Here's Charis at the Olympic Park. Gettin' ready for 2024.
This woman actually ran with the torch the day or so before. So she's here flaunting the fact that she's way more important than we are and thus got to hold and run with the torch. But hey, at least we got a picture.
Here's the kids getting tossed around in a tradition carrier. This is at the Great Wall in our city. We took our friends and had a blast. One funny thing that happened the first night they were here regards their lodging. We had been trying for 3 months to get them a hotel room. Knowing the Olympics was coming, we kept trying to make a reservation (albeit all in vain.). They just kept saying it was too early. So I made sure they understood that the Olympics was indeed coming and that lots of people usually come into town to watch this thing. They just smiled, nodded and said that it was against the rules to reserve a room this far out-I mean, it was June. Anyway, long story short....we put them in a "hotel" near our apt. I put quotes around hotel, because it was more of an extra room above a local convenience store. We tried to sell it to our friends as a cozy, quaint little bed and breakfast (being above a convenience store would give them great access to all the food their wanted.) Ya, they didn't buy it. But we got them checked in and settled. That night they were at our apt. hanging out and about 9:15...knock...knock...knock. It was our friend from the convenience store. She said the police were searching the rooms and that they needed to stay here until it was worked out. It was our friends first night in our city.
So we waited until about 9:30 and our friend came back. The police said the "hotel" they were at was not big enough or nice enough for them to stay in. So 10 at night, our friends moved to another hotel. The same hotel that couldn't make early reservations. Apparently 10 pm the same night you want to stay was not too early. So our friends checked in and got some sleep.
They met some of our friends, we ate good food (and some cow stomach, fish skins, and fish eggs) and mutually encouraged one another.
So what brave soul will be next to venture to the Motherland?
