what do They Dream...?

It has been some time, but they've come close to me once again.

 

The last time was two years ago when I put some serious contemplation about them. Yet closer to me they are this time. No longer are they at a distance on the television screen. No more in the distance of memory are they.

 

But one afternoon they were right next to me.. a class in their neat school uniforms walking on the narrow pedestrian path to the bus stop, and two children at McDonalds. 

 

And instead of wondering openly about their behaviors as most of us naturally do, this time I caught myself wondering about their dreams.

 

Here this child was, with his pack of fries, dipping one into ketchup, then kicking off his shoes and climbing into a crouch position on the chair, laughing all the time. Here this child was rocking his body to and fro, and there the other child calling out and making sounds as he looked out of the glass that separated him from the world outside.

 

It takes special attention to understand their sounds and their behaviors, and sometimes tiring it can be to repeat over and over and over again the necessary guidelines for behaving in society, yet I found myself wondering what this boy with the Minions backpack liked. What did he enjoy doing, this boy with his shoes lying haphazardly on the ground? And the boy with his bus pass on a lanyard over his neck, did he have any role models and who were they? And did each of them have a favorite superhero?

 

symmetry in self

Because is it not possible that the boy with the unintelligible sounds coming out from his throat actually dreamed of becoming a lawyer or a doctor like his much elder cousin was studying to be? And is it not possible too that the other boy wanted to become a singer or a dancer and dreamt of belting out his hits at a concert venue filled with fans like Justin Bieber or Andy Lau? Or that he dreamed of being a well muscled fireman saving people from fires because he really, really liked their uniforms? Or even, to be able to go to school like everyone else, graduate with certificates and earn diplomas and degrees and experience campus life like he'd seen so many others do?

 

 

I have to say, though, that these wonderings are relatively new to me. 

 

Because not too long ago I watched this K-drama. 

 

And in this drama, I realized that whilst for most of us it is expected that we live our lives the way society expects us to, the very same expectations (that we sometimes loathe) for them might be a yearning. To achieve something in life, to have a job, to have a home, to have friends, to date a 'normal' girl and to be able to fall in love with her, to be able to protect the girl that he has fallen in love with, to play basketball together and share an ice cream cone together, to hold hands and chat and impress her with his looks and manliness, to be on the same competitive playing field as any other man for her heart... 

 

That's all he wishes to be.

 

And now, seeing the young children- they who are the future- I have to ask... is it really impossible? Can we reach to a stage where their pronounced handicap becomes a strength? Can we make that pronounced handicap less pronounced to the rest of us? Can we redefine the rules that govern society and transform the differences into normalcy?

 

Like... what if all of us talked to each other with expressive looks on our faces? We have invented a whole new language altogether with the introduction of emojis- would we go a step further with the use of technology? Is it possible for us to communicate to them in the language that they understand, instead of making them communicate to us in the language that we understand?

 

It is a great beginning to understand them and speak to them. It is a wonderful start to let them have a place on a stage and do what they are instructed to do and then have everyone join in even, but what happens beyond that? Where do they go? What do they do? How do they live? Through what will they discover their purpose and meaning for their living? And how will they contribute to the very society that they themselves live in?

 

It is no handicap to dream. 

It is no handicap to work hard at something and push boundaries.

A better world it becomes when they celebrate their victory as a result from their own skillsets forged by their own personal strengths,

And an inclusive world it becomes that when they speak- through whatever language it is that they communicate- that we listen, we understand, and we connect.

two games Table Tennis

I managed to watch just two games.

One game was played between Singapore and Luxembourg and the other game was between Japan and another country which I suddenly cannot recall. And I know I'll sound completely off-track if I say that what I do remember were the gorgeously colored shoes of both players. Japan wore the sweetest bright pink and the rival country wore bright lemon yellow.

The game between Singapore and Luxembourg was... interesting. Not just because both players were *obviously* from the PRC, but because it was a spectacularly noisy game, helped no less by the spectators in the stands, of whom I'm not sure whether they were supporters of this game, or the other games carrying on simultaneously nearby. There was just so much indistinguishable yelling.

The player from Singapore had a cute little ring on her finger and she did okay, the commentator said. What he meant was that she did well enough... because the Luxembourg player was a worthy competitor. A veteran who had won previous games, and which you would never believe was an Olympic medalist had she changed out of her competitive gear, thrown on a gaudy floral blouse, a pair of shapeless slacks, slung a messenger bag over her shoulder and started yakking loudly.

Never assume, really, never assume. You won't know if the person you think is an uncouth peasant from the farmlands of mainland China is in fact a world class Olympic table tennis star.

Archery in the Sun

He wore a blue hat- this tanned looking competitor from Chinese Taipei- the very first representative I'd seen from Taiwan thus far in Rio. He was there competing with the representative from Thailand who wore a very cool pair of sunglasses that I thought looked like Oakleys. The winds were high, the commentator said, which I've no idea what it actually means but perhaps would mean something like them needing to correct their angles.

It's all guesswork for me.

The only time I ever touched a full sized bow and arrow was at a holiday resort long, long time ago and which produced results too embarrassing to be mentioned.

The competitors wore hats too. I had a glimpse of it on the TV highlights this morning where the all-female team from Chinese Taipei with white hats on their heads and bows in their hands.

There was also the all-female team from South Korea, whom, post-competition, in a close-up interview broadcasted to millions around the world, demonstrated the 'look' that has become synonymous with the Hallyu movement... namely, CC creams, BB creams, Magic Cushions, water-based Cushions and lip graduation tints. :)

the Swimmers

Out of all the events that are shown during Olympic season, the swim events are one of those that I keep on. Because I am a leisure swimmer, and because swimming is a sporting strength where I come from. Of course, these days my laps have fallen to almost zero and frankly... it has been quite some time since I entered the water. 

Still, it's an exhilarating sport to watch. 

Right now it is the Ladies 100m freestyle, 200m medley and the 100m backstroke Finals. We're shown the competitors waiting in the wings where on white foldable chairs they sit, dressed in their jackets, their windbreakers, their long coats, their swim caps, their goggles and their track pants. Headphones cup some of their ears, earbuds plug the ears of others. No one speaks. 

And then the cameras cut to the poolside and we see them appear one by one as their supporters in the spectator stands applaud. Their track suits come off, they do their warm ups and then they move into starting position.

This race I watched was won by a swimmer from Hungary. Another race had one Chinese and two Americans in the top three. Lilly King took the gold, her fellow American took the bronze and the Chinese took the silver. Then there was the race with the Russian swimmer who took the silver. She had her country's flag draped around her shoulders as she took the victory walk round the pool.

But I don't think she smiled.

Not very much anyway.

I suppose it was because she didn't take the gold. But you know, I've kind of noticed that Russian competitors tend not to smile very much when they're at the Olympics.. although sometimes they do.

I've seen them.

Pre-race, they are pretty focused, stern and determined. Like when they are in the waiting areas and when they take their starting positions. Nary a smile. They're out there to win. They're out there to break a personal best. They're out there to set world records. And they're pretty d*** fierce about it.

Post-race they're different. They're smiles then. When they take the winners' stand, their hair is hanging down over their shoulders, they're back in their track suits and.. they're smiling. Sweet, pretty smiles that reflect who they really are beyond the competition.

We would do well to have the pre-race attitude, for Life presents its versions of challenges and competitions in Itself and there's only one way to live it. Either you cut no slack when you're on the field and you live to win and conquer it and do what you set out to do and be d*** good at it, or you don't.

There's no in between.

Yet, we would do well to have the post-race smiley attitude too. Because, more than the winning, it is about the Living and the Inspiring. It is the Living that forms our personalities and makes us whom we believe we should be. It is the Living that makes winning the gold medal a side of us. It is the Living that makes focus and determination and fierceness a side of us.

Which means that there're other sides, and as long as they don't interfere with our performance, as long as they don't weaken us, it's all great and fine. 

Nowhere have I seen this spirit more alive in Rio 2016 than in any other sporting events thus far.

Because this time, I'm seeing them decked out in National Colors everywhere. I'm seeing lots of bright, neon shades of sports shoes on the track, on the field, in the stadium and by the pool. I'm seeing bling bling accessories adorning the hair of the Ladies.  And best of all, I'm seeing perfectly manicured nails on their hands. 



sparkly Glittery Gymnastics

There was Italy. There was Russia. There was Sweden. There was Hungary. There was Colombia and oh, there was Armenia too.

I've always liked watching the gymnastics. It is such a difficult sport- not everyone can simply do that vaulting thing- and yet it is so pretty to look at. And though they've got such well toned muscles, they're strong and graceful at the same time. I can't comprehend how one actually achieves all those twists and leaps. Neither can I comprehend how one vaults off, twists and lands on their feet in that gravity-defying motion. I mean, how does one even leap AND land on their feet on that bar 10cm wide?

They're showing the gymnastics on the telly now, and I'm keeping the program on. I won't be able to watch it for another four years, or at least another two before the ASIAN or ASEAN Games swing by, so I'm not missing this chance. It doesn't matter that I do not understand their techniques, nor do I understand their criteria. What I see is from a layman's eyes... and out of all the segments that they do, it is the mat performances that I love the most.

Maybe because of the music. It makes it so dance-like, you know? :)

I'm seeing something different about their makeup this year.

It's literally HD, like, stage makeup for the HD cam. All of them are wearing it- the Russians, the Swedish, the Armenian, the Italians... The Italians have their dark red lipstick and cat-eye liner and mascara for that sultry, sexy look. The Armenian has her dark red lipstick. The Hungarian and the Swedish have their foundations on and the Russians have their eyeliner and bright lipstick.

Their leotards look brighter this year too.

They've got absolutely gorgeous leotards.. each team is wearing their national colors with sparkly designs, and it totally sparkles beneath the bright stadium lights. The sparkles carry to their hair accessories too. Whilst they're doing their routines, I'm finding my eyes drawn to the scrunchies and hair clips and really, it is quite funny how some of them have like, eight of those pinned in their 'do.

All this dress doesn't distract me from the sport though. Oh no. Of course not. I'm here to watch the sport, aren't I? :)

PS: Here's what happened:
The Colombian pulled out prematurely because of an ankle turn.
The Swedish and the Hungarians did pretty strong.
The Italians had this girl on their team with the cutest of smiles.
And the Russians just do not smile.

Rio 2016

Quiet... so quiet was the publicity for the Olympics this year that for a while I actually wondered what was going on. It's highly unusual for such a universal sporting event as this to remain almost silent on their publicity. Of course, there was the usual stuff about the Games Village being unsuitable for living, and then a week before there was the announcement that Katy Perry's F.I.R.E. would be the Olympics anthem.

But then that was generally it.

 

 

If there had been any further news then I must have completely missed it out, because suddenly there was the opening ceremony and by the time I actually got to watch it, it was over.

Bummer.

I'd thought it was happening on a Saturday. Nope. It was taking place on a Friday.

And so I missed watching it live.

I missed out watching the carnival, the celebratory atmosphere of the opening ceremony. I missed out on the gorgeous light play of riotous colors. I missed out on the dances, which I'm sure would have been pretty amazing, cos you know, it is Brazil. I missed out too on the significance of the global nature conservation message which I'm sure would have taken place because AMAZON JUNGLE. And I missed out on the bright green streamers.

I'd have loved to see the competitors try their best at dancing out- country by country. I'd have loved to see the fireworks display. I'd have loved to see the refugee team walk out with their heads held high. And I'd have so loved to see Gisele Bundchen strut down the longest runway ever.

After all, controversy or no, there's something about mixing couture and high-end fashion and glamor mixing with competitive sport on the same stage that makes this a first for Sport. And why not, I ask, she's sporty, she's pretty well known around the world as a Brazilian who must have her steak, and who knows, the gap can grow narrower than we think.