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Olympic Village life: loads of leisure

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-11 08:46

Surrounded by dozens of amusement possibilities in the Olympic village -- pool tables, tennis and basketball courts, swimming pool, leisure center — Polish race walker Rafal Augustyn chose a different way to kill time waiting for his big day: Chinese lessons.

A volunteer walks pass a bookshelf at the Chinese Learning Center in the Olympic Village in Beijing, July 27, 2008. [Xinhua]

He was the only student in the village's "Chinese Learning Center" on Tuesday, practicing with his teacher.

"I know my Polish language is very difficult to learn, so I wanted to try another difficult one," Augustyn said. His teacher has already given him the name "Hao Rui," which translates roughly as "The Auspicious One." He has already learned to write the name in Chinese characters.

"I find it sort of relaxing," Augustyn said. "I just want to be able to say 'hello' or say 'the food is very good.' I know in Polish that's not easy to learn."

Mexico's Graciela Teran, an athletics coach for Mexico and mother of walker Eder Sanchez, displays her nails painted with Olympic Rings at the Olympic village in Beijing August 10, 2008. [Agencies]

The other 16,000 athletes and officials checking in might have other ideas about chilling out, which is what the village is about anyway. It's a little city -- a touch of home and a small slice of China -- just a 25-minute walk from the Olympic Green.

The check-in has been going on for 10 days, long enough for national flags to be hung from windows, and down the sides of the 50-odd apartment buildings in the complex. A huge Egyptian flag nearly covered the side of a six-story building, and the Greek delegation chose to blanket its exterior with dozens of smaller flags.

Athletes have fun in the Game Room of the Olympic Village.

IOC president Jacques Rogge has already called this the "best" Olympic village in history. It's certainly the best equipped. Better still, there's no charge for the food, using the gym, checking out movies or other forms of entertainment.

The village contains a dining area that can feed 5,000-to-6,000 in a two-hour stretch and there are thousands of choices in an eatery that's open 24 hours a day. The roast duck is a favorite so far.

"Surprisingly, that is at the top of the list," said Catherine Toolan, who oversees Olympic catering for Aramark, the Philadelphia-based company that is running the operation.

The village also has a library, clinic, plenty of shopping, coffee shops, bank, manicured gardens, an amphitheater and even its own fire station. The apartments are modestly decorated in marble and wood, with many balconies overlooking the complex.

German cyclist Stefan Schumacher (centre) with his teammate Bert Grabsch (left) at the athletes' Olympic village on August 5. [Agencies]

The village contains 3,276 apartments, a mix of three- and four-bedroom units. Some bedrooms seemed spacious; others look cramped, unless your are a female gymnast. The standard bed is two-meters (6 feet, 7 inches) long, though many offer 40 centimeter (16-inch) extensions for tall basketball players.

Among the more striking features of the village are the entry gates, the types seen in Chinatowns around the world. However, these gates have a modern, squared-off look. At the East Gate, a phoenix -- a sign of good fortune in China -- is depicted in red and gold and floats though a cloud design that is also being used on the Olympic torch.

After the Olympics and Paralympics, the apartments will be converted and sold for between $500,000 and $1 million, high even in Beijing's soaring property market.