Some big sporting event

I'm still working on getting some more driving-in-Vietnam photos up, but am otherwise back to posting about Shanghai, seeing as that was originally the point of the blog and all.

You may have heard that there is a major sporty festival going on in China right now. I like watching sports, and I am glad to be free of inane American commentary (the Chinese commentary may be equally inane, but it's generally too fast for me to catch, so it doesn't bother me), and it is also quite hot here, so I have probably logged more hours in front of the television in the past week than in the rest of my time here combined.

As is the case in the US, the vast majority of coverage is given to events where domestic athletes are expected to do well. Luckily, China has many athletes competing in many events, so this is not too much of a constraint. I have, however, watched more weightlifting, riflery, archery, fencing, handball, badminton, and table tennis than ever before. The Chinese really like table tennis. And weightlifting. And basketball, which makes me feel bad that their team is having a tough time.

They also like Michael Phelps.