I have the coolest life.
I’ve spent my entire summer in England having incredible experiences with so many new friends. And, now, I’m covering the Olympics, getting my graphics and byline in THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE! I am so lucky.
Two Monday’s ago, all of the people that were just staying for the Worcester Centre left to go back to America. This was maybe one of the saddest days of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love England. I have enjoyed every experience I’ve had here, but a lot of it was because of the amazing friend’s that I made during those six weeks. So, when they left to go back home, the rest of us staying for the Olympics were a little bit homesick.
So, here I am, laying in my bed in only my underwear, being sad at 8 a.m. because all of my friends are gone and I can’t go home. Then, a very tiny, very angry, English woman busts the door into my room and kicks me out so she can clean.
This was not my favorite day in England.
Annie, Sam and I tried to make the day better by taking “me-day” and tanning in our bikinis by the river. This apparently is not normal because a bunch of tourists kept taking our picture.
Still not my favorite day.
But, things definitely started looking up after all the Olympics people arrived. It was so nice to see more familiar faces, even if they needed help with stupid things like how to open the doors and turn on the lights and finding the nearest pub — all things that I can do pretty impressively after living here for two months. I basically felt like an expert.
Everyone arrived on Tuesday afternoon and we weren’t leaving for our London flat until Thursday morning. Most people took this time to explore Worcester, relax, go to some pubs, hang out, sleep.
Not the graphics team.
Alex Bordens works at the Chicago Tribune as a graphic producer. He’s here heading up the graphics team and essentially working as our editor. That first day, the graphics team spent over 14 hours straight in our flat just working on graphics.
During this time, our graphics team came up with a positivity policy. That means no complaining. Ever. We have the most incredible opportunity to be here and we are so lucky: complaining is not allowed.
For people that don’t understand what the graphics team does: it’s hard work. It requires research and creativity and talent and is exhausting and frustrating and SO FUN. Staring at a computer screen for 14 hours straight makes your eyes see double, but there’s those little moments when the entire team is singing and laughing and just being so creative and awesome and you realize that this is what you want to do for the rest of your life.
Also, can I just say how cool it is that I am 20 years old and my graphics are being published in the CHICAGO TRIBUNE?!
SO COOL.
Anyways, after spending 14 hours straight in a hot flat, it was nice to be able to get out and explore London again on Thursday. I cannot keep track of how many times I said “I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!” and “I’M AT THE OLYMPICS!” and “I’M GOING TO BURST INTO TEARS BECAUSE I’M AT THE OLYMPICS!” and “BUT, SERIOUSLY, GUYS…. WE’RE AT THE OLYMPICS!”
These are some of the cool things that happened during my first Olympics London weekend:
Chelsea and I asked a guy to take our picture. Turns out, he’s from Idaho Falls and knew where Sandpoint was. We bond over being from Idaho.
We eat Mr. Whippy ice cream.
While Emily is eating Mr. Whippy ice cream on the Tower Bridge, a photographer from the biggest paper in Australia asks to take her photo for the paper. We talk up BSU at the Games. We’re basically famous.
Sam is the best PR person in the world. We start talking to these guys about croquet and she somehow works in that we’re from BSU at the Games. THE GUY WE WERE TALKING TO WAS A BALL STATE ALUM. The world is so small.
We get a really good idea to start interviewing other journalists to talk about their experiences at the Olympics. We talk to a French guy. He’s cool.
The people at the Starbucks by our flat already know the graphics team’s names and that we’ll be here all day, every day working on graphics for the Chicago Tribune. We’ve turned their basement into a graphics cave.
The graphics team had a graphic run in the Tribune every day last week. Charles Apple talked about our designs on his blog. MY NAME AND WORK IS IN THE TRIBUNE.
Emily, Chelsea, Stephanie, other Emily, Colleen, Kait, Liz, Val and I go to see the Opening Ceremonies in Victoria Park. Emily and I decide to break off from the group to start doing some interviewing because we love talking to new people. The people that we talked to were incredible. We interviewed a reporter while his videographer taped us interviewing him. Turns out, he was an Olympic athlete in Athens and after the Games, decided to become a reporter. We interviewed two guys from California that ended up asking us out in the middle of the interview. They were cute. I decide I really like my job. (Watch Emily’s video blog about our experience here!)
I get interviewed and say the word “awesome” 8 times in 54 seconds.
During the Opening Ceremonies, Chelsea cried three times.
When the torch began to rise to make the cauldron, Chelsea thought the Illuminati was about to bomb the Stadium. She came pretty close to having a panic attack.
When Paul (Faul) McCartney started playing, Chelsea became convinced that the Stadium was going to blow up. (For everyone that didn’t watch the Opening Ceremony: the Stadium did not blow up).
Thousands upon thousands of people began singing “Hey Jude” on the walk out of Victoria Park. The feeling of patriotism and pride and genuine happiness was so overwhelming: it easily became one of my favorite moments.
Emily successfully navigated us home after the Ceremonies. It took two hours and we didn’t get home until 3:30 a.m., but we also didn’t get taken, so that’s a plus.
Emily and I are very ambitious and try to get up at 5:00 a.m. to go to men’s cycling. We lay on her couch and decide that since we’re seeing double, we should probably go back to bed.
I spend an entire day in my favorite Mickey Mouse T-shirt that I started wearing when I was three years old. Back then, it reached my knees. Now, it’s a crop top with a gigantic hole in the armpit. People in London think I’m making a fashion statement.
I go to women’s cycling. I can’t stop saying, “GUYS, WE’RE REALLY AT THE OLYMPICS.” People probably hate me.
Chelsea, Emily and I find a really cute graphic design shop. I will probably spend all my money there since it’s only a five minute walk from my flat.
I go to a hole in the wall cafe and their chicken sandwich tastes like home.
I get to wear a romper every day.
BSU at the Games is getting noticed. We had stories, videos and photos run on the Huffington Post. There were photo galleries on WTHR. Of course, the graphics team has been killing it with the Tribune. I can’t even describe how proud I am of our group.
Also, the new cool lime drink at Starbucks is superb.
London 2012 is an experience I’ll only get to have this once and I’m taking full advantage of it. Sure, there’s struggles and frustration: just yesterday, Liz and I spent the entire day in Worcester working on a track and field graphic and we have to change everything today. When things like this come up, though, I just have to remind myself: I’m in London. I’M AT THE OLYMPICS. My work is getting published in the Chicago Tribune and other Tribune papers. I’m having the time of my life. I’m with some great friends who all have a specific talent that’s contributing to the success of BSU at the Games. We’re getting our name out there and people are taking notice. Right now, I’m sitting in the cave of Starbucks surrounded by people on the graphics team who have been working non-stop. (A requirement of being a graphic journalism major is the ability to not sleep. Seriously). All of these girls are producing such professional work and taking full advantage of the experience we’ve been lucky enough to participate in. I’m learning to appreciate the struggles and challenges that this opportunity is giving me while also taking in all of the little things in life.
Like, how good ham and cheese sandwiches really are.
Sidenote: I was going to take a picture of me with my ham and cheese sandwich to show you how good it was, but then I realized I already ate it. I’m the worst, but seriously, guys: it was delicious.