Ni hao.

For those who don't understand the Chinese language -- and count me among you -- the above words (pronounced nee how) mean "hello.''

They also represent 50 percent of the words in the Chinese language that I am comfortable knowing and saying, the other being Xiexie (shay-shay) which means "thank you.''

They'll probably come in handy while I'm in Beijing for the Summer Olympics. I arrive in Beijing at 1:50 p.m. on Aug. 7 and will return to Portland on Aug. 25.

While there, I will cover the athletic exploits of Maine's seven Olympians, while also providing you with the sights and sounds of Beijing via this blog. Call it the Misadventures of Mike.

Here's how they began.

Back in February of 2006, former sports editor Dan Dinsmore called me into his office and told me he had applied for credentials to Beijing for me. I was, you might guess, a little surprised and at the same time excited.

Thus began the project of first identifying Maine's potential Olympians and then following them for the next two years.

It's also been two years of getting credentials, accommodations and flights. Nothing has been easy, especially dealing with an organization (the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games) that is 12 hours ahead of you. (If you'd like to visit the Beijing Summer Games website, just
click here.

Everything has to set up -- and paid for -- months in advance.

And photos! For security reasons, they need the latest, up-to-date photos that we could provide. Head straight. No 5 o'clock shadow. We had to re-shoot and re-send them a couple of times.

Once our credential request was accepted, we tried to get a room in the Media Village on the Olympic Green. I was told this was the place to be. But we didn't get in. Instead, I'll be staying at the Beijing Super 8 Hotel. That's right, a Super 8!

Shouldn't be too bad. The hotel is located about two kilometers away from the Olympic Green, which is where I want to be.

Then came the flight. I leave Boston early on the morning of Aug. 6 to fly to Newark. From there, it's a flight of 13 hours and 40 minutes to Beijing. We fly over the North Pole, then down to China.

I've been told to get a window seat, but seeing that I got the last seat on the plane, I don't think that's going to happen. I understand we never see nightfall so sleeping might be a problem as well.

Too bad. I'm going to be tired as it is from jet lag. It'd be nice to catch some Z's on the flight.

Coming home is going to be even crazier, almost like a time warp. I leave Beijing at 3:45 p.m. on Aug. 25 and arrive in Newark at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 25.
I can only imagine how screwed up my body clock is going to be then.

Of course, getting ready to travel to Beijing also meant getting shots. While many agencies suggest as many as six to nine shots, the doctor I visited at Intermed Travel Medicine in South Portland said I needed only three: Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Typhoid.

I thank you. My arm thanks you.

He also prescribed some Avelox for the sure-to-happen gastronomical discomfort. (Okay, I like to experiment with the local cuisine. Too bad the Chinese government has ordered dog off the restaurant menus during the course of the Olympics) And suggest lots of mosquito repellent when I go outside.

Good advice.

So it's almost time to go. I just wish I knew more of the language. But instead of studying the "Instant Chinese'' book my son Alex bought me over a year ago, I've waited until these last couple of weeks. Call me a closet procrastinator. I usually get things down on time, but only after scrambling the last few days.

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this blog as I try to give you something other than the competition, a little taste of life in Beijing.

Zai jian.
(Good-bye)

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