An Irishman in Beijing
July 28, 2008
Move over Frodders.
Lonely Planet: find a friend.
2 of my China travel books.
I’ve got a new travel guide and it’s providing me with a uniquely Irish perspective on China.
My Aunt Enda lives in a small village called Rathdrum on the east coast of Ireland in County Wicklow.
She’ s a loyal reader of Deirdre’s Diary. Truthfully, she’s kind of a online stalker. Not in a NBC Dateline Chris Hansen kind of a way. More like a “let’s tell everyone in the Rathdrum pubs about my niece’s blog” kind of way.
In fact, I credit Enda for the global success of my blog. So does she.
Check out what Enda sent me for my birthday.
The 1st line of Beijing For Beginners.
Resuming the relay
May 22, 2008
The Olympic Torch relay resumed today in China after three days of national mourning for the victims of last week’s earthquake.
New numbers are out. They are staggering.
Imagine every single person living in Rocklin and every single person living in Granite Bay. Now, imagine they are all gone. That’s how many people are confirmed to have died in the China earthquake. (approximately 80 thousand lives.)
Now, imagine all the people of Folsom and Stockton. We’re talking about 300 thousand people.
That’s how many people are missing.
The disaster zone is about 900 miles away from Beijing. Many of you have either asked or emailed me wondering if the Olympics will still go on. The answer is yes.
I think the earthquake could have happened 9 miles from Beijing and the games still would have gone on.
Did the US cancel the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics after the 9/11 attacks? No.
They went on and became a symbol of hope for many after a few months of feeling so shaken and sad by the terrorists’ actions.
I suppose that’s why the torch relay resumed today as well. It’s definitely toned down. The plan is to bring the relay near the earthquake zone later in the summer. Perhaps, people in the Sichuan Province will be ready for it by then.
In their purest form, the Olympic rings represent the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from all over the world.
In reality, they’ve come to mean fiercely protected television rights and seriously expensive sponsorship opportunities.
But, perhaps the original spirit and intention of the Games will shine through this summer as countries unite and the earthquake victims rebuild their lives. Check out the Red Cross website to learn more about how you can help.
