More from ACSM's Staff Roving Reporter...

The sky is not blue. Before I came to China, I heard a lot of talk about the environment and air quality here. There is definitely a noticeable difference between Beijing and Indianapolis. When we were flying into the city, we could distinctly see a layer of smog. First we were above... then flying through it. When we arrived, it was pretty gray and dreary-looking. But that afternoon, things cleared up a little, and there was a hint of blue in the sky. That must have been a rarity – because there has been no blue in the sky the last two days. The smog, coupled with the humidity, makes it pretty uncomfortable outside. And of course, the big tourist attractions are outdoors, so that's where we've been spending a lot of our time.

Before I left the States, several people asked me if I was bringing a mask. I did not, but I have seen some residents wearing masks. They are few and far between, but it seems like mostly older folks. As far as Olympic personnel, athletes and volunteers, we haven't seen any of them wearing masks.

Olympic Venue Security

Everything I'd heard said to arrive at the Olympic venues early. So we took that to heart. I think we were the only ones. There is a special subway line that goes to the Olympic Green, National Stadium, Indoor Stadium, and Water Cube. Everyone must have a ticket to an event at one of those venues and go through security before they can get on this subway line. It's kind of nice to have security more centralized so you can get it over with and not worry about it once you get to the Olympic Green area. On Saturday, we arrived at security around 9:30 – our event started at noon. There was no security line and we breezed right though with no problems. We were in our seats for men's gymnastics by 10:30. We were practically the only people in the area. It didn't start filling up until about 11:30. On Sunday, security was a little different. We went to men's basketball, so we headed to a different venue in a different area of the city. This time, after our bags went through the machine, they wanted to look inside. I had Advil, cough drops, and Dayquil (I'm a bit ill). They tried to throw them away – I think because they looked like candy. I tried to explain that it was medicine, but they didn't really speak English. I must have finally been convincing, or else they just gave up – because they let me take my meds with me.

Stephanie Garwood
ACSM Staff