Olympics

So the Olympics started this week. I absolutely love watching the Olympics and basically spend the 14 days with the TV constantly turned to NBC, or whoever happens to be airing them, and fully or partially paying attention to the different events. I realized it will be another 4 years before I get that chance again. You see, the next Olympics will be in 2010, winter, and unless the Winter Olympics aren't until May, I will still be in Senegal, and will thus have to wait until Summer 1212 to see friendly international competition aired 24/7. This being said, here in Thies, we are not totally cut off from this international event, thankfully. In fact, right as the lunch drum sounded on Friday, many of my fellow Vols were parked in front of the tv in the foyer of the training center. The program? Not wacky Senegalese wrestling or soccer or even Coeur de Peche (a ridiculous Brazilian soap opera dubbed in French and on tv almost every night). No, it was the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics! A few people even brought a lunch bowl into the foyer to watch the crazy lights and girl flying from a kite, though most of us just returned to the foyer after we were finished with our maffe and rice. We returned and didn't leave for an hour and a half... Now, to be fair, there was a point to our lengthy watching...we were waiting for the US and Senegal, our two countries (though some claim Canada, Ethiopia, and Ireland as well), to walk their athletes across the arena. So we waited. And waited. And waited, all the while making comments (see Alexis' blog for some fab quotes) about the athletes of large and small countries alike, commenting on costume, size, appearance, names, anything to occupy the time. (That, and acknowledging how great they all look while we look varying degrees of sickly...jk!) After an hour, the US finally shows up, looking slightly like sailors, but it brought a cheer across the room, filling us all with pride and amazement at the sheer size of the US Olympic team. But that wasn't enough...we needed to see Senegal. The drum for class came and went, until we were all over 30 minutes late to our afternoon session. Where was Senegal? No clue. Trainers came and went until Demba finally unplugged the TV and forced us all to class. Apparently the Olympic spirit doesn't carry all of the way over here, because our trainers called us silly for wanting to see the Senegalese team walk across the arena, in whatever costume was chosen for them (we all hoped for some wax and crazy Pulaar pants!).

Then again, it is hard to justify the importance of the Olympics in a country where the majority of the population has to worry about whether or not the impending harvest will be adequate enough to feed their families.

I love the Olympics, but this was just a thought brought up by another Vol when a family member back in the States asked about Olympics excitement over here.