As Tao Zhenguo prepared to work as a volunteer for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he became a grandfather. His daughter gave birth to a boy baby, Guo Xiaoyu, just days ahead of the Opening Ceremony in August. Tao was so happy about his grandson’s birth, but he didn’t have much time to spend with Guo that month. He was very busy with his volunteer work.
Fourteen years later, the 77-year-old Tao is even happier because Guo has also become an Olympics volunteer. “He is indeed an Olympic boy now,” Tao says. Both grandfather and grandson are volunteering at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. They are helping with garbage sorting(分类), traffic guidance(指导) and information inquiries(查询) in a community that’s home to the Olympic Village.
Guo says he learned a lot from his grandfather. He listened to Tao’s volunteer experience when he was a little child, and began doing community work under the guidance of his grandpa. But Guo is not just learning. He’s now also teaching his grandfather English.
Tao doesn’t speak English, but he is clear that “as an Olympics volunteer, I have to learn it to at least be able to communicate a bit with foreign guests”. “It’s never too late to learn,” Tao says. “I don’t expect to become an English-language master, but I hope that I can at least say ‘Welcome to Beijing’ when I meet with foreign athletes and guests.”
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