Bits of Beijing

More observations after a day of touring Beijing Olympic venues:

--The tour guides speak much better English than I speak Chinese.

--Still, you occasionally feel a violent need to correct their grammar, especially after you hear, "Watch out your steps" for the 49th time

--We've been doing Chinese food wrong all these years. White rice is never served unless you ask for it. And the only fried rice came for dessert.

--Sports are easy to find on TV, but the selection is spotty. How does soccer, women's table tennis doubles and a day-old Indians-Yankees baseball game grab you?

--There are more 30-plus story apartment buildings under construction here than in most states.

--If you see your tour bus leaving without you, don't sweat it. Really.