Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Wednesday December 6th 2006
At at the Hotel enjoying a morning off. Kisane has offered to check things for me this morning so I could do this and she is off all day tomorrow so I wanted to take advantage of the offer before the weekend (Friday and Saturday) when some of my regular volunteers are off.
So I got up later and left for my run at 5:45am which is when I usually come back. It was lovely to see the sun come up, a big fushia red ball as it gently emerged from the bay. Took my time afterwards, stretched and put a load of washing on, went down for breakfast and then the gym, shower and now I'm in the business centre writing this at my leisure. No need to rush today. What a luxury!
I haven't had breakfast here for probably 10 days or the last time I had a morning off and there are so many more journalists here now. I see their jackets with the country names written on the back: Thailand, Korea, China, Ubekistan and the list goes on. Where is Ubekistan I wonder or even Kazakhstan (spelling probably wrong)? There are so many things we never choose to explore until one day, it's in our face and we start wondering. Just like the little pamphlet I picked up on "La religion de L'Islam" (Islamic Religion). It's now that I am amidst it that I want to understand it, probably because I have met so many Muslim people who have become my friends.
Yesterday was "Volunteer Day" which was a day in which we celebrated the spirit of Volunteering. At 11am all volunteers were told to go to the Press conference room where the DG of Dagoc addressed everyone and officially thanked them for their efforts. I was of course trying to mind the Help Desk on my own while everyone was away and it was fine for those 45 minutes. Then, they started trickling back and what happened once again completely overwhelms me. Ahmad a fairly new volunteer of 21 years of age brings me back a piece of cake on a plate and tells me it's for me. I tell him that the cake is for them but he insists it's for me. Then Abdulqader and Sohyla manage to bring back a stuffed Orry( the mascot) for me which they have all been given one of. They managed to sneak one for me. Mahmoud arrives with a plate full of cake and says : "For you" and again I try to tell them that the celebration is for them but they will not listen and I'm so touched by their kindness and the way they always look out for me. Shadi mentions that Abdulqader was the one making the most fuss out there trying to bring back something for me. Abdulqader has worked with me since November 15th and has only had two days off in a row at my insistence before we got very busy. He has worked everyday before and since. I'll really miss them all.
Shadi comments that students are also that way with teachers (bringing them gifts). And I wonder about that. Have I become a teacher? I've been told so many times that I am a teacher and I always denied the statement saying I had no patience and was more of a doer than a teacher. And yet, I've been a teacher here and I've had plenty of patience and I've really enjoyed it. And it seems I have a team of people who seem to be enjoying their experience. And more than anything else, my concern has always been that they have the "best experience of their lives".
Maybe because my first Olympic was the best experience of my life and most people only get one such experience.
Bye for now
At at the Hotel enjoying a morning off. Kisane has offered to check things for me this morning so I could do this and she is off all day tomorrow so I wanted to take advantage of the offer before the weekend (Friday and Saturday) when some of my regular volunteers are off.
So I got up later and left for my run at 5:45am which is when I usually come back. It was lovely to see the sun come up, a big fushia red ball as it gently emerged from the bay. Took my time afterwards, stretched and put a load of washing on, went down for breakfast and then the gym, shower and now I'm in the business centre writing this at my leisure. No need to rush today. What a luxury!
I haven't had breakfast here for probably 10 days or the last time I had a morning off and there are so many more journalists here now. I see their jackets with the country names written on the back: Thailand, Korea, China, Ubekistan and the list goes on. Where is Ubekistan I wonder or even Kazakhstan (spelling probably wrong)? There are so many things we never choose to explore until one day, it's in our face and we start wondering. Just like the little pamphlet I picked up on "La religion de L'Islam" (Islamic Religion). It's now that I am amidst it that I want to understand it, probably because I have met so many Muslim people who have become my friends.
Yesterday was "Volunteer Day" which was a day in which we celebrated the spirit of Volunteering. At 11am all volunteers were told to go to the Press conference room where the DG of Dagoc addressed everyone and officially thanked them for their efforts. I was of course trying to mind the Help Desk on my own while everyone was away and it was fine for those 45 minutes. Then, they started trickling back and what happened once again completely overwhelms me. Ahmad a fairly new volunteer of 21 years of age brings me back a piece of cake on a plate and tells me it's for me. I tell him that the cake is for them but he insists it's for me. Then Abdulqader and Sohyla manage to bring back a stuffed Orry( the mascot) for me which they have all been given one of. They managed to sneak one for me. Mahmoud arrives with a plate full of cake and says : "For you" and again I try to tell them that the celebration is for them but they will not listen and I'm so touched by their kindness and the way they always look out for me. Shadi mentions that Abdulqader was the one making the most fuss out there trying to bring back something for me. Abdulqader has worked with me since November 15th and has only had two days off in a row at my insistence before we got very busy. He has worked everyday before and since. I'll really miss them all.
Shadi comments that students are also that way with teachers (bringing them gifts). And I wonder about that. Have I become a teacher? I've been told so many times that I am a teacher and I always denied the statement saying I had no patience and was more of a doer than a teacher. And yet, I've been a teacher here and I've had plenty of patience and I've really enjoyed it. And it seems I have a team of people who seem to be enjoying their experience. And more than anything else, my concern has always been that they have the "best experience of their lives".
Maybe because my first Olympic was the best experience of my life and most people only get one such experience.
Bye for now
# posted by AdeC @ 11:18 PM 
