The Tin Man Finds A Heart

One week after the Olympics ended I headed in for my last week of work. I was a little wary of telling the students that I was leaving just because I didn't want to make a big deal of it. Word got out and many students came up to me to wish me good luck. The best thing about working at Wall Street is the students. They are all so eager to learn not just English (a few could use a little more motivation on that front) but about the world as well. I did my last movie corner and the movie I chose was The Wizard of Oz. I picked it because I wanted to show them a timeless picture that has cultural relevance. Most of them had seen it before but were nonetheless enthralled when I put it on. The songs, the story, and the imagery all captivated them. It was sheer coincidence (or effective work by my subconscious) that the last lines are, "There's no place like home." I never thought about it before, but it is true on so many levels. Home is a shifting location. Home is where you feel comfortable and safe. I am lucky enough to have many homes in this world and this last line got to me a bit not just in regards to going to my American home, but thinking of the Chinese home I am leaving behind. The next day was my last and my coworkers had a little party for me. They have all been great to work with and whether they know it or not I will miss them.

After work ended I began to prepare for my impending travels. I scheduled and finalized a trip reaching many places of interest in Asia. The plan was thus: Go from Beijing to Siem Reap in Cambodia and spend a few days there enjoying the ancient architecture before heading to Shanghai to see Bryne again and hang out like old times. From Shanghai I planned to head to Guilin to see the famous karst topography of the region and enjoy some natural wonders. All of this was arranged on the fly from my friend Steve's computer. Steve was nice enough to let me stay with him when my landlord abruptly told me I had to "get out".

The day before I began this journey I was invited to brunch at my friend Dana's house. There she served up a dizzying array of dishes each more delicious than the last. The pinnacle was the lox, cream cheese, caper, onion, poppy seed spread she had to put on home made bagel chips. This dish ignited my taste buds in anticipation for my return to the US. Lots of friends were there and we partook in some champagne and card games before I had to be off. My students wanted to take me to a farewell dinner that evening. I met them at a famous hot pot restaurant in Beijing and it was just superb. More than a dozen students showed up many bearing gifts. It was a little embarrassing. As much as I joke I have a hard time taking credit or being proud of things I've done. The students told me how much they would miss me and how great I was and it all made me a little uncomfortable. What really turned up the uncomfortable factor is when several students began to cry. We had been making many toasts that evening with the aid of baijiu, the 112 proof liquor that is so common at these types of events. A little emotion and a lot of drinks equals tears apparently. I really felt like the tin man and I wanted a heart. Truth be told I was sad to say goodbye to them, after all they are all wonderful people with a lot to offer the world. I just hope I was able to give them a little ammunition for life in the form of English and an improved view of the world.

The next afternoon I was off to Bangkok where I would catch a flight to Siem Reap early the next morning. Flights being what they are I had to stay overnight in Bangkok. I was there literally 11 hours. I found a small, rundown hotel near the airport and was there long enough to be offered three prostitutes. I declined three times but was still called in my room to make sure my decision was final. It was, I assured them. The next morning I was off to Siem Reap. Upon arrival the first thing that struck me was the flatness of the land. Coming in you could see the ravages of deforestation. Tons of small farms were set up around Lake Tong Li Sap. Further out you could see the jungle and what this area was originally like. Arriving at the airport without a proper visa landed me in the visa purchase line. Unbeknown to me, I was supposed to have a picture to attach to the visa. I didn't have one so the visa officer looked at me cross eyed. I thought I was super cool when I said, "I forgot, I have a picture right here", and slipped him a ONE DOLLAR BILL. He smiled and gave me the visa. One thing about Cambodia that I did not read in the guidebook was that they basically run a dual currency system based both on Riel, the local money, and the US dollar. What was even stranger was when the ATMs all spit out American dollars.

Upon my arrival I was met by a driver from the hostel that I had booked online the day before. He introduced himself to me with some ridiculously Western name like James. I asked him his real name and he said something which I immediately forgot. So to me, this diminutive, ever smiling, Cambodian chap, who couldn't have been more than 19 years-old, remained nameless for the duration of my stay. He took me out to the parking lot and told me that the tuk tuk had broken down and all he had was his motorbike. This thing was a rickety as they come. The top display where the speed, odometer, oil, and gas gauges would bee had fallen out and, since it was the rainy season, a white towel had been crammed in their place. I hopped on the back with my giant backpack and we made the trip back to the hostel.

On the way back, lets call him Doug, he explained many things to me that I was totally unaware of. I saw many Korean restaurants and five star hotels along the dirt road. Between hotels were small fruit stands made of corrugated tin and rice paddies being tended to with water buffalo. I asked him about all the Korean stuff. He told me that Korean companies have come to Cambodia to renovate many of the temples and help extract some of the natural resources Cambodia has to offer. He blamed the Koreans for the sustained poverty of his people, saying that they keep to themselves and although they have money, they only spend it at the Korean restaurants. To boot, one the Koreans finish the renovations of the temples, the money from the ticket sales goes directly to them. May other countries have gotten into this racket including Germany, Japan, and Vietnam. It costs 40 US dollars to get a three day pass to the temples of Angkor, Doug said that about three of those dollars make their way back to the Cambodian people.

We turned down a couple of roads flanked by stands selling live chickens, and duck embryos as snacks (Doug informed me that duck embryos were three for a dollar and really good with some chili sauce) and finally we arrived at Baca Villa. I chose this hostel because of an English school that is attached to it. Both the hostel and the school are run by a Dutch guy who has been living in Cambodia for several years. The money from the hostel is used to pay for school supplies for the children who are mostly orphans. The hostel was small but comfortable. My room was simple but did have a small TV that got BBC News and CNN. I arrived early in the morning so I decided to start of my trip full speed. Doug and I hopped back on the motorbike and headed out to Angkor Thom for a look around. On the way he pointed out the dirt road and said, "Look, you see why we need the money from the temples?" We cruised down the dirt road out of the city and into the jungle.

We rode along until we came to a fantastic bridge going over a giant moat. The Buddhist style was impressive in its detail. The gate itself was capped with a face staring out at the bridge. It was equally spooky and awe inspiring. This was my first taste of Angkor and I immediately fell in love before I had even crossed through the gate. On the other side the reality of modern Cambodia hit me. Small orphaned children begging for money. More children selling trinkets and postcards. Victims of landmines selling books. All of this in the middle of the jungle with monkeys running about. It was pretty intense but everyone seemed so up beat. The children whined for money but then I would make a small joke or tell them how cool they looked and they would smile and laugh. The children were captivating in a way that at once was both tragic and beautiful. I spent a lot of money that first day buying things I didn't need just to make them smile.

I got back on the bike and Doug told me that he had been one of those kids, selling postcards and books, until he started going to the Baca school. Doug's English was pretty good if slightly accented, we communicated very well.

The first temple we arrived at was The Bayon. I was immediately awestruck by the giant faces staring down from atop the pinnacles and towers that brought order to the labyrinthine arrangement of passageways courtyards and grottoes. The Bayon has been about 60% restored and that remaining 40% is what made it, and all the partially restored temples of Angkor, so special. The unrestored parts let you roam around and get lost in the rubble and provided some excellent picture taking opportunities utilizing the dramatic light that would come in at strange angles and project upon the bas reliefs. The bas reliefs at Bayon were extensive and pretty well preserved. More than most other temples I visited, Bayon had a great collection of bas reliefs that depicted military victories and everyday life 800 years ago.

After tooling around there for about two and a half hours I found Doug. He asked me where we were going next and I told him I still hadn't visited the other temples in the area. He laughed and told me that most people spend two hours on the entire complex. I told him I had jut begun. The other sites in the area are not as complete or dramatic as Bayon so I just spent another hour and a half on them combined.

Afterwards I met up with Doug again and we headed to get some lunch. I knew very little about Cambodian food so I had Doug take me to a local restaurant to be my guide. "It is time to start earning your keep", I said. He replied with "What?" Doug's English was good but not that good. Once in the restaurant he directed me towards the most traditional and famous of Cambodian dishes, Amok. Amok is like a soupy coconut curry served with fresh local vegetables and your choice of chicken or fish. It was great and a little spicy. Over lunch Doug told me about modern Cambodia and government corruption. I knew there was an election the month before and I knew that the ruling party stayed in power. I did not know how unsatisfying this was for many people in Siem Reap. After talking politics we headed out and back to the hostel. Did I mention it was hot? It was hot. It was also the rainy season so on the way back to the hostel we were caught in an afternoon rain storm. We kept on going on our motorbike and made it back to the hostel safe and sound. I was soaked through and sunburned and exhausted so I knew it was a good day. I went to my room at 7pm and slept through the night. The emotional toll, not to mention the hellish connection from Bankgok, was too much for me. All the suffering and beauty and injustice was a lot to take. In the end though I felt like a better person for experiencing those things and seeing all that suffering. The Tin Man had found his heart, at least temporarily.

Pax Beijing

The day after the swimming and the handball I had to return to work for about four days. Work during the Olympics was some of the hardest work I ever had to do. I was very distracted and took every opportunity to steal away and take a look at the medal count. The medal count was posted everywhere in Beijing. The Chinese were quite proud of all of their medals that were gold colored and they wanted to let me know about it. I must have been asked twenty times in three days what I thought of China's performance in the Olympics. My standard response was that it was impressive and very special. My Australian colleague Chris responded with, "Let's see how the medal count goes once we start running in circles," obviously referring to the Track and Field events.

After several days Rosen came to Beijing. He arrived at the new terminal late in the evening and I met him as he came out of customs, both of us throwing up gang signs well before we were within shouting distance. We made it back to my apartment and I was starved so we went out to a hot-pot restaurant. This is where Rosen was introduced to complimentary chicken feet. It was just the beginning of strange things I would try to persuade Rosen to eat.

Sidenote: I have never eaten chicken feet. I don't eat feet of any kind.

The next day was a bit lazy then we headed to The Olympic green in the evening for an evening of Track and Field with the men's 100m final as the featured race of the night. We got on The Green plenty early and in our travels Rosen was exposed to the crush of humanity that is a journey on the Beijing subway. On The Green we took plenty of pictures and posed for many others with Chinese fans before heading into the arena. The Bird's Nest is a fantastic looking structure. At night its concourses are lit up with a striking red color that accents the blood red paint used all over the interior. It was a little like taking the human body tour at Epcot Center, "This is your intestine."

While the architecture is thoroughly impressive the technology is somewhat disappointing. Not an escalator in sight, just long stairways that lead straight to the top of the stadium. It is hard to believe that they are going to have the Paralympics at a venue with no escalators and very few elevators. The concession stands had no running water (tap beer) or permanent refrigeration systems. It is real glitzy on the outside but it all seemed rather low tech on the inside. It really captures what is happening here during the Olympics.

Rosen and I settled into our seats as the first competitions began. I knew Track and Field would be interesting, but this was fantastic. At one point there were three events happening at one time: Javelin, long jump, and 100m heats. Crowds across the stadium were cheering for accomplishments I missed while looking at the long jump. It was a great atmosphere. The last event of the evening was the Men's 100m Final. The anticipation was great even though Tyson Gay failed to qualify for the final. They lined up and were off. The whole thing was over in 9.69 seconds. It was quite an impressive display but I couldn't help but question the validity of the record given the history of drug use in the sport. Suspicions aside, there was a great atmosphere in the stadium and I will always remember it.

The next day Rosen and I attended brunch with some of my friends at the Westin hotel. The brunch was decadent, as always, and included free flowing champagne and caviar among other treats. After brunch we all went to get foot massages and after that headed to a Belgian bar for some drinks. We had been going at it pretty well all day so when some in the group wanted to go to Dutch House, the Dutch party center for athletes and anyone else who likes croquettes and Heineken, I was trepidatious but wen't along. Boy am I glad I did.

Dutch House if famous at the Olympics for being the best party around. It lived up to that billing. We had tried to go there the previous evening but it was full and they were only allowing people with Dutch passports to enter. This time we got there early and stayed late. They showed a live (field) hockey match between the Dutch and Australia. While the Dutch fans vastly outnumbered the Aussies, there were fans for both sides and it made for a good atmosphere.

Rosen and I walked around the vast complex and even ran into some American Olympians. Rosen and I had been looking for official Team USA gear and there was a guy wearing what looked like the shirt the American athletes wore in the Opening Ceremonies. I asked him where he bought it and that is when he told us he was given it because he was on the trap shooting team. He then told us that his buddy actually won a gold medal. We walked over to Glen Eller and he showed us his gold and even let us take pictures with it.. We hung out with him for a bit chatting about the competition and things. He and his friend we met before are actually members of the Marines. They travel the world competing in qualifying events and competitions. They were pretty cool guys. Shortly afterwards I had had my fill of drink and croquettes so Rosen and I headed back to the apartment.

This ends my blow by blow account of the Olympic festivities. It all seems so dated now and I am kicking myself for not blogging more frequently while the games were on. Here now are some rapid fire bits of info.

-While on a walk around Houhai lake on a day when we didn't have any tickets, Rosen and I spotted the actor Vince Vaughn riding on a boat in the lake. I hollered something annoying at him.

-On a chance meeting in a bar I saw an old high school friend of mine, Adam Lobel. He now works for Cosport which was responsible for ticketing at major sporting events. He was able to get Mike and I additional tickets to Basketball (USA v. Australia AND Argentina v. Greece, on Mike's birthday no less), Soccer finals (Argentina v. Nigeria), and....Closing Ceremonies.

- Rosen and I attended Boxing (totally rigged) and Soccer (Brazil v. Argentina) on the same day. Boxing was fun and the venue was cool but the scoring system left something to be desired, like fairness. Points are scored for 'clean' blows to the head and body. The definition of clean seemed to shift with every match. Soccer was phenomenal. Brazil v. Argentina, it gets no bigger than that. The fans were mostly Chinese (obviously) but the smattering of Brazilians and Argentinians made for a festive atmosphere. There were even some fights in the stands which was surprising. With the score at 3-0 to Argentina Chinese fans focused their attention on the Minister of Sport. A spontaneous cheer broke out and I had no idea what was being said. A Chinese man informed me that they were calling for the resignation of the Minister of Sport.

Chinese fans love soccer. They watch the English Premier League, Spanish League, French League, Italian League, and even the Japanese League. They are totally embarrassed by their domestic league. Corruption has wracked the Chinese league and I have seen many matches that ended in protest with one team walking off the field due to a terrible call. They are totally embarrassed by this.

-The basketball match was fantastic. It was great to see all those players (again) and this time they were competing for true Olympic glory. Argentina v. Greece proved to be the better game and that was a real treat. Luis Scola, Manu Ginobili, Andres Noccioni, all those Argentinians could play.

The day after the match Rosen and I headed to a sports bar to watch the USA v. Argentina game. The game was great, with the US winning and all, but the highlight of the night came after the match when a cover band came out for a couple of sets. Live music is so rare in China and these guys were actually fantastic. They played lots of classic rock like Hendrix, CCR, and they even had an entire set of Police covers.

- One of the last events we went to was the soccer final. It was BLAZING hot in the Bird's Nest and the air was not moving. Our seats were excellent (thanks to Adam Lobel) so we were in the shade. It was the first time I had seen a game where the ref called a time out for a water break and he did it twice, it was that hot.

-On the last day of competition Rosen and I went to the men's bronze and gold medal games. Handball is a sport America should be great at. It combines the soccer and basketball and values running, jumping, and throwing skills, all skills that I have found through my conversations and travels that Americans have a disproportionate amount of skill in.

Rosen and I watched the first game but became distracted by the USA v. Spain gold medal match that was happening at the same time. I was receiving text updates from my friends and the game was too close so Rosen and I headed out of the stadium to find a big screen to watch the 4th quarter. We watched the USA pull away and protect their lead. It was a joyous moment.

Afterwards I received a call from Adam Lobel. He had the Closing Ceremony tickets for us. We met up with him, had a few beers, and went into the Bird's Nest for the last time. The stadium was well decked out and we got bags full of objects to wave and were given explicit instructions as to what to wave when. All instructions were ignored by the entire stadium. Things were just too damn exciting to remember. At some point I spotted Yao Ming amongst all the Chinese athletes, then Jimmy Page came out (Rosen insisted it wasn't actually him and vowed to check the internet to see if it was him when we went home).

My friends who had no idea I was at the Closing Ceremonies called me tell me that they saw me on the screen when the Greek flag was raised. If you have the Closing Ceremonies on Tivo give it a check.

Then the Olympics ended and I was sad, Rosen went home, and I returned to work for about a week. I then quit my job and was forced to move out of my apartment ahead of schedule when my landlord had a change of heart. I stayed at my friend Steve's apartment for several days before embarking on my farewell tour across Asia. My itinerary has been this. Beijing to Cambodia, Cambodia to Shanghai, Shanghai to Guilin, and from Guilin to Beijing. I am actually in Guilin right now and will be posting about my travels in the next couple of days. Briefly: Cambodia was one of the best travel destinations I have ever been to. Bryne was in Shanghai and the architecture there is amazing. Guilin is hot and it currently sucking the life out of me. More on all that to come.