(Part Two of Two)
What an experience!
(I’m being
intentionally vague here, as I don’t have permission to write about that
program in this blog!)
My excitement was bubbling over approaching the trip! On July 23rd, I departed for London. It was a
breathtaking flight watching the sun set, only to see it rise again a few hours
later! Also, I had a perfect view of the Olympic rings cut into a field outside
London as my flight approached Heathrow!
These Olympic rings were actually cut manually using oxen!
After arriving at Heathrow, a friend advised me to get off
the “Tube” at Westminster Station instead of Waterloo, which was slightly
closer to the Premier Inn County Hall, my amazingly-located hotel. I was
rewarded with a great view of Big Ben as I stepped out into London sunshine.
(Yes, sunshine! It hardly rained at all over the three and a half weeks I was
there!) That night, I went with my colleagues to a great pub where I had my
first pint of “bitter,” a traditional English beer. I found it to be very
tasty.
Walking across Westminster Bridge for the first time! Yes, that building was my hotel!
The next morning, I slept through TWO alarms. That was my
first notable experience of jetlag! Oops!
Over the next few days, I was busy worked with my colleagues
who hailed from around the world, attending a few orientation sessions.
Whenever I could, I took in the excitement of London. It was a delight drinking
really good tea and reading the Daily Telegraph every day. Nights were often
spent walking along the Thames, under the London Eye just outside our hotel.
A beautiful night!
We watched the Opening Ceremonies at a small community viewing.
This was wonderful, as the happiness Great Britain felt reminded me much of how
Canadians felt during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics! The next day, we went to our
work sites all over the city. I was one of the lucky few who was chosen to
demonstrate products to fans in Olympic Park for a week and a half!
I loved demoing tech products for Olympic spectators from
all around the world! Every morning, I could hear fans roaring from the Aquatic
Centre and Riverbank Arena at the far end of the park! We had long days of work, but it was worth
it! We had great meals together at the end of every day!
My first Olympic event I was given tickets to was the men’s
table tennis semi-finals! If table
tennis sounds like a yawn to watch, it wasn’t. China dominated the games we
watched, and I was stunned by the power and agility of these athletes. At times,
it looked more like a full-sized tennis match!
The athleticism made this very unlike ping-pong games in my basement!
Days later came a handball quarterfinals match between
Hungary and Iceland! This 11 vs. 11 team sport, where players dribble a ball
and throw it into a net past a goalkeeper was exciting to watch! With Hungary
down by one with seconds to go, their goalkeeper made a save on a penalty shot,
and Hungary tied it with two seconds left! They went on to win the game after four periods of extra time!
An unfamiliar, but exciting sport!
Olympic Park featured beautiful touches of nature. I loved
spending many of my lunch breaks in “Park Live,” a grassy picnic area where
Olympic Events were shown on big screens. Every Team GB medal was cheered
loudly!
Wildflowers in Olympic Park!
My favourite event I was able to see was the Women’s Gold
Medal soccer match between the USA and Japan. I was hoping and praying Canada
would be in that game, but I savoured the experience of being at Wembley
Stadium with over 82 000 others!
I was excited for my first professional soccer game!!!
As the Olympics wrapped up, we went on the Harry Potter
Studio Tour, I saw Shaklespeare’s Globe, rode the London Eye and enjoyed our
farewell dinner at Jaime Oliver’s “Fifteen.” I will write more blog posts on
London itself. It is an amazing city that cannot be summed up in one post!
My second Olympic experience was a wonderful chance to
experience Great Britain! I just hope I get to go to Sochi in 2014!
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