My Olympic Parties in QD

Pre-Olympic Opening Games (August 06, 2008)
At Jack's Bar - Free Beer. No, not really. But this is a fun place. Tonight, 2 days before the opening of the Olympics, China played the Kiwis (New Zealand) in men's football. The Kiwis scored first around the early part of the 2nd half. It looked bad for the Chinese. But with only about 2 minutes left, Chinese stricker Dong Fangzhuo scored to tie the game.

The bar went wild. Then Jack, the owner, bought a round of beer for all. Unfortunately, China did not score again. But many Chinese men 'scored' 2 days later!!! ----------------------->

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Here's one Olympics competition where China definitely set a record: at least 314,224 couples tied the knot across the nation on Friday, or 08/08/08, the opening day of the 29th Olympic Games, official statistics showed.

Opening Day Party at Latours Laguens (August 08, 2008)
Latours Laguens (LL) is a small French villa-type resort hotel in the Shiloren area in Qingdao (about 15-20 minutes by taxi from the city center). For 100RMB (US$15), LL offered all-you-can drink Tsingtao beer, and some finger foods. It was pleasant night, a bit warm but breezy. In attendance was about 200 people equally divided of foreigners and locals.

I went with my usual crowd of imbibers - Helmut Probst (the BakkerMeister), Oliver Spanh, Jessie Dong, Phillipe Van Cauwenberge, Gert Vetter, Glacier (local Chinese beauty), Joe Braun (from Milwaukee), etc. Although guests in attendance were a smorgasbord of nationalities, I felt everyone was Chinese at that moment in time.




The crowd was load and noisy. Most were standing and dancing, swaying to the Olympic music. Each episode of the "Greatest Show on Earth" was greated with claps and cheers. Certainly, it was a night that made Chinese people proud. I was so glad to be in China at this historic moment.

My USA v China Basketball Game Party (August 10, 2008)
Two days after the the opening, was the game between the Team Millionaires v. Team Yao Ming. I invited a couple fo expat friends to come over and enjoy some beer and watch the games.

I went down to my favorite corner store to see if I can order a keg of beer. Yes, he did have cold beer (this is rare!) in a keg which he sells retail via the "plastic bag' way. So, he could not deliver the whole keg as his úsual ''winos' would go berserk. But since I am such an important customer, he will have the beer delivered. Thirty minutes later, my door bell rang. A young boy with 6 plastic bags of Tsingtao beer was at the door. The rest of the night was pure Tsingtao 'pijiu' (beer) love fest.

The Art of Pouring Tsingtao from Plastic Bag

Past Memoirs - Beijing Exotic Food Festival

When I arrived in Beijing on December 30, 2007 (I promised Xueling Zhang I would be in China before the end of 2007). More on these episodes about my early days (Jan - Feb 2008) in Qingdao. An affair to remember and cherish.

At that time, Xueling and I were fortunate enough to be in an area where they had an Exotic Food Street Fair. Here are pictures I took at the Fair (with Xueling):