MUKILTEO — Deng Yiran could be in her native Beijing, interpreting in Spanish, Chinese or English for Olympic athletes. She could be watching the opening ceremony and interact with some of the world’s best athletes. She could be standing in the Bird’s Nest with her friends while history unfolds around her.
Instead, she’s in Everett, watching pre-Olympic coverage online and listening, long-distance, as friends describe the growing excitement in Beijing. Like several other Chinese students, Deng turned down opportunities to work or volunteer at the Olympics in order to sell merchandise, take tickets and interpret at the Future of Flight museum in Mukilteo.
“I’m here because I think this opportunity is really precious for me,” she said during a break from working in the museum’s gift shop last week. “I can also watch on TV some (events) in Beijing. It’s a pity, but I think it’s worth it to be here.”
The museum’s eight Chinese students include one Olympic torch bearer, Sun Xiaozheng. On May 24, Sun carried the flaming Olympic torch through rural Shanghai. Cameras flashed and a news truck drove in front her, filming as she ran along a narrow street by a river, proudly carrying the red and silver Olympic “lucky cloud” torch. The torch, which Sun says is quite heavy, is now stored at her parent’s home in Beijing.
When the flame that Sun helped carry reaches the new stadium in Beijing called the Bird’s Nest, she plans to be sitting on the couch in her Everett home, watching on TV or on the Internet.
“I will be very excited because the torch was in my hand for a 100-meter-long distance,” the 20-year-old student said. “For it (to) finally reach the stadium, finally come back from the whole tour of the world — I will feel very proud of my country.”
Even though she’s far from the action, Zhao Yingzhen believes she’s contributing to the Olympics by representing her country in the United States. The Peking University student seizes every chance she gets to talk about Beijing and the Olympics. She loves it when customers at Future of Flight recognize the Chinese script on her vest and ask about the Olympics.
Americans have a lot of misconceptions about China, said Zhao, who goes by her American nickname, “Sissi.” Human rights abuses aren’t as prevalent as the Western media leads people to believe, she said, and the quality of life in Beijing is improving rapidly. Public transportation is becoming cheaper and factories are temporarily shutting down in an effort to make Beijing’s smoggy air cleaner, said Zhao, who dreams of becoming a diplomat.
She dismisses recent reports that the city’s pollution may harm athletes.
“Sometimes people just want to make a show of it — ‘Oh I can’t go. The pollution’s too bad.’” she said. “It’s just propaganda.”
Like the other Chinese students at the Future of Flight, Zhao is grateful for her job and the opportunity to see the United States, but part of her yearns to be in Beijing, walking through the Olympic village and cheering for her favorite athletes in person, instead of on TV.
“You only get one life,” she said. “You made your decision. You don’t know about the other life. Forget it. Enjoy your life now.”
On Friday, she plans to do just that — waking before dawn with her three Chinese housemates. They might make Chinese dumplings and they’ll definitely have the TV or computer on, tuned to coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony. Huddled together on their couch in Everett, they’ll watch the world see their home.
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
The Olympics
The opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympics is Friday in Beijing. It will be followed by 16 days of athletic events involving 34 sports including archery, gymnastics and wrestling.
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