Where-were-you-when?

Each generation has its where-were-you-when moment(s). Where were you when you heard about Pearl Harbor? Where were you when Truman dropped the atomic bomb? Where were you when John F. Kennedy was shot? Where were you when Dr. Martin Luther King was shot? Where were you when Robert Kennedy was shot? Where were you when the space shuttle Columbia blew up? Where were you when the Berlin Wall came down? No doubt, the generations before and after these had and will have their own where-were-you-when moments.

Similarly, every four years, when the world gathers to compete in the largest, most global of sporting events, the Olympics, these two weeks of athletics almost always create their own where-were-you-when moments. Where were you when Jesse Owen single-handedly destroyed the Aryan Nation? Where were you Paavo Nurmi won his last medal? Where were you when Cassius Clay became The Greatest? Where were you when Nadia received the first perfect 10.0? Where were you when Mark Spitz swam to seven gold medals? Where were you when The Miracle on Ice stunned the Soviets? Where were you when Carl Lewis landed his fourth Olympic winning long jump? Where were you when the Dream Team dismantled the basketball world?

In Kunming, the closest most of us came to physically being a part of the 2008 Olympics was the mysterious running of the torch, an event that was curiously over before most people had even come out to see it. However, on 08 August 2008, a small group of youth and adults gathered at the Spring City Garden Hotel on Kunming's west side to compete in our own tribute to the Olympics and watch the opening ceremonies on China's first-ever Olympic Games.
For anyone from Whitefish, Montana, the volume of traffic in the picture above may appear to be rush hour. However, for those of you who have spent anytime in the Far East, and more importantly in an Asian city of several million people, you will realize that the amount of vehicles present in the photo is a mere trickle of movement. This photo was taken during the second hour of the Opening Ceremonies. The traffic would grow steadily less busy as the four-hour spectacle of drums, dancers, painting, and fireworks progressed. At least 90 percent of China came to a standstill, and that standstill stood in front of their televisions watching the most spectacular Opening Ceremonies ever.
As a prelude to the 2008 Opening Ceremonies, we held our own "Backward Olympic Games." The signature event was the team "un-rhythmic gymnastics." Our competitors put both their left feet forward in an effort to be the most rhythmically challenged. And like the 2008 Beijing Olympics gymnastics competition could not settle for merely a perfect 10.0, our competition redefined clumsy with scores below zero.
Students and adults also competed in relay races, like the under-leg relay. In this picture, Miss Ektrakul (Thailand) looked to represent her South-East Asian country with her hands-and-knees crawling prowess. These teams of four raced from one end of the room and back, crawling through each others legs (and laughing).
After too much fun and laughter, we broke out the sodas, chips, cookies, and peanuts and sat down to watch the 2008 Opening Ceremonies live and in Chinese. With Miss Suli's help, we received a Chinese history lesson. She explained each of the images created during the ceremonies, and told us who were each of the torch bearers, including Li Ning, a former Chinese gymnast who now owns a large chain of sporting goods retailers (like Nike and Adidas). His name brand is one of the sponsors of the Spanish basketball team.
And I could not end my blog without an Olympic photo of Miss Suli. Pictured here with NiNi (kneeknee), the last of the five FuWa. FuWa literally means "Blessed Child," and for the Olympic purposes have become known as the friendlies. BeiBei (baybay) represents fish, JingJing represents pandas, HuanHuan (hwonhwon) represents fire, YinYin (yeenyeen) represents the Tibetan antelope, and NiNi represents the Chinese Swiftlet. Together, there names--Beijing huan yin ni--mean Beijing Welcomes You. And welcome the world they have. So now I have to ask, where-were-you-when Michael Phelps redefined Olympic Champion?

The Kunming "Polo" Association

I grew up in Nebraska, and as a product of this great state, the entirety of my experience with horses has been in the rodeo arena. No, I never rode a bucking bronco, roped calves, or even raced through the barrels, but many of my mother's relatives (cousins) did. Therefore, I have spent a fair amount of time at rodeos enjoying their skills on a horse. My awe for those who work with horses has also extended to equestrian, especially the cross-country event. I remember watching this event during one of the past Olympics, and ever since, I have marveled at the relationship each rider must have with his or her mount. However, one horse event I have never watched nor claim to know anything about is polo. I assume it is like some sort of equine version of field hockey, but honestly, I do not know. Therefore, when I was invited to join what I have affectionately called the Kunming Polo Association on one of its weekend outings how could I say no.

However, as I soon found out, this "polo" group does not mount four-legged creatures. Rather, they sit in four-wheeled vehicles. You see, Volkswagen produces a vehicle know as the Polo, a car similar to the 70s and 80s Rabbit. It comes in both two-door and four-door versions, and even comes in more of a Subaru Outback type cross-country model. This four-cylinder, five-speed vehicle is quite popular in Kunming, and so many people own them that their owners have come together to create social groups that gather occasionally to enjoy their similar Polo-ness. Xiang Lan and Yao San, Suli's older sister and brother-in-law, own a royal blue Polo, and recently invited Suli and I to join them on one of these outings to Fu Xian Hu. The following pictures will explain.
Above is pictured Yao San's royal blue Polo. He borrowed my camera to take pictures of his vehicle, and this is just one of many he took.
This is just a portion of the herd of Polos with whom we herded ourselves south-east of Kunming to Fu Xian Hu to enjoy a Saturday of driving, food, and swimming.
Here is the Kunming Polo Association gathered around the lunch table. Not a single member knew any other. They had learned of each other through a chat website for owners of Polos. Even though no one knew the others, they did enjoy trying to figure out which person went with his or her logon personality.
Our lunch consisited of a local specialty, fish soup. I watched these two fish meet their end from the blunt side of a wood club. And while I did not particularly enjoy that sight, the soup tasted wonderful: a little spicy and a little sour.
After lunch, we crossed the road and enjoyed the lake. The weather was actually much nicer than this photo suggests. The temperature was in the mid to high 80s and the waters temperature was just cool enough to quench the warmth and humidity. Suli, Xiang Lan, Yao San, and I swam for about thirty minutes before drying off and rejoining the larger group to go to another restaurant for dinner (yes, there were only about three or four hours between lunch and dinner). The Kunming Polo Association then returned home.

I still know very little about polo, but I know a little more about one way the Chinese people socialize.