A priceless experience

BEIJING – Five Filipinos here have taken the word "volunteer" to the extreme.

This we found out when we bumped into Ellen Jane Chua at the Water Cube swimming stadium, officially known as the National Aquatics Center, where she and four Filipinos have been working as volunteers.

Ellen, or EJ, as she prefers to be called, said she and her group applied online when Beijing Games organizers issued a call for overseas volunteers last December.

After several online interviews, she was finally accepted along with five others from among several hundred applicants.

She and her group arrived Aug. 1 and were given instructions on what to do once the games begin. Her task includes giving out printed results of swimming and diving events to so-called members of the Olympic family. These are top officials of various national Olympic committees around the world who occupy choice seats at various sporting arenas.

The other Filipino volunteers are Mark Jefferson Lao, Natalie Sia, Bea Ang and Eric Jansen Cleto.

Work, she said, begins at about 7 a.m. at which time they should be at the Water Cube, and ends at 11 p.m.

"Nakakapagod," EJ said. "But I have no complaints."

Meeting other volunteers from other parts of the world has been exciting, she said, and they keep on asking about the Philippines and our culture, "so I share them."
But here’s a little catch.

Volunteers must be able to speak Chinese, and she and her group are more than capable of that, having Chinese parents. In fact, EJ lives in Binondo.

But the biggest surprise, we learned, is that they must pay for their airfare and even for their accommodation while here in Beijing. Food is free, "but only if you work during the day."

The only thing they got free was the uniforms. It consisted of 3 shirts, 2 pants, 1 windbreaker, a pair of adidas rubber shoes, 3 socks, 1 cap, 1 beltbag, 1 water bottle and 1 raincoat.

"Talagang volunteer kami," she said.

But despite the personal expenses involved, EJ said she would not exchange her experience here for anything.

It’s priceless, she said.