Re-entry...

Re-entry into the real world is always difficult after an event like the Olympics. But I'm glad to finally be eating cheese again (it was nowhere to be seen in the Asian diet). Also glad to see the price of gas dropped since I last filled up my tank.  I'm slowly getting back to normal.  At least the version of normal that I was when I left.  Here are some more random pics from my trip....

One morning I got into work and there was this bottleneck of people in the hallway, all of them craning their necks and holding out their cameras.  Turns out George W was in the studio meeting Bob Costas and secret service wouldn't let anyone walk anywhere. This traffic jam of people was annoying for a couple of reasons -- first of all, I hadn't eaten breakfast and the secret service was preventing me from getting to the commissary.  Second, the majority of people in television are free-wheeling liberal types who wouldn't be caught dead voting for Bush.  Why suddenly did they feel the need to risk life and limb just to get the man's picture???

This was my seat at the sold out basketball game when China played the USA. It was electric in that arena.  I've never seen a group of fans so into basketball before.

 

The aforementioned shoot with Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant.  Look how Pau dwarfs Kobe!!

On my second to last day in Beijing I had the chance to tour one of the coolest parts of the city. It's a trendy arts and shopping district near the Drum Tower - a main street called Nanluo Guxiang.  It was my first meal outside the NBC commissary!!  Here are a few random shots while strolling down the street with a few fellow producers (including Selena, the gal standing next to the bike in the second pic - she's a Beijing resident and the one who introduced us to this really neat part of town).  I'm not sure what the game is that those ladies are playing on the street corner, but it looked fun!

Some of the most interesting architecture in this city are the doors and entryways....

One of the best parts about working the Olympics are the people who become your best friends for 30 straight days.  No way, no how, I could have gotten anything on the air without the help of Atlantis (below) and her fellow translators Roger, Shen and Wei. They are some of the smartest people I've ever met (anyone who speaks fluent Mandarin and English is genius in my book).  And they were absolutely invaluable to the whole operation.  

I also had a good time working with a bunch of different on-air personalities including the two Lindsays (second pic), Dr. Nancy Snyderman (Today Show correspondent) and Eyee Hsu (the Chinese American reporter who did a number of spots with me)...

Finally.....I was lucky enough to make it to The Great Wall!!  It is truly an amazing thing to behold if overly commercialized -- funny that I thought it would be this pristine, quiet, primitive place -- in reality it's more like a Chinese Disney World!

That's it for now.  Thanks to everyone who checked the blog!!  18 months until Vancouver!