The Villages Open Today!

Map of the Villages, the Olympic Park and the Mountain Venues

I made it to Sochi!

Things here are very busy so I will have to keep my blog post somewhat short. For the last few days, I have been living in a bed and breakfast type hotel that the USOC has rented for the duration of the Games as the outside-the-coastal village Operation Center. The location is very convenient and only about a mile away from the coastal village and the Olympic Park (see the map below for a visual of how the villages, the Olympic Park and mountain venues are laid out). During working hours, I have been using something called a ‘bump-in pass’ to the coastal village which allows me to get into the village to begin preparing for my responsibilities.

Today, January 30^th, is the day the villages officially open which means I get to move-in this morning and also our first teams arrive! Both the long track and short track teams will be joining us in the coast and we are all very excited to for the villages to start filling up with people and energy! Over the last few days, my colleague, Amanda, and I have been working towards getting our motor pool and BMW bikes organized, meeting and scheduling our NOC (National Olympic Committee) Assistants (volunteers specifically assigned to help Team USA), meeting the majority of the key Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee NOC Services staff members so that we can now go to them with requests and issues, and getting a general feel for the village and how everything will operate.

First impressions of the coastal village: the buildings are nice and I especially love the color choices of finishings (lots of beige and chocolate), it is very spread out so there is a lot of walking involved (I plan on using a bike today!), but it is also very, very close to the Olympic Park (where the venues are located) so hopefully that fact plays to the athletes’ favor. In addition, I love being able to look towards the Olympic Park and see all of the giant venues lit up at night. It is quite spectacular!

I’ll write again when I have a few spare minutes…only 9 days until the Games begin!

The Olympic rings at the airport!

A cruise ship passing by our window in the Coastal Village. Many spectators are planning to stay in the cruise ships.

The Fisht Stadium (site of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies) at night. This is the view from my temporary bed-and-breakfast type hotel room.