Alright, we're slowly making our way to me actually arriving in Saudi Arabia. The feeling you have about whether or not I'll actually get there is exactly how I felt. Luckily I had the chance to return to London in time for the second of two weeks of the Summer Olympic Games.
I was feeling very upset that I might not receive my passport back in time to make my flight back to London, and true to form I received it back the day before I flew out. I made it though and was truly excited to be flying back to a city I loved. For those of you who may not know; I was selected to be a Games Maker volunteer for London 2012. I had the opportunity to work for Press Operations during the basketball tournaments. Once I had got back into London it was right into it within a couple of days. I did manage to squeeze in a trip to Camden Brewery when I got back with some friends. Tip: if you ever visit London please go to Camden Town Brewery, they brew and serve easily the best beer I have ever tasted. I'll be hitting it up for sure when I'm back in London in December.
My shifts during the Olympics were a great experience. Unfortunately the job itself was not too glamorous, I worked in the Mixed Zone in the Basketball Arena. The Mixed Zone is the tunnel area connecting the court to the locker rooms. There was really nothing to do during the game (but I could watch them, which was cool) and we were pressed into service during halftime and at the end of the game. After the game was the bread and butter when we corralled written press to different areas, helped them get athletes they needed to talk to, and hold their recording devices to the players if needed. This really hit a climax when I worked during one of the US Men's team games. It was absolutely incredible standing in the Mixed Zone at halftime forming a semi- honour guard to ensure the players knew where to go as Lebron, Kobe, Carmelo, Durant, et al. walked passed me...it was awesome. After the warm-ups has started we were sitting in the tunnel chatting when Kobe came running through and almost tripped over all of us...absolutely surreal. This one game made the entire experience worth it.
Besides the basketball games (which were boring at times) the real experience came just being in the Olympic Park. An unbelievable amount of people from different nations all draped in their country's national colours. Everyone had a genuine smile on their faces and looked so happy to be there. I felt very proud walking through the crowds wearing my Games Maker uniform. I had a couple of moments where families stopped me to say how great of a job the volunteers were doing and just to say "Thanks!". There were lots of amazing tributes to the Games Makers as well. Many different articles in newspapers were written about the 75 000 person volunteer force would be the lasting legacy of these games and how efficiently we worked and uplifting we were. There was a special moment during the Closing Ceremonies in which different athletes approached Games Makers who were on a podium and presented them with bouquets to recognize their (our) service. Some of the loudest cheers of the whole games were at that moment and I realized just how special and unique it was to have been a part of something like this.
Once the honeymoon of the Olympics were over it was time to prepare for the last days in London...which I will touch on in the next post. We're almost there!
In actual up to date news, the school population is absolutely exploding! We started the school year with about 38 kids and now have over 100 in about 4 1/2 weeks! It has been very busy, hence the delay in posts. We have a week break in a couple of weeks for the Hajj pilgrimage and I am planning on doing three things: travelling to Dubai, watching the World Series, and BLOGGING!
Until then my international comrades!
I was feeling very upset that I might not receive my passport back in time to make my flight back to London, and true to form I received it back the day before I flew out. I made it though and was truly excited to be flying back to a city I loved. For those of you who may not know; I was selected to be a Games Maker volunteer for London 2012. I had the opportunity to work for Press Operations during the basketball tournaments. Once I had got back into London it was right into it within a couple of days. I did manage to squeeze in a trip to Camden Brewery when I got back with some friends. Tip: if you ever visit London please go to Camden Town Brewery, they brew and serve easily the best beer I have ever tasted. I'll be hitting it up for sure when I'm back in London in December.
My shifts during the Olympics were a great experience. Unfortunately the job itself was not too glamorous, I worked in the Mixed Zone in the Basketball Arena. The Mixed Zone is the tunnel area connecting the court to the locker rooms. There was really nothing to do during the game (but I could watch them, which was cool) and we were pressed into service during halftime and at the end of the game. After the game was the bread and butter when we corralled written press to different areas, helped them get athletes they needed to talk to, and hold their recording devices to the players if needed. This really hit a climax when I worked during one of the US Men's team games. It was absolutely incredible standing in the Mixed Zone at halftime forming a semi- honour guard to ensure the players knew where to go as Lebron, Kobe, Carmelo, Durant, et al. walked passed me...it was awesome. After the warm-ups has started we were sitting in the tunnel chatting when Kobe came running through and almost tripped over all of us...absolutely surreal. This one game made the entire experience worth it.
Besides the basketball games (which were boring at times) the real experience came just being in the Olympic Park. An unbelievable amount of people from different nations all draped in their country's national colours. Everyone had a genuine smile on their faces and looked so happy to be there. I felt very proud walking through the crowds wearing my Games Maker uniform. I had a couple of moments where families stopped me to say how great of a job the volunteers were doing and just to say "Thanks!". There were lots of amazing tributes to the Games Makers as well. Many different articles in newspapers were written about the 75 000 person volunteer force would be the lasting legacy of these games and how efficiently we worked and uplifting we were. There was a special moment during the Closing Ceremonies in which different athletes approached Games Makers who were on a podium and presented them with bouquets to recognize their (our) service. Some of the loudest cheers of the whole games were at that moment and I realized just how special and unique it was to have been a part of something like this.
Once the honeymoon of the Olympics were over it was time to prepare for the last days in London...which I will touch on in the next post. We're almost there!
In actual up to date news, the school population is absolutely exploding! We started the school year with about 38 kids and now have over 100 in about 4 1/2 weeks! It has been very busy, hence the delay in posts. We have a week break in a couple of weeks for the Hajj pilgrimage and I am planning on doing three things: travelling to Dubai, watching the World Series, and BLOGGING!
Until then my international comrades!
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