Nanjing and Olympic Fever

I know it’s been a while since I last blogged, and a lot has happened so I’ll give a quick wrap up of the weekend. I got back from Nanjing on Sunday and every time I go to the train station I’m amazed at how many people are traveling. There are always a sea of black heads running and shoving their way to the station’s platform. The Nanjing train station had a little more character than the rest of the stations I’ve been to. It had this old world quality to it, and the way the trains were separated made the class distinctions here in China all the more apparent. The old trains were stationed to the left, with the even older, dingier carts stationed behind them and the newer trains, seen in this picture, to your right. I wish I could’ve taken a shot of each person in the different “classes” of trains, it looked like a still taken from The Darjeeling Limited, each traveler’s expression had a distinct and colorful character.
When I got back to Shanghai, I could feel that there was a different level of excitement and energy in the air. The Olympic games are two days away, and a lot of athletes have trickled into the city for a brief visit before making their way to Beijing. When I was at the Ritz the other day, what was before an easy entrance turned into an airport-esque screening scene. The guard made me drink my water ( I guess it looked like acid) and watched me swallow. I didn’t realize what was going on til I saw a mob and the Australian soccer team roll in. More stories to tell, but I think I’d better get some work done first.