There are lots of interesting characters dropping in and out of the Religious Services Centre throughout the day. I had a relaxing chat to an Irish Boxing Coach of Cuban origin today; he’s a tall Afro-Caribbean guy who is a Buddhist, working for the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. And when he doesn’t do that, he's working in prisons teaching inmates Spanish and Than-Phong – a martial art like tai chi.
I also met Maria Mutola, fresh from winning gold in the 800m. She had come to thank Phra Mana and his team for their support. She is, I believe, the first ever gold medalist for Mozambique and has appeared at an amazing six Olympic Games – which only four other track and field athletes have achieved. And considering that was over a 21-year career, I feel very privileged to have met her. Brits might remember Maria as Dame Kelly Holmes’ training partner who was thought to have assisted Holmes’ win at the 2003 World Championships in Paris.
At lunchtime I sat in awe of the massive queue of athletes for McDonalds meals in the Olympic Village dining hall. My meals are free, so I always make sure I eat lots – easy, as the food is delicious. I take advantage of the amazing salad dishes from around the world – particularly as fruit and vegetables are so dear here in Australia, and on my backpacker budget, quite a luxury. My college friend Anna Hemmings joined me today. She's canoeing for Team GB and she gave me a guided tour of the athletes’ accommodation. I got to see all the physios at work and where her teammates hang out when they’re not competing, sightseeing, chasing autographs or generally having a whale of a time!
After lunch, I headed back to work and saw Gomez playing in the International zone. There must have been 3-40 people watching at any one time, mainly Brits working in the village and a few Team GB athletes. The lead singer was saying how surreal it all was as they usually play to packed venues. Once again I had to pinch myself that I was hanging out at an Olympic Village, nevermind having another amazing free experience as a volunteer. My only complaint was that Nelson Mandela didn’t pop in to see us, but by all accounts he was hanging out with his national team so we let him off….
Showing posts with label Village. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Village. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Smells like the Olympics
It’s all go on the London 2012 Olympics news front as we get enticingly nearer to the UK's BIGGEST SUMMER OF SPORT EVER. In case you’ve been too busy being bombarded by Usain Bolt ads or recovering from Sunday's early start to watch the Melbourne Grand Prix (Well done Jenson), here’s a round up of all the big Olympic stories:
1. The volunteers uniform has just been revealed, with the Mayor of London ‘apologising’ for the uniform. If you’re not a UK resident, you might not be familiar with our self-deprecating sense of humour. Right Boris?!
2. The exact times and locations of the Olympic Torch have just been revealed. I’m secretly a bit gutted as I’d booked a cottage at Land’s End the day the Torch was due to set off. But then it turned out I’d potentially be in labour that day, so that cancelled that out. Who knew the title the Mummy Olympics would actually be so apt?
3. You can see the athletes’ apartments online now. I like the fact the beds are extendable for particularly ‘long’ athletes like basketball players. I wonder if the Cubans are annoyed at being called the noisy party team whom no one wants to stay next to?
1. The volunteers uniform has just been revealed, with the Mayor of London ‘apologising’ for the uniform. If you’re not a UK resident, you might not be familiar with our self-deprecating sense of humour. Right Boris?!
2. The exact times and locations of the Olympic Torch have just been revealed. I’m secretly a bit gutted as I’d booked a cottage at Land’s End the day the Torch was due to set off. But then it turned out I’d potentially be in labour that day, so that cancelled that out. Who knew the title the Mummy Olympics would actually be so apt?
3. You can see the athletes’ apartments online now. I like the fact the beds are extendable for particularly ‘long’ athletes like basketball players. I wonder if the Cubans are annoyed at being called the noisy party team whom no one wants to stay next to?
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Madeline Manning Mims
While I was working at the religious centre in the Olympic Village in Sydney, I was lucky enough to meet some very interesting people. None more so than Madeline Manning Mims. When I first met her, also dressed in the ‘lovely’ volunteers uniform, she came and sat down in reception and we began to chat. She told me she was a gold and silver track medalist back in the day (800m gold medalist at Mexico City no less). She explained her role as a minister for athletes, having founded the United States Council for Sports Chaplaincy. And then she told me about Munich.
I was astonished by my ignorance, for this was before Stephen Spielberg had done his ‘let’s educate the next generation about history’ thing. Madeline had seen the Palestinian terrorists shortly before they killed their first Israeli athlete. The US quarters were in proximity to the Israeli rooms, and she and her teammates witnessed one of the terrorists firing his gun before they all turned and fled. Talking to Madeline, you could see the experience still had an effect on her. After all, she felt she had been staring death in the face that day.
So I often think about my time spent hanging out with Madeline. I expect she will travel to London this summer and be sat talking with another young volunteer in the Olympic Village in Stratford. I wonder what she will make of it all? It must be strange to have travelled to so many Olympic Games. I wonder if you ever become blazé to it all? And do some years stand out over others? It would be great to know. Madeline, if you’re reading this, we’d love to hear from you!
More about Madeline
I was astonished by my ignorance, for this was before Stephen Spielberg had done his ‘let’s educate the next generation about history’ thing. Madeline had seen the Palestinian terrorists shortly before they killed their first Israeli athlete. The US quarters were in proximity to the Israeli rooms, and she and her teammates witnessed one of the terrorists firing his gun before they all turned and fled. Talking to Madeline, you could see the experience still had an effect on her. After all, she felt she had been staring death in the face that day.
So I often think about my time spent hanging out with Madeline. I expect she will travel to London this summer and be sat talking with another young volunteer in the Olympic Village in Stratford. I wonder what she will make of it all? It must be strange to have travelled to so many Olympic Games. I wonder if you ever become blazé to it all? And do some years stand out over others? It would be great to know. Madeline, if you’re reading this, we’d love to hear from you!
More about Madeline
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
The Sydney Olympic Village
Seeing as I’m in reminiscing mode, I thought I’d dig up some memories of my time in the religious centre at the Olympic Village in Sydney. As this was 12 years ago now, I find myself wishing I could remember more details. I also wish I could find my photos.
Here is an extract from my diary at the time – it’s quite factual, but I have other more pertinent memories to blog about another day. It does however make you wonder how village life will compare in 2012. No ‘discotheque’ I’m guessing!
‘6th Sept 2000. Village people!! Started working in the Olympic Village yesterday. It’s shift work but my hours are usually 8am to 6pm. So I was up at 5am to get the bus to Central, then the train to Lidcombe where shuttle buses run to the athletes village in the newly created suburb of Newington. There are 10,000 athletes and 5,000 officials going to be living there once it starts. Some have already arrived. Security is tight and there are hundreds of people, around 25,000 in total maybe?
I am in the International Zone where all the amenities are, like a discotheque serving no alcohol, a huge internet café (the aptly named ‘Surf Shack’, always chocka with athletes), shops selling souvenirs, Kodak, tickets etc, and a huge games hall with around 800 arcade machines and games. There’s also a cinema, admin blocks and of course, us, the religious services. The five main world faiths are represented, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Hindus – and there are representatives from each faith always on call.
I am on reception. The coolest people I met the first day were Phra Mana, a Buddhist monk from Thailand, and his colleague from Laos (forget his name, very difficult words to remember), whom I chatted with for ages. They have a real aura and I could sit and listen to them for ages. No one is allowed to force their beliefs on to anyone and no one tries to. It is fascinating to learn firsthand from people, to understand what they’re all about. Actually, I think it is amazing they can all get along under one roof – what the spirit of the games is all about, I guess. I felt privileged to have all these holy men and women around me, from all over the world.’
Here is an extract from my diary at the time – it’s quite factual, but I have other more pertinent memories to blog about another day. It does however make you wonder how village life will compare in 2012. No ‘discotheque’ I’m guessing!
‘6th Sept 2000. Village people!! Started working in the Olympic Village yesterday. It’s shift work but my hours are usually 8am to 6pm. So I was up at 5am to get the bus to Central, then the train to Lidcombe where shuttle buses run to the athletes village in the newly created suburb of Newington. There are 10,000 athletes and 5,000 officials going to be living there once it starts. Some have already arrived. Security is tight and there are hundreds of people, around 25,000 in total maybe?
I am in the International Zone where all the amenities are, like a discotheque serving no alcohol, a huge internet café (the aptly named ‘Surf Shack’, always chocka with athletes), shops selling souvenirs, Kodak, tickets etc, and a huge games hall with around 800 arcade machines and games. There’s also a cinema, admin blocks and of course, us, the religious services. The five main world faiths are represented, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Hindus – and there are representatives from each faith always on call.
I am on reception. The coolest people I met the first day were Phra Mana, a Buddhist monk from Thailand, and his colleague from Laos (forget his name, very difficult words to remember), whom I chatted with for ages. They have a real aura and I could sit and listen to them for ages. No one is allowed to force their beliefs on to anyone and no one tries to. It is fascinating to learn firsthand from people, to understand what they’re all about. Actually, I think it is amazing they can all get along under one roof – what the spirit of the games is all about, I guess. I felt privileged to have all these holy men and women around me, from all over the world.’
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Sex, religion & village people
Working in the athlete’s village was an eye opener to my 22-year-old self. It was one big party for all the countries of the world to attend. Sure, there was real blood, sweat and tears in terms of sporting angst going on, but there were also other blood, sweat and tears being shed elsewhere. At night, you could see the cherries of cigarettes as the village bus propelled you to your relevant destination (mine was the religious centre, randomly. I was answering the phones there. These calls usually involved answering questions like what time is Mass/Morning Prayer or do you have any Bibles or Polish Priests available?).
I also learned about the massive trade in condoms on site. That’s right. When athletes and their physios/coaches/officials rest, they like to do it with other athletes, apparently*. So when I saw this ad on the Chip Shop Awards website this week, it made me smile for this and other reasons. I should warn you, it’s in very bad taste (contains swear words kids), so probably won’t appeal to everyone. I wonder how many condoms will be ordered for this summer’s fun and games? Here's the link to 'Life in the Olympic Village 2012'.
*I expect this is an overclaim on my part, and only applies to single, available athletes, right? I personally never got to find out, seeing as volunteers have their own section of the dining room to eat in. The closest I got to an athlete in the village was on the bus when it resembled the tube and a bunch of male Tunisian athletes were enjoying the proximity to random young women. Actually, this isn’t true either. I was invited into the Team GB quarters by a friend who was canoeing. But that is another story.
I also learned about the massive trade in condoms on site. That’s right. When athletes and their physios/coaches/officials rest, they like to do it with other athletes, apparently*. So when I saw this ad on the Chip Shop Awards website this week, it made me smile for this and other reasons. I should warn you, it’s in very bad taste (contains swear words kids), so probably won’t appeal to everyone. I wonder how many condoms will be ordered for this summer’s fun and games? Here's the link to 'Life in the Olympic Village 2012'.
*I expect this is an overclaim on my part, and only applies to single, available athletes, right? I personally never got to find out, seeing as volunteers have their own section of the dining room to eat in. The closest I got to an athlete in the village was on the bus when it resembled the tube and a bunch of male Tunisian athletes were enjoying the proximity to random young women. Actually, this isn’t true either. I was invited into the Team GB quarters by a friend who was canoeing. But that is another story.
Thursday, 21 July 2011
The allure of the golden arches
A small column caught my notice in the Evening Standard last night on my way home from work. It announced McDonalds’ intentions to open their largest ever restaurant yet during the course of the Olympics. So far, lots of people, (including Olympic athlete Amir Khan), have been questioning whether it’s appropriate to have a fast food giant supporting the world’s greatest sporting event (particularly given the worrying levels of obesity around the globe).
What interested me however, was the fact that there would be a McDonalds in the athletes’ village and media centre. Now back when I worked in the Sydney athletes’ village, a few things struck me as remarkable – and one of these was the endless queue for the McDonalds outlet in the dining hall. In spite of the fact that there was quite simply every single type of cuisine that you could ever want or need, McDonalds still proved the most popular meal at whatever time of the day you walked in there. And given that most people there were supposed to be finely honed athletes or their management, this really surprised me.
I also noticed that many of the third world nations seemed to like going there the most – although maybe that was more to do with the novelty factor? Either way, I don’t expect London 2012 will be any different. And when you consider 50,000 Big Macs, 180,000 potions of fries and 30,000 milkshakes will be served over the 29 days of the Olympic and Paralympic Games across the four announced venues, it doesn’t matter whether you like it or not: McDonalds has cast its spell.
What interested me however, was the fact that there would be a McDonalds in the athletes’ village and media centre. Now back when I worked in the Sydney athletes’ village, a few things struck me as remarkable – and one of these was the endless queue for the McDonalds outlet in the dining hall. In spite of the fact that there was quite simply every single type of cuisine that you could ever want or need, McDonalds still proved the most popular meal at whatever time of the day you walked in there. And given that most people there were supposed to be finely honed athletes or their management, this really surprised me.
I also noticed that many of the third world nations seemed to like going there the most – although maybe that was more to do with the novelty factor? Either way, I don’t expect London 2012 will be any different. And when you consider 50,000 Big Macs, 180,000 potions of fries and 30,000 milkshakes will be served over the 29 days of the Olympic and Paralympic Games across the four announced venues, it doesn’t matter whether you like it or not: McDonalds has cast its spell.
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