Mourning the Loss of Decorations

So the city has completed it's transformation. Actually, I'm not quite sure when it finished as it happened sort of like waking from a dream...did the Games ever really happen? Or were they just a dream? Was this city covered in banners and posters and commercials and excitement? Or did I imagine that? Whatever the case, I'm sad to see all the excitement and decorations leave this place.

To make up for my loss, I've been day dreaming...by playing the "what if" game.
~What if they'd left the decorations up until Thanksgiving? Then instead of taking them down, they could just transform them all into decorations proclaiming the birth of the One.
~What if the banners on all the electric posts were changed to banners saying things like "He is Born!" "Peace on Earth!" "Joy to the World!"
~What if the 20-story tall banners that covered entire buildings and featured athletes instead told the story of His birth?
~What if instead of a giant flame lit at the stadium, they had a giant star of David that could be seen across the city?
~And instead of the red lanterns hanging over the bridges and building entrances, what if they hung Christmas balls (you know, the colored glass ones that we hang on the trees?) or gigantic stockings?
~What if instead of little "Volunteer booths" on every corner, they had gingerbread houses and the volunteers dressed up like elves? (Ok, I know this is a little off-themed)
~What if instead of the "happy memories of the Games" playing on every bus, they had sing-a-long carols?
~What if....I could go on for days...believe me...

So it would be a little bit like Who-ville with all the Whos singing in a circle around the giant Christmas tree...but it would be awesome. It would be awesome if it was done not for commercial purposes but out of a genuine heart of wanting to proclaim His birth?

Ok, so I love Christmas season. I love the music, the decorations, the holiday cheer (even if it is "fake"). And now, instead of just mourning the loss of decorations and Game-time cheer, I can just countdown to Thanksgiving, the day when we start listening to Christmas music...

Feel free to add to my daydream!!!

Yet Another Transformation

The closing ceremony was just Wednesday night, but Thursday morning as I headed to work I saw it had already begun...the next transformation. The first transformation spanned over the last number of years as this city got ready for the Games. Over the last 6 months it sped up and moved like wildfire through the city.

The next transformation was after the main Games ended and before the ParaGames started. Some of the banners and decorations were changed to reflect the logo of the ParaGames. Even some of the huge banners that cover entire buildings were changed to show ParaGame athletes.

Yesterday morning as I rode the bus, I looked around the city. For so long, this city has lived for this moment. It's been the answer to so many questions: why did the price go up, why are schools finishing early, why have the rules changed, why are people having this problem, why are taxi drivers all wearing a shirt and tie now, why is the sky blue? "because of the Games." Now, the billboards are changing back to advertisements, the flags and banners are leaving, we can again see the skeleton of unfinished buildings, the buses are playing advertisements on their tvs instead of happy memories of the Games. It's almost like a funeral...and in some ways, it is...I think.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The fall weather is moving in- cooler, dryer temps (dryer partly because they don't have a reason to make it rain anymore). There are still some volunteer booths up, but I suspect they'll be gone in a matter of days. Saturday the road rules stop, meaning everyone can drive everyday instead of every other day.

As this city transforms back to "normal," I wonder what will these people live for next?

More Pictures!

As promised, here are more pictures...
Volleyball and closing ceremonies!

Where's the beach?!? These are at the venues...
A volunteer sits there and yells in a mega phone.
This is the entrance to the volleyball venue.


The mascots outside greeting the spectators.
The one on the right was a little top heavy. :)


Bronze medal game... Cuba's in blue.


And the winner is....


Cheer for the home team!!! The sound was deafening...
I took video, but it just doesn't capture the true feeling there.


This is a bus stop.
I can't even tell you how many bus stops have ads like this.


See the red hats? This is security...we suspect they were asked to tone it down after they came on so strongly around the beginning...because uniforms and personnel became more "undercover"...like they were trying to blend...or...not.


The evening of Closing Ceremonies.
We went to this park to watch on a big screen.
Notice the empty souvenir stalls.
They were never opened. Too many security issues.



But look at the park just a few hours later...it was PACKED!!!


Fireworks went off all over the city. It was amazing, as usual.
Never underestimate fireworks shows here.
Yes, those are fireworks hearts.


The end of the Games... oh wait...
Round 2 just started with the ParaGames. Want to see more?

Handball Pics!

The Stadium where handball was

(the Water Cube behind it)

The Fencing Hall
(next to where we were)

The Bird's Nest
(in front of the Water Cube)

The "flame" building and the Water Cube

The "flame" building and the Water Cube again
(different colors...and without the spotlights)

The Bird's Nest close up

The Media Tower...changing colors. I want my office here!

This was Game 1, Norway vs. S Korea
The Fans... Norway defending their goal...

...and the winner is...Norway!!!
They'll go on to play for the gold against winner of Game 2...

We went for McDonald's in between matches.
This is the wall leading down to the entrance of McD'sGame 2, Russia vs. Hungary

This is me holding the torch... well, sort of. ;)
Leaving for home...feeling like I was in a herd of cattle.
...volleyball to come later...

The end of the Games Buzz

I know. I've completely neglected my blog for the last few weeks. But I have a good excuse- for seventeen days I was being held hostage by…my TV. Yup, addicted. To the Games. I remember as a kid being upset that I still had to go to school during them. I'd think- that’s 8 hours of Games that I’m going to MISS! So now that I’m a full grown adult, I’ve allowed myself to sit at home eating junk food and watching people who work out for HOURS each day competing against each other in pointless competitions…like shooting…and weight lifting. I did manage to see some good stuff- like gymnastics (my favorite), trampoline (whoever made that an event is a genius) and diving (which scares me almost as much as trampoline to watch). I missed the good stuff that you guys probably see a million replays of- like Michael P’s 8 medals, or the weight lifting guy who dislocated his elbow or the other guy who put his medal on the floor and walked off…but I did see the heart breaking moment when my local hurdler guy walked away from his competition and the crowd looked on in shock and disbelief. I missed the tv announcers crying as they announced he’d withdrawn (had I known it was such a historical moment I wouldn’t have changed the channel), but I did see the press conference later where his coach balled his eyes out. But I still feel like I saw nothing because I wasn’t able to watch any of it in my own language. However, I managed to learn a few (not that I’ll ever need to use them) words- like dismount and some sort of flip on the balance beam that sounded cool.

As you may or may not know, I was able to attend two Games. I went to double header handball matches, the winners of which would play for the gold. The handball matches were at the national indoor stadium, which is in the same "compound" as the aquatics stadium, the national stadium, and all the most impressive buildings that have been constructed for these Games. The other Game I went to was the women's volleyball bronze medal match.

The first handball match was between Norway and S Korea. Norway had a huge section of fans, all wearing red and singing & cheering. I could totally picture my grandpa up there with them, leading the cheers and songs. :) So I mustered up all my Norwegian pride and cheered for them, and they won (although I doubt it was because of my cheering). Game 2 was between Hungary and Russia. I decided to cheer for Russia for two reasons: 1- so many people here think I'm Russian, might as well embrace it for a couple hours, and 2- the Hungarians booed every time Russia got the ball. Hungary had taken over Norways section in the stands and had some great cheers and songs, but I wasn't a fan of their booing. Russia won (again...not because of my cheering...or was it?). Handball itself is a pretty interesting sport. It's not what I thought (racquetball without the racquet...which is what I always knew as handball). It's basically soccer with your hands (think about it- in other countries, they call "soccer" "football." So it makes sense that handball and soccer/football would be similar).

After handball, my friend and I walked around the compound and took tons of pictures. The organizing committee didn't overlook even the smallest details in the main compound. Every inch of the place is amazing. The textures, the colors, the shapes. There's a cool tower that you may or may not have seen and I've wondered forever what it was...and also wondered how so many news casts have the same live background behind them. Well, that night I discovered that the mysterious but amazingly lit up tower is none other than the media tower. Each level has a few news cast desks, all facing the infamous background you always see.

The volleyball game I went to was absolutely unbelievable. I'd hoped that it would be either the local team or the local team vs the US. Really, I just wanted to be part of the local team's crowd...to experience it. Well, it was the local team vs Cuba. The entire stadium was going crazy the entire time cheering for the local team (except for whoever was holding the one Cuban flag way over in the opposite corner). When Cuba had the ball, the local fans still went crazy cheering for their own team. They did "the wave" and made it around the entire stadium 3 times in a row! The sound was absolutely deafening. I took pictures and video, but there's nothing that can capture those moments. Cuba didn't stand a chance against the home team and the fans..."my" team won again!

I had the privilege of watching the closing ceremonies with a sea of people on a big screen out in one of the parks. We were relieved that the screens weren't "broken" again. At the end of the ceremonies, fireworks went off all over the city. One of the places was at the park we were at, so we got to see them live.

The Games are over, yet not quite. Round 2 starts this weekend with the Paralympics. The city is again undergoing a transformation, but on a smaller scale. Many of the signs and decorations are being changed to reflect the Paralympic logo. We're hoping to get tickets to go to more events in the next few weeks, to be in the venues cheering on anyone we can.

There's been a lot of bad press surrounding these Games and I can't even say how disappointed I've been at the reports that I've seen. Reporters who should have come to cover the Games and to help spread the excitement seem to have come with the intention of exposing every single mistake and looking for every bad quality and searching out those who are here to fight for their own ideas rather than to participate in the Games. Now, I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong. But this country has come a long way and they have every reason to be proud. They are absolutely not perfect and have made bunches of mistakes and they will continue to do so. But I keep being reminded of "let he who has no sin cast the first stone." It's given me a stronger burden to pray for those who are in every area of leadership here as well as in other countries and also for the press... that they would be motivated by truth and not corruption and that they'd act out of people's best interest rather than personal gain. I also am reading the news less because I realize that those stories probably have just as much "truth" as the ones I read about here. There are better things I can be reading.

This post is too long already. Pictures will come soon...