The Ending of this Adventure and the Beginning of Others: By Joey Salvo

A night to remember

It was 10:54 P.M. in Beijing. The night sky was dark, but the earth was far from it. Lights were lit up all over the city, and people were everywhere. It was the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic games, and all were in a good mood. We watched happily as the last exchanges of the torch flame were carried out. Finally, it was the turn of the last bearer. We watched in awe and slight horror, as the man in the wheelchair began to haul himself, the chair, and the torch up to the top of the Birds’ Nest Stadium!

It was an incredible feat, just like all the feats that I had seen over the last 5 weeks. The 2008 Beijing Olympics were a spectacular performance, and though the actors had taken their bows and left the stage, it seemed like the curtain would never close. The National Stadium and all the rest of the elegant venues still stood proudly in Beijing, a memento of what had occurred. We had collected countless souvenirs to bring back to the other side of the planet, which we called home. But the real things keeping the bright red cloth from crashing to the stage were the memories that would always be alive in our hearts.

A sound suddenly drew my attention back towards the incredible athlete pulling himself up the rope hanging in the Birds’ Nest. He had nearly reached the top! Come on! The crowd was going wild. YES!! He had made it! The torch was ready to finish its’ job, and transfer its’ glowing passenger to its’ rightful place. Then came the instant when the flame left the torch and leapt to the metallic pole! The fire curved around and around like a dangerous snake, ready to strike, until it reached the center of the giant Olympic torch on the top of the National Stadium, and became a blazing inferno!

Torchlight

That was it! The Paralympics had begun! Many more athletes were ready to compete, ready to unravel the thread of time and discover victory, disappointment, sorrow, and joy. But however miraculous the Paralympics were, we would never forget the Beijing Olympics that we had all witnessed together, as a large Chinglish family! Perhaps by the time the London Olympics were ready to take place, us 3 youths would have decided to be volunteers. Perhaps this was only the first of many other Olympic adventures in the future. How could we know? It was impossible. But all seven of us were ready to continue into time, and were prepared for many more adventures to come!

Last look at a red dream world

Trading Places

Beijing is a fascinating place, with the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, so visiting is it’s own reward. Now with the Olympics underway, and tourists pouring in, the great Chinese culture is becoming properly known. When we arrived in Beijing for the 2008 summer Olympics, we were excited not only for the international games, but also to return to the great oriental world, with which we were very familiar.

The Forbidden City

Are you sure you want to go in there?

... IF you are king for a day!

However, underneath all our joy, we knew that we still had to prepare for the great games in order to be real legitimate American fans. Today we journeyed to the Olympic Green to see Artistic Gymnastics and explore. But that was when we hit the jackpot and found a giant superstore completely filled with Olympic related souvenirs, from flags, to jackets, to many many souvenir pins! We spread out and ended up with everything we needed to be noticed at the Olympics ( flags, Olympic shirts and temporary tattoos). We were all thrilled and moved across the street to a McDonald’s to sit down.

There was a large variety in what we had bought, and we all had our favorite souvenirs. Us kids were more partial to the pins and lanyards, while my mother was excited about the flags. But as soon as we entered Mickey Dees, we all knew that pins were the way to go. All across the back of the entire building was a counter where you would order your food. And behind the counter was a line of happy, joking McDonald’s employees, all with pin lanyards around their necks!

Let's Trade Pins!

Overwhelmed, we walked up to the counter and did some minor trading, then went to sit down. We were all thinking the same thing. What an incredible pin trading opportunity! Why, these collectors must have dozens of pins only obtainable by trading! First though, we had to see what quality they had to offer. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. The pins were inexpensive, common, and most of them were made from plastic instead of metal. However there were a few prizes, waiting to be traded and we weren’t to be deterred by the bad pin distractions. We devised a plan, and loaded up our newly bought lanyards with our best pins. Then we sauntered over to the counter. My friend Nevon reached it first. The crowd gasped, staring at his lanyard. Then they started fighting for a space to trade, offering their best pins for his worst. My friend pretended to be considering, then, just as we had planned, he waited for me to arrive to consult. I had on purpose loaded up my lanyard as full as possible, and when I arrived, the crowd hushed for a moment. Then the noise doubled, and I was soon surrounded. I was very grateful for the counter that blocked me from the mob. I looked at my friend who looked at me. We pretended to finally come to a decision, and began to walk away, when my friend Monata approached. Unlike us, she had a full set of collectors’ pins, and the effect was immediate. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw the counter slightly shift under the weight of all the workers. All 3 of us smiled innocently, and began to trade. Triumph! We had collected our goal, and rushed out while we still could, promising to return.

We learned a valuable lesson that day. There are many different pins out there, and the pin trading world is a dangerous one. However we knew that we could succeed, and as we stepped out into the rain that was pelting the sidewalk, we all prepared ourselves for the greatest pin trading event of the century. It was called the Beijing Olympics!