US fencer meets old panda pal while relishing games

When Kamar Skeete met Mei Lan, a giant panda at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, on the sidelines of the Chengdu FISU World University Games, he said the experience was "a little bit surreal".

The fencer from the United States had previously met Mei Lan in Atlanta, Georgia, when both of them were just kids.

"We are on different sides of the planet, and he probably doesn't recognize me. I'd like to think that he does though," the 21-year-old said, adding that what's important is that they've both grown up and met again, thanks to the Chengdu games.

Skeete, who hails from Atlanta, was present when Mei Lan was born at Zoo Atlanta on Sept 6, 2009. The giant panda was sent to China in February 2010.

The Pennsylvania State University student has been sharing his experiences during the Chengdu games online, including his visit to the research base, and his posts have created quite a buzz both in the US and China. He has also posted about his stay in the athletes' village and people's lives in Chengdu.

He said he wants to show people at home what it's like to be in China because not everybody gets the chance to be here.

"I try to let people know that there's a lot of diversity within China that people don't understand. China is like an umbrella. There's a bunch of different things under the umbrella," he said. "It will be great to have more open-minded people like me."

This is Skeete's third trip to China. He visited Beijing and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, when he was 10 and went to Wuxi, Jiangsu province, for a fencing tournament.

"China looks different every single time I come. It's my first time in Chengdu, which is a lot bigger than I imagined. I didn't know what to expect, but I had a really nice experience, and the people are really helpful," he said.

The Chengdu games have provided Skeete with a great opportunity to make new friends from all over the world. He said he set a goal to meet three to five people every day.

Skeete competed for Team USA in the men's sabre team event on Saturday. The team lost 43-45 to Japan in the first round.

After competing at the Chengdu games, he said he can now fully concentrate on exploring the city, sampling street food, trying the spiciest hotpot and learning more about Chinese people and their culture. As he is heading home on Wednesday, he said there is no time to waste.