It Was Like the Chinese Oprah...Not the Opera, Thankfully

So, today was our last sort of day off before we start training for the Olympics and our jobs as flash quote reporters. I got to sleep in today, which, even though usually I have been getting up well before I had to, was a nice change of pace; being able to sleep in and not have anything to really get up for. Most people around here took the day off, staying in and blogging or uploading photos onto their blogs, something I've been sadly remiss in. But, I heard of something greater...

...the electronics silk market. That's right, it's like the silk market, with all the bargaining, killer deals and carnival barker-like vendors. But, instead of handbags, shoes and ripoff designer clothing, it's all electronic goods.

It's a bit of a trek, but it's worth it. For a geek like me, it's like Christmas and Heaven rolled into one four-story building. We spent a big chunk of the day there, and after I got an iPod dock with speakers, computer mouse and headset/microphone, we went to the Wal-Mart for some much needed goods. Like Oreos and Chips Ahoy.

I also got a bucket to do laundry in. Even though they told us that laudry facilities would be on site, and even though they are, they aren't the best in the world and they only work about half the time. So, I'm turning the time machine back and washing my clothes by hand. We'll see how that works out.

After we got back, and a little down time, we went to a Chinese talk show. It's aired on CCTV, which is the main (perhaps government-run) television station in China. In fact, there are about 9 CCTV stations on our cable here in the dorm, one of them in English. And, another interesting tidbit: CCTV is the exclusive home of the Olympic Games once they start.

So, after a long bus ride, we got to the basement of this CCTV building. This is the old building, as an extremely amazing new CCTV building is being built within the city. After a dodgy-looking box dinner in a green room/waiting room, we got to this studio...where we were the special guests.

The host was this guy who immediately started talking to us, sort of like a monologue from Jay Leno or David Letterman. We all listened to the show through headphones that were feeding us an English translation. He immediately involved the audience in a couple of activities and then brought out his first two guests: the Games' oldest volunteer and the co-leader of the volunteer effort.

Then, after talking to some more of us in the audience, he brought on a woman from a project called Together in Beijing. TiB was started in Norway to benefit disabled children and send them to the Paralympics here in Beijing, which will take place after the Olympics. Then, the host brought out a blind girl and partially deaf girl who made crafts and drawings. Then, they all gave us gifts. It was an extremely emotional time, and an interesting look at the Chinese media.

Tomorrow starts our training. Wish me luck.

Phil