm
1 comment:
Mr. Parker,
I am enjoying your blog. I had wondered if you attended the Olympics. We miss you but it sounds as if you are in "educator heaven". I would love to hear more about U.S. Education vs. Other Countries' Education. We are underway with a new year and all seems to be going well. Looking forward to hearing more from you.
Mrs. Burks
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