Sailogs » Jacqueline Schmitz

Wondrous Olympic Adventure Wrap-Up

Jacqueline Schmitz — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:49:40 +0000

Unfortunately, I was MIA from the blog for the last 5-6 days in China due to very limited internet access. What a fantastic few days they were though…

I got the chance to cheer on Anna Tunnicliffe with a ton of fellow Hoya alumni, ex-MAISA sailors, and other American fans as she sailed for a Gold medal. We watched her medal ceremony from the seawall and soaked up every moment as the National Anthem played over the loudspeakers. The following day, we were off to Beijing on a train. We made a new, smiley friend named Li as we shot through the countryside at high speeds. Li showed us the proper stroke order for a few Chinese characters and concluded his lessons with a competition between all of us Americans for the most beautiful and fastest writing of a given sentance in Chinese, to be judged by Li and two other Chinese guys sitting across from us. I finished third, behind the two people in our group that had studied Chinese before, so I felt pretty good about that. The winner, Mac, had to “gambei” (chug) a warm TsingTao beer as a prize, and did so to loud cheers from the entire train car!

Our days running around Beijing seeing the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the USA House, and various restaurants and bars in search of the most excellent Peking Duck were full and tiring. Us non-Chinese speakers got around by having others write our destinations down in Chinese and doing lots of pointing and gesturing, only to get rejected by several cab drivers (before the ride even started) over the course of our stay. Our group was lucky enough to catch the USA baseball team’s bronze medal-winning game against Japan. Somehow, we were seated in the midst of the most raucous Japanese cheering section, including a man dressed as a samurai, and I must say we did a pretty good job of cheering back when we could. I also got to see the USA women’s basketball team win the gold medal against the Australian team (sporting unitards) the same day- pretty amazing.

I left on the day of the Closing Ceremony and made a quick stop by the impressive Bird’s Nest to catch a glimpse of the Olympic Flame burning bright on the way to the airport. My 13-hour flight home was made much more exciting by the presence of the bronze and gold-medal winning USA baseball and basketball teams on the same flight…I even got to tell the women’s basketball coach, who must be at least seven feet tall, congratulations in person. No idea how she squeezed herself into her seat.

I am so thankful that I got the chance to witness these Games and travel around China with such good friends. Thanks to Andrew for giving us the excuse to get ourselves involved…we’re all really proud of you and the rest of the US Team!

Photo Link

Jacqueline Schmitz — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:54:41 +0000

Pictures from the Qingdao experience thusfar:

http://picasaweb.google.com/schmitz.jacqueline/Qingdao

Adventures in Qingdao

Jacqueline Schmitz — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:20:45 +0000

Since Friday’s racing ended up being postponed until around 4pm, we headed over to Jusco, a big department store/grocery/mall in downtown Qingdao, to look around. The place was hopping! Shoppers were digging frantically through sale bins as we checked out the vast collection of seemingly misprinted shirts with English sayings on them. I was psyched to finally find a “sunbonnet” face-shield/visor that I’ve been looking for. Now I can attempt to fit in with the locals.

Again, Olympic posters and ads were plastered everywhere and a crowd of people was gathered in the middle of the mall, watching a giant TV showing Olympic events. I attempted to take a picture of it all, but was stopped immediately by a mall-cop with a big stick in his hand. No pictures allowed. Eventually we exited the building, rounded a corner, and spotted a huge screen mounted about 150 feet in the air, broadcasting the first Star start of the regatta. We realized the Lasers would be starting soon and rushed back to catch the race.

Yesterday we had tickets to a spectator boat, and thus the seawall, so we headed down there early to cheer Andrew and the other US sailors on as they headed out to their racecourses. All of us waved US flags and cheered our loudest as our guys went by, but were shown up by tons of Chinese people with loudspeakers and organized cheers for their sailors. Being the blondest in the group, Michael and I started a photography frenzy, as local photogs swooped in right next to us holding our US flags and snapped away. They even videotaped us and followed, taking more pictures, as we walked away later on. Who knows what publications we’ll end up in now!

We spent about 5 hours on our spectator boat yesterday, shuttling between courses C and D (Lasers/Radials and 470s). There was a sizable crowd of Chinese, as well as some Aussie, American, French, and Dutch spectators on board with us. It was pretty cool to be able to watch the Laser racing live, sometimes even without the need for binoculars, although it was pretty slow and light for the one race they completed. We were sure to follow the directions posted on the boat’s signs, things like “No crowding. Deep water.” A visit to the loo was questionable, as they had chosen to install a shallow squat toilet…not the greatest idea when the boat starts rolling side to side.

The rest of the Hoya crowd arrived last night so we had a great time catching up on their wondrous adventures through Hong Kong, Guilin, and Shanghai at dinner. Three Laser races are scheduled for today. At the moment, we’re seeing pouring rain and some breeze, so there’s hope we’ll get them all in. Go USA!!!

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Hurry Up and Wait

Jacqueline Schmitz — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:15:11 +0000

As you might know by now, yesterday’s racing was canceled for all classes due to lack of wind. The haze never burned off enough to get a good sea breeze going, so we took the opportunity to explore new parts of Qingdao. We hopped in a cab to one of the shopping districts and, with the help of Jeff Chang’s Chinese skills, actually made it. The streets were lined with lots of stores selling anything and everything from clothing to electronics to “walking pizza” (which we assumed was pizza to go). As we explored, we made a new friend who started following us, presumably to work up the courage to ask for money. Luckily, the local Olympic volunteers talked the man out of pursuing us after we asked for some help.

As we walked through less-touristy areas, we noticed that the Olympic symbols and particularly the sailing ads really are plastered and painted all over the city. I had the chance to try on some shorts in a 3 by 7-foot changing cube and realized after some serious efforts to try on my normal size that Chinese sizes and women generally run much smaller. I was happy to find a pair and double my wardrobe…thankfully my bag has arrived a day later.

Next we wandered over to “Beer Street,” a short walk away from “Culture Street” and “Wedding Photography Street.” The road was lined with locals and perhaps a few Chinese tourists enjoying the TsingTao brew from kegs and bottles in outdoor cafes. Many of the men were sitting and standing around with their shirts rolled up to their armpits or totally off, a fashion statement I’ve started to see a lot here. Probably pretty nice when it’s so hot out.

After admiring the beer shrine, made completely out of large, green TsingTao beer bottles, we sat down and sampled a few. One brave member of our group even tried the “unlabeled” version that the locals like, but we all concluded that ithe original brew was much better. Later on the evening, we got to meet up with Andrew and Bill Ward and enjoy some Italian food at a restaurant near downtown Qingdao. Also caught some glimpses of the Laser light show that beams out of one of the many tall buildings at night.

At the moment, we’re well positioned to watch the three races scheduled for today from the 8th floor of the hotel, but it looks like the RS:X, Star, and Tornado fleets are towing in. The 470 and Laser/Radial fleets appear to be holding near their course areas to see if the sea breeze will fill.. There’s also a large groups of dark clouds approaching, so we’ll see what happens. Can’t wait to get some more races in…

Arrival and Day 3 of Laser Racing

Jacqueline Schmitz — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:37:17 +0000

Last night, I arrived at the Sea View Garden Hotel in Qingdao after 48 hours on the road trying to get here and also one bag lighter (my luggage is still traveling around somewhere)! I had a great reception by the Campbells and Jeff Chang (Georgetown Sailing Class of 2002), who had cheered Andrew to his first place finish earlier in the day. Needless to say, it was great to see everyone and take a rest.

This morning, “Western-style” breakast provided an opportunity to have a look at a few local specialties as well as crazy descriptions of the western food…soaked ham and blasted onions anyone? The weather looks quite hazy today, with really light air. We’re headed up to the 8th floor with a bunch of other US Sailing families and friends in a bit to watch the racing. Go USA!!!

To Qingdao!

Jacqueline Schmitz — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:15:52 +0000

After getting together with a bunch of Georgetown Sailing alumni to watch the Opening Ceremonies here in Washington DC last night, I am definitely psyched up to head to Qingdao on Monday morning. We couldn’t seem to catch any sailors on the US broadcast of the Opening, but saw plenty of the spectacular fireworks, 15,000-man choreography, and US men’s basketball players. I’d hate to be the next country to have to put on an Opening Ceremony, since China appears to have pulled out all the stops.

I arrive in Qingdao on Andrew’s first official day of racing, August 12th, as a few fellow Hoyas make their way around China to arrive later in the week. More to come…