City Weekend follows the footsteps of Natasha Weaser, the youngest Olympic torchbearer, as she does Shanghai (and her parents) proud.

Dawn

5:00 am Distant sound of Dad telling me to get up. Or is it Mom? Ignore, roll over and fall asleep.
5:15 Bright light blinds me as Dad opens the curtains in his last effort to get me up. I grumble but realize today is going to be one of the biggest days of my life.
5:30 Uniform, check. Shoes, check. Wristband, check. Twenty minutes later my parents, little brother, aunt and I are on the road to Jiaotong University.

Pre-torch Prep

6:45 The torchbearers meet at the collection point and are given a briefing. My family is whisked off to the location of my run.
7:50 Group picture of all torchbearers. Jiao Tong’ s President Jie Zhang leads us in a minute of silence for the Sichuan earthquake victims.
8:00 Get onto the bus which drives us out to the starting point of the Jiaotong relay. Tens of thousands of people have turned up. There are high school students cheerleading, grandmothers dancing, locals and foreigners alike cheering. There’s nothing else to do but enjoy the moment and wave. Torches are handed out.
8:30 The bus begins to move ahead, dropping off each torchbearer at their specific running spot. This means the flame will arrive very shortly. It’s total excitement with a hint of tension on the bus.
8:40 Get off the bus at my spot and receive a huge ovation. Cameras are snapping away.
8:50 Is the torch ever coming? Cameras are still snapping away.

The Olympic Run

8:52 I finally see torchbearer No. 45, Andy Dong, running toward me. I’m getting very nervous, but increasingly excited. He passes the flame to me as I wave to the blinding flashes of a thousand cameras amid the cheers of hundreds and hundreds of people.
8:53 Cheers, screams and banners are everywhere. I don’t feel like I am running, more like floating. It must be because of my adrenaline rush. I look up and think, “Am I seriously carrying the Olympic torch?” It’s surreal.
8:54 I am so into the run that I nearly pass torchbearer No. 47, Sun Jing, but an escort runner saves me from total embarrassment. Was that really 200 meters? I pass the flame and hi-five her. She starts to run. In my excitement, I forget my own torch is still lit and nearly burn myself. Classic.

Paparrazi Time

8:56 A bus full of torchbearers who have already completed their leg comes along to pick me up. All the torchbearers receive a certificate signed by Jacques Rogge. We arrive back at the collection point and sign our names on a giant Olympic board. I also drop my donation into the Sichuan donation box.
9:20 I’m swarmed by journalists and TV crews.
9:30 Just as I was about to go back into the torchbearer area, a university student asks for a photo with me. Soon after, I am surrounded by hundreds of university students and smiling non-stop for at least 50 different cameras. I am loving it.
11:00 The last of photos are taken. My face hurts from smiling.

Volunteering

12:00 pm Show my aunt around my school while sipping a mocha frappucino.
1:30 I bring my aunt and friend to the hospital where I am a volunteer for Heart to Heart. Play with the heart surgery patients and carry out an orientation for my friend.
3:30 Clean up time! Due to the recent outbreak of HFM disease, we must disinfect every toy that comes into contact with anyone. I start disinfecting the LEGO--an excruciating task.

Friends

4:00 Arrive home. My friends Val, Atta and Na’ama arrive. We watch videos of my torch run including me nearly burning myself. Great.
5:30 Look out of the window and see my little brother Matthias running around the neighborhood with the torch. OMG!
6:00 Hang out with friends at TGIF’s. I order pasta and indulge in the scrumptious Oreo Magnus for dessert.

Media Star

10:00 Home just in time to watch an ICS broadcast of the Sichuan fundraiser I organized at my school. It is strange to hear your own voice on TV.
11:00 Shower, write about this amazing day in my journal and check that my Olympic torch is still safe. I write a poem about the hopes and dreams of torchbearer No. 46, which will later be posted on Jiaotong’s website and commented on extensively by Chinese netizens.
12:00 am Go online and Google myself. Wow there are already hundreds of photos of my torch run on blogs and websites. I have more Google entries than Dad now. Cool.

Slumber Party

12:30 There aren’t enough sofas for all my friends in the basement, so we improvise with blankets and comforters.
1:00 Gossip ourselves to sleep. This is a day I will never forget.

What we think...

There was palpable excitement as the Olympic Torch passed through Shanghai on Friday, May 23. Thousands of people-locals and foreigners alike-turned out in an overwhelming show of support and solidarity. We salute Natasha for a job well done, for being the youngest torchbearer and for not burning herself! Tell Natasha what you think at www.cityweekend.com.cn/dayinthelifeSH