Pacific students in Turin

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 03:18:00 +0000

I am finally beginning to recover from the jet lag. The way over was no problem but coming back, well that has not been easy! It was quite a trip and learning experience. From a sport management perspective there were certainly some issues, that is not to say things did not go well or run pretty smoothly. Part of our learning experience is to note any problems, and see if there are ways to improve them for future events.

First was the language barriers, French was pretty much left out of the Olympics and it is an official language of the games. The volunteers all spoke either English or Italian (some both but mostly Italian). This made things a bit difficult sometimes as we always had to have a speaker of each language on duty especially since only Italians seem to speak Italian. This was frustrating for the athletes, coaches and spectators who we were trying to help. It also would have been helpful if the volunteers had badges that indicated what languages they spoke. We noticed that the counter crew at McDonalds had utilized this method to aid in communication, so it must be effective.

Another complication was budgeting. They ran out of some pretty neccessary items but over did it on others such as our uniforms. We were given a long sleeve t-shirt, two fleeces, a jacket, snow pants, boots, gloves, a beenie, a backpack, and ear bags; these things were wonderful, but where we were working we did not need such warm weather gear and really only wore the fleece. The venues alone can drain a nation's funds and any unneccessary spending should be avoided.

Thirdly, travel was difficult due to a lack of signage and again, language barriers. If you did not know exactly how to get somewhere, you could get pretty lost. The trains and buses were easy enough to understand but getting the right shuttle could be hard.

There were some other minor issues, but to me these seemed to be the most important. Overall the Olympics were good and I think Italy did pretty well; especially since it is such a large event and it is not as if they have put one on in recent history. Each nation that takes on the Olympics starts fresh. To know exactly what to do is not possible and so it is expected that there will be some complications.

The Olympics were a great experience and I am truly thankful for the opportunity. I would like to thank a few people that made the trip possible and enjoyable. First Sarah and Dr. Lyman, thank you so much for working so hard to get us in as volunteers. The University of the Pacific, thank you for making this a class and allowing us to leave during the semester to work this amazing event. The Stockton Record, your support has been marvelous; I really appreciate you hosting this blog and informing the community about our work. Mrs. and Mr. Perata, I can't tell you how grateful we all were for the shuttle to the airport it made life so much easier! My classmates, even though our conflicting work schedules kept us from spending much time together, I enjoyed getting to know you all a little better. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents; Mom and Dad, there is no way I could have gone on the trip without you and your support. I love you and I hope you know how much this meant to me.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 02:43:00 +0000

I'm back home and (somewhat) unpacked. There are so many things and so many people that I have to catch up with. Working at the Olympics and being in Italy was such a great experience. I was lucky enough to have worked with Guest Pass Services and learn how maintaining a number of guests and media was organized. I would love to go back to Italy and travel around the whole country.

A big thank you to Nicole's parents who arranged for a shuttle to the airport! It was greatly appreciated.

Ciao!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 02:20:00 +0000

I am home! The last two days weren't bad, I felt like I was back on schedule withno problems, but this morning came around and I am so tired! The three naps today just haven't made a difference, but I am hoping that I will be back to normal shortly. All in all I wouldn't haven't changed it for the world, a couple of days being tired is well worth the great experience I had for over two weeks in Torino.

I feel so lucky to have gotten the experience to see theory put into reality at the biggest sporting event there is. I am even looking forward to discussing it in the class room and being able to see what everyone else learned and noticed. I think every group got to experience different insights into the Olympics and being able to share the different perspectives will be very informative.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am home safe and sound and getting back into the swing of things. Our blog will be active for a while so be sure to check back soon for more on our experience and more pictures. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to my trip in any way shape or form, and a special thank you to the Record for hosting this blog, I liked being able to share with everyone what was going on in Italy.

From back in America,
Nicole!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 19:36:00 +0000

This trip was so amazing, I can't believe that it's over! I feel that I got the most out of this trip that I could have possibly gotten. Not only was this an experience of a lifetime but I became closer to 8 other people that I didn't know all that well. I felt as our group became a family and actually got along really well. We all learned, grew and experienced this trip together.

From a learning perspective I learned so much about event and risk management. I learned about what did not work well for the city of Torino and what could have been done differently so that the Olympics could have run more smoothly. Such as having more signs so people would have an easier time getting around, making sure that the official languages of the Olympics were used (French and English) because most things were in Italian. Having more hand rails at every venue. Especially at the mountain events because it was so slippery and there was nothing to hang onto. I learned things that I will be able to apply to my future job.

Overall I did have the experience of a lifetime. I went to 8 events and 1 medal ceremony. I met so many people from other countries and made some new friends. I saw the sites of Torino and what the beautiful city has to offer. I would definitely consider volunteering for the Olympics again. But for now it is time to find a job and enter into the real world.

Before I say my final goodbye I would like to thank some people. First and foremost I would like to thank Linda and Sarah for setting up this trip. Without them it would not have been possible for us to have done this. The Record for letting us set up the blogg so we could tell everyone about our trip. The group that I got to experience this tip with because without them I don't think that I would have had this much fun! Last of all Nicole's parents for getting us a shuttle to the airport. If it wasn't for them we all would have been sleeping at the airport. Which would have been one last adventure but I don't know how many of us would have liked that one. This is something that I will always remember! So until next time, ciao ciao.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:01:00 +0000

If I could have scripted this trip, I would not have been able to create the teaching/learning experience that it turned out to be. When everything is done perfectly, interns and volunteers never get to understand how something got done. In this case, the training and staffing volunteers, signage, security, and other important operational aspects were done in what some called the "the Italian way." Hence, there were many teaching moments. Some of the students have not had an event management class so it will take a while for them to realize what they saw and learned. For others, we had non-stop conversations about what could have been versus what we saw and experienced. But the Italians did the best with what they had to work with. They were way overbudget and will be paying for hosting the Olympics for years to come. Which begs the question, is it really worth a country, a state, a region to go millions of dollars in debt and have recently built facilities that will never be used to put on sport event? Should we be rotating the Olympics to cities where the facilities were built for previous Olympics?

These students (and all others in sport management around the country) are being trained to do their research before offering an event, building a facility, redeveloping a city around a sport facility, etc. I remind them that the days of "if you build it, they will come" are over. There are too many sport and recreation/leisure options. Hopefully students like ours will be conscious of the balance between the focus on sport in our country and the other social needs in society. It was sad to see the Italians worrying about providing enough blankets to the athletes because of being over budget. The original intention for the athlete housing was to provide low income housing. Yet, they will be selling over half of the apartments to try and recoup some of their losses. What these students experienced and saw will be with them for the rest of their lives. I hope that they use this experience to provide volunteers, clients, fans, sponsors, and those who pay taxes with a product that is fiscally responsible in all areas. I also hope that this experience helps them analyze situations from a global perspective, not just an American perspective. Because the world is getting smaller and I believe that the 2008 Olympics in China will be economically and politically a turning point in the world.

This has been an experience that I will never forget. I am already trying to figure out a way to get to the Olympics in China with students. I would like to volunteer at the Vancouver Olympics to compare to Winter Olympics back to back. Again, I would like to thank Yasmin, Lauren Hartel, the Peratas for the shuttle, Marissa Kelley for approving the trip, and all of the parents of the students. I hope that we helped all of you that kept up with the blog see the Turin Olympics from a different perspective than NBC. Take care and CIAO!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 07:09:00 +0000

Here I am back in the States. The trip home was very long, most of it was spent sleeping and watching movies. I think total flying from Torino to Newark and Newark to San Francisco we were in the air for over 15 hours! I'm still catching up on sleep a little bit but jet lag didn't hit me that hard. Now the fun of catching up in all my classes begins, I do have spring break to look forward to in a week and a half though.

There are plenty of people that I would like to thank for supporting myself and my classmates on this amazing experience: the Stockton Record for setting up this blog, my parents for supporting me and helping pay, Nicole's parents for paying for the shuttle ride to the airport, Linda, Sarah and Ryan for setting everything up and making things run smoothly, and all of our loyal readers of our blog. Thanks again!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 06:05:00 +0000

Well we've made it back safe and sound. Looking back at the trip, it really was an amazing chance to see the realities of the biggest sporting event in the world. I really feel lucky to have had the chance to be a part of it. I feel like we all had the chance to see what worked and what did not. It will be interesting to see what Canada will do differently in 2010. I feel that I gained lots of perspective on both the issues facing the Winter Olympics as well as the differences in the business culture between Italy and the USA. There are many people I'd like to thank for putting this trip together-my parents for all their support, Linda and Sarah for putting the trip together, everyone in Torino for allowing us to volunteer, Nicole's parents for paying for the airport shuttle, The Record for their coverage of our trip, and all those who have been reading our blog. Thanks!

So, I finally got around to putting some photos up from our trip. On here I've a group photo at the USA women's hockey game, a nice sunset shot at the bobsled track, and two very big reasons while curling is, in fact, not cool.

For now, Ciao!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 09:57:00 +0000

It is 1:54am and I am trying to decide whether to go to bed or stay up until time to go teach. We got in 2 hours late because of the weather in San Francisco. By the time, we got to Stockton it was almost 11:00pm and I had to spend time with the dogs. Stacey came home with me for the night. She is asleep in the motorhome. I am beat but want to be ready and able in the morning.

Except for the delay in Newark, the trip home was great. Mike and Kim Perata paid for a shuttle bus to get us to the airport. It picked us up at a bit before 5am. We arrived at the airport at about 6:45. We checked in about 8:00 and then went to our gate. People went in shifts to do more shopping, just walk, or eat. The plane left a bit late. I sat with Nicole and we slept almost the whole 9 1/2 hour flight. We did wake up to eat. Then we cruised through customs and waited for our delayed flight. Most of the students ate some form of meat. The Italian cuisine seemed to lack the amount of protein we are used to here in Stockton. The next leg of the trip got us to SFO around 9:00pm. We all thanked Nicole's parents and met her grandmother. Bri's soon to be husband picked her up and Joe's girlfriend took him home. The students will be blogging during the week about how they view the trip now and about things they learned.

Again, I would like to thank Nicole's parents for their donation of the shuttle. I would also like to thank the Record for all of their support. Without them, no one could have kept up with our experiences. My hat is off to all of the parents of the students that accompanied me on this trip. They were great. You should all be very proud of your sons and daughters. Don't tell them. I am very proud of them and feel blessed to have been able to accompany them. They made this trip one I will never forget from both a personal and professional standpoint. I will blog again sometime this week to give an update on how I use my experiences in the classroom and how the students have impacted the discussions in their courses.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 12:10:00 +0000

This is my last blog from Italy! It's been great, but I'm happy to be heading back home. Thanks for everyone who supported us! Ciao!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 17:47:00 +0000

Great news everyone! We are not sleeping in the airport. Although I was a it perturbed when my mom called me at 8am when I planned on another hour to snooze, I was glad she called because she had awesome news. Her and my dad decided that to help make our trip come to a better end then our night of sleeping in the airport, they wanted to get us a shuttle from our apartment to the airport the morning of our flight. After a bit of RESEARCH we found a place and booked the shuttle. This means no sleeping in the cold airport, no arriving 14 hours before our flight, and no Lyman holding us captive telling us about our research paper (although I'm sure we'll get it at some point). I think this will be a more satisfying end to the great trip I have had so far. I am so thankful for getting to go on this trip and getting the international experience while learning so much.

Tonight is my last night at work, it is sad to leave the people I work side by side with through the cold and rain, but I am sure we will keep in touch. It has been a great experience communicating with people about their lives, their experiences and their views on many things including the Olympics. One guy that worked here has worked at seven Olympics now! It has been such a great learning experience, I am so glad I was able to come.

I want to say thank you to my classmates and Linda, I have had a great time and it wouldn't have been the same without you all. Thank you to everyone who helped me get here in any way, shape or form, and to the many who contributed to my warmth with all of my Christmas and birthday gifts. Thank you to those who have read my blog during my trip especially Mrs. Perata's and Mrs. Gorman's classrooms and Grandma Jay and her coffee friends! I have connections, I know who is reading! To those of you at home reading, I'm coming home, see you in a couple of days! Take care everyone, and thanks again.

Look for a post when I am back in the states,
Nicole

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 13:25:00 +0000

Last day of work! I am actually a little bit sad. Last night we had sort of a going away dinner at Valeria's boyfriends house. I finally had the type of food I would expect from Italy! It was great we had trays of cured meats, chunks of parmasian, and gorganzola with hazelnuts. Later we had ravioli stuffed with roast beef served with a mushroom sauce. For desert we had Torino's specialty these tiny bite sized cakes in varying favors, some with cream and orange, or cherries wrapped in pastry and baked and a million others. It was so amazing. So why did I have to wait until the very end of the trip to find out about these things?! Michele (Valeria's boyfriend) gave me 2 bottles of wine to take home. They have been very nice and welcoming I will miss them a lot.

I am all packed and the apartment is coming together. Tonight is our last night in the apartment. Tomorrow we will be sleeping (or at least trying to!) in the airport. I have weighed my bags and they are under the 70 pound limit thankfully. I am so excited to see my family and fiance again! This has been a great trip but I think I am ready to return to the States, I am not looking forward to a 16 hour and 45 minutes plane ride.

Ok well all I have work but thanks again for reading!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 13:21:00 +0000

This is probably going to be my last post from Italy. This afternoon is my last day at work and then tomorrow we leave in the evening for the airport. I spent this morning sleeping in and also packing. I'm glad that I packed an empty duffle bag in my suitcase because I needed it to pack all of the Olympic stuff that we were given. Last night was a lot of fun. We ended up not going to the church because it was very rainy and overcast outside. I guess from this church you can get a very good view of the whole city but you can't see anything when it is overcast. Last night did turn out to be a lot of fun though. Ryan, Bri and I went to Valeria's boyfriends house for dinner. It was by far the best meal that I have had since I have been here. There was so much food, I could barly move after the meal.

After work tonight we are all going to go out to dinner as a group one last time. This trip has been such a great experience, I'm sad to see it come to an end. Well I hope everyone enjoyed reading this blog about all of our experiences. I'll write again when we get home. Ciao!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 13:11:00 +0000

Well yesterday was our last day of work, I am sad to be leaving and wish the time had slowed down a little. The time has gone by fast but it has been an amazing experience and I have filled every dream and more. I have learned a lot about running events and have met a ton of people from all over the world. We have listened to people's stories about why they are here and just about their lives at home. Sport Management as a profession and a education option is becoming very popular over here, which is really exciting to hear because if grad school is in my future it might be an option to study overseas and gain a better international perspective.
Italy has been amazing and I am lucky that I get to come back in a little more than a month to see more sites and places during my spring break. I am also excited to go back in Sevilla and start practicing my Spanish again.
Tonight we spend our last night together, it will be nice to be all together because for most of the trip we have all had different schedules and I never get to see some of the people on our trip. I hope everyone has enjoyed the trip. I have to give credit to Linda because if she had not fully supported this idea of going to the Olympics, the trip would have never gotten off its feet.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 12:01:00 +0000

This is my last blog as well. It's bittersweet. I have more than enjoyed my time here in Torino and at the Olympics. It's been an invaluable experience. I'm so glad that I got to share it with people through our blogs and pictures. Thanks to Linda for taking us, Sarah for setting it up with the school, my parents for funding the trip, and the Stockton Record for setting up the blog so we can share our experience with so many from home! The last count I heard was 2,500 unique visitors with 5,000 total hits on the site. I can't believe it!

This is the random igloo we found while exploring Torino Friday morning before work. We have no idea why it's there, but we deemed it picture worthy, so here it is. It's the first igloo I've seen.

This is an example of the Olympic souvenier display in all of the store windows. The only problem is that in the stores, none of it is for sale. It's all for looks. This is just an example of some of the merchandise that has been sold here in the village and in sparadic places throughout Torino. Now, however, most of the stuff is all gone!

Here is my first snow angel!!!! I did this as Lauren, Nicole and I were leaving the freestyle alpine skiing venue the night the competition actually happened. We were leaving and I realized I hadn't done one yet, so I climbed the side of the mountain and fell down to make this. It was more difficult that I imagined because the snow wasn't fresh; it was actually quite icy which made it difficult, but still enjoyable! All the people around were laughing at me on the way out, but I didn't mind!

I took this picture on top of a mountain at a church/museum. The view was breathtaking. I felt like I could see the whole city. The tall building in the center of the picture is what the Torino Olympic logo is based on. Not in this picture, but off the to left in the far distance we could pick out the Olympic flame and the giant red arc over the bridge in the village. I am VERY glad I didn't miss this part of the city!

Below is a picture of the Olympic flame and it's torch. The building behind it is where the Opening and Closing ceremonies are held. I really wish I would have been able to see the inside, but it's not open for viewing or anything like that unless I was willing to pay 600 euros to see the closing ceremonies. To the left, but not in the picture is the Palasport where I watched all of the ice hockey games. This area is only about a 15 minute walk from where we have been staying for the past two weeks.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 06:07:00 +0000

Today is my last day at work. I will be glad to sleep in tomorrow. No one is around this morning. The Russian contingent was packing up. Most athletes have left our village. This is the first morning that I have not run into athletes partying in the bar across the street from the village. There are fewer volunteers showing up for their shifts. Those who do not study sport are very disappointed that the athletes are not staying for the closing ceremonies. They are miffed why they would not want to participate in the gala. Those of my generation remember when the amateur athletes participating in the Olympics were thankful to be participating and not made to feel like not medaling was failure. Even with 4 days of sickness, I will never forget this experience. Seeing the events, the city, Italy, and the village through the students' eyes has been phenomenal. I always say they keep me young. If I am still at UOP in 2008, I would like to start planning a trip to the Bejiing Olympics that focuses on understanding the sport and leisure culture of China through sport sociology and sport management. Becky Beal and I have already done some bantering back and forth about the unlimited possibilities.

This trip has been better than I could have ever expected for both myself and the students. I am academically trained as a sport sociologist so it is very important to me that the students learn to embrace and respect people's differences, not judge them. When I first came to UOP, most of the sport management students were taking sign language because they just wanted to satisfy the requirement. They did not understand the importance of communicating with the majority of those that may be your clients or that the world is getting smaller from a business stand point. The American way and English are not going to be enough to compete in the world today. More importantly, we must in our teachings help students move beyond the American ethnocentricity that plagues our country. This experience has truly met my goals in that area. Even when judging the merits of how things have been done in Italy, the students qualify their assessment with statements about "cultural differences." I never worried about them being able to bridge the gap between their academic training and "reality." What I was concerned with was their judgements based on the American way is the only way. They have moved well beyond thinking that there is our way and their way. I am so proud of this group of students. They have worked 8 hours a day while taking another 6 or 7 hours a day to experience Torino and Italian culture. They are beat and yet, they want to take it all in. They have exceeded my expectations of them at every level. They have been responsible, mature, inquisitive, thoughtful, empathetic, and most of all a joy to be with. I want to thank their parents for allowing me the opportunity to have this time with them.

The next few days are going be very hectic. We have to clean the apartment and have it inspected tomorrow morning. Then off to take pictures together in the village before we go to the airport and camp out for the night. Our flight is at 10am on Monday and it is going to be a zoo so we are not taking any chances. With all of the goodies we got from our volunteer jobs and the souvenirs, some of the students have an extra bag or two. Hence, it will take 1 taxi per person just to get to the train station in Torino. We will keep you posted on our travels home. Little do the students know that I will be discussing the upcoming research paper while I have them ALL captive in the airport for hours:).

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 17:08:00 +0000

This last week has been wonderful! It makes me sad that our time here is coming to an end. Since my last post, I have seen USA's women's Ice Hockey team win a bronze medal, watched the preliminary round of women's freestyle aerial skiing, watched a Czech Republic vs. Slovakia Men's Ice Hockey game, slept a little and I have done a bunch of sightseeing.

The bronze medal game was my second US women's game, and I enjoyed the second more than the first. I had never watched ice hockey before, and now I would like to see some more! A lot of the players come into the Guest Pass office and they are ALWAYS so friendly. I am now a big fan!

Round two of the freestyle aerial skiing went a lot better than the first. We got there so early we basically got to see the competition twice because of all the practice runs! That was so amazing to see in person. With all those twists and turns and flips I would surely get lost in the air before I crashed to the snow. Attending that event really reminded me how talented all of the Olympic athletes are.

The men's ice hockey game was a lot of fun. The stands were packed full of crazy people with painted faces, loud noise makers, and large flags. It was so much fun to be there. I just wish one of the teams meant something to me so that I could have been as excited as everyone else seemed to be.

I did get some much needed extra sleep one morning this week, but that night and the next day it was go go go again. Lauren, Nicole and I woke up early two mornings ago and did a lot of exploring down by the river. We visited some churches with gorgeous architecture, and went to the one on the hill where I could see the whole city. I couldn't stop taking pictures because the view was so breathtaking. I promise to visit the internet cafe tomorrow where I will be able to post some of those pictures. It was fun to stand up there and pick out the many different places throughout the city that we had already visited. I could even see the Olympic flame and the giant bridge that links the Olympic village and the biggest mall I have ever been into.

Tonight after work a lot of us from the Guest Pass Center are going to dinner to spend some time together before we all go our seperate ways. I'm looking forward to that! Also, tomorrow one of my best friends from high school who is studying abroad in Rome right now is coming to visit me for the day. I am hoping to show her around the city center before I go to work where I get to show her around the village.

That means all day Sunday we will finish packing, cleaning the arpartment and then we will leave for the airport in Milan to begin the adventure home. See you all soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:51:00 +0000

I can't believe it is almost time to go home! In some ways I am ready and in some way I never want it to end. The past few days have been kind of crazy, sorry for not writing in so long. Since my the post before my picture post I have seen three more events.

I am proud do say that our second trip up to the mountain was a success! The event was so much fun but it was pretty cold. We got there nice and early so we got a primo spot to stand and caught all of the action of the women's freestyle aerials. We also went to the Women's bronze medal hockey game featuring the USA and Finland. I was so excited to see the USA win the bronze medal. Then through the ticket fairy we got more free tickets, this time it wasn't to curling, although that was loads of fun, it was to a men's hockey game between Czech Republic and Slovakia. That was a sight to see for sure! Talk about some avid fans.

We have been winding down to an end other than that, today I finished up my shopping at my favorite place in Turin, the little market down the street from us. I love being immersed in the local culture and I have been eating breakfast there practically everyday. I have made a few friends there. Joleen, Lauren and I have done some exploring lately. I think we have pretty much seen the city now, what a beautiful place. I have been to Rome, Florence, Venice and some other cities in Italy with my family, but Turin is a totally different atmosphere. I have enjoyed what they have to offer, and although they have some kinks here and there, for a small city catering to an Olympic crowd, I think they have done a decent job.

Last night I was introduced to to local rock bands that are friends of our supervisor. They played here in the athlete village and although I couldn't understand a word they were saying I really liked the music. Tonight most of the volunteers from my area are going out to dinner for a farewell dinner because most of us are leaving soon. It will be sad to leave them, I have made some good friends and they have taught me a lot.

I will try to post again before we leave, but if not I will post another when I am back in Stockton. I am sad that this experience is coming to an end but it is something that will stick with me for a long time.

Until next time,
Nicole

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 15:38:00 +0000

I really hate buses. They are slow, almost always late, and confusing. Don't get me wrong, I like public transportation. Trains are always good fun and normally offer nicer views than you get in a car. Trains, however, run on a track which means you know where they are going and where to find one. The same cannot be said of busses and certainly not of the busses used to get people to the mountain Olympic venues. Once you get off the train at the station where all the busses gather to take people to the various events that day you run into a few problems. Firstly, there are no signs saying where you need to go for each sport. Secondly, the busses wait in two different parking lots. Which one do you go to? When you try to find this information you run into problem number three, volunteers who speak only italian and a little english. I understand I am in Italy and no one should be expected to speak english. However, these are the world's Olympics, not the Italian Olympics. I can only imagine the problems fans would face if they did not speak either italian or english.

The end result of all this is a large number of very tired people who are unsure if they are going to see the snowboarding event they have a ticket for or if they will end up in the parking lot for the luge event. I feel all this hassel could be fixed with a few cheap signs. Hopefully China and Canada will remember to go to Kinkos and make a few.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 12:36:00 +0000

Well only one day of work left! Today has been a long one and it is only 1:30 here. This morning Joe and I got up at 5 to get to the train station to catch a 6:10 train to Oulx. Then we had a 50 minute bus ride to the venue in Sestriere. We saw the womens Giant Slalom. It was a lot of fun and thankfully quick because it was snowing! 65 skiers in all about 58 made it down the hill and as of the end of the first run an American was in first place! They should be just about done with the second round (medaling round) now.

Today we are supposed to go to the church on the hill but it is raining and is very foggy. I doubt we will be able to see much but we will see what Valeria wants to do. Tomorrow is designated as packing and cleaning day! I am still hoping to make it to the chocolate factory though!

Last night I did an interview on live air for Capital Public Radio a home town station. It was 11 pm here (as you can see I did not get much sleep!)

Well this has been a great trip and I don't know if I will be able to post again before I leave. I would like to thank everyone for reading the blog! Also I am very thankful for this incredible opportunity. I think it is really rare and I am very appriciative of the University for allowing us to take off so much school for this class. So much real life experience is hard to come by. This has definitely been a highlight of my college career!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 12:36:00 +0000

I was finally able to take advantage of the 3 Euro tickets today. For the past few days the ticket offices in the village have been selling tickets to some events for only 3 Euros. Most of them have been hockey games but yesterday they had tickets to the Women's Giant Slalom. They are really good tickets too, A seating which normally would sell for 80 Euros. So this morning instead of working we got to go watch another event. Bri and I woke up at 5 AM to catch the 6:10 train to the event. We met up with Sara, one of our supervisors at the train station and were at the venue by around 8 AM. The event didn't start until 9:30 so we had breakfast and then found our seats. There were 65 athletes in this event and it was over within an hour. It went by so quickly. It was really cool because an America came in first. So today will be a long day but so far it has been good. This afternoon Ryan, Bri, myself and our other supervisors, Valeria are going to go on a tour of a church and then out to dinner.

Tomorrow is my last day of work and then it's time to start packing and cleaning our very messy apartment. That will be what most of Sunday will be spent doing and then it's off to the airport on Sunday night. We have to stay in the airport overnight as our flight leaves early on Monday morning so there are no trains that could get us there early. After sleeping in an airport and flying across the Atlantic and the US I should be good and tired by the time I get home.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 10:18:00 +0000

Only a couple days left to spend in Turin soaking up this amazing experience. Tuesday we had work at 6am and after work Stacey and I went to Canada vs. Czech men's hockey game which was really fun and a totally different experience than the women's games. It was a sold out crowd and somehow Stacey and I had seats right behind the penalty box for Canada. After the game we went straight to the short program for women's ice skating! We have been so lucky with tickets and partly people have just not been buying tickets. We bought the tickets day of and there were more free seats in the stadium when we got there. It seems attendance is less for these Olympic games than others, whether it has to do with world controversies, bad publicity, or money issues the turn out has not been even average.
This past week Stacey and I have been getting up at 5am for the 6am shift and as we work more days I have started to realize when organizing an event you must have a good security system... Especially something as important as the Olympics. Everyone who comes into the village must have a credentials pass or a guest pass. You walk in and go through the metal detectors and after that your credentials might get checked once more. Anyone can walk throughout the entire village and even go into the buildings of where the athletes live. No one keeps track of who is coming in and out as long as they have a pass around their neck your invited in. At no point have I felt unsafe, but it just seems that there could be better precautions for keeping the village safe. Everything is a learning experience for what to do in the future when putting on an event, so even if some issues aren't working perfectly its good to start learning what areas need more attention.
The next couple days we are going to try and see everything that we haven't been able to see because of our working schedules. On Monday when I get back to Spain I will upload pictures from the two weeks.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 19:07:00 +0000

Four days. Three events. Two venues. One USA medal. The craziness of the past four days was worth my minimal hours of sleep. Joleen, Nicole, and I bought tickets for the women's freestyle skiing semifinals and the women's hockey bronze medal game. At the time, we had no idea who would be participating. We just wanted to see events.

The first event was the women's freestyle skiing on Sunday. We rode the train up to the mountains for an hour then rode a bus for another 15 or so minutes to get to the venue. At 6:30 the competition was supposed to begin, but an announcement was made that the snow fall was too heavy and the event would begin at 8pm. At 8, though, the weather was still not clear enough for the competition to take place so it was rescheduled for Tuesday.

Monday was the women's hockey bronze medal game. I was happy to find out that the game was USA vs. Finland (even though I would have loved to see Team USA go for the gold). It was an amazing game! USA played much better than before and won 4-0! I'm hoping I get to see more USA women's hockey in the future.

Tuesday came around and it was time to head back up to the mountains for freestyle skiing. It was a really beautiful day and the weather was perfect for competition. The two US skiers didn't make it on to the final round, but there were a lot talented women. When it comes to the Olympics, the fans are crazy! Not only are there the usual flags and painted faces, but a group of Swiss fans had a machine that had a microphone, played music, lit up, and served drinks. They added to the entertainment of the evening =).

I was finally able to sleep in and relax before working the afternoon shift on Wednesday. That night, though, one of my bosses Elena, got free tickets to the men's hockey game between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. A group of us left work about a half hour early to see the game. The fans made the whole experience so much fun and being there boosted my love for sports.

Since Joleen, Nicole, and I were able to get a decent amount of sleep, this morning we decided to go to the market near our apartment and get our usual focaccia bread and cappucino breakfast.
We were also able to go to the main Olympic store and purchase a few things. We then continued walking around and visited a few sites near the river Po. I was able to get some nice panoramic photos and video of the city from a church/museum on a hill. Our final stop before work was to get some lunch at a cafe. I ate a sandwich and we had some gelato topped with coffee. It was soooo good. I love Italian food!

Four more days then I'm back in California!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 18:51:00 +0000

Hello all! I wanted to quickly explain what it is that I do in the village for those of you that do not know. Joe, Ryan and I work the information booth and lost and found in the main Olympic village. The work that we do includes documenting lost items within the village, returning found items to their owners, calling for taxis for athletes, coaches, trainers, etc. and answering questions about the village and the Olympics to those staying in or visiting the village.

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! My shifts make it difficult. So two nights ago Ryan, Joe and I went out with a coworker and her friend from Paris. We went to this nice little cafe down by the river. All I can say about that area is wow! It was so beautiful. There is a castle down there and this huge round church. Everything was all lit up. According to our friends this is special for the Olympics. There are also lights strung across the streets. These were apparently left up from Christmas.

Yesterday I had wanted to head back down to the River but that did not work out, however, I did go with Joe today! We went and saw the river and the castle. It is Turin's medieval castle and is quite breathtaking. Then Joe and I went to the cinema museum. It was fun they had some very interesting things there including the bike from ET and Superman's cape. It was a lot of fun. Tomorrow my supervisor Valeria is taking Joe, Ryan and me to the church on the hill where you are supposed to be able to see the whole city. I hope it is like today - sunny and warm!

I have certainly been enjoying my travels with Ryan and Joe (my office buddys!), they have been great. I do wish we had been able to see more but you can't see everything! This town has a lot to offer in the way of culture and scenery. Saturday I may even be going to a chocolate factory! Turin has the greatest chocolate!! Three days left in Turin, then over night at the airport in Milan and then we will be back to our normal lives. I can certainly say this has been an experience and not one I am likely to forget.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 18:51:00 +0000

So Ryan and I had a very difficult descion to make yesterday. We had tickets to the Women's Ariels Freestyle gold medal competition that started at 6:45 PM. Then while we were at work through our connections within the village we were offered tickets to the USA Men's hockey Quarterfinal game against Finland for only 3 euros. It was quite the decision because the Freestyle event was about an hour train ride away while the hockey game was very close. We finally decided, after much debate, to go to the Freestyle competion. So after we got off work at 3 we took the train to the event and it was very foggy. We arrived at 6 and stood around hoping that the fog would clear. At 6:40, 5 minutes before things were scheduled to start the fog magically lifted. We were happy until 10 minutes later when the fog returned. The event finally started about a half an hour late and there were probably about 2 delays because of fog. In the end though it was a really cool event. Did anyone watch it on TV?

Well only 3 more days of work and then it's time to come home. It seems like we have been here for much longer than 2 weeks. It has definatly been worth all the money and long plane rides that it took to get here. This has been such a great experience.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 07:08:00 +0000

Well, the trip is winding down to an end. You can tell because the village is getting quieter and I see the athletes leaving. Sarah and I are going to our last event today... aerial skiing, its the men's finals. I think it will be exciting to see the skiers do the flips and twists in person but its going to be a cold night. Counting tonight Sarah and I will have seen a total of 7 events. One of our events was really unexpected because we got tickets the day of to see the ladies figure skating short program. It was really exciting but its too bad we can't go the the free skate tonight and see the finals.

Yesterday, was a bit crazy at work. In my area of work as the residence center crew, there is a lack of communication. It especially showed yesterday when there was a mix up about the place of a meeting. It was a little crazy because I did not know what was going on and no one else in the center knew except one lady. She would not tell us what she was doing because she was busy helping set up for the meetings. I just felt that I was left in the dark about what was going on and I didn't know how I could help. Our supervisor didn't even know what was happening. It was a bit confusing but I helped in any way that I could. After all of the mix-up it got solved and things got better. I think the hardest part of the situation was that everyone had their own ideas of doing things. No one was working as a team, they were all trying to use their own ideas instead of trying to figure out how to solve the problem. I learned that even though I am working with a lot of adults, they can be pushy. I would have though as adults they would have wanted to work together and fix the problem as a team. Instead people were getting mad at others for not doing what they wanted you to do.

Last night after work I went shopping to try and buy some souvenirs. Well, who knew that I should have bought everything the first day we got here since the super store was out of almost everything and they aren't getting more stuff in. Isn't the fact that it is the super store it should still have most everything? Then we also found out yesterday that we could not buy any US clothing here. So if anyone wants anything they have to order it online or get it at home. During our little shopping excursion we ran into a lot of people traffic. We had to walk by medals plaza and since an Italian won the gold for speed skating. Everyone was lined up to see him. Bad idea trying to get through. It was a mob of people that were blocking the sidewalks so no one could get through. People were pushing people to get all the way through the mess. I felt as if I was on a ride just getting pushed by everyone else since I couldn't control where I was going. I think last night I pushed more people than I have in my whole life.

Now back to work! Have a happy day