Changing China
Giant on the move
When I retire – I want to be a ballerina
What does retirement mean to you?
For a group of grandmothers in Taiwan’s Pingtung County, it means fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming ballerinas.
And now the women, most in their 60s, tackle everything from a “battement fondu” to an “arabesque” stance.
Watching them leap across the room is enough to convince anyone life is full of new beginnings – at any stage.
Photo credit: Pichi Chuang
Video credit: Ben Tai
A reporter’s day in the life
My mother back in the United States thinks I’m having a great time in Beijing. She envisions me casually dropping into see the swimming and the athletics, having a relaxed lunch, and then strolling over to the next venue to catch another big event in the evening. Let me give you a run through of one day I had near the start of the Games…
7:00 - Wake up too late for breakfast, rush through ablutions and run for bus. Clear airport-style security. Get on bus for 20-minute ride. Transfer to second bus for 40-minute ride to shooting venue.
The bin-scavenging Olympics
Listening to journalists bellyache about how tough life is at the Games gets old pretty quickly, but there is one genuinely frustrating aspect of the Beijing media beat — finding something to eat.
The Main Press Centre has a cavernous dining area with food from around the world but reporters out at the venues are typing to the sound of rumbling stomachs — with nothing more than a few nuts and berries available anywhere near the stadiums.
