Chariots of Fire

Yesterday was my first day of work, meaning that I saw the Bird's Nest for the first time up close. We went inside and had an orientation to the venue, followed by a scavenger hunt.

This building (or "beauty" as our tour guide, Rock, would say) is INCREDIBLE. We literally ran wild through the venue for almost an hour in our search for the required scavenger hunt items. In an effort to save time and get to the other side of the venue, we RAN ACROSS THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD OF PLAY. Correct. I ran through the middle of the most internationally famous Olympic venue, where such incredible events as the Men's 100M will take place. As we made our sprint across, all I could hear was Vangelis' Chariots of Fire Theme Song. Despite all the frustration and confusion I've been feeling lately, that one moment made me remember why I'm here. Not to be an Olympian, of course (though that one moment felt pretty damn good), but to cover their success or their failure. It felt good, and very, very surreal.

After that, we had more training and lunch (which, for me, consisted of rice, banana, and a mysterious yogurt drink, because the meats looked a bit shady and I'm a little wary after my near-dog experience). After we finished, a few of us ended up sitting in the stands of the Bird's Nest. We witnessed a run-through of the performance for the opening ceremony. It was incredible. And I saw it for free. On a field that I'd just run across.

After that, we went to Taco Tuesdays at a cool Mexican place in San Li Tun Lu with our supervisor and some of her friends. I ended up having some great conversation with a few Brits and longed to be back in London!

That's all for now. I'm going to wander and see some Temples with Andrea & Jess today. I'll update if I go swimming in the Water Cube or some equally ridiculous thing in one of the other venues. What is my life?! Absurd.