Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh beat Cuba and men's favorites Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won and move on into the round of 16. During the fun I watched Dutch fans drink an inordinate amount of beer. A can of Bud costs $10 a pop and one Dutch guy returned to his seat with 20 beers. These are wealthy beer drinkers!



There's huge block of Dutch fans at the venue as well as Brazilians, Mexicans, and Norwegians. All the cheers are huge and everyone roots for everybody. They, too, are enjoying the sideshow of bikini-clad dancers rocking in between points to blaring sounds from a D J spinning tunes. It all adds to the excitement. Mexico has one woman volleyball player who is six-foot seven.



It's very muggy and the rains came down in torrents this morning. But the Chinese people are all smiles. Even the national currency is colorful. Chairman Mao is on every piece of money and it all comes in various shades of orange, red, greens, and blues. Called a Yuan, it roughly has an exchange rate of 7 to 1. Except for beer and Olympic swag, things are for the most part inexpensive. A half-hour cab ride cost me $4 yesterday. My dinner last night cost around $10.



I ate at a well-known fish restaurant. Customers walk in and there are all the available fish swimming in large tanks. During the course of my meal our waitress kept bringing us different aquatic species. Many, especially the shellfish, looked pretty weird and funky, definitely nothing I've ever encountered in my travels. But they tasted great.

The Chinese are very honorable hosts and they welcome guests to dinner with many flourishes. I drank several toasts and sipped some very sweet Chinese wine. The Chinese people are really enjoying their country being in the spotlight, and they are doing everything possible to make things run smoothly. All the event sites such as the National Aquatics Center (The Water Cube), Beijing National Stadium (Bird?s Nest), Wukesong Stadium (site of the basketball events), and Yingtung Natatorium (National Sports Center Stadium) are architecturally spectacular.



Security is strong and everywhere. Events are run on time, and although there is a lot of traffic, it really isn't that bad. I have to admit I'm living like a king. My hotel, the Sangri La, is on par with any upper-tier Ritz Carlton, and you could gain 20 pounds diving into all the VIP buffets.

Coca Cola has set up its headquarters near the Olympic structures and it's amazing walking out and seeing them up close and looming. Last night, Coca Cola premiered seven environmental films including one made about myself by Georgia University film students. It was a great moment of pride being up on stage with the other environmental ambassadors ranging from China to Australia to Russia. The BBC, Atlanta newspapers, and national Chinese press interviewed me afterwards. Pretty cool stuff.

Tomorrow's a big day. I travel to the Great Wall, take in some Olympic tennis, and then give my speech to Olympic athletes. Time to get some shuteye!         --Story via Robert Frohlich