Well, I guess I have prolonged this email long enough... As most of you know, I competed last night at the Olympics. Obviously I didn't jump nearly as well as I wanted to and I was beyond disappointed. There's not much to say about it, nothing specifically went wrong. I gave everything I had, but I just wasn't feeling great. But... I knew all along that this would be more about the journey than anything else and I wouldn't trade that journey for anything. Regardless of the results, it's been one of the most rewarding and exciting experiences of my life and all I could think about yesterday when I walked into that stadium filled with screaming people is just how thankful I was to have been there. I have to say a special thanks to all of you guys who have been rooting for me and praying for me- your support has been overwhelming! I have definately felt the love!!! :)
So... moving on....
So now that the competition is over for me, the touring has begun. Today was crazy, I have never done more in one day than we did today. We had an english speaking tour guide who hung with us all day. We went to Tianemen Square and the Forbidden City which is basically the place where the Chinese emporers lived. We loved having Cassie (our tour guide) there because otherwise we would have had no idea what we were seeing. Did you know that tour guides here have to have a 4 year degree? This explains why Cassie was so great at her job, she seemed to know everything about Chinese history!
 For some reason, we had paparazzi everywhere. The Chinese just kept snapping our picture everywhere we went- not quite sure why. They especially loved Ron... maybe because he's so tall? :) He was a good sport about taking millions of pictures!
 I saw all the Chinese children wearing these cool looking hats and decided that my neice Amara needed to have one. But after I bought it, I kind of got attached to it and had to wear it. Ron was very embarassed but this is one of my favorite pics of the day! :)
 We left the Forbidden City and headed to the Summer Palace (the ancient Chinese emporer's summer home). It ran along a beautiful river... The picture below is with our tour guide Cassie.
 After these two places we were all exhausted and ready for a nap. However, Cassie had other plans. So... off the the pearl market and silk factory we went. Those are two things that China is famous for. We learned how both are made, it was actually pretty interesting stuff. And of course we couldn't leave without souveneirs from both, these prices over here are unreal! :)
   Tomorrow we are going to check out the silk market (where all the good shopping is!) and then head over to the track to watch the meet tomorrow night. For those of you who can't get enough of the blog... Jamie, my best friend and also professional photographer, is also blogging our trip. Her pictures are much more exciting and professional than mine, and she is quite the writer, so feel free to check out her site: Jamie Stoia Portrait Design
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