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He saw the sights and he heard the sounds, but not through a television screen like most Americans.
You might even say he spent more than six weeks knee-deep in what, to him, was the biggest Olympic Games in history.
Sean Kern, a 24-year-old from Wichita Falls who in May 2008 received his master's degree in sports management from Texas Tech, attended the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as an intern with the United States Olympic Committee in Beijing.
Throughout his six-week stay, Kern said he worked primarily with the coordination of transportation for those staying at and affiliated with the USA House, a center that provided a little slice of hospitality to Americans who attended the games.
He said everybody - from parents to friends to relatives - have been asking him to tell them all about his stay in China.
But The Daily Toreador came knocking too, and he was glad to recap.
DT: How did you feel when the United States Olympic Committee asked you to extend your internship and go to Beijing for the Olympics?
Kern: I was really excited. I was kind of dropping hints the whole time that I wanted to go, kind of throwing it out there that, if they needed help, I would love to do it. I guess I did some decent work because they asked me to come.
DT: What was your first thought when you stepped off the airplane?
Kern: Everything that they had set up - the terminal that we flew into was brand new. Everything they had was pristine, I guess you could say. The venues they had set up - the bird's nest, the water cube - they were incredible, basically. The architecture on them was really cool. China was definitely ready for the Olympics to come through. They had the entire city decked-out with banners on the light poles all throughout the city. Everyone there was just excited about the games. They were definitely ready for Aug. 8.
DT: Did you go see any events?
Kern: Yeah. I actually did. I got to see a couple of volleyball events. I went to beach volleyball. I got to see both days of BMX. I got to see the gold-medal men's soccer match. I got to see a little bit of swimming and then I went to a baseball game.
DT: Your favorite?
Kern: BMX was really cool. I mean, it's a new event, but the venue was really cool. We were right on top of this track, pretty much. It was a cool event. And the soccer match was - what can I say? I'm a big soccer fan, so getting out there to see Argentina and Nigeria play for the gold medal was really cool. Plus, it was in the bird's nest. That was the first time I've gotten to see there.
DT: What can you say about the architecture that was in Beijing for the Olympics?
Kern: At least for the bird's nest and the water cube, seeing them at night was way different than seeing them in the day because they were all lit-up. It just looked ... I don't really know how to describe it. It just had a really cool look to it and it gave the venues a different feel at night.
DT: Back at home, we heard a lot about the Chinese government covering up some things for the games. You said they were prepared, but what can you say about the Chinese government's presentation of itself during the game?
Kern: As far as putting on the games and the way they ran everything, they were pretty much flawless. They did try to spruce up the look of the city, but not anything over-the-top or out of the ordinary. I didn't really notice anything. The only thing that I heard about was that you had to put in a request to stage a protest, and they denied every one of those requests. Other than that, I didn't see anything that was too over-the-top.
DT: A lot of people say China is an emerging world power. What sort of sense did you gain about China and its place on the world stage?
Kern: It was pretty western. I mean, Beijing was pretty western. You could find a McDonalds and KFC and all kinds of stuff anywhere. They had huge shopping centers everywhere. Besides, I guess, the more traditional architecture throughout the city, you would think that you were in any western city. Obviously, the culture is different, but for the most part it definitely looked like a western city over there.
DT: OK.
Kern: You can definitely tell there is a huge gap between the rich and poor, just because there's no middle class, it didn't seem like to me. You either had a lot of money or you didn't. DT: Any specific instances that brought this to your attention?
Kern: All of the more well-off people that were there drove really nice cars, and a lot of the Chinese people that we were working with, be it the drivers that we had or the people who helped us with the wait staff, it was very expensive for them to even take a cap and they were working for people who drive Mercedes and Audis and stuff.
DT: Did you get a chance to see the Olympic Village?
Kern: Yeah. I was out at the village for a day.
DT: I've always been curious about that.
Kern: It was a really cool setup. They have anything you could possibly want out there. It's basically set up like this huge apartment complex. They had McDonalds there. They had a post office, a gift shop, lounges, all kinds of stuff.
DT: Crickets chirping at night, with everyone having an event the next day?
Kern: I wasn't there at night, but quite a few of the athletes did come by the USA House. They would train hard during the day, but they would do their best to relax in between competitions.
DT: What were the Olympians like?
Kern: A lot of them just seemed like normal people. A lot of them, if you just saw them on the street, you would never know that they were Olympians. They're really humble because a lot of them aren't making a living off of what they're doing - you know, being Olympians - so they seemed really humble and they're just really excited to be a part of the competition.
DT: When you watch the Olympics on television, you wonder as you sit on your couch, 'Am I getting the full experience?' What about the events the United States wasn't involved in? Were there any events we here in the United States didn't get a chance to see on television?
Kern: Pingpong was really big. I don't know if they showed any of that on TV in the States. It was really big.
DT: Michael Phelps was kind of a buzz word over here. Was he as big over there from a non-American perspective?
Kern: No. He's a pretty big celebrity anywhere he goes. Wherever he went, he would get mobbed by people.
DT: What about the Chinese culture?
Kern: They'll go out of their way - like way, way out of their way to accommodate you. They'll even go so far as to take something out of your hands so you don't have to carry it across the room. They're a little bit over-the-top, almost to the point where you say, 'You know, I can do some stuff for myself.' They were really trying to be helpful all of the time.
DT: How about the pollution?
Kern: It was pretty smoggy over there. When it rains - it rains one day and the next day it would clear up - but it was pretty smoggy. It was smoggy. It was humid, so visibility some days was pretty bad.
DT: Did any of the athletes complain about that?
Kern: Not that I heard. I think they knew what they were getting into, just because it was so publicized before they came over.
DT: You were there. What would you like to add to this?
Kern: When I started the internship, even when I started my master's, I never in a million years thought that I would be working at the Olympics. Not to mention the fact that these Olympics were probably the biggest Olympics ever, just because of the way the Chinese did everything. Everything was big. Everything was over-the-top. They pumped all kinds of money into making this to make it flawless. To be a part of that was amazing. I mean, obviously, that was something I'll never forget. The opportunity to be a part of something like this is very humbling. It was definitely a privilege to be over there.
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