My Olympics Journey

MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: A different view of USA-Russia

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If you watched this weekend’s instant classic USA-Russia hockey game, then you probably had the same view I did.

Check that. You probably had a much better view.

Despite being a few hundred yards from where the game was being played, I saw none of it in person. I watched it from, not the Bolshoy Ice Dome, but the International Broadcast Center.

On a 12-inch television.

With no sound.

But I would not trade that experience.

When covering the Olympics, few journalists actually get to see many events. The action takes place across multiple venues and times, and the media receives limited seats. Aside from that, reporters like myself focus most of our work away from the venues, telling stories about fans, atmosphere, and ambiance.

I got lucky once last week, stumbling onto Rosa Khutor Extreme Park in time for a gold medal performance, but otherwise I have not seen a single event.

But I have tried to watch. I love the Olympics, and I become enthralled by specific events. I have been able to watch many on TV here in Sochi, from men’s half-pipe to women’s curling.

But nothing has compared to USA-Russia.

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: Ten observations from the first two weeks

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I am starting to settle into a groove.

The 2014 Winter Olympics are in full swing; events are taking place and leading to dramatic moments; both the mountain and coastal clusters are starting to buzz; and the views remain fully picturesque.

Having said all that, I must say this: the whole thing still seems very isolated.

A colleague and I were talking this morning while watching women’s bobsled practice. We began comparing international trips, and he told me about how, in 1997, he vacationed in Australia. He felt liberated, he said, by his complete anonymity halfway around the world. In a time of few cell phones and extremely limited Internet (he said he brought a pager), he reveled in being completely unchained.

Now in 2014, staying in Russia for a work trip, I carry two cell phones in my hip pocket and plug into an Ethernet connection in the workspace. I submit daily reports for my station in Atlanta and do occasional Olympics wrap-ups for USA Today. I even wear a credential around my neck that has my name, photo, and birthday.

On this trip, I am anything but anonymous.

But the trip itself still feels detached from my regular life.

I know I am in Russia, but I rarely feel like I am seeing its authentic culture. I am living out of a hotel room, in which I spend maybe one hour awake per day. I can name countless ways, many of which I have already documented, in which my life at the Olympics is anything but normal.

At this point, I feel like I have begun to stop worrying and enjoy the ride.

And the ride is very much enjoyable.

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: Food, glorious food (or at least edible)

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My diet has taken a turn for the … abnormal.

Today I hit the halfway point of my Olympics trip to Sochi, eleven days since touching down in the Russian resort town.

And food, in my life, has never been more functional.

Let me be clear: normally, I love food. Good food. I love trying cuisines of all nations and replicating them in my kitchen. I love picking out a top selection on Yelp or OpenTable and giving it a try. I love visiting places that have deep culinary traditions.

I also eat consistently. I rarely miss a meal, and I eat various snacks throughout the day to satisfy my wide-beyond-its-years appetite.

Now, I eat to stay nourished, and I eat with the goal of not being hungry for the foreseeable future.

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: Savoring the “small” moments

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I keep getting the same nagging feeling.

With each passing day of the 2014 Winter Olympics, I am bombarded with experience after unique experience.

But, I wonder, how many will just as rapidly slip from my memory?

I am a big believer in capturing moments however possible. On a week-long vacation, I will snap a thousand photos. When I have time at home, I write a journal about my day. I do it all in a seemingly vain pursuit: to remember as many of the numerous encounters and events that make up my life.

But at the Olympics, in a strange way, this task is more difficult.

Even though I am equipped with a variety of moment-capturing devices – my WXIA-TV video camera, for starters, as well as a smart-phone and laptop – I cannot possibly find the time to snap everything I see in Sochi. And the experiences happen both sporadically yet furiously.

The smaller moments – the more likely ones to slip through my memory’s cracks – are the ones I savor the most.

These are the chance encounters: the cheerful Russian Starbucks barista who remembers my name every day; the Asian journalist who tried to trade pins with me despite a massive language barrier; the Dutch speed skating team that happily granted my interview request by the Olympic rings.

When will these moments ever come up in conversation? When will they naturally pop into my head? How will I remember them if I experience so many of them?

With that in mind, I write this entry both as a window for my readers and a public continuation of that vain pursuit. I want to share a few of the “smaller” encounters that have made this Olympic experience so rich:

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: Churning out the content

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“Once the Olympics get going, this building will be packed, which is why it’s so important …”

Nope. Too many words. I can do that faster.

So began a humbling, excruciating period of my Olympics experience. Our group had journeyed to the Sochi region’s mountain cluster to see the sights and shoot some stories. And shoot we did: I had already recorded enough video for three pieces, two of which would air in the coming few days.

By this point, we had reached the home stretch. After five bundled hours in the freezing cold, I simply needed to record one more stand-up. It would be the final on-camera line of a story about the Olympic superstores selling all the Sochi 2014 merchandise.

And I could not get it done.

***

“Once the Olympics get going, this building will be packed, which is why some –“

Nope. Tripped up on the last word. That won’t do; let me start again.

I talk for a living. True, I also shoot, write, interview, and edit video for a living. But mostly, I talk. I work in the communications business, and that requires me to convey a certain level of expertise with the English language.

Normally, I can handle that.

But on some days, my mental word bank gets tapped out.

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: The Games have … begun?

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What’s the toughest part of covering the Olympics in person? Actually covering the Olympics.

By “the Olympics”, I mean the Olympic events … you know, the actual competitions that serve, in theory, as the purpose of this international extravaganza.

Covering the festivities and atmosphere? Not a problem at all. In many ways, I feel I am most valuable in that role; I can be on the ground, report on how the Olympics feel, and take the viewer to places that often get shortchanged by the official broadcasts.

My goal as a journalist is to serve my audience. And, from what I have seen so far, that audience has responded more to my slice-of-life, behind-the-scenes stories than my posts about the specific events.

So, for the most part, I have spent my days in Sochi observing and reporting on the Olympic surroundings. On Saturday I visited the main park and produced a story about Day 1 of the festivities – and that day’s seemingly meager attendance. On Sunday I spent several hours at the five giant Olympic rings that have become the preeminent photo spot for fans, athletes, and volunteers.

But while I comingle with the crowd, I miss whatever events are taking place. And when I get back to my workspace in the International Broadcast Center, I spend most of the time staring at my computer, logging, writing, and editing my stories (not to mention Tweeting, posting to Facebook, and typing blog entries like these).

This means I rarely get to look at a television and watch the action.

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: Ten observations from the first five days

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Five days in Sochi have felt like both five minutes and five years.

Days fly along at the speed of a bobsled, with reporters and photojournalists – or, in my case, both jobs in one – churning out content for all forms of media.

And yet, because those workdays are so long, and because they are bombarded with so many new experiences, they make the recent past seem distant. My flights from Atlanta to Sochi seem many moons, and many stories, ago.

Here are ten observations from my first five days:

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1. The Olympic sites are, in fact, quite gorgeous. Sochi has a peaceful charm, with the Black Sea on one side and the Caucasus Mountains on the other. The mountains themselves are stunning up-close, specifically around the Olympic village and ski venues.

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2. But I’m still waiting for that kick of Russia. I lamented in Thursday’s entry the struggle to find authenticity in any of it. Other than the natural wonders themselves, the entire outfit seems both temporary and out of place. The many beautiful buildings and arenas have been built specifically for the Olympics; they seem ill-fitted for when the Olympics leave. I have a hard time admiring the buildings’ beauty without wondering about their long-term purpose.

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: Culture shock? What culture shock?

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I like to travel.

A lot.

And when I do, I seek the authentic – often to an absurd level.

When I toured Japan, I walked around one village in a white robe because to do otherwise would have been considered impolite. (It felt wonderful.)

When my girlfriend and I visited Italy, I demanded that we stop in Naples for the sole purpose of dining at the world’s oldest pizzeria. (It was delicious.)

And when I hiked the Inca Trail in Peru, I got so sick from food poisoning and altitude sickness that I had to spend two nights in a Peruvian hospital. (This one was not intentional.)

So naturally, when I got the call to go to Russia for the Olympics, I imagined numerous opportunities to scratch my authenticity itch.

After half a week, I’m still itching.

To be sure, the Olympic venues in Sochi are remarkable in many ways. The mountains are both imposing and impressive; the coastal cluster is full of fancy, brand-new arenas that look every bit as expensive as advertised.

But those sites seem more Olympian than Russian.

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: A look at Sochi’s mountain cluster

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At the turn of the 21st century, the Rosa Khutor alpine resort did not exist.

In just a few days, it will host the Winter Olympics.

And it will look splendid.

Much has been made of how Russian organizers basically built the Sochi Olympic venues from scratch (and how they continue to build it even this week), but from what I have seen, nowhere have they done so more impressively than in the mountains. Giant luxury hotels stand with gift shops and restaurants, including the most authentic Russian meal I have eaten so far. (Spoiler alert: it involved borscht.) They maneuver alongside a fast-moving stream that gives the area some natural charm.

Above all, of course, are the mountains.

The slopes of the Caucasus feature less snow than similar ones in Colorado and Utah, but they shine with white at the top. If the resort town’s buildings and shops all seem a little too pristine — a product, no doubt, of their youth — the mountains provide a much-needed roughness, an imposing edge.

See for yourself some of the highlights:

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MY OLYMPICS JOURNEY: Checking out Sochi’s coastal cluster

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A little light goes a long way.

When I first rode the bus into the Olympic village outside of Sochi, Russia, I found myself thoroughly unimpressed. The buildings seemed spread out; the area seemed empty; and the energy seemed missing.

But one important element was also missing: sunlight.

I awakened this morning to a gorgeous sunrise: a pink-orange glow emanating above the horizon, reflecting upon the miniature ponds in front of the Black Sea. When I stood on my hotel balcony and looked right, I saw sunrise and the sea.

When I looked left, I saw the mountains.

And suddenly, I very much understood the majesty of the Sochi coast.

To be sure, the buildings in town are definitely spread out. Unlike most previous recent Olympic sites, the event venues are far removed from the city in which they are being held.

And to be sure, the area still seems very empty, even in the daylight. That will change when the fans file in for this weekend’s Opening Ceremonies.

But even without all that, this Olympic location is as picturesque as one might hope.

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