STRUGGLING WITH SERENDIPITY
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pushing parameters

7/3/2019

6 Comments

 
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Hello, friends! Thank you for all of your compliments on last week's new Serendipity Newsletter. The second newsletter will be sent on July 24. On other Wednesdays, I'll post the next story segments in this blog, including some of my biggest adventures! ❤
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My first morning in China, Linda and I walked to the local police station to fill out forms and register for the specific days we’d stay in the residential district. Friendly elderly residents gathered outside on the sidewalk with young children and exercised to start the day.

I rode in a taxi with Linda and Matt to pick up our Paralympics tickets and to visit an outdoor antique market. We browsed through an amazing array of goods, from baubles to statues and wood boxes to furniture. We squeezed through narrow aisles as sellers yelled out prices to us.

The numbers lowered as we walked by.

Matt explained that you never paid full price in Beijing and needed to bargain. The vendors knew how to say numbers in English but not other words. My deal of the day cost the equivalent of three U.S. dollars for a box of small white metal doves made with an ancient cloisonné technique using enamel paste fired in a kiln. Intricate and lovely, I wish I’d bought many more. For me, the surprisingly low prices in China compensated for the harassment of shopping. I loved a good bargain.

The Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Paralympics overwhelmed many in the audience, including me.

The incredible details pushed normal parameters of life. The mammoth size of the stadium, track, and stage matched the hordes of humanity filling every seat in the endless stands. On my seat, a large fabric tote bag held a cloth-bound program and several nice gifts. The audience would use some to participate in the ceremony at specific times, like the flashlight and a bright scarf.

Legions of people executed perfectly synchronized movements on the immense, moving stage.

The precise orchestration of thousands of people made me a little uncomfortable with the massive scope. I had never seen anything like it. Each imaginative segment focused on positive portrayals of different disabilities. Deaf students executed a choreographed dance in a set of creative waves. In the sunbird segment, acrobatic aerialists performed above us while a blind woman sang.

The dances showcased fanciful, elaborate costumes and complicated, mechanized sets throughout. The crystal-clear sounds of synchronized music enhanced the artistry of a magnificent opening ceremony. 

Next: A Surreal Experience!
6 Comments
Esther Merves
7/4/2019 10:04:35 am

WOW!

Reply
Cindy Kolbe link
7/4/2019 07:56:47 pm

Yes, it was. 😊

Reply
Amy Henry link
7/4/2019 10:52:48 am

"My first morning in China..." You sure know how to start a post!

Interesting, too, were your observations: "The mammoth size of the stadium, track, and stage matched the hordes of humanity filling every seat in the endless stands ...The precise orchestration of thousands of people made me a little uncomfortable with the massive scope."

China is so BIG, almost 1.5 billion people. I can well imagine everything would appear/feel overwhelming. It's wonderful that you and Beth got to go--having our senses "stretched" can feel weird in the moment, but expands us, I think, in important ways that we may only truly see later. Great post!

Reply
Cindy Kolbe link
7/4/2019 08:09:18 pm

Amy, I like your comment about stretching our senses. I talked to other US swim parents about how people we met in China had a different concept of personal space, which makes sense with crowds of people. Visiting China really opened my eyes to a new, friendly culture, and the power of tradition.

Reply
Jason Rhode link
7/13/2019 08:36:55 pm

Wow, such lifetime memories, Cindy!

Reply
Cindy Kolbe link
7/14/2019 08:53:41 pm

It really was a trip of a lifetime, Jason!

Reply



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