Acquaintance, acquaintance, encounter, the Beijing Winter Olympics, there is never a lack of people-to-people stories.
Meet the Japanese uncle, from the existence of estrangement, to become a friend who talks about everything; in the ice rink, after a few months, I met the Norwegian curler Mia again, completed the wish and reunion; stood under the national flag, and sang the national anthem with thousands of compatriots...
The Winter Olympics are over, which also means that new and old friends from all over the world are about to go their separate ways. For the rest of your life, there may be a connection, and there may be no intersection. When the first month sets off, when it comes out again, it is already spring. The following is the self-statement of Cai Yihao, a staff member of the National Aquatics Center of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.
Text/ Cai Yihao
Edit/Pay Energy
Written in The new campus of Peking University Changping
01
acquaintance
"Congratulations to the Chinese team for winning the wheelchair curling medal at the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games!"
On March 12, the National Aquatics Center "Ice Cube", the live announcer's call was stirring. "Sing the Motherland" was played in the arena, and the audience waved the national flag in their hands. The text reporters in the stands looked at each other and smiled and continued to bury their heads in the manuscript. Broadcasters are still staring at the camera, not daring to let go of a single moment.
The Japanese wheelchair reporter sitting next to me struggled to raise his trembling hand and kept clapping. The Canadian reporter who passed by the stand, holding up his mobile phone in his right hand and giving a thumbs up to every Chinese he met with his left hand. Reporters, broadcasters, technicians, security guards, volunteers, and spectators at the North Stand, regardless of borders, young and old, were cheering mercilessly.
At that moment, I believed again – sport knows no borders.
Hokkaido Shimbun reporter Nagase Mitsuru at work (Source: Na Yuki)
Momentarily distracted, I forgot about the wheelchair reporter I was guarding—I stood up and even left my seat. Looking back at the Japanese uncle, he smiled and said to me, "No, no, no, go celebrate, the Chinese team is worth it!"
This is the only disabled journalist I have met in the more than three months since I came to Ice Cube. His name is Mitsuru Nagase, from The Hokkaido Shimbun in Japan, a former high school teacher who loves skiing. After becoming disabled, he never left his passion for sports, not only becoming a sports journalist, but also serving as a goalkeeper for the Japanese Paralympic ice hockey team.
Don't look at the short three days together, I am used to calling him "Japanese uncle", he also calls me "Cai". However, our encounter was not smooth. The manager informed a few days in advance that there would be disabled reporters in the final stage, but on the day of the first arrival of the Japanese uncle, there was an unexpected situation.
On the last day of the round robin, he came, dangling around in the north and west stands, as if looking for the best place to watch. I hurried up to meet him and picked him up to the pre-set barrier-free seat. However, before I could speak, he tugged at my sleeve and said loudly, "Go get a chair and sit here," with a serious look.
I tried to figure out what he wasn't happy with or what additional requests he had. However, several times he opened his mouth, he interrupted him, and only said that I should sit down by myself.
I'm confused. I guessed that he wanted to say that the fence in front of the barrier-free seat might be blocking his view, so why not just tell me? He was so emotional that he insisted that I move a chair and sit down. I did it, and sure enough, the view was poor. So I settled him in the hallway and brought in tables and interstitials to meet his work needs. Even for safety, I decided to sit next to him and keep watch over him at all times.
The Mood of the Japanese Uncle slowly improved. We gradually started talking, talking about competitions, talking about life, talking about his hometown, talking about my school. "My hometown is in Hokkaido, and there's always waist-high snow, and we all slide on the snow when we go out." When he talks about snow, he has a light in his eyes, "I used to love skiing the most."
"This time, I took the high-speed train to Zhangjiakou and saw the snow project. The pistes are good and the high speed rail is fast! I wrote a lot of interesting stories to my Japanese friends." Afraid I wouldn't understand, he gave a thumbs up and nodded, "Do you usually see people with disabilities participating in sports or working normally?"
"Yes... Yes." In fact, I have very little contact with people with disabilities, and I don't know what he said. But looking at the uncle's expectant gaze, I subconsciously gave a positive answer. "That's good, that's good." That's when I noticed the posture of his work—his hands were shaking all the time, and he could only have his thumb tapping on the keyboard when typing on the computer. Even so, in a two-hour game, he was still able to write two newsletters while watching the game.
A CCTV reporter on the side spotted him and planned to interview his feelings about his work, which he gladly accepted. The photojournalist on the other side wanted to take a picture of him, but he was reluctant. It was not until it was clear that the person coming was an IPC (International Paralympic Committee) photographer that he agreed to take the picture. His consciousness reveals an extraordinary strength and an expectation to avoid discrimination.
Picture source: CCTV News
Before leaving, he told me that it was nice to come to the wheelchair curling competition and that it was a pleasure to meet me. "Will we have a semi-final tomorrow?" The day after tomorrow final? I'll come back, see you tomorrow." I took a long breath and thought to myself, as a volunteer, of course, we must calm the emotions of journalists, especially when facing foreign media, we must try our best to make a good impression.
On the final day, the Japanese uncle arrived as promised. While waiting for the Chinese team to enter, he took the lead in breaking the silence. "I've been watching Chinese Paralympic ice hockey and yesterday I went to the semi-finals. The Chinese team is really a dark horse. Even if you lose to the United States to fight for the bronze medal, it is already very strong."
I echoed, "Thank you! You're also an ice hockey player for the Japanese national team, and you're also very good."
The Japanese uncle immediately sat up straight. "I know that the Japanese team is still far from the Chinese team, and we have not qualified for the competition this time. China's progress in the Paralympic Games is really great." He stared at the Chinese team that was playing a gold medal battle in the middle of the field, and said one word at a time: "We want to learn from China."
02
Reunion
In the 2022 Winter Paralympic Winter Games wheelchair curling gold medal battle, the Chinese team is against the fierce opponent Sweden.
At the Winter Olympics, the Swedish team soared in the curling event, winning the bronze medal in the mixed doubles and women's events, and the men's team defeated the British team to win the gold medal. In the wheelchair curling round robin stage, the Chinese team came up and lost two consecutive games, losing to Canada and Sweden respectively. In the semi-finals and finals, China met two opponents in a narrow way, and this time, it was the Chinese team that laughed to the end.
Before the gold medal battle, the venue put on a hot song. When it was the turn of a rhythmic disco, the Japanese uncle suddenly became excited and hummed softly. I just think the song is very dated, but I don't understand why he is so interested: "It's a Swedish band that sings this song." The Japanese uncle spoke amazingly.
"Sweden... Band?" I was very surprised. Just listen to the Japanese uncle narrate: "The name of the band is ABBA, it reads like 'Abba', it is a Swedish national band." It was all the rage around the world in the 1970s and 1980s, and I loved it when I was a kid. It seems that there was Sweden in the final, so the Swedish song was put on. Your venue is very careful."
Hearing this, I can't help but sigh that the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games are really a good place. The knowledgeable journalists I came into contact with in the field of media operation deeply stimulated my desire for expression and curiosity. So, we gradually talked about the various teams participating in the competition, and he said that he watched the broadcast of last year's World Championships and liked the frequent playing style of the Chinese team's "Fairy Ball".
"They did it at the Paralympic Games, successfully defending the Olympic gold medal! Beautiful Grand Slam." When the song of celebration resounded in the air, the Japanese uncle sighed heartily.
"Of course I support the Chinese team!" The national flag will be raised again on the Ice Cube and the national anthem will be played all over the world!" I laughed and moved on to the next topic: "But I'm also following the Norwegian team." Because the Norwegian team has me... Our old friends are here."
I have always felt that the significance of the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games for me includes "wishing back" and "reuniting".
Back in October, when I entered the media operation field within the Ice Cube closed loop with four of my classmates, serving test events and wheelchair curling world championships, laying the foundation for volunteering for the Winter Olympics.
Friends who once fought side by side in the ring, met again during the Winter Olympics, basically distributed in every position in the field of media operation - reporters' workshops, reporter stands, mixed interview areas, press conference halls, photography and broadcasting, but they are still familiar with each other. Because of this, familiarity with each other's work rhythm and full of trust in each other is the key to successfully ensuring the service of the Winter Olympics.
For me, the Wheelchair Curling World Championships are crucial. It was the first time I had a serious understanding of curling and wheelchair curling, and I was familiar with the whole process from serving journalists during the game to helping reporters interview after the game. This is very much related to my undergraduate journalism major and my practical experience in journalism and sports circles.
There are many good memories of the World Championships. I was once attracted to the Norwegian first base when I watched the game, because among the older athletes, she looked like she was in her twenties.
Norwegian wheelchair curling team first base Mia Svedberg (Source: World Curling Federation ins)
Checking the information found that the Norwegian team first base Mia, born in 1998, is still a college student. I came and went, and although I didn't communicate much with her, I was always watching her performance. Until one day passing by the arena, with a coincidental eye contact, I gave Mia a thumbs up and clenched my fists to cheer her on. I thought to myself, "Norwegian team, we must qualify for the Olympics, I hope to see you again in the early spring."
In response, Mia returned me with a lovely wink.
After the World Championships, Norway did not finish in the top four, which I thought meant that they did not qualify for the Paralympic Games, and I regret it. I didn't think about it, my estimation went wrong, and on the first day of the Paralympic Games, I saw Mia and her Norwegian team. She was still the youngest on the field. Maybe she didn't find me, but for me, it was a beautiful "wish."
Not everyone's wish comes true as I do. My colleague Xiao Zhang once met the handsome brother of the Russian-Austrian team during the World Championships. She has expressed her expectations for the Russian-Austrian team countless times, and has carefully prepared many handmade gifts for this purpose, waiting for the Russian-Austrian team to "come again".
However, due to well-known reasons, the Russian-Austrian team that had just landed in Beijing was stopped and disqualified as soon as it stepped into the gate of the Ice Cube on training day. There was no way to personally deliver the gift to his hand, which inevitably made Xiao Zhang regret.
Reunions are staged all the time. At the World Championships, Alina, the official photographer of the World Curling Federation, Chris, the media manager, and Maria, the press officer, all recognized me again at the time of the Winter Olympics. Looking at the old friends and new friends who came in and out of the venue, I often sighed that after the End of the Winter Olympics, everyone will run to their own things and there will be no intersection.
But the nearly 50 days and nights of the Winter Olympics, the Winter Paralympics, and the World Championships, I will never forget.
03
accidentally
As a volunteer, I belong to the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee National Aquatics Center venue operation team in the field of media operation, the specific position does not seem to have an accurate title, at least the name marked on the work card is different. At the Winter Olympics, I was the "News Reporter's Stand Assistant" and at the Winter Paralympic Games, I was the "Stand Media Seat Assistant".
Either way, I prefer a title that our colleagues have named themselves, "Grandstand Security".
Ice Cube reporter stands all the staff (Source: Na Yuqi)
Ice Cube reporter stand seat full of comic version (source: Xiao Mengqiao)
There is no offense to the security personnel on duty day and night (they are all police comrades seconded from various places), but in fact, the duty of our reporter's stand assistant is also to guard the safety of the stands.
The "Grandstand Security" is divided into morning and evening shifts, and the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are exchanged. I left work at 12:00 midnight during the Winter Olympics, and at 6:30 a.m. during the Winter Paralympics, wearing stars and wearing the moon, and I was sleepy every day.
Colleagues in the reporter's work room helped reporters settle down and build bridges between the media and venues; colleagues in the mixed interview area coordinated the orderly interviews of reporters and built a bridge between the media and athletes; we watched reporters come and go, and there were few opportunities for communication and help.
This means that perseverance is bound to be boring and long. Colleagues agreed: "The work in the stands, which spans the longest time span, is not difficult, but it is very tiring. Either nothing usually happens, or it's a big deal."
Indeed, my daily routine is to help the reporters who watch the game find seats, maintain order, and at most help to adjust the tv channel, borrow a network cable and so on. The same group also had verification colleagues guarding the entrance of the stadium and the entrance of the press stand, staying in the cold wind for half a day. As a team leader, I know that it is difficult, and I often arrange for everyone to rotate with each other and help each other.
The mundane life, until one night in the Winter Olympics round-robin tournament, made waves. In the media field, the news suddenly dripped and dripped. "A reporter printed a map in his workshop, borrowed cardboard, and now went to the stand. We just noticed that there was an error in the map he printed." The tone of the colleagues in the work room was anxious, and the teachers in charge were also panicked.
"What kind of person?" Did you photograph his papers? What does he want to do?" "Male journalist on Danish television. I've photographed his ID before, and I've been accompanied by a female journalist." Fortunately, the colleagues are very powerful and provide very accurate clues. "He didn't say anything to us, he just said he was going to print an A3-size map."
After I saw the news, the words "direction of the stand" made my heart beat wildly faster, and I reflexively began to check in the stands, while thinking about his intentions. The North Stand searched several times, but did not meet the conditions, and I hurried to the West Stand. Unfortunately, the angle was not good, it was difficult for me to see the appearance of the reporter in the seat, and the search came to a standstill.
There is still a constant discussion in the group. Colleagues speculate that Danish journalists want to ask questions about the map, and the purpose of borrowing cardboard is to glue the map to it and make it more eye-catching when it appears on camera. Who is the question? What questions to ask? Is there an ulterior motive? None of this is known.
The pressure is still on the stand. Finding him, negotiating with him, and asking about intentions is the priority. I thought of a reason to borrow the TV FM and go around my seat. But in order not to cause panic, I could not carefully check the documents one by one, and I could only judge by constantly wandering around and relying on the afterglow.
In the bottom row of the West Stand were two suspicious figures, a man and a woman, holding a small video camera, who happened to be sitting in front of a small television, chatting. So I walked over.
"Do you need to adjust the station?" I glanced hard at the male reporter's chest idiosyncrasies, and read them verbatim in the name column. That's him! Then check the work unit column and confirm it repeatedly. That's him!
"Okay, thanks!" He replied with a smile. I couldn't take care of his smile, and my mind was racing with how I should open my mouth. I didn't have a supervisor teacher by my side, I didn't have time to send messages in the group, and I was worried about my volunteer status and the possible disorder in the stands. After weighing it up, I still talked to him in a pretentious tone.
"You're welcome! Did you just print the map in the workshop?" "Mm-hmm." He didn't have any other reactions. "Our colleague just looked at it and found that there were some problems with the map and it was not suitable for display."
Speaking of this, his first reaction was surprise, not anything else. I was afraid that I would not understand, so I said in a more serious tone, "The political problem is very serious." So please don't show it. （Political question. Very serious. Please do not show it off.)" At this point he thought, "Huh? It's like this..." And then he made a helpless gesture to his female companion, "Politics..."
After saying that, I immediately reported in the group. "Found it." West Stand, green cotton jacket, little white hat, come quickly!" Managers came one after another and began to negotiate further.
Thinking about it, I was already sweating profusely. Later, the teacher in charge found the media manager of the pot union and asked the reporter's intentions. "He wanted to show the map to other journalists, ask them if they knew where Denmark was, and record some quick questions and answers." This statement is actually quite worth pondering, and it is difficult to judge his true thoughts.
Later, the Danish reporter returned the map to us, and finally did not complete the question and answer.
04
rite
The celebration ceremony, the raising of the national flag and the national anthem, have always been the moments I most yearn for and enjoy, and I have tears in my eyes every time. Especially when there are foreigners around me, I will sing the national anthem very loudly and the national pride will be vividly displayed.
I must not think so more than myself. Because of the bird's nest and the water cube, I am in the ocean of thousands of compatriots, and the song resounds through the clouds. At the Olympic Games and the World Championships, I witnessed the raising of the five-star red flag four times and sang the national anthem four times. I had the privilege of watching the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics and the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games. In wheelchair curling at the World Championships and the Winter Paralympic Winter Games, the Chinese team won the championship twice.
Commemoration of the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics
I didn't know what "ritual" or "sense of ceremony" was until I was blown away. The ceremony can be as small as the resonance of both sides, to the spread of a venue and the collective cohesion of a nation.
The Winter Olympics are very popular to exchange badges, that is, "change pins". I think Pin represents an identity and a good relationship, and when you exchange a Pin that represents yourself, you gain friendship from all over the world. Most of my own volunteer Pin and the school's Pin were exchanged, and I can clearly remember the story of each Pin that was taken back.
For example, Sawako, the sister of Kyodo, is gentle and shy. When I first met her in the stands, she was scrambling with the network cables, and I went over to help. After solving it, she kept saying thank you, and then took out a Kyodo Pin from her bag, wanting to give it to me again and again. I smiled kindly and took off a volunteer Pin as a gift. As I went, she and I met more and more in the stands, greeting each time we greeted each other warmly.
Later, when I learned that Kyodo had two Pins, one cherry blossom and one Mt. Fuji, I had the idea of putting one set together. After talking to her, she said that she didn't have any more on hand and had to wait for her to go back to the hotel to get it. The next day, she offered to hand it to me, "Welcome to Japan to see the cherry blossoms!"
On the day of the women's final, the dark horse Japan team failed to achieve its wish, lost to the British team, and won a silver medal. Sawako looked disappointed on the side, and she usually talked and laughed, sitting in her seat without saying a word. Looking at the cheering British journalists, the contrast of emotions made everyone around her feel inexplicably sad. I involuntarily plucked a school pin with her favorite panda head on it.
"Don't be unhappy, Miss Sawako!" Send you a panda, and you are also welcome to come to China to see pandas."
Badge with two shoulder straps
For example, NBC's black brother always came to the stands an hour before the game to sit, put on headphones, and silently watched the icemakers in the field. He was unusually tall, but when he sat quietly in his seat, I could barely detect his presence.
A few days later, I plucked up the courage to ask if he had a Pin. "Sorry, I didn't bring NBC's Pin." But I still have a Paralympic Pin, the mascot of the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games, a little phoenix." He looked at me apologetically. "No problem! I'd love to see which Pin you like about me, can we exchange it?"
The black brother lowered his head, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "I like this!" He pointed to a 2008 Olympic basketball Pin and said, "I love basketball!" As a basketball fan, I found like-minded friends, and we chatted for half an hour in the NBA, sharing our basketball idols with each other.
There was also the uncle of Dutch TELEVISION, who gave me a pair of small orange wooden shoes; the big brother of Canadian Television, generously donated, scattered Pin; the precious Pikachu and little monster of Japanese television; the cool lion head of the British team... The badges were hung all over my two work permit straps. Heavy, full of loads.
Photo with Japanese Internet celebrity journalist "Yi Dun Dun"
I often wonder what the Meaning of the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games means to me. I have been anxious about the long closed-loop life, and I have also missed my relatives who were far away in my hometown during the Spring Festival, but China's victory has inspired our faith, the reunion of old friends has fulfilled our expectations, the guardianship of the stands has affirmed our value, and the participation in the ceremony has enriched our experience.
This is the third day of centralized quarantine after the Paralympic Games. Pushing open the window, the trees were branching, and a warm wind was blowing in front of them.
When the first month sets off, when it comes out again, it is already spring. (End)
March 16, 2022
The third day of quarantine after the Winter Olympics