If I thought my dreams had come true by just working at the Olympics, I was wrong. Twice last week I somehow made it into parties with Olympic medalists. I held and kissed a bronze and gold medal, respectively. I'm still in shock of what I accomplished. Here's how it went down...
On the 21st I worked the morning shift and didn't have to work until the night shift the next day (I would have a whole 24 hours off), so we thought we'd try to have a little fun. We had heard about this Club Bud, which is a party lasting the duration of the Olympics sponsored by Budweiser. This was apparently where all the athletes go to hang out after hours. A couple of our friends had gotten in the night before, so we took our chances. Somehow, we talked our way in. When I passed through security right behind a Swiss team, I had that kind of excitement that bubbles up and closes off your throat. I couldn't laugh, just smiled with all my teeth showing. Then we realized that we should try to fit in. I devised a story that I competed in the Triathlon and came a disappointing 26th, but was happy I made it to the Games... hahahah But since there were about 90% athletes there, people ate it up. I met the New Zealand hockey team, some Australian hand ball players and kayakers, some Spanish rowers, etc. I also saw Bershawn Jackson again, the US bronze 400m hurdles medalist, whom I had gotten a picture with in the Bird's Nest (see above). Also making an appearance was Vince Vaugn (actor from Wedding Crashers and several other movies). Couldn't get a picture with him because I was gawking in disbelief. The second best part? The entire night was free!
The 23rd was my last day at field hockey. The men's gold medal match was between Germany and Spain. After a somewhat sloppy match, but tight score, Germany prevailed as the unexpected champions. Most countries have a "house" set up during the Olympics for sponsors to hand stuff out and for the athletes and fans to celebrate. So- what the heck- we decided to try to get into the German house to celebrate the victory. Stephanie, Wendy, Sam, Andrew and I took a cab over there, only to be turned away. But we are American- do we give up that fast??? NO. Wendy went to the security and after about 10 min of sweet talking and explaining that we were with the press, they finally gave in. We were told that it is usually about 200 Euro to enter, but tonight was free and more lenient because of the gold medal victory. After giving finger prints and getting photo IDs made (see pic of Sam and I), we were let into the party. A huge outdoor area was set up with all you can eat, loud music, and Germans everywhere. It was a little awkward at first, being the only Americans in a house full of Germans, but as the dancing started, no one seemed to mind. Inside on the dance floor, the gold medalists and their fans sang about "Deutschland" at the top of their lungs. We tried to sing along in German.. ha. One of the players, Philip Witte, talked with us and when I asked if I could hold his gold medal he said I could kiss it if I wanted. This picture is included!
I'm so glad I had both these experiences- it's so different seeing the athletes outside of their sports. Seeing their celebrations made it seem so much more real. I can only begin to imagine what it feels like to be an Olympic champion.
Today I'm packing to go home! We're having one last Peking Duck feast tonight and then heading to the airport tomorrow at noon. I will be landing in St. Louis around 8pm on Thursday. So according to the flight plan, my trip should only be about 4 hours!!! I wish. It'll actually be about 15 hours, I think. Stinkin' time delay. Thanks to everyone who read my blog, I'll be writing my final post after my arrival on US soil!
Ciao
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