Applauding The Average Zhou
At first I thought that it was simply because the Paralympics had provided me with a cooling-off period before resuming normal daily life in Beijing. Let’s face it: if I had carried my Olympics induced rage at the public and private powers that be straight into a Monday confrontation with the normal, hellish traffic and its resultant smog I might have snapped. However, I soon realized that some truly inspiring performances (not all by winners) had quickly made most of my complaints seem minor, even churlish.
Once properly chastened I began to look back and reexamine what just happened. None of my negative predictions for the games came true, with the possible exception of the guy who sells scorpions and seahorses on a stick going blind from television camera lighting; I haven’t heard anything but I hope he survived. God knows his business thrived.
The level of enthusiasm for the games was astounding, as was the level of knowledge about the games as well as support for and politeness to other participants and spectators. I was teaching a class when the games began and my students named every single event - in English! They knew more than I did, and I had prepared for the class!
Not once did I hear a Chinese person speak negatively about other countries or their athletes. Not a single ugly boast was made in my presence. People were proud of China’s accomplishments, but in an unbelievably polite manner. English soccer fans could learn a thing or two, as well as people from Philadelphia.
Now life slowly returns to normal. I can get my baozi once again and traffic is due to return to normal in a few days. Maybe I’ll even be able to buy a DVD again soon. I’ll save the bitching about my torture at the hands of a Chinese tour group for next week; I’m in too good of a mood.
