Opening the Games

Day one in Sochi. Also, the day of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony (yes, Ceremony. Not Ceremonies. There's only one.).

Fortunately, I somehow managed to avoid jet lag, maybe because I launched straight into action after a decent night's sleep. The day started with a little exploration. Sarah and I wandered around the Gorki Media Center, which happened to be right next door to our hotel.

Our hotel was an interesting saga. Contrary to the media stories making the rounds in the USA, Sarah and I were in an absolutely incredible hotel, the Marriott Krasnaya Polyana. However, we got there in a roundabout way. Originally, we were supposed to be at a hotel further up in the mountains, but it wasn't quite finished on time. Since Sarah arrived two days before me, the Organizing Committee moved her temporarily to the Marriott. After getting settled, Sarah inquired at the front desk about simply staying there for the duration of the Olympics instead of moving. They said that was fine, so the Marriott ended up being our home base!

During the course of my travel to Sochi, I received three different emails telling me to go to three different places upon arrival in Russia. Fortunately, a quick phone call with Sarah from Sochi airport solidified where exactly I was going.

Anyways, back to day one.

At Gorki Media Center, we met some stray puppies (which, incidentally, one of our athletes ended up adopting and bringing back to the USA) and familiarized ourselves with the media transport system. Probably the most convenient thing about our hotel was the fact that it was located right next door to the Gorki Media Center (GMC) and, thus, the transport hub for media. It made getting to events a piece of cake!

I was filled with a nervous anticipation all day, anxiously awaiting news as to whether or not I was going to be able to attend the Opening Ceremony. It was definitely something on my bucket list, and I desperately wanted to cross it off of my list. But, as staff, we wouldn't find out about our tickets until after the rest of the media ticket allotment had been sorted out.

Even though we weren't sure if we would be attending Opening, Sarah and I hopped on the TM10 bus down to the Coastal Cluster to attend some press conferences and explore the Main Media Center (MMC). After an hourlong bus ride, we pulled up to the gorgeous, impressive MMC building and walked in.

It was like a little village just for media. Walking down "Main Street," the primary hallway of the building, we went by a laundry room, a media lounge, a McDonald's, a food court, a small grocery store and a souvenir shop, to name a few things. And that was just the downstairs.

Upstairs, the tall ceilings were coved with glass, letting tons of natural light in. Media workrooms and private offices were in various meeting areas off the main hallway, as were large press conference rooms. Sarah and I made our way to the women's ski jumping press conference. Since the women's ski jumpers train in Park City, I know them decently well. It was exciting to hear them talk about being at the Olympics after fighting to get their sport there! It was finally happening!

And, speaking of finally happening...right after the press conference, I found out that I had a ticket to the Opening Ceremony!

After the press conference, I went back to the USOC's office in the MMC, where I ran into Lauren, my boss from my intern days at the USOC. It's always so exciting seeing old friends at various events! I greeted my good friend Brandon (also from my intern days) and a few other USOC staff members. Excitement levels were definitely high as we all began planning for our walk over to Fisht Stadium for Opening!

After some quick logistics talk (How do we get back to the mountains from Fisht? Are we coming back to the MMC first?), we set off. Tom, Margo, Amanda and I hopped on a bus and eventually made our way up to Fisht Stadium.

We got there nice and early since the media area wasn't assigned seating. We were all pretty happy to find that there was wifi in the stadium, so most of us whipped out laptops and hammered away on work while various local acts entertained the crowds waiting for the main event. We took lots of photos, too. Brandon and I took a a photo together, which was only fitting since we both started our Olympic careers as interns together four years ago! We took a USSA group shot. Everyone - even the people who had attended multiple Openings - was beyond thrilled to be there.

When the show finally got started, it was amazing. It was a little strange because the stadium was so huge that you couldn't really process everything that was happening at once. When the athletes began coming out in the Parade of Nations, a group of us were frantically counting down to see if the American athletes would walk by us (they were rotating directions with each country). Unfortunately, they didn't, but we still cheered loudly enough that they hopefully heard us!

The whole experience was a bit of a blur of excitement. I can't imagine what it must be like for the athletes when it was so amazing just for me as an audience member!

I ended up walking back to the MMC with Margo. We took a wrong turn and got a little lost, but we chalked the extra walking up to our exercise for the day. After waiting awhile, we climbed onto a very crowded bus (but managed to score seats!) and headed back up to the mountains.

As I collapsed into bed that night/morning, I was on cloud nine. I was exhausted, my body was confused by its round-the-world traveling and I knew I had to be up early in the morning. But I was also exhilarated and couldn't stop smiling.

Day one was in the books. Time to get the competitions going!

My Road to Sochi

February 5, 2014, was a day I had been anticipating for quite awhile.

Living several hours by plane away from my family has made me pretty adept at packing at the last minute. I know I'm pretty excited about a trip when I start thinking about packing a few weeks in advance!

Granted, this trip was different. This trip was to somewhere that was likely going to feel more foreign than anywhere else I'd ever been. I was going somewhere where I couldn't even read the signs! For some of my coworkers, the foreignness of Russia was terrifying. For me, it was exhilarating. 

Being the compulsive researcher that I am, I had been diligently Rosetta Stone-ing Russian for several months and had a pretty good grasp on my basic phrases. Everyone at work teased me for it. "It's the Olympics!" everyone said, "Everyone will speak English!" Still, any excuse to dabble in a foreign language is an excuse I'm going to take. 

The morning started out simply enough. My friend Katie was kind enough to wake up bright and early to drive me to the airport in Salt Lake City. I had quite a lot of luggage as I was taking along a lot of items for people who had already made the hop around the world, so I wanted to make sure I arrived early to avoid any problems. And this is coming from the person who generally thinks 30 minutes before your flight is the perfect time to arrive at the airport.

Everything went beyond smoothly at the Delta counter. My bags were slightly overweight, but an excited conversation with the gate agent about my destination - "I'm going to the Olympics!" "Oh my goodness! Are you an athlete?" "Nope, just working. But still! I'm going to the Olympics!" - prompted a smile and a wave of the hand at the slightly-higher-than-50-pounds number on the scale. 

Elated and feeling much lighter after ridding myself of the massive bags, I collected my passport, ticket and backpack and began making my way to the gate. On the way, I passed a few coworkers who seemed more weary of the early morning than excited about the prospect of 24 hours of travel (yes, I was excited about traveling for 24 hours. I'm weird and don't mind those long plane rides as long as there are good movies!).

Flight #1. SLC to JFK. I was fortunate enough to be sitting near the front of the cabin (not fortunate to have made it into first or Economy Comfort, but oh well!), so upon arriving, I was able to make a quick exit. According to my ticket, I had a little over an hour to kill at JFK. I quickly realized, though, that this was not the case.

After settling down for a last American meal of Shake Shack with the CMO and CEO of the USSA, they began boarding the plane! We slammed down our burgers and I carried my chocolately-truffley-ice-cream-goodness (I don't remember the actual name...so yeah, this is its name now) on with me. After settling into my seat, I chatted with our CEO for a few minutes. Turns out, he had spoken with the flight attendants and the plane had already boarded everyone! And there were empty seats all over the mini front economy cabin we were in! And I had a row of three seats all to myself!

I shot off a few last minute texts to my family and friends, promising to call or email or Facebook or whatever I was able to do once I was in Russia. The door to the plane shut and I curled up in my luxurious three-seats for the 11ish hour flight to Moscow. Turns out, there weren't many good movies on this flight, but the three seats to myself more than made up for it and I was able to sleep most of the way there.

In Moscow, I made my way through customs and felt pretty special when I was able to walk through the credentialed line (even though it wasn't any shorter than the regular line). I spent a few hours enjoying some free wifi in the Sheremetyevo domestic terminal, catching up on all of the news that had happened during my lengthy flight. 

Finally, it was boarding time for flight #3. Moscow to Sochi. Aeroflot Russian Airlines.

The plane was nice and new and every seat had some Olympic swag on it. Most of the plane was speaking American-accented English and I quickly learned from conversations that a large contingent of NBC staff were flying with me. 

The flight was only a little over two hours, which was fortunate since Aeroflot isn't exactly generous in the leg room department (and I'm 5'4"...poor tall people!). I had to put my backpack in the overhead bin because it was too wide to fit between the front of my seat and the back of the seat in front of me. 

It was also fortunate because the in-flight meal was some sort of raw fish and mayonnaise concoction that made the whole plane smell like a fish market. I wasn't even sure how exactly the food was supposed to be eaten until I watched the Russian lady next to me put hers together. My stomach was a little weak after eating airplane food for about 15 hours, so I gifted her my raw fish plate, which she was very happy about.

Finally, touchdown in Sochi. The flight in was gorgeous. We saw the whole Black Sea coastline and could make out Olympic Park. 

After all the months working like crazy, I was finally there. Finally in Sochi.

I collected my bags and, after speaking with a handful of brightly-outfitted volunteers, found my bus to the mountains. A little over an hour later, I was happily ensconced in my hotel room (which was absolutely gorgeous, by the way), waiting on Sarah, my Sochi roommate, to arrive so we could explore.

I successfully staved off jet lag for a few hours to enjoy a dinner with my colleagues already on the ground and get up to speed on everything going on so far. We all raised our glasses and said our cheers to being in Russia. We talked for hours. Everyone's excitement was contagious.

Finally, it was bedtime. I sank into my bed and couldn't help but smile at the prospect of the 17 days ahead of me. Yes, I knew it was going to be insane. Yes, I knew I was going to be pulling all nighters and dealing with all kinds of unforeseen issues. But I was prepared. 

Let the Games begin.

Sochi in Pictures: Part 2

Here's part two of my Sochi photo experience! Alpine events, Rosa Khutor, Valentine's Day, friends winning medals and more!

The Rosa Khutor Alpine Center was absolutely gorgeous! Views like this were a daily occurrence.

My Valentine's Day photo to my family back home, taken at the aerials venue - from Russia with love!

The gondola up to Laura Biathlon Center had breathtaking views. You could see the entire valley as you went up the mountain!

Afternoon in Rosa Khutor, the mountain village area.

My friend Alex won a bronze medal!

Lots of questions for Bode Miller in the mixed zone.

Sarah and I were burning up at the final nordic combined event! We were down to baselayers and still sweating (but also smiling!).

The hotel security guard at the Marriott. He was incredibly nice and, despite not speaking much English, always went out of his way to be kind to Sarah and me every evening when we came home. Although you can't tell here, he was always smiling!

Last night in Rosa Khutor. The vilage was beautiful!

Sochi in Pictures: Part 1

I'll write a more substantive update about my Sochi experience in a bit...but for now, here are some photos! These are photos of traveling to Sochi, the Opening Ceremony, some random Russian experiences, multiple USA golds and more!

Ready to go!

Flying into Sochi Adler International Airport

Fun little gifts from Aeroflot.

My home away from home - the Mountain Media Center!

Russian McDonald's

Main Media Center, down in the Coastal Cluster

Opening Ceremony with B Pen! Brandon and I were interns together at the USOC four years ago...look how far we have come!

USSA Comms team at Opening!

GOLD for Jamie Anderson in slopestyle snowboarding!

Olympic Flame

Sochi strays...these are the ones that Gus Kenworthy ended up bringing home.

Grocery shopping with my Sochi roommate, Sarah.

Some interesting Russian items in the grocery store. Caviar flavored chips, anyone?

Sometimes, things get lost in translation.

Slopestyle sweep for the USA!!

Drinking in a Russian-Irish Bar in Sochi

One night while in Sochi, I made it out to a Russian-Irish pub with two of my friends and coworkers.

When you're running five different social media accounts and tending to other communications odds and ends for multiple Olympic sports during the Olympic Winter Games, time is not something you have in excess. However, when you're in Russia and you happen to have one night free from competitions or medal ceremonies, it's time to let loose a bit.

It was definitely an experience!

When Kyle, Sarah and I met up in Rosa Khutor one night, we weren't entirely sure where to go. After talking to a few people and wandering around a bit, we finally decided on Russia's take on an Irish pub.

We pushed open the doors and were greeted by an overwhelming cloud of cigarette smoke and the sound of raucous cheering. The three of us smiled at one another. This was definitely a bit more exciting than the stale hotel bar scene we had seen elsewhere.

Kyle led us through the crowd to a corner. Immediately, two men came over to me, talking in fast, excited Russian. The first man was probably a year or two older than me, clad in the "Russian men's casual" uniform I'd come to expect - a T-shirt and sweatpants with brightly-colored tennis shoes. Even though I didn't understand a word he was saying, his excitement was infectious.

"I'm sorry," I said, probably looking like an idiot with a massive smile on my face, "I don't speak Russian!" He held up a finger indicating I should wait a moment and disappeared. I turned back to Kyle and Sarah, who were now at the bar ordering.

"What do you want?"

"Um...I think I'll do a vodka soda." I had to have vodka...I was in Russia, right?

"Three vodka sodas," Kyle said to the bartender. The bartender shrugged.

"Vodka with sparkling water," Sarah offered, trying to clarify. The bartender's expression didn't change. "Um...water with gas?" The bartender nodded.

"Pellegrino?"

"Yes! Da! Pellegrino!" we nodded affirmatively. The bartender disappeared for a moment and returned with three rocks glasses. He splashed a shot's worth of vodka in each, then pulled out a bottle of Pellegrino. He held it out for us to see like he was holding out a prize on The Price is Right.

"Pellegrino." We nod and offer a thumbs up. With quite a bit of flair, the bartender makes a show of pouring a splash of Pellegrino into each of the three glasses. He then sets down the Pellegrino bottle. Kyle promptly picks it up and empties the remainder of the contents into our rocks glasses. It doesn't look like the concept of a vodka soda hasn't quite hit Sochi yet.

Drinks in hand, we stand in a small circle talking.

Then, the second man from earlier comes over. This man, unlike young sweatpants guy before, is definitely old enough to be my father. He's dressed a bit more like someone you would expect in a ski town - a black baselayer shirt, black ski pants. He starts talking to me excitedly and points at the team logo on my jacket. I quickly assured him that I'm not an athlete but pulled a pin out of my pocket for him. He got a huge smile on his face and began talking to me in rapid fire Russian.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I don't understand." He looks, understandably, a bit exasperated. I stammer through the four or five Russian words I know that seem like they could be useful in this scenario, but his look of exasperation doesn't fade. Finally, he holds up a finger and disappears.

I go back to my circle with Kyle and Sarah. "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi comes on the radio and the bar goes crazy.

The entire bar sings along to the song, everyone belting out each and every word. Grown men are embracing, singing the song together with expressions of pure joy on their faces. I went to a college that really loved "Livin' on a Prayer" in a bar setting, but this completely puts it to shame.

Once the song has ended and the bar has returned to watching figure skating, man #2 returns. He pulls me away from Kyle and Sarah and proffers a 10 ruble note. He turns it over and points very enthusiastically at the scene pictured on the back. I'm assuming he's saying something about the scenery, so I nod enthusiastically and tell him how pretty it looks. This goes on for a few minutes, then he grabs my hand and starts to pull me away.

I smile apologetically and shake my head. I have to stay here with my friends, I say, pointing at Kyle and Sarah. He points towards some people dancing, then points to me and does a little dance. While I'm flattered by what I'm assuming is a request to dance, I politely reiterate that I need to stay with my friends here. He points a few more times until I smile, hold up a finger indicating to wait and turn back to Kyle and Sarah.

A few minutes later, we've disappeared to the other side of the bar, now in a group of Canadians while man #2 has returned to excited conversion with man #1. We talk to some course workers and coaches, getting some other perspectives on the Sochi experience. They fill us in on their favorite bars, restaurants and fun sites around the area. We share our best moments of the Olympics so far. It's one of those moments where we all immediately become friends simply by virtue of speaking the same language.

Eventually, we make the decision to call it a night. There's no such thing as days off during Games time and we all have early mornings the next day.

Kyle heads up to the bar to settle the tab. Sarah and I are chatting. Man #2 comes up to me and tries to get me to dance before leaving.

But instead, we clink glasses together and exchange one more smile. I say das vidaniya to him, attempting to explain that it's time for me to go back to my hotel. He smiles back and gives me a kiss on the cheek, then returns to drinking with man #1.

And with that, it's out of the smoke-choked bar and back into the clear, mountain air of Rosa Khutor.

Despite the language barrier, I have that same feeling I'd have if I had been at a bar filled with people I knew. The enthusiasm and passion those men in the bar had for just being there in that moment was impossible not to absorb. The unfiltered joy of dozens of grown men belting out their favorite song was contagious. Even without a common language to share it in, the Russians certainly knew how to make some foreigners feel at home.

I think everyone went home with a smile on their face that night.