Rock n' Roll Lifestyle

After a month and a half of 6 day, 10 hour teaching stints, exhausting relocations and a plethora of snafu's, I'm considering my two weeks in Beijing during the Olympics as sort of a vacation time. Although still faced with many tasks that are a mainstay of living in China, there is still ample time to take in the sights, wander the streets and enjoy the excitement and thrill that has turned Beijing into party central. While just a lowly college graduate in the states, here in Beijing, I'm treated like a rock star...that is to say, every foreigner is. This city sure knows how to treat its guests.

And it's not just the spectators and tourists that are enjoying the rock n' roll lifestyle of Beijing, it's the athletes too. The other night we met four members of the Nigerian Soccer team who seemed hell bent on damaging their livers and lungs. At the beach volleyball game, we bumped into a well connected German guy who had spent the previous night drinking (quite heavily) with the German basketball team. Dirk was apparently housed. And here I thought athletes were under strict training and rest requirements. As I later learned, that seems to be the standard for many teams. If you aren't playing the next day, enjoy what Beijing has to offer. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the relative cheapness and throng of international guests has turned Beijing into another New York City (at least for the time being). Yet in New York, you wont find a VIP dance club right next to a lot filled with rubble.

But the list of celebrity encounters doesn't just end with athletes. Yesterday, in 798 art district (very shic), we met a friend who works for a New York art studio. After showing us her floor, we took a walk to the Andy Warhol exhibit, after being denied from the exhibit next door (for an unknown reason at the time). Yet when leaving the Andy Warhol exhibit, a throng of foreigners entered, decked out with security and body guards. As a lady walked by me, she mentioned that her name was Wendy Paulson--hrm that last name rang a bell. She also said her husband was right behind her. Next thing I know, Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary enters the exhibit, followed by his henchmen. At that point, I truly felt like a VIP.

Then last night, as per our friend Ian's request (who would be leaving the next day), we sought out the Heineken Hospitality house. Upon arrival, we were told that no one could enter, and they were actually shooing people out. Luckily for us, the Budweiser Hospitality House was right next door. Arriving there, we soon learned that we needed tickets to enter. But, when we walked by security, they just ushered us in. Although not very crowded (there were four rooms the size of a basketball court), we found a haven amongst other Americans, Aussies, Brits and even the Spaniards. Oh and hospitality means free, cold beer (which is difficult to find in China), and plenty of it. I was the recent college graduate, yet these 30 somethings from the US were the ones acting the College Rules part. Side note: the US is still the raining champion in flip cup.

In Cake's song Rock and Roll Lifestyle they ask a simple question to hipsters and well off twenty somethings in the United States: "How do you afford your Rock and Roll Life Style?" For a foreigner in China, it's quite easy. Everything is cheap, and as a foreigner, you are the guest of honor. Maybe our welcome will run out, but for the time being, it's all about living it up. Think of it as a 100 Billion dollar party that Beijing is throwing for the rest of the world. After all the time and money sunk into the 2008 Olympics, it would be a waste to stay home and practice restraint. I doubt I'll be alive for the next Beijing Olympics, so why not?