First Close Encounter.......

....with the Olympics which were given the theme "One World One Dream" by Beijing. We could observe this with our own eyes when we entered the Zhuhai Sports Center to cheer on our German National Handball Team for a pre-olympic friendly match against a Chinese Team from Beijing - only 300 spectators were allowed to enter the venue which would fit at least 3.000 due to security regulations of the Chinese government - it felt more like a private performance in our backyards and all the noise made by us couldn't replace the missing 2.700 fans which was sad. On another note we were really thrilled to be given the chance to monitor the speed, power and excitement of our current World Champions up closely, what a treat! E was one of the sponsors of the Event and therefore we got to chat, meet and dine with the players which was thrilling for all of us. They even visited the factory the next day and I was very envious of those who could join the tour. Apparently one former player who is currently working in Zhuhai made contact to the "Deutscher Handball Bund" and suggested the team should stay in Zhuhai for one week prior to the Olympics to get over their jetlag and play some exhibition matches - turned out to be a superb idea and it seemed the players also had a good time. I don't think too many athletes get to go on a factory tour prior to their competitions in Beijing ;-)

as you can see, an overcrowded stadium...

attentive silence during the National Anthem

Oliver Koehrmann and Don Michele

goal keeper Johannes Bitter, insignificantly taller than Michael

successful international understanding

The magnificent performance of a magician who changed his mask while dancing without ever using his hands-it's an old tradition from Sichuan and is called BIAN LIAN (Face Changing)