Memories of an Olympic summer outlive the Games

It's been a full month since I last slurped broad Chinese noodles, donned my bright-blue volunteer outfit or gawked at elderly ladies practicing taichi in Beijing's early morning hours.

Indeed, my short stint as a volunteer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics has come and gone. However, as I sit here in the heart of America, at the University of Iowa, I realize that the beautiful memories I have from that summer will never fade.

My friends and family tell me that I enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But I think my two-month stay in China transcends that simple designation.

For instance, I had the chance to climb the Great Wall, shake hands with Olympians and stare at the Olympic Torch. If any foreigner ate more Peking Roast Duck than I did, I'd like to take a picture of his bulging belly.

I also buzzed through Beijing's rush hour traffic on my bicycle, ducked into narrow alleys and practiced my Chinese language skills with happy street vendors. I even spent several early mornings drinking strong pu'er tea with an old, chain-smoking migrant worker.

I remember, mid-way through my time in China, my friends and family asked me if I missed home.

I couldn't lie. Of course I did. I missed gravel roads and clean trout streams. I missed Fourth-of-July fireworks, crackling camp fires and the rolling corn fields surrounding my hometown. Indeed, I craved cold, farm-fresh milk, sizzling bratwurst and the smell of a fresh-cut lawn. I missed my family and my friends. I even smiled when I remembered my hyperactive, disobedient dog.

But that doesn't mean I would have traded my time in Beijing for anything. Any foreigner who visited the city during the Olympics knows the feeling - the Olympic spirit, alive and well in the city air.

It was evident in the laughter of the locals and in the roar of the crowd at every sporting venue. I felt that enthusiasm at after-hours parties and noisy bars, where revelers from every continent mingled, traded pins and exchanged stories.

I am a lucky kid. I know this, and I will always treasure the time I spent in Beijing. It was a blast.

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to all of the people, both seen and unseen, who worked so tirelessly to make the Olympics so special.

Good luck London. You've got a tough act to follow.

(China Daily 10/07/2008 page20)