Game Over

They’re over.

My friend David was here over the weekend, and I went with him to the men’s football final at the Bird’s Nest on Saturday (photos here). It was Argentina versus Nigeria, which eliminated the U.S. team on August 12. It was interesting to see how other countries have assimilated China’s “jia you” cheer, as in “Argentina, jia you!” The literal meaning, I think, is “add oil,” but it basically means something like, “Come on!” or “Let’s go!” It’s been a constant refrain for the last three weeks.

On Sunday we planned to watch the closing ceremony on a screen outside the Bird’s Nest so we could see the fireworks, but by the time we got there the crowd was overwhelming and police prevented us from getting any closer than a mile from the stadium. So I went back to my apartment with David, Brian and his girlfriend to watch it on TV with my roommate. We could hear the fireworks from my living room but buildings blocked our view.

China Fun Fact: This was the first time an American president attended an Olympics on foreign soil (and boy did he do us proud).