Olympic Fever

I am fascinated by the pace of development around here. Construction doesn't work the same way as it does in the US. There's no OSHA. It's not uncommon to find workers doing heavy construction in sandals or slippers. Here are some photos of the frenetic activity on the fringes of the Olympic complex. There are throngs of Chinese people checking out the Olympic park from the periphery, as we are all still excluded by a large-ish fence. I can't help but wonder if the fence is permanent and, if so, what is its purpose? It looks like it's for keeping people out, great wall style, I guess. You've got to keep the barbarians at bay somehow, right? Anyway, while everyone else was taking carefully posed pictures of the "bird's nest" (the stadium), I was more interested in the workers! Here, they are pulling hose or something. It was quite entertaining. I don't think they could understand my interest, but they cooperated by going about their business while the crazy 老外 (lao wai, "old foreigner") snapped a few photos.










Also, here is a picture of a really cool building that has a massive overhang built into it. (I am conscious that I am using the word "massive" a lot in these posts, or at least I want to. I think that is a reflection of the scale of things around here.) By the way, in the bottom of the photo, you can make out the top of the largest TV I have ever seen. It is literally as big as a building. Over and over it plays clips of waterpolo with super slow-mo, freeze frames, advertisements and "Welcome to Beijing" in English. It's actually quite mesmerizing.








Stay tuned for details on my fabulous adventure to 后海 (hou hai, "back sea") with the lovely Miss Angie Lee and her crew. Life is good...