Olympic volunteer Volkan Gurcan shared some of his experiences living in Beijing one of which was house-hunting which he described as "rather tedious".
"Looking for a house is very difficult and an expensive exercise," the 24-year-old Turk said. "You may sometimes get cheated, like I did."
Living in Beijing is not easy even for young Chinese born outside Beijing. But that is precisely what the Olympic organizers are looking for - expatriate volunteers with knowledge of living in the Chinese capital.
"Overseas volunteers who know about Beijing and China can be very helpful," Liu Jian, BOCOG's volunteers department director, said.
Among the 74,000 Olympic volunteers who will help in media operations, transport, spectator services and security, 935 are from overseas.
They include foreign students, overseas Chinese and expatriates living in the city.
To help these volunteers become more familiar with Beijing, Olympic organizers have held cultural learning sessions.
They are designed to help all volunteers know more about China before they get started, Xu Mengyao, who works with media operations, said.
But for expatriates like Gurcan, Olympics organizers can fully trust them to use their local knowledge and bilingual skills to help visitors.
Gurcan has lived in Beijing since 2006 and switched from an expensive apartment to his current one owned by a university professor in west Beijing.
The graduate student of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics could barely communicate in Chinese when he first arrived, but that did not stop him from making friends.
He invites his Chinese friends to his home for a cup of Turkish coffee and fortune telling using the dregs of coffee left in each cup.
"I envy the relaxed way of living by the Chinese, and they are always eager to show foreigners the real China," Gurcan said. "If I find a job, I will stay here in the future."
Along with 19 other foreign students living in Beijing, Gurcan will answer calls in his mother tongue for Turkish spectators who call the hotline. Gurcan said he is ready to answer any question, including directions to the nearest restroom.
"I am glad to be able to witness and be part of the Olympics," he said.
