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If the Xu fits, wear it
By Tan Yingzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-06 11:18
At 36, Xu Ping has realized her Olympic dream by volunteering for six months at the International Relations Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).
Xu, who got her master's degree in commerce at Sydney University, is working on a freelance basis so she can interweave some traveling with her volunteering work.
Her happy memories of volunteering for the Sydney Games in 2000 made her want to relive the experience at home in Beijing.
"The Sydney Games was a huge festival and we volunteers had so much fun," Xu told China Daily.
"When I knew that my hometown would be hosting the Games, I again strove to serve as an Olympic volunteer."
In June 2000, soon after she arrived in Sydney, Xu applied for the Olympic volunteer program. Thanks to her experience of working in international trade and her strong language skills -- she can speak Japanese and English fluently -- Xu was accepted as a Spectator Service Host for the 2000 Games.
"We worked for six hours a day and the first thing we did everyday was to spread sun lotion on our exposed skin," she said.
"The job was not that impressive, just going through the daily routine and doing trivial things, but I enjoyed helping people get around.
"It's impossible to watch the Games on court if you focus on your work," she added.
Back in Beijing, Xu started to look for a chance to make her wish come true.
While surfing the website of the Beijing Volunteers Association last year, she found that BOCOG was recruiting pre-Games volunteers.
"It doesn't matter to me if I am a pre-Games volunteer or a Games-time one. I just want to do something for the Olympics," she said.
Since last September, Xu has volunteered for BOCOG for eight hours a day, five days a week. Her work at the International Relations Department includes tasks like translating documents, receiving international visitors and writing conference materials.
Her positive attitude and outstanding performance brought her something she never expected: a place on the list of BOCOG's 10 Pre-Games Volunteers of the Year 2006. She is also one of 30 candidates for the Beijing 10 Volunteers of the Year awards.
"I'm still not used to doing interviews and posing for photo shoots, and I don't want the public to know so much about my personal life," Xu said.
"But if my story can inspire more people to volunteer, I have no problem with that."
For Xu, all a volunteer needs is a dream to make the world a better place.
"I am a very idealist person and I am quite satisfied with what I have. I don't want a Louis Vuitton bag or a luxurious apartment," she said.
"My husband and my parents give me full understanding and support for my Olympic volunteer efforts."
BOCOG offers her free meals and a 20-yuan ($2.5) daily transport subsidy. She also tries to do some freelance work in traveling business to generate some income.
"So I don't have any financial problems even if I volunteer full time at BOCOG."
"You don't need to be rich to serve as a volunteer," she said.
She said she does not take herself too seriously as a role model.
"I just do what I can, and all the other pre-Games volunteers have done a very good job," she said.
Her work at BOCOG may finish soon and Xu is about to chase other dreams.
"I am not considering become a BOCOG employee. I think I have already done what I wanted to do," she said.
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