There are so many things I will take away from this trip, but here are just a few of the things that stand out.
-The Chinese people are amazingly kind and honest. From the volunteers assigned to help the athletes, to taxi drivers, to strangers on the street, every person was friendly and willing to help the dumb Americans. For example, numerous times we had taxi drivers give Patricia money back when she over-paid or accidentally handed over the wrong amount. We had volunteers ride a bus with us to Wal-Mart because they didn’t want us traveling alone. We even had a taxi driver pull over on a freeway and buy bottles of water for everyone before we started our long drive to the Great Wall. I just can’t imagine any of these things happening in LA!
-The race provided volunteers who are students at the local university. If it were not for the 2 volunteers at our hotel I would probably be stuck in China. They worked day and night helping us with anything we needed. They must have been prepped to ask us a few “American” questions as the first volunteer Patricia met asked her who was her favorite character on FRIENDS!! Also, they kept saying, “hey lady” whenever they wanted to speak with us. It was pretty funny but when we went to the silk market and there were hundreds of vendors yelling it at us it wasn’t so cute anymore.
-The bathroom situation. I asked so many people about China and somehow NOBODY told me about the lack of Western bathrooms! UGH! A hole in the floor covered in porcelain is the standard and toilet paper is rare. I have never been so happy to see my bathroom at home!
-That leads me to breakfast (or maybe the other way around, whatever). Breakfast sucked in China. I was warned that they don’t typically eat breakfast so it was very nice of our hotel to try to accommodate the Westerners. We had a buffet every morning that consisted of things like, fried rice, stir-fry, broccoli, baked beans and watermelon. Some days we lucked out and got sweet potatoes so I made sure to eat a ton of them when they were available. The food wasn’t bad but eating stir-fry for breakfast 7 days in a row is tough. I started dreaming of pancakes and waffles!
-Driving in China is everything you have heard it to be and more. Try doing a YouTube search of traffic in China. IT’S INSANE! I don’t even know how to explain it. People do not stay in their lanes; they don’t pay attention to lights, cross walks, pedestrians, bikes, etc. They have no problem reversing down a freeway (as our taxi driver tried to do once) or driving on the opposite side of the road to get around something. It’s amazing how the bikes, carts and people can intermingle in this mess and somehow it all works out. People come within millimeters of hitting each other but nobody seems to get upset or have road rage. It’s truly mind-boggling.
-Lastly, the reason I was there… to help Patricia race. I am amazed by Patricia and her fearlessness and ability to navigate a foreign city (blind nonetheless). I was literally following her around the city most of the time. I can’t even begin to imagine accomplishing a fraction of what she does on a daily basis, let alone race triathlons at a competitive, international level. It was also inspiring to meet the other members of the US Para triathlon team. They each had their own story, many of the amputees were veterans of the current war, and each one was inspiring in their own way. I would say most of the team was not born with their “disability” but rather it happened later in life. Seeing how people can adapt and move forward is amazing. For anyone who thinks they can’t do something or they are too afraid to do something he/she should meet anyone from this team. I feel fortunate that I got to experience this first-hand and hopefully I can share a little bit of what I learned with anyone reading this blog.
Xiexie (Thank you)
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