Beijing Olympics Day 1

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What to say?!?! It’s been a LONG time in the making. Seems like so long ago and also only yesterday that I was a Uni student in Jinhua. At that time I was thinking about the possibility of joining in with the celebration of Beijing’s 2008 Olympics and now here I am!! Getting information regarding the requirements of the Australian Olympic Team has been like getting water from a stone! Not their fault of course; everything here happens in China time and quite often at the last minute so in very recent moments, the Chinese Olympic Committee has offered the services of a multitude of Chinese Nationals to help out in various additional roles during the Olympic days.

I’m helping out in a very sketchy role with our Australian Olympic Team. Just being on call to help team members with shopping, day trips and getting around the massive city here, means it’s an unpredictable, exciting (and busy!!) time. The atmosphere is really something. Very reminiscent of one of the International Guide events in Mexico, Trinidad, Canada, etc or the World Scout Jamboree in Holland. A mammoth project undertaken by China and the people of Beijing as well as being around so many focused athletes… It’s all very inspiring. It’s just Day 1 and the boys are already asking if we can book our tickets for London 4 years from now!

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