Men's Volleyball and start of the NBA House (August 2, 3, 4, 5)

The last few days have been go, go, go. On Thursday I headed up to Arsenal to have lunch with Tom Fox. It was great talking with him about everything from the work he did with my grandfather, to the fact that my college roommate’s mother is his former college girlfriend. Crazy how small of a world it is. We also talked about what I want to do with my career. He is going to help me when I get back to the US, and get me in touch with several people. It has really been a great opportunity to get to know him and create a personal relationship with him.

After a great lunch with Tom Fox, I headed over to the Oakley Safe House, where I met with Brian Carlin, who works in the marketing department of Oakley. I met him at the USA Processing Center last week and got his information so I could meet with him. They had a great set up at the Safe House for all the athletes to come and get custom glasses. It was great seeing their set up and talking more with Brian about what he does.

Later Thursday night I went to see the USA Men’s Volleyball against Brazil. Brazil had about twice as many fans at the game then the USA. It was a great environment to be in, and even a better game to watch. USA won in the fourth set after close games for every previous set. It was fun being the one of the loud Americans in an arena dominated by Brazilians. I left Earls Court and passed out as soon as I got to the dorm. I had an early morning where I would start my work for the NBA House.

Friday morning was my first shift with the NBA House. We went through the whole place and they showed us all the different activities that we would be helping with over the next 9 days. There was a pop a shot, a Slam Cam, a half basketball court, and a Twitter wall to name a few things.

The past 3 days have all been pretty similar at the NBA House. The people who put on the event liked the way I worked the Twitter wall, so I have been assigned to that for the remainder of my time there. The Twitter wall is an interactive screen where fans can see live tweets that come in the #NBA or #NBAhouse in the tweet. This is cool because fans can tweet from their phones, and see the tweet just seconds later come up on the screen. It is a fun screen for them to play with, and is a very interesting way to have fans interact with social media.

Today before going to NBA House, I had lunch with a very old friend Kenny Haisfield. Kenny and I played roller hockey back when we were 7 years old, and haven’t seen each other much since then. It was great having some time to catch up, and see what he has been up to. He is near the end of 100 days of traveling around the globe. It sounds like he has been having a great time this summer!

I will be working at the NBA House until August 12, and I still have the Women’s Soccer gold medal game and Men’s Basketball gold medal game to attend. Should be a great last week and a half of this incredible trip to Europe.

Olympic Gymnastics and Boxing! (July 29, 30, 31, August 1)

The Olympic games are off and running! Sunday night after my last blog update, a group of us went to see the new Batman movie. I thought it was a good movie. Was good doing something that felt more American. We got back to the dorm late and went straight to bed.

Monday was a very relaxing and laid back day. I slept in and got some laundry done. It was nice to be able to have a day to rest up after working for a week with the USOC, and before a busy end to this amazing trip.

On Tuesday I had planed to go to a Men’s Basketball game in the morning. I ended up selling it to a friend because he didn’t have tickets to any other events, and I already have an opportunity to see the Men’s Basketball Gold medal game. Instead, I went on my own adventure to find the one and only Chipotle in all of London. I was having some withdrawls, and was craving some Mexican food. One thing is for sure; the Chipotle in London has nothing on the Chipotle in the states.

After grabbing lunch I headed to North Greenwich arena to watch the Women’s Team Finals. While waiting in line to enter the arena, I stuck a conversation with a man behind me who was with his daughter. We talked for about 10 minutes, and I told him a little bit about my background and interests, and he told me a little bit about what he does. It turned out being a guy named Aaron Ryan, the VP of Global Marketing Partnerships for the NBA, and head of Business Development for USA Basketball. I say that luck is when opportunity meets preparedness, and I was prepared for this lucky encounter. We exchanged business cards, and I will be in touch with him once I get back to the US.

The Women’s Gymnastics Team Final was an amazing event that I will never forget. I had a great seat just a couple rows back from the front of the upper section. I had a perfect view of all of the events, and was able to the USA team dominate their competition. The United States won the Gold medal in the event for the first time since 1996. It was awesome watching the gymnasts walk out for the medal ceremony in their outfits, and know that I played a part in putting those outfits together. All around it was a very special experience that I will cherish forever.

On Monday I went to the Excel center to watch Olympic Boxing. Again, I had great seats ring side, and got to watch some of the top boxers in the world fight. Unfortunately, none of the USA boxers won their match, but it was still fun watching my first ever boxing event. After boxing I headed back to the dorm and met some of my friends to play some basketball.

During our basketball game, a very scary situation came about. One of my friends suffered a seizure after one of our matches. This was the first time I have ever seen someone have a seizure, and was very scary because I felt so helpless when it was happening. We called an ambulance and I went to the hospital with him. He turned out being fine, and just has to rest for the next couple days. I am so grateful that he is fine, and that there seems to have been no damage done. It just has made me appreciate life that much more, and that you can take nothing for granted.

Tomorrow I am going up to Arsenal and having lunch with Tom Fox. It is going to be good having some one on one face time and talking about all the work that he did with my grandfather. I am also going to go to the location the Oakley has in London to meet with Brian Carlin, a man that I met at the USOC processing center. It will be good to talk with him more and continue to network with him. I also was looking online for tickets and was able to find tickets to watch USA Men's Volleyball tomorrow night. On Friday I start my work with the NBA House. This is going to be great work experience, and I look forward to seeing what it has to offer. 

Last few days working with USOC, and the start of the London 2012 Olympic games! (July 26, 27, 28, 29)

The last few days have flown by and I can’t believe that the Olympics are finally underway! Thursday through Sunday I was working with the USOC at the processing center. On Thursday and Friday, I helped the last of the athletes that came in with their entire Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony outfits, their Medal Stand outfits, and the bags they received from Ralph Lauren and Nike. I was doing a variety of things everyday. I packed some of the Nike bags and put together medal ceremony outfits, served as a runner for the Nike fitting room to get different sizes for athletes, and help load trucks that was going over to the Olympic Village. These last few days of processing were very busy, and it was great being able to help in so many different areas. After working at the processing center on Friday I went to check out the USA House. This is where people from the USOC and their sponsors can go to meet and enjoy themselves. It was a huge area with free food and drinks, and televisions everywhere to watch the games. They also have a team shop where they sell everything that I was working with at the processing center. It was really a cool place to be able to have access to.

On Friday night after visiting the USA House, a group of us watched the Opening Ceremony at Nido. I thought that it was a great show and was entertained throughout the ceremony. It was interesting knowing what was coming next having attended the last dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday. It was awesome seeing all of the USA athletes come out in their Opening Ceremony outfits, and know that I played a part in helping put that together. For the end of the Opening Ceremony, I went up to my room and streamed the Opening Ceremony on my computer. From my room on the 13^th floor, I have a great view of Olympic Stadium. I was able to see the fantastic firework show from my room. This was an Opening Ceremony that I will never forget.

On Saturday and Sunday, the USOC processing center was in full breakdown mode. I helped count and pack the left over inventory, breakdown tables and boxes, and load crates to be shipped to many different places. This experience at the USOC was one that I will never forget. I was able to make some great friends in the short amount of time that I was there, and learn about all the work that goes into the Olympics.

The last 2 weeks of my trip are going to be amazing! I have extended my stay from August 8 to August 14 because of a work opportunity with the NBA House. I will be working there everyday from August 3 till the end of the Olympics. This is another great opportunity for me to gain more experience in working in sports while abroad. I will also be attending many great Olympic sporting events. I will be going to China vs. Russia and Australia vs. Spain Men’s Basketball, to Women's Gymnastic Team Finals, to the first round of Men’s Boxing for heavy weights and super heavy weights, to the Women's Soccer Gold Medal match, and best of all to the Men’s Basketball Gold Medal game. This is going to be a great way to finish this amazing trip to Europe, and I will be sure to update you every step of the way. Thanks again for reading!

Work for the USOC and Opening Ceremony rehearsal (July 23, 24, 25)

What an eventful and unforgettable three days it has been. We arrived to Nido student living dorm late night on Sunday after an awesome weekend in Paris. As soon as I was checked in I went straight to my room and settled in. I had to be at the processing center for the USOC by 1 the following day, and wanted to leave early to make sure I would find the place and get there in time.

My first day working for the USOC went very well. As soon as I arrived I started breaking down boxes. Obviously not the best job, but you have to start somewhere. After doing that for about a half hour, I went off to find another task and show some of the people I could be very helpful in other areas. For the rest of the day, I was packing Ralph Lauren bags for the athletes, and putting together their Nike medal ceremony outfits. It is going to be cool watching the athletes on the medal stand, and know that I played a part in helping put that together.

On Tuesday I was more familiar with the set up of everything and was able to jump right in. I packed a couple bags at the beginning of my shift. After packing a few bags, I worked as a runner for the Nike department. When an athlete would try something on and would need a size bigger or smaller, I would run to the warehouse and grab them the size they need. I was able to help out both the men’s and women’s tennis team with this. It was great helping some of the best athletes in tennis like Andy Roddick and Serena Williams with their medal ceremony athletes. Near the end of the day I was asked to go through all the bags for the track and field athletes and check what bags were not packed yet. This was a great feeling because the people of the USOC already trusted me with a more important task then packing the bags. We found that 15 bags had yet to be packed, and were to be done the next morning.

Wednesday, I got there in the morning to help explain what bags were missing from track and field. I helped pack the rest of the track and field bags through the morning. At this point, most of the packing was done for the athletes. We started to organize the warehouse, which I was able to play a big role in. We moved all of the extra items from storage and placed them where they were in the warehouse to make it easier when packing everything away. I was able to help lead this and make sure everything was out of storage and put in the correct place. One of the employees also found a few medal ceremony outfits that had not been put together yet, and I was able to help her finish those. It has really been a great learning experience working for the USOC the last few days.

After my shift I headed home for a quick shower and nap. After resting up, I headed to Olympic Park to see the last dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremonies. This was an AWESOME experience! We were able to be in the standing room only right on the field, and had a great view of everything that was going on. While they could not show everything in the Opening Ceremony to have a little bit of a surprise, they did the majority of the act. It is going to be a must watch on the television for Friday night. I have put some pictures of it up, but if you want it to be a complete surprise, don’t have a look. I will continue to volunteer for the USOC for the next couple days and will be sure to let everyone know how it ends up. So excited for the Olympics to start, and I am so proud to be just a small part of it for Team USA!

Paris France (July 20, 21, 22)

The beginning of our trip from Manchester to Paris started on a very sad note. When we arrived in Coventry, we found out about the shooting that had happened in Colorado. I found out about the shooting only a couple hours after it happened, while most people in the US were still asleep and had no idea about it. What a sad and horrific event to happen. As if Colorado had not been through enough with all the wildfires, this event just adds to the sorrow. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families.

After catching a bus in Coventry, we finally arrived in London to drop our luggage off at Nido, the dorm we will be staying in for the last two weeks of our trip. We took the Underground to go to the station for the Chunnel. The Chunnel ride was three hours, and we were finally in Paris. Immediately I noticed a major cultural difference that I had not experienced in England or Ireland, a new language. We had trouble communicating with our cab driver with giving him the address for our hotel and got a little lost on the way. We finally arrived to the hotel after over 12 hours of traveling from Manchester to Paris.

A small group of us went out to find our first French meal. We got a good bottle of wine with some bread and cheese. I tried escargot for the first time that was served with a nice pesto sauce. For dinner I had a flank steak with fries. It was a great first meal in Paris. Later that night we went out close to our hotel and had a couple drinks. We didn’t stay out too late because we wanted to be well rested for a busy tourist day the next day.

Saturday was a truly amazing day. We started by going to the Louvre, and exploring some of the galleries they had. I got to see some amazing sculptures and paintings that were hundreds of years old. The room for the Mona Lisa was packed with people trying to get a good look of the painting. It was awesome seeing such a famous and historic painting so close. After walking through parts of the Louvre, we walked towards the Eifel Tower.

Most people from our group decided to grab lunch on the way to the Eifel Tower. Three of us however decided to go to a market and buy food that we could eat on the lawn in front of the Eifel Tower. I got a 2006 bottle of wine, some great couscous with chicken, and some slices of salami. We took our meal and sat right near the base of the Eifel Tower, it was one of the best and most memorable meals of the trip thus far. After a great lunch, we headed back to the hotel to shower up and rest for a bit.

Later that night, a big group headed to spend the evening at the Eifel Tower. We sat on the grass and drank bottles of wine that people were going around and selling. Every hour, the Eifel Tower would have a five-minute light show that was beautiful. We stayed there for hours just drinking wine and socializing with each other and locals. It was a great way to spend a night in Paris.

Sunday morning we headed out to see the scene at Le Tour de France. Although we were unable to see any of the bikers come through because of the time of our train back to London, it was awesome being a part of the environment. There was a parade before the bikers came with hundreds of different floats. After walking all around the last stage of Le Tour de France, we headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head to the station to catch the Chunnel. What a great weekend in Paris it was!!

I am currently on the Chunnel heading back to London. Next week is going to be a busy and exciting week. On Monday, I will start my volunteering for the United States Olympic Committee. I will be a member of the USA Processing Team, and will be welcoming the athletes when they arrive in London. I will be giving the athletes their Ceremonies clothing, Medals Stand outfits, and various other items from Ralph Lauren and Nike. The athletes will also be getting their photos taken, and filling out all the necessary medical forms. This is really going to be a great opportunity, and will offer me great experience. I have to give some thanks to Crissy Perham, for helping me get in contact with people within the USOC. I will make sure to let everyone know how this goes, and will update the blog again when I have time. Thanks again for following me on this journey, I hope you are all enjoying keeping up with my experiences.