We are working for Team USA!

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Jan. 26:

We had a day off after our training was finished so 4 of us decided to walk around town nearby the Catholic Kwondong University (CKU): Sabria (France), Stephanie (China), Tatjiana (Netherlands) & me. We walked to the river, had coffee, and went to lunch at Mom's Touch for burgers. (Tristan, a homework assignment for you: the Korean money is the won. 1 US dollar is 1000 won. I went shopping for some things for my room and spent 24,900 won. How much did I spend in US dollars?)

The NOC assistants for Team USA are split: half for GVL and half for PVL. But, only 5 out of 7 showed up for PVL the first day. We aren't sure why. (Please see former blog entries for acronyms.)

Jan. 27:

Today we (the NOC assistants assigned to Team USA) officially started working for Team USA. A day in the life of an NOC (National Olympic Committee) volunteer is like this: up before 7, breakfast in the cafeteria, catch the 8:07 shuttlebus, bus driver gets lost & Korean people on bus have to tell him how to get to PVL Olympic Village, check in (security, metal scans), go to NOC Workforce meeting hall, then go to USA building for assignment.

The USA Team will occupy all 15 floors of the building. The 1st floor has USOC (US Olympic Committee) office. On this day we moved stuff around. There is a storage area in the basement of the building that houses the US Team and we unpacked banners (which are called Fatheads because the company is Fathead), food for the athletes, office supplies, blankets. We had to stock each bathroom with hand soap, mouthwash, & cups. It turned into a contest. We started on the 15th floor and 2 people would go - 1 would go left & 1 would go right. Each apartment has 2 bathrooms so we would put the supplies in as fast as possible & run back to the elevator & see who could get there first. Sounds silly but it was fun. Our group of 5 NOC assistants is: Georgena (Dallas), Tammy (Korean), Kang (Korean), Illya (Ukraine) & me.

We get 2 meals at PVL village (the food is better than CKU cafeteria), and catch the 18:30 bus home.

Jan. 28th

Today just Kang, Illya & I worked. Georgena asked for the day off because it's Sunday & she is Mormon. Tammy had a disaster at her apartment (water line broke & frozen water everywhere) & she had to take care of that. My first assignment was to pick up 2 NBC guys & bring them to ARC (Athlete's Recreation Center which is in the basement of the building). The NBC guys had to set up some communication stuff in the ARC room. Then Kang, Illya & I started putting the Fatheads up. We started on the 15th floor & worked our way down: 3 Fatheads per floor - see photos. We have to smooth out the bubbles and the walls are really cold (the area is next to the elevators). We got 5 floors done & decided to break for lunch.


Our boss Lynn sent us shopping in the afternoon. There are 5 cars dedicated to Team USA, so we took a car, got fuel, drove to town. Since PyeongChang is a resort town, the shops are small. We couldn't find a shop open to copy keys (it's Sunday) so we ended up driving to Gangneung (where we live - a larger city). We went shopping in the Korean version of CostCo, & found a place that made keys. Then drive back to PVL, dinner & catch the shuttlebus to CKU.

My roommate Sabria is working for France & finally met most of her NOC team. We went out for coffee/tea/smoothie/beer (I finally had a beer - my 1st one since I arrived!). I thought I could practice some French but the only thing I managed to say was "Je m'appelle Suzanne". I'm surprised there aren't more foreigners here to volunteer. It seems like many NOC teams have several Korean volunteers. Sabria's team has mostly Koreans.

I decided to take a day off because when the athletes arrive & competition starts, I think I will be very busy. Especially if we don't get more NOC volunteers at PVL. Right now we have 5 volunteers for 140 athletes. Should be interesting.

Till next time.

Sue

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Photos

Home sweet home.
A dormitory at Catholic Kwondong University.

Tatjiana exercising by the river.
It's still really cold outside.

Walkway across river.
Don't fall in!

Hockey venue.
This is 1 of 2 hockey venues. This is near the university we are living at.

Stephanie & I.
Off to work!

Team USA NOC team
We're moving stuff around.

Athlete room.
They get a USA blanket in addition to the Olympic bedspread.

Dividing cups.
We split 1800 cups for 54 bathrooms.

Shopping.
Me, Kang, & Illya at Home Best. It's like Costco.

Comments

[Jean]

When do the athletes arrive again?
Hi Sue - I know you told us this, but I forget (duh). When do the athletes arrive? It's interesting to see what the duties are for the volunteers. It sounds interesting enough. Do you feel that it's well organized or still a bit sketchy? And have you been driving, like to the shops and stuff? Is it fairly easy to get around or confusing? I am enjoying your stories and photos. Thanks! Have fun. Jean

[Soupys Travel]

Sorry I didn't respond sooner.
Although they are trying to be organized for the volunteers, things keep getting changed and it gets confusing: where to catch the bus, bus schedule, where to eat, etc. On the other hand the US Olympic Committee has been great to work with. They are very "chill" & very happy with the work us 5 volunteers are doing. We are supposed to have 7 volunteers but something happened. The 5 of us are compatible & work well together. I can only drive vehicles designated for US Team on official business. We did go shopping for them once. I have walked around to shops near the university we are living at.

[Pat Collins]

Working hard!
Looks like you are busy, busy! I love getting your blogs - keep warm and have tons of FUN!!