University of North Carolina Athletics
Beijing Blog: Lost In Translation
August 14, 2008 | General
Aug. 14, 2008
While the rest of the Tar Heel football program is sweating through training camp, the normally ever-present Kevin Best is absent. Don't worry, he's got a good--or is that gold?--reason. The Deputy Director of Athletic Communications is in Beijing this month, where he's serving as the Information Manager for all Olympic events at the National Stadium. That includes the opening and closing ceremonies, all track and field events, and the men's soccer final. Kevin will file periodic dispatches from Beijing for THB.com.
I'll admit I'm impressed by the number of Chinese who have learned a little bit of English in preparation for the Games. I'm told that once the Games were awarded to China in 2001, this became a focal point for the Organizing Committee since most competing countries speak English as a first or second language. There were also classes and publications on manners and cheering that fans were given in the run-up to the Games.
Personally, I feel out of place at times because I only speak English. Sit on a bus on the way to the venue and you'll hear several conversations taking place in different languages. You just hope they're not talking about you.
There are still times when communicating is difficult. The most obvious example is when you enter the Chinese taxi. The drivers must have missed the memo on the English courses as none of them speak my language. Not one. This is not an exaggeration. I have a stack of taxi cards with many of the top Chinese tourist attractions, such as Tian'amen Square, Summer Palace and the Great Wall. When you get in a taxi, you give the driver the card. Hopefully he nods and you're off to your destination.
When you leave the tourist attraction via taxi, you give the driver a card with your hotel information. It's a good bet, your hotel will not remotely register with the driver. A confusing conversation ensues with you speaking English and the driver talking in Chinese. You nod, he smiles and off you go. If you're lucky, he'll make a phone call and find out where the hotel is located. Most often, nothing is said for 20 minutes until he pulls over on an interstate or just stops in the middle of an incredibly busy street to engage you in another confusing conversation. This process goes on two or three more times until you eventually find your home. Thankfully, cabs are incredibly cheap and, for the most part, safe.
The distance from the National Stadium to the opposite end of the common domain is a fairly long distance. After walking it several days, I noticed a shuttle (imagine a very big golf cart) that would take passengers from one end to the other. I inquired of one of the Chinese volunteers if I was allowed to ride on this cart. "Uhhhhhh," she said as she tried to come up with the right words for me in English, "it is for babies...and old men." I assume that meant I was out of luck.
