The End

Well, I made it home. All went off without a hitch (except that one of my bags was delivered a little late.) I'm home in Sigourney, Iowa for Labor Day weekend, then it's back to Columbia to start school.

Thanks to all who followed my blog, and to those who have already given me a warm welcome home. I was really touched by all the hugs, prayers, and emails.

The Home Stretch...

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

In Record Time

It's a little weird to say that, in a way, being at the Olympics in person makes it all seem a little less magical. On TV you get to see all the little athlete bios and sappy music and camera shots of the family crying at the medal ceremony. When you're here, it's different. Don't get me wrong, it's magical in it's own way. When you're here the courts all look a little smaller, the track a little shorter, and the people less intimidating. You realize that it's just real people playing real sports. When I saw Federer and Nadal they just look like ordinary men, but with extraordinary talent. But the atmosphere is something you can't feel through a TV screen. The broadcasters don't show the lines at the bathroom or food stand, they don't capture the frenzy of the press workroom or the mixed zone, they don't show the scalpers outside the venue or the half time shows. And the biggest part is all the sounds. On TV you can't hear the conversations in 10 different languages around you or music on the loudspeakers at the entrance gate or the Germans singing a sloppy victory song after several beers. Being here makes you actually feel the enormity of it all. I could never have imagined. It's truly the biggest event in the world.

On that note- I was able to see a couple of events this week. First, on the 14th, I saw the beginning of the USA vs. Canada softball game. I've always watched Jennie Finch and Crystal Bustos on TV, but it was so cool to see their pre-game warm up rituals. (see pics) They do all the same stuff we did- stretching together, practice lead-offs, fielding/batting practice, etc (but at a higher level, of course!) The game got off to a rocky start with Canada scoring in the first inning off an error. We had great seats as it was, and then this American guy told my friends and I that we could come sit in the front row with him since his friends hadn't shown up. We were front row, first baseline with a guy who turned out to be kinda crazy. He looked like he had been in the army and yelled for the team like he had been, too. I thought the veins in his neck were going to explode from the pressure of his vocal chords. Anyway, in the 3rd inning the skies opened up and flooded the stadium. We waited for awhile, but had work that afternoon so were not able to stay.

On the 16th, Mizzou surprised us with track tickets for the night session. BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) bought them for all the international volunteers. We sat in the 2nd tier and were able to see the whole track. Since we had block seating our U-S-A chants could actually be heard amidst the China chant that goes- Jia You! Zhong quo! (Come on! China!) It was obvious that the session was building up toward the men's 100m final. The race that now takes less than 10 seconds lasted for 15 minutes. The pump up music, the lengthy introductions, the drawn out rituals for getting into the blocks. I had my camera ready to take a video and the crowd went silent for the first time that night. Everyone held their breath. Then the gun- the crowd now at its loudest roar. Our section watched as the world record was smashed by Usain Bolt with a 9.69s, while the USA squeaked out a 3rd place finish. Although the Americans didn't win, it was hard not to be happy for the Jamaican. The loudspeakers were filled with Reggae music and the stands celebrated a new world record. It's still sinking in that I was able to witness that.

This morning I'm dragging a bit because I'm working back to back shifts- 3-midnight yesterday and 6:30am-3pm today. But I can't complain. I switched because I have tickets to the track session tonight. I love it!

Note: I was talking to a reporter from Pakistan a few days ago who is writing a very unique story about the next generation of Chinese families. Because of the 'one child policy' no one will have aunts, uncles or cousins. Weird.

Just a few more pictures...

The first photo is of me watching Federer practice before the Games. Yes, it is him. He is even better looking in person.

The next is of me at a mock press conference during training. Embracing the peace sign.

Then the press workroom I work at each day (minus the journalists and chaos), which was taken during training.

And finally, the food we eat each day, twice a day at our venues. You make the judgement.

Let the Games begin!

I apologize for not writing in a while. Let me recap a few things...

I won a raffle last week in our field hockey venue for tickets to the opening ceremony rehearsal (pic included). For those of you who watched it, my favorite part was the opening with the light-up drums. It really was a spectacular showing by China and the New York Times nailed it when they described it as "Lavish." At the rehearsal (on the 6th) they did everything except the torch lighting and the fireworks.

On the night of the opening ceremony a large group of us went to the Green near the stadium to watch it on the large jumbo screens. With hundreds of us sitting on the street (many had waited for hours for a spot) 95 degree heat, the ceremony began. But the TVs didn't show it. This was the last straw for me. The other girls stayed to wait 2 hours for the fireworks, but I went home. You see, I had been at a pizza restaurant the night before with a large group and my wallet had been stolen. I had already spent all day looking for it, canceling cards, and figuring out how to get money. Then, my water bottle leaked all over my bag and got my phone wet, so it didn't work (fortunately I let it dry out and it's working now). I was fuming, sweating, and had to leave for work the next morning at 6:30 so I just took a cab home to watch it on TV. This was actually a good idea because I'd already seen the rehearsal and on the TV I was able to see all the athletes and a close up of the ceremony.

The field hockey games began on the 10th- let me walk you through my typical day. At about 1:30pm I head to work and hang out in the press room until the journalists arrive around 4pm. At that point, it's my responsibility to make sure they are taken care of. I have to answer any question they throw at me. And these are tired, hungry, time-crunched journalists- so any question is game. They ask about food, bathrooms, the press tribune, how to fax things, what the daily schedule is, where to find a bus, etc. And I'm basically their first line of fire when they have a problem. My supervisor says, "Just smile, Kristine." (I posted a pic of her at the help desk)

Time flies once the games start at 6pm. It's so cool when I can hear the national anthems playing outside and watch it on the TV at the same time. The US women (our men didn't qualify) are ranked 11 out of 12 and they tied Argentina, number 2, the other night! I'd never seen this sport before the Games, but now I'm so into it! After each game there is a press conference. Sometimes, if they need help, I'm able to sit in and watch. After the last press conference I get to leave. I typically arrive home a little after midnight.

This schedule is long, but managable. It will get hard tomorrow because I have a night shift right now and then have to turn around and leave for work by 5:30am. Ahhh what I will do for the Olympics!

OH- and did I mention that I got to sit in while Federer and Nadal practiced tennis?! Yeah, the tennis courts are in the same venue as field hockey, so my accreditation allows me to get in there as well. (I have a pic of me with Fed in the background, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post this)

Mizzou hooked us up with beach volleyball tickets yesterday. I saw LAT vs ARG and AUS vs ANG. They also just told us that we will receive free tickets to track and field on the 16th. This includes several finals AND- the men's 100m final!

Gardens, Fragrance, and- you guessed it - food!

After a week straight of work, we finally had a couple days off! Did we slow down? Of course not. Despite the heat, Regan, Stephanie, Sam, and I decided to check out the famous Beijing Botanical Gardens on Saturday. Apparently, this is a much anticipated Olympic tourist spot, because all the gardens were decked out with bush sculptures of the events. (I included a pic of the field hockey guy) This place is so manicured it looks like a Better Homes and Gardens magazine! In fact, as we were leaving, we witnessed a bridal fashion photo shoot going on...

Sunday, we stayed the course by visiting the Fragrant Hills. There are a few nice trails that lead you to the top of the hills (mountain is more like it.) After two grueling hours of scaling the incline we made it to the top, not to be disappointed. The view was spectacular (what I could see of it through the sweat cascading down my face.) We lucked out with a rare clear day and were able to see miles of the mountain range. The Fragrant Hills have several temples and Chinese-style pagodas you can hike to, but we only made it to a couple before we had to head down. Oh yeah... we opted for the chair lift for the return trip. I know, I know, we are young and able, but we really did have to get back for a meeting by 5:45!

Ok, so for my little food tid bit of the day... we went to a Peking Duck restaurant the other night and were not disappointed! We had made reservations and they led us to a room we shared with one other family. In China, it is rude to finish all your food. It is an insult to the chef because it implies that they didn't feed you enough. So the family of 5 next to us had mountains of food, but we ordered a whole duck for the four of us and cleaned our plates! Can't quite grasp this concept. The cultural differences at meal time are so huge, maybe this is why I talk about food so much. Oh- and I don't think I've ever mentioned the size of the plates. You get one small plate, only a little bigger than a tea saucer plate, and this is what you use for your whole meal. The first few meals we had we thought they were for bread or appetizers. Not the case. I guess you're just supposed to put one bun on at a time...

K, that was lengthy sorry! Olympics start in 5 days!

An excerpt from my weekly summary...

We have to turn in weekly summaries on specific topics- this week was about the most interesting person we've met so far. I thought I'd include it in my blog... Jessie ROCKS!

Jessie, my Chinese press workroom supervisor at the field hockey venue, is the smallest person in the room, but has the biggest personality. Unfortunately, I don’t have the correct spelling of her Chinese name, so I’ll refer to her by her American name. She’s a 24-year old journalism grad student at Peking University.

My interest in learning about China is reciprocated by her enthusiasm to pick up on all the American nuances. For instance, we taught her the “pound” hand gesture where you make a fist and hit the top, bottom, and knuckles of the other person’s fist. Jessie thinks this is the coolest. Everyday when we leave she gives us all a pound, with her million dollar grin gleaming up top.

Her curiosities about Americans have become deeper recently. Jessie and I were talking about our families when she asked about my brothers and sisters. When I told her I was the only child she gave me a shocked face. “Why?” she gasped. I told her my parents were unable to bear more children, to which she responded, “Why didn’t they adopt?” I explained that they were content with having only one child and that some American couples choose not to have children at all. This seemed to be a concept Jessie could not grasp. She asked if couples would get lonely if they didn’t have children, and I replied that married couples could still feel emotionally satisfied without children. Yet again, Jessie was floored. I was beginning to see just how important a child is in a Chinese family, especially since families are restricted to having only one. (end excerpt)

Pin trading is a huge deal during the Olympics. USA flag pins, Iowa pins, Mizzou pins... the more specific the better. I made my first trade with Jessie- a Peking University pin for my Iowa pin. The goal is to see how many different pins you can get. It gets pretty intense. They even have pin trading centers and booths, but that's cheating in my opinion! Gotta meet people and work for those pins!