Day 15: Summer Palace, Bye Bye Beijing!

Flowers at the entrance to Summer Palace.

As smoggy as it was yesterday, it was absolutely beautiful when we woke up today! The sun was shining and the sky was blue as we made our way the Summer Palace the morning of our last day in Beijing. 

Day 14: Confucious Tea House, Silk Market, Smog Traffic

View from our cab on the way to Confucious Teahouse.

Katie and I forced ourselves out of bed after a late night at the tennis center followed by dinner at a 24-hour hot pot place in Sanlitun. We were determined to get some sight seeing in, and I really wanted to go to this tea house I had heard about near Confucious Temple. We hopped in a cab and made our way to an amazing little tea house across the street from the temple.

We loved the atmosphere at Confucious Teahouse.

 I’m so happy we made it—the atmosphere was so relaxing and it was the perfect way to start off the day.  Our  “waitress” performed the traditional tea ceremony over our tea, and taught us how to use the cups and hold it the correct way. (They don’t like that Katie is left-handed--several people tried to correct her!)

We ordered a wild green tea and a white-flower tea.

The tea ceremony was like every little girl’s dream. After we finished our tea, we looked around at the little shop and bought some tea to take home. They showed us how to use all of the tea paraphernalia and made some black tea for us to sample while we made our purchases.

Never would I ride a bike in Beijing!

We took a cab to the tennis center for a quick meeting at 12:30, but then I had some free time before the women’s match so I decided to go to the Silk Market with Sarah and Travis. Our cab driver dropped us off a few blocks over from the market, and I was starving because we had only had tea all day. I bought a grilled sweet potato off a street vendor for 5 RMB—and it was delicious!

Just walking around Beijing eating a sweet potato!

We bought a ton of things at the silk market—including gorgeous silk scarves. We were just glad to get inside from the smog, it was really bad outside. We stayed at the market for a few hours, browsing everything from Buddha statues to fake designer clothes, then hopped in a cab to try to make it back to the tennis center. 

Stuck on a overpass in smoggy traffic! The taxi drivers all got out to have a smoke. 

We ended up getting stuck in a horrible traffic jam on the way back! It took us almost 2 hours to get back to the hotel. After about 45 minutes we became pretty good friends with our cab driver-we showed him everything we bought from the silk market! 

 At one point, we were stuck on a ramp for over 30 minutes in the smog—after that we were all feeling like we couldn’t wait to get a breath of fresh air! Later we found out it was one of the worst pollution levels ever recorded in Beijing.  The tennis games ended up being delayed because of rain and smog!  We ended up staying late at the tennis center saying our goodbyes to the staff and all of our friends we had made--it was hard to say goodbye!

Day 13: Temple of Heaven, PR experience

This morning we forced ourselves out of bed and hopped on the subway to see the Temple of Heaven before heading to work.  We’ve been exhausted after working such long days at the tennis center, but we decided it was worth the loss of sleep to see the temple...

Leading up to the temple. 

Amazing walkway on the way to the main temple. 

I’m so glad we did because it was completely worth it. The fog around the temple made it seem surreal and it was totally relaxing. My favorite type of place. I also loved the crowds of people around, just hanging out enjoying each other's company.

Love these men playing cards.

The architecture and colors are absolutely gorgeous. It just felt ancient. I felt worldly just standing there and I could have spent all day there if I had time.

Can't get enough of these colors. 

Tai Chi master in the park. 

The clouds/fog around made it seem surreal.

I wish I could have stayed there all day.

We made it back to the hotel after just in time to hop on the shuttle to the tennis center—where we headed over to watch Isner play Djokovic at Lotus. Now that we’re in the semi-finals our press load is a lot lighter, which is nice.

Djokovic getting set up for the game- the Chinese love his shirt because of the dragon logo.

The “smog/fog” was in full force today. It seemed to be moving down into the stadium, and after a while I had a feeling in my mouth as if I had licked the sidewalk. Not pleasant. Katie and I decided to watch the rest of the match in the player’s area to get away from the smog!

After Isner's loss it was sad to walk him to press!

They played a tough match and I didn’t know who to root for—it was my two favorites. But Djokovic won and we still got to take both of them to press after the match.

I knew that something was going on with that reporter who kept asking about the “smog." Today it came to light that he twisted Djokovic’s words in a pretty negative way in a story that ran this morning.  They were not happy about it and he actually refused to comment on anything else that specific reporter asked about him later in press. It was interesting to see the way it was handled with the officer and the player. Definitely a learning experience for me and a tense moment in the press room. 

Day 12: Smog, Signs, "Confirm Me"

Today was just a foggy day.  It was grey everywhere—you could barely see the sun. I’m glad I brought eye drops because my eyes were feeling strange. It really wasn’t that bad for us, but I can imagine it bothering the players. 

You can see a little fog-- but it's really not too bad at Djokovic v. Simon on Lotus. 

The press won’t let it go, especially an English guy for Reuters. He asked about the smog in every single meeting. Most of the players have said it isn’t that bad, but I’ve seen a number of them coughing on the court. 

Djokovic's classic bounce before the serve.

Setting up the serve.

About to win against Gilles Simon.

Djokovic is one of my favorites to take to press—he is always in a good mood and jokes around with the reporters. At the end of the conference today he turns to the translator who is giving his response in mandarin, and goes. “ NO. I did NOT say that last part. I didn’t say that.“  The translator was horrified until he said that he was kidding and that he didn't speak any Chinese. 

Something that I’ve noticed is the signage around the tennis center. Instead of “strictly prohibiting” food or drink, etc, they offer “tips” on how to act. All of the rules are phrased “politely."

Just some "Tips."

Earlier in the media center I overheard one of the volunteers making up a sign. He asked me if the it made sense in English. It read something like: “ To pleasure, health and happiness, enjoying food outside.” What he meant was, “ No Food or Drink Allowed.” But he was very insistant on the fact that he wanted it to sound “ happy.” We compromised with, “For a clean working environment, please refrain from eating or drinking in the media center.”

Problem solved.

I'm not sure why but I just get a huge kick out of communication issues here. Katie and I bought some shoes at a market by our hotel, and it was quite the adventure trying to explain shoes sizes to the non-english speaking girl who tried to help us at a place called "Love. Family. Tree."

Try acting out "Do these come in black?"

It's funny how the communication for our media center has worked out. Our main supervisor is so great-- we get along very well despite the language difference. Her English is excellent, but it did take a day or so to really get on the same page with each other, especially since most of our communication is via the radio or phone.  I can tell that we would be friends even outside of a work environment. Some things such as personalities and character traits are so universal and easy to spot even without using words.  

Anyways, Katie and I are pretty proud of ourselves for getting one of the chinese girls we work with in the interview room to say "TEN FOUR" and "ROGER" over the walkie talkie. 

Day 11: Wozniacki's #1 Ranking, Trophy Duty

The "number one flowers" they gave to Caroline Wozniacki after her match.

The biggest thing that happened today was Caroline Wozniacki's win that gave her the number one ranking. Immediately after the match we were down at the tunnel for the celebration. Everyone in the stands were going crazy and they had a little performance to an old Tina Turner song. Naturally. 

Watching the celebration from the tunnel off Lotus Court.

We got to be right there with the officers waiting for her to come off court. The fans were going nuts, and there was a big photo opportunity for the media. Everyone wanted an autograph and it was so loud!

Fans trying to get her autographs on her way inside.

There was a champagne toast with everyone in the player's lounge, and then they gave me the trophy to take to press---VERY carefully that is! 

Carrying Caroline Wozniacki's trophy to the press conference. In hindsight, not my coolest pose.

The inscription on trophy--waterford crystal and pretty heavy!

It's about a 4 minute walk across the tennis center, and Katie came with me. We had to find a way to get a picture--so when no one was looking she snapped this picture in the hallway! Ha!

Katie and I getting the trophy ready before the press conference. 

It was very exciting to see someone get the number one ranking—especially Caroling we love her! She definitely deserves it for the way she’s been playing here. We had a ton of other things going, but this was by far the coolest thing we have seen! We finally got back to the hotel around 11 pm, and we went straight to bed!

Day 10: Sponsors, Coworker Bonding time, Propaganda

Isner at change over.

As the tournament progresses we are able to catch a few more matches than usual--which is so fun! We had time to sit in on Isner v. Kohlshreiber on Moon Court. 

Sitting behind the line judge at Moon Court. 

Our seats were great—first row right behind the line judge. The weather is noticeably smoggy today, and it feels pretty humid unless you catch a breeze.  It’s like a fog over everything, and it even lingers into the tennis center. 

Katie and I watching a match at Lotus.

The sun was out for a while though, and it was a great day to watch tennis. We walked around in our free time between matches and saw some of the sponsor booths where a few of the players have autograph signings and various sponsor promotions. 

Smart Car outside Lotus

People drink these beers at 9 am, I've seen it.

Kappa's booth.

Today there was a big press conference for the president and chairmen of the China Open and the WTA.  We also had press for some of my favorites, Vera Zvonareva and Caroline Wozniacki. Both had tough matches today which we had a chance to watch in stadium.

It was another long but great day at the tennis center, and a few of our Chinese friends coaxed us into going to a place called “Propaganda” which is in an area that a lot of international students go to. We all ended up going and it was quite the co-worker bonding experience.

Dancing at Propaganda.

We had a great time! After Propaganda, our friend Flora, a Beijing student volunteer from the China Open, showed us a great local spot called "Lush" that we stopped at for a burger before heading back to our hotel to get some sleep.

 It was nice to have a break after a hard day's work..

Day 9: When In Rome: Tennis, Street food, Exploring

View from our hotel restaurant patio--another beautiful day!

Every morning we have breakfast at our hotel before we hop on the shuttle--it's pretty good and the view is surprisingly pretty nice. Yesterday I had a full out salad for breakfast. Only in China. 

At Andy Murray's match on Lotus.

I watched some of Mathieu v. Andy Murray this morning on Lotus Court. Katie took Murray to his press conference and I later took Djokovic to his press after his win against Gong, a Chinese player. Let's just say I'm a fan.

CCTV flash interview area-- where we pick up players in the Lotus tunnel.

We watch the matches progressing across all ten courts, and sometimes the match end times overlap, which can be hectic--but somehow the officers always make it work. I got to take Dementieva to her interviews after press by myself. I saw Ana Ivanovic and her agent, Gavin, again today, and I was asked to take them to their press conference.  She said she liked my hair yesterday on the way to press, and we got to talking a little bit-- I love her!

Ana Ivonovic on her way to the third round at the China Open. *WTA photo

The first day Katie and I were able to accompany Andrea Petkovic and player staff to a private tennis clinic. On the golf cart on the way to the clinic, she told us funny stories about a friend misinterpreting English, and we were talking about her blogging for ESPN and for "Petkorazzi" She is hilarious... After the clinic a few photographers took photos of her and the little boy she hit balls with. (See below from the WTA website).

A WTA photo of Andrea Petkovic at a tennis clinic.
I was standing just off to the right when this was taken.

This tournament has already seen some amazing players get defeated in the first rounds--especially Jankovic, former #1, and Kuznetsova, who was last year's champion.

Jelana Jankovic after her win over Zakopalova.

It was another great day for men's and women's play, and the press ended slightly earlier than normal because of the official Player's Party that was held at the player's hotel. We got home around 11 pm and were pretty exhausted after work, but I wanted to do some exploring. A kid from the program and I decided that we didn't want to waste anytime here in Beijing--so we went out to walk around the city.

Elevator ad for laundry--I love faulty English in ads. 

We hopped in a cab and just picked an area to walk around and explore. A friend had given me the characters for Sanlitun, where I had gone once before, so we just went for a little night walk to see what we could find. 

A few streets over from the big club scene there are tons of street people selling different types of street food. We just walked around and checked out the local fare--it was very Anthony Bourdain No Reservations of us. 

A whole table of fresh ingredients! Those grey things are squid. 

I had to stop and take a picture of this table--it was full of amazing looking things--from different types of meat and seafood to different vegetables--you pick what you want and the guy grills it up and hands it to you on a stick!  All for 4 RMB. ( $1.00 is around 7 RMB)

This smelled too good for words.

Travis and I both had to stop to watch this guy making some type of crepe-looking thing that smelled Iike an angel brought it down from heaven. 

Street fresh.

We decided we couldn't live with ourselves if we didn't get one. So we acted out our order with our hands, and next thing we knew we were proud owners of the most delicious crepe/veggie/spicy something we both had ever tasted.

This picture doesn't seem as delicious but take my word for it. 

I had another set of characters for a different part of Sanitun on my phone, so we hopped in a cab and showed the driver my text message. He nodded and off we went to see another part of the area!

Stepped out of the cab and into the action!

We found a little strip of bars that was all lit up and just walked around to check out the scene.

We went in solely because it said "Budweiser" outside....

...And surprise--there was a belly dancer! 
Haha! We stayed for a AB beer. 

One beer was huge--didn't know AB made this size! 

View of the scene from our table.

We left after we had our one jumbo beer at the belly dancer place, and walked down the street a little bit. We chose a place and sat outside at another table to check out the people walking by.  Had a great night--so glad we sucked it up and went out to explore Beijing!