I just returned home from a colleagues house. It was ten PM Friday night, and everyone in the dormitories was chanting go China, go Olympics. It is now 10:45, and groups of students are jogging by on the streets screaming "Go China, Go Olympics." They are blowing whistles and shouting and clapping. I am impressed by the aerobic endurance of the student body.

As you may have guessed, tomorrow, may 17th is the day the Olympic torch rally comes to Wenzhou. My students gave me a Chinese flag in class today. They passed them out during the break, as well as large characters printed on stiff board which when held up in order will spell out a sentence. I had trouble getting them to settle down after the break as they were waving their flags. One was running back and forth with a full sized flag draped over her back. They all got on a bus after class to go to town. They will stay overnight in a hotel so they can be at the right place at six or seven in the morning when the relay starts. I asked them how many people would be sleeping in one hotel room, and they said they were not planning to sleep, so they would all fit in one or two rooms.

Yesterday, the other foreign teachers and I were asked if we wanted to go to the torch relay rally. I had said yes, I wanted to go. Today they said there are no spaces. I am not really disappointed, as I fully expected them to rescind the offer right at the last moment, but I did find it quite rude of them. It sure would have been a sight to see.

This afternoon, I tried to get the teachers to tell me if I could go by myself or not. I was to understand that at some torch relay events, the roads were completely roped off and all spectators had to pass through metal detectors, but that might have just been at the torch lighting and ending ceremonies. They encouraged me not to go as they thought it would be a complete mess and maybe dangerous. The school is also encouraging all the students not to go.

The Olympic torch parade has been quite successful in China so far. As you can tell, the young people are quite wound up. I hope they can get up in time to watch it on TV or in time to get to town after all the running and yelling. It has also been a bigger success for the sponsors who were afraid to advertise heavily on much of the international route for fear of reaction. The same cautious sponsors are going all out here. Coke even sponsored a competition to choose torch relay cheerleaders for all the cities the torch will pass through. Over an hour later, the chanting is dying down. There is still an intermittent "Go China, Go Olympics," but they are fewer and farther between.