Arriving in the Beijing Capital International Airport for the 29th Olympiad with excitement up to my forehead, I was still prepared to deal with huge crowds, long lines, and impatient vendors. What I found was a sense of world unity and camaraderie that is rarely seen these days; one in which, Chinese natives, or anyone for that matter, could wear the colors of another country without irony or malice, but simply enjoy what life had to offer at that particular point in time.
Being an LA native, I have dealt with all the above mentioned nuisances, but hearing there was going to be “soooo many people” and that it was going to be “soooo crowded” didn’t really help in assuaging any concerns of mine. But after arriving and taking a cab to my hotel, I found Beijing to be less crowded and dense than I had imagined. Traffic was about what one might find here in LA, but it never took more than thirty minutes to get around the city; and the pollution levels I had heard about seemed to be that of an urban legend. True, the government did a lot of cleaning up for these Olympics (instituting odd-even license plate traffic restrictions, closing down street vendors, etc.) in order to present a cleaner and more welcoming China, but that was not going to take away from my enjoyment of the city.
Don’t get me wrong either. I still had to deal with crowds, and in some cases, the Chinese custom of not waiting in lines at all, but rather just a herd moving into and out of the subway. Similarly, the bars did not receive our California memo that lines at bars just don’t work. Move in, order, and move out, people!
But in all seriousness, I found the vibrant and unifying spirit of the Olympic Games to pervade all aspects of Beijing life. Everywhere you went, Olympic fever was dominantly felt. Yes, there were lines and crowds, but people were excited to wait in these lines and be amongst these crowds because it was during the Olympics. Additionally, people were very cognizant of the historical context of these particular games—the build up, the implications, and the introduction of China to the world—which only aided in bringing that unifying spirit to greater heights and allowing individuals to identify with not necessarily a particular country, but as part of a bigger world.
Mostly when I travel, I tend to get two responses upon the revelation that I am an Angeleno: It is either the impressed and rising-tone “oooooh” in which the listener immediately thinks I speed dial all my celebrity friends with my Blackberry, or it is the monotone and condescending “oooooh,” like being from LA is about the best thing next to the Plague. Therefore, I was bracing myself for a myriad of such responses. However, I never heard a single “oooooh.” Not even a pregnant pause! Now, I travel a great deal and would consider myself culturally aware and sensitive, thus, I do not think anyone should react in any given manner, but I was surprised at how inconsequential hometowns were in such an internationally diverse setting. For everyone at the Games, it was not about where you were from, but why you were there: supporting your country, living in the spirit, and taking part in a feeling of world cohesion that comes by every four years (two if we count the Winter Games).
I was lucky enough to have a conversation with one of the athletes while waiting for tickets at the Velodrome. He was a swimmer, and, although distinctive, I couldn’t place his accent. While we talked about things ranging from the Games to life plans to his new record time, never once did it dawn on me to ask him his country of origin. On the flip side, he never asked me what part of the world I came from either. My point, and I do have one, is that within such an international crowd, the idea of identity did not solely rely on where he or I was from, but who we were at that point in time and why we were there.
There is something special about the unity the Olympics foster. The borderlines of countries seemingly dissolve and everyone is there to support the next athlete. While elements of patriotism are strongly felt, there is never a domineering or perverted sense to it. It is clear you are there for your country, but you are also there to support other athletes as they realize their dreams or need encouragement after their defeat. Only at the Games will one attend a Japan v. Netherlands baseball match and see both teams try and out-cheer each other, recruiting any nationality they can, only to hug in the end. (Try doing that with Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants fans and you might just see a war break out.) Never will you see so many different flags raised during medal ceremonies, honoring a deserved athlete, while the ENTIRE packed stadium stands in unison out of both respect and admiration for that individual as his or her national anthem plays.
Again, this world unity is what the spirit of the Olympic Games is about. In essence, the Olympics and what surrounds them function as a model, demonstrating an attainable camaraderie. There are no borders or sections on the Olympic Green to hide behind; everyone is integrated into one area, excited to be there and willing to meet others. All of which puts into perspective the idea that without borders or party lines to define us, we are still world citizens.
Photos by Karl I. Muller
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