Russian Waffles, Grocery Stores and Getting Around

Once the excitement of the first few days of the Olympics wore off, Sarah and I were starting to feel like we had gotten into the swing of things. With different events every day, there was no way to get into a real regular schedule, but we had our routines down!

Every evening before going to bed, we looked at the event schedule for the next day and decided what time to wake up. We very quickly realized after the first few days that Sarah was not waking up when her alarm went off (in all fairness, we were working some pretty long days!), so eventually, it was just me setting my alarm and then waking her up in the morning. Neither one of us are morning people, so getting ready in the morning didn't exactly happen quickly! But, eventually we got out the door to breakfast.

Breakfast at our hotel was amazing. They had an incredible spread with everything from an omelette bar to rotating Russian food items to multiple fresh squeezed juices. My typical breakfast consisted of eggs with cheese and tomatoes, fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee and a piece of something I can only describe as chocolate bread. Sometimes, I switched it up with the rotating American-style breakfast item of the day (usually pancakes or waffles) or some muesli.

One morning in particular, I was pretty pumped to see that they had waffles out. However, there was no maple syrup. I asked the woman attending to that area if they had any somewhere that I could have. She very apologetically said they were out for at least a few days. But, as I shrugged and started to thank her anyways, she said, "But we do have sour cream!"

Despite my confusion, I thanked her and returned to my table, where I recounted the story to Sarah. After some quick Googling, we discovered that sour cream is a common pancake/waffle topping in Russia. However, it was not top on my list of things to try since I'm not a big fan of sour cream in the first place!

A few days into our Sochi experience, Sarah and I decided that we needed to hunt down a grocery store. Our schedule was pretty brutal - a typical day started around 9 a.m. with breakfast, followed by a 45-minute bus ride to a venue (the first event of the day was usually around 11 a.m.). Since the venues were that far from our hotel, we typically just stayed up there until the day's events wrapped up (many nights, that wasn't until 1 a.m.) and, after taking our 45-minute bus ride back, were home at the hotel by 2 a.m. Because of that schedule, we found ourselves frequently going without real meals. There were concession stands and media cafeterias, but they were a little lacking and frequently ran out of food before we were able to get there.

So, grocery store it was! We wandered down the street on one of our rare afternoons off and walked into a place whose sign read (in English!) "Food and Alcohol Market." Once inside, we were greeted by a wall of liquor, a refrigerated case of beer and your typical array of checkout line chocolate bars and chip bags. We walked through that area and found grocery items.

Through photos on the packaging, we were able to generally discern what each item was. We found lots of canned meat, caviar-flavored chips, wafer cookies in dozens of flavors and black cherry juice. We ended up leaving with cheese, crackers and wafer cookies. Those wafer cookies would end up tasting like the most glorious food on earth every night when we got home!

We later went back to the alcohol market to purchase some souvenirs...but that's for another blog entry!

Medals Madness

With a full day of travel and the Opening Ceremony under my belt, it was time for the real work to begin. Day one started with men's slopestyle snowboarding and ended with women's moguls.

Being the first day and my first trip up to the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, I wasn't really sure how long things were going to take or how accurate the media bus schedule was going to be. Still, I left my hotel armed with a timetable of all the buses, extra layers of clothing in my backpack and every charger you could think to bring. I quickly learned that, while chargers are always necessary, carrying my life in my backpack most definitely was not (especially if I wanted to be able to feel my shoulders at the end of the day).

To say things got off with a bang would be an understatement! Sage Kotsenburg claimed the first gold medal of the Olympics (in slopestyle snowboarding). It was the first time since 1952 that the USA had earned the first gold medal of the Games! It was pretty awesome to experience firsthand the process athletes go through when they win a medal. First, they were escorted from the finish area to a podium for the in-stadium flower ceremony (medals were awarded in the Medals Plaza down in the Coastal area at night), then they were ushered through the mixed zone and finally ended up in the Press Center for their press conference. After that, they were whisked away for more media and preparations for the Medals Ceremony.

That evening, though, there was no time to get down to the coast for medals! Instead, Sarah and I made our way to Stadium HAM (which stood for halfpipe, aerials, moguls) at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park for women's moguls. Hannah Kearney, the defending Olympic Champion, was the heavy favorite for the night's event. While things didn't go exactly how she wanted (she ended up with bronze), it was still exciting to be there.

Day one: two for two for USSA athletes in medals at events!

Onto day two, which consisted of the first alpine event (men's downhill) and women's slopestyle snowboarding.

Downhill was very exciting! Although we didn't end up on the podium, Travis Ganong got his career-best result (to that point...a few weeks later, he ended up on a World Cup podium!) and Bode Miller is just incredible to watch. The Rosa Khutor Alpine Center venue was breathtakingly gorgeous, as well. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of media in person that I had previously only spoken with via email.

Post-downhill, Sarah and I booked it over to the Extreme Park's Stadium PSX (parallel, slopestyle, cross...also, pronounced "pee-six" by the Russians) for women's slopestyle snowboarding. This was the first of many trips down the infamous steps by the Extreme Park gondola (imagine the longest staircase you've ever been up and multiply it by two but add in rocks, mud, snow and ice...and lots of people). Jamie Anderson rocked the course, bringing home yet another gold medal for the USA.

Since there were no events that Sarah and I had to be at that evening, we hopped on the TM10 after Jamie's win and headed down to the Coastal Cluster for our first Medals Ceremony. Since it was only our second trip down to the coast, we weren't 100% sure where we were going. Fortunately, though, the Medals Plaza was right in the middle of everything!

We just squeaked into the Medals Ceremony before it started. I gotta say, though...there's just something amazing about hearing your national anthem while watching your flag rise to the top of the flagpole in Olympic Park. Even at my last Medals Ceremony of the Olympics, it was still awe-inspiring.

After medals, we decided to head over to USA House, the hospitality house hosted by the USOC, to get photos and social media content of the Order of Ikkos ceremony. Order of Ikkos is a very cool ceremony where athletes that win medals have the opportunity to present a coach with a medal, as well, to thank them for all their work on the road to success. We got to listen to both Hannah and Jamie share their Order of Ikkos awards, which was very moving.

Finally, as midnight crept up on us, Sarah and I made our way back to the Main Media Center (via a very long walk, as we didn't quite have the bus system down yet for the coast), hopped back on the TM10 and slept as we made our way back home to the mountains.

Two days, three medals in the books. 14 days to go!

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!!

2013 in Review: Part 3

Missed the other posts? Check out Part One and Part Two.

July

I had my first visitor to Park City! Katrina came out to visit and we had a great time wandering around everything Park City has to offer.

 I spent many a Sunday at the Park Silly Sunday Market enjoying Five Wives vodka lemonades.

I went home to Indianapolis for Aly's wedding shower and enjoyed sister time with these two lovely ladies.

Some family friends threw their annual summer bash while I was home, so I got to enjoy good company, lobsters and martinis.

Aly got some fun pre-wedding gifts.

Before heading back to Utah, I went to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game with the family! 

Family at the Indians game! 

August

Since half marathon month had arrived, I continued with the last bits of my training plan and saw some lovely sights on the trails in Park City.

I went to the Kimball Arts Festival.

Josh (aka my twin) drove through Salt Lake City on his way back to school in Arizona, so we got to get together and have a drink at Bar X before he had to leave.

A wildfire broke out near Park City. 

While the wildfire was scary, it did make for some very gorgeous sunsets.

 

Katie moved to town and we became fast friends!

 Half marathon #2 completed! Dad came out to Utah to run the race with me.

The next day, we went for a hot air balloon ride over Park City and it was gorgeous! 

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott came to work and did an athlete social with our staff. He's a wonderful guy!

And, finally, I volunteered with Hurricane for Hope, an event benefitting The Speedy Foundation.

September

I went shopping with Katie and got this awesome shirt.

I went to a sheepdog festival, which I never knew was a thing until...well, I went to one.

 I had a really good hair day.

I returned to Colorado Springs for the first time since moving away for the USOC Communications Workshop...even stayed at the Olympic Training Center!

Brandon, Jenny and I had a little intern reunion at The Finish Line, the dive bar across the street from the Olympic Training Center.

Afterwards, I headed up to Denver and visited with my friend and former roommate, Karen. Unfortunately, we didn't take any photos together, so here is a photo of her cat, Lucky.

I took a full week off from work to head back to Indiana for my brother's wedding! I started the week off with a 5k run, which I ran with my cousin Sarah.

For Aly's bachelorette party, we started the day with a wine and painting party.

And finally the big day rolled around! We got Starbucks for Aly that morning, but they butchered her name.

Wedding time!

And I officially have two sisters now!