No Way - Part 1

---

No Way

A Narrative

It was a beautiful Friday morning in Shanghai. Jason, a Georgia Tech study abroad student, had learned from his friend Nikhail that the Olympic Torch would be making its way along East Nanjing Road sometime between 7:30 and 9:30 AM. Eager to see the Sacred Flame, they decided to attend along with Lina, a fellow student.

The three set out early in hopes of securing a favorable spot along the relay. The trip required a subway ride, a first for Jason, but not for Nikhail and Lina who had ridden before. As they boarded the train, the two experienced riders commented on the unusually low passenger volume. This puzzled Jason, as he found there was barely any room to stand.

It was not long before the students arrived at their destination. They found themselves among the first observers at the site, but it was not what they expected. The streets were crawling with police officers and peons from the People's Liberation Army. The relay path was fenced off and a band of police tape kept most observers about 20 feet from the fence. Some were allowed to cross, but they were required to present special credentials.


So Jason and his friends resigned to lining up as close as they could to the police tape. There weren't too many people allowed in front of it so they still had a pretty good view of the relay path. That is, until an army of school girls wearing plaid skirts crossed the tape and started lining up behind the barrier.


Soon the number of new arrivals was great enough to significantly obstruct the view from behind the police line. The Chinese are not a tall people by nature, but neither was Jason, so he looked around hoping to find a solution to his problem. That's when he spotted something that just might work:


His perch was not comfortable, but it gave him a much better view of the relay path and the sea of people forming beneath him.


This did not last long, however, as a Chinese police officer began shouting at Jason from below. He did not understand the words, but he got the message just fine. Jason may have been down, but not he was far from out. His next bright idea came as he spotted this police officer:


Surely this man, with his long, apathetic face, would not care about letting a few students cross the police line. Fortunately, Jason had his Chinese cheat-sheet in his pocket. He pulled it out and found the words he was looking for, then called to the officer. In his best Chinese, Jason said:

"Women shi xuesheng. Jiaoda!"

Which roughly translates to "We are students. Jiaotong University!" Presenting his Jiaotong student ID as proof and pointing towards the Chinese students in front of the line, Jason hoped the police officer would understand and let him and his friends though. This could not have been further from the truth. The police officer squinted at Jason for a second, then a smirk crossed his lips. He opened his mouth, and in his best English, the police officer said:

"No Way"

If the story ended here, it would not have been so bad. The torch would have passed a mere 20 feet in front of Jason, Lina, and Nikhail, and it would have been clearly visible over the heads of the privileged few who lined up against the barrier beyond the police line. Unfortunately, those two little words uttered by the police officer would prove to be almost prophetic, for it was not long before the situation went from bad to worse.

To Be Continued...

---