One Year Later

I am currently writing this from the "dormitory" of Hartland Fire Department. I have now worked here for over a year as an EMT-Basic, and have added Firefighter to my job title here as of August of this year.

One year can change a lot. Over a year ago or so I had withdrawn from the athletic training program at UWM and began my pursuit of an EMS career. On completion of the EMT Basic program at Waukesha County Technical College, I began applying for Fire Department positions. Now here I am, working as an EMT AND a firefighter, currently in school to be licensed as a paramedic. Once that is completed I will hopefully find a position as a full time firefighter/paramedic on a fire department.

If you had told me, back when I volunteered for the olympics, that I would end up being a firefighter and passionate about working on a fire department, I would not have believed you. But here I am. I am passionate about it, more than I was athletic training. I enjoy it, it keeps me on my toes, and it always teaches me something.

The field of athletic training is far behind me. And while I loved it while I was in it, I would never go back. Except to maybe sit on the sidelines for a football game.

5 Seconds

There are some emotions that you can't allow to take over. Anger, sadness, anxiety, fear, etc. Other emotions, happiness, joy, those ones can consume you, and theres nothing wrong with that. Its impossible not to experience emotions good or bad, and it isn't wrong to experience them, but you cannot let them run you or control you. When the negative emotions come in you can't let them control you. I do my best for that to not happen, sometimes its easier than difficult, sometimes you can't take a step back to re-evaluate and reset. Sometimes the negative emotions just stay and then you're lost, you don't know what you planned on doing, you can't determine the best decision, everything either slowly or quickly spirals downward and there is very little that you can do to stop or control once that happens. There is a reason for this paragraph, I promise.

This week I have been filling out fire department job applications, copying information and documents, and dropping them off. Well, attempting to drop them off. Yesterday I tried to drop off my first application at the first fire department. TRIED. I left determined, completely planning to drop off applications with confidence, and ready to get a job. Then it happened. I turned onto the street the fire department was on and I started to get scared. I don't know of what, anxious maybe is a better description, but fear was still there. I slowed down as I came up to the department, turned my indicator on, looked at the building, and drove past. Very, very slowly, but I did not turn in. I didn't go and drop my application off to that department. 5 seconds.

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5 seconds is usually how long I let those negative emotions in. It isn't a good feeling to have those negative emotions, like I said, they can spiral down, and that stinks. Who wants that? I certainly don't. Thats why I do my best to put a limit on how long I let those experiences go. I don't want those emotions to rule my actions, to control what I do or don't do. Yesterday in 5 seconds, my fear allowed me to drive past an opportunity, past something I have wanted to do for so long. Of course there is no guarantee that I would/will get a job on that department. But dropping off an application would be the first step in that direction. But because of what I felt when I turned onto that road I became incapable of stopping to complete that step.

As soon as I drove past I felt stupid, ridiculous even! What did I just do?! I don't let fear do that to me. Sure I feel fear, anticipation, anxiety, but I push through it. And yesterday I didn't. That's not me. So then I thought, "Oh man better turn around, Shayla you are doing this. You have to drop that application off." Because that's what I do, I follow things through. But I didn't, I kept driving. So then I turned up my music and sang. Rend Collective, a Christian group from Ireland, they are wonderful. They have great music, and quite easy for me to sing along to. I started talking to God as I drove. He listens. And I can say anything. He quickly calmed me down and I was on the route to the next fire department on my list. I turned onto this road determined now. I needed this to be a successful drive with successful stops. And after those moments of fear, anxiety, maybe some doubt thrown in there; I dropped off my first application to a Fire Department.

Now I'm over that hump, second application dropped off today. Negative emotions, not always the greatest, overcoming them, always best to turn to God. He has a plan for everything, He know everything I'm feeling.

Professional Student? Seems Like It

So the EMT program has been in full swing for a few months now. I’ve been in school for too long. I’ve taken a lot of classes. Of course there are people who have taken more classes than I have, and been in school longer than me. But this class, this class is hard. It is frustrating. Sometimes I hate it. There’s not much direction or instruction given, it is very much a “learn on your own” class. Multiple times this class has challenged me with the decision I made to withdraw from the athletic training program.

            For so long all I wanted to do was be an athletic trainer, with Olympians, with football teams; athletic training was what I wanted to do. When I withdrew, I wanted to be an athletic trainer, now I just want to help people, save people, make sure they get the care they need.

            I learn by doing, athletic training is an active profession, being an emergency medical technician is active also. Trying to learn everything by sitting and listening to a lecture does not seem to be the smartest way to teach, or the best way to learn. There is very little time to apply the techniques we learn.

            Despite this, and despite the difficulties in how the course is being taught, the decision to go into EMT training couldn’t have been better for me. I had the opportunity to spend some time in the ER as part of the class last weekend and while I was there I knew that, when I’m able to work in this profession, that this is where I’m supposed to be. EMT’s do not spend their careers in the ER, it’s a transition place, but when I was there, I felt more confident than I had since I withdrew from athletic training. It’s exhilarating. Encouraging. I like it.

            All the decisions I made have led me to here. Some have been good, some easy, and some difficult. Everything changes and I’ve tried to adapt as well as I possibly could. Things change, but one thing has always stayed the same. God has been with me through it all.

No matter what decision I have made, He has brought me to this, and He will bring me through it. God is always there, and allows for me to be where I am, He is constant, and He has a plan for my life.

Trusting in Him with every aspect of my life will always be the best decision I can make every day.

I LOVE Football!

This post has almost nothing to do with football, but the title is true none the less. I do love football. I think its a great sport. If there was only one sport I could work with for the rest of my life, it would be football. I never get tired of it. I think the athletes are great to work with. Its exciting. It is a great sport.

When I made the decision to withdraw from school, I automatically disqualified myself from the internship with the Green Bay Packers. Having already sent in my application, cover letter, and resume; I now had to send a "hey I'm withdrawing my candidacy" letter. Do those even exist? How do you even start one of those things? Believe me, you cannot google a template for that kind of letter like you can a cover letter. But I wrote one, from scratch, tears forming in my eyes as the letters formed on my computer screen. When I hit send, one by one they rolled down my face. Sometimes I choose not to feel or care about things, it's much easier. Knowing that I was essentially giving up on my dream was heartbreaking. This was something I had cared enough to focus 7 months of perfecting my resume and cover letter for, and just like that, the opportunity was gone. People have told me I just gave up, or stopped trying, my decision to withdraw was a long thought out and calculated decision. It was a difficult decision, but there was a lot of conflict throughout the process, but like I said before, it was the right decision. Although, at the time, sitting in front of my computer after sending an email to the Green Bay Packers, crying; it did not seem like the right decision.

But life continues on. I still work as a waitress at the North Ave. Grill. It's still a good job. I still like it. There's no time to stop and look back and say well I should have done this, or that would have made this better. Nope. I made that decision, its done, move on, the day doesn't pause for you to look back and rearrange things so that everything is the way you wanted. You have to continue on when plans don't work out, when all your plans, goals, and expectations are tossed in the trash, you can't stop and wonder why it didn't work out the way you wanted. Believe me, where I am now in my life is not where I ever anticipated I would be. I wouldn't even have anticipated being here four or five months ago. My life had been moving, had been going somewhere. Then I stopped. Life didn't stop. I stopped. I got comfortable, I stopped challenging myself, I stopped dreaming or making goals. I didn't care. It is what it is, I'm a waitress….thats it. Theres nowhere else to go and I didn't care enough to change it.

Now…I'm trying to register for EMT courses, which is proving more difficult that I thought it would. But I'm excited. I want to be in these classes. I want to get my EMT licensure. Because I LOVE football. Because I LOVE to help people. That is what I do. I can put aside anything thats going on in my life and focus all my energy in helping another. Thats ok with me, and I LOVE to do it. Theres an adrenaline rush that comes from fast-thinking and fast-acting skills that would be necessary for an athletic trainer or an EMT. I want that. And I want to help people.

So I can't work with the Green Bay Packers as an athletic trainer. Nobody said I can't move to Green Bay and work as an EMT. An EMT that covers the Green Bay Packers football games. This is what I want to do…help people…and watch football. Lots of football :D

Life Chances and Life Changes

Well since my last post a lot has changed in my life. Over the summer I worked in the UWM athletic training room, inconsistently, but I was there working on my skills and enjoying athletic training again. When the fall semester started I began working with the Brookfield East High School athletics. I absolutely loved working at the high school. There was an energy there, and I absolutely enjoyed it. I was excited to be there and looked forward to each day I got to be.

I also began a new job after having hours cut at my previous job, I began waiting tables at the North Ave. Grill. I absolutely loved it. The job came at just the right time after losing hours at my other job. I still work there and have enjoyed getting to know the staff and customers. Its a great place, and much better than my other job.

The semester and classes dragged on and soon I felt the same feelings I had experienced the previous semester. The excitement was gone during classes, I did not enjoy going to classes, I began to feel anxiety going to class. The only aspects of the semester I enjoyed were seeing my classmates and going to the high school for their sporting events. My grades again began to decline and I soon began to wonder if I had made the right decision to continue on.

Over the summer I had worked with one of the faculty members at UWM in order to apply for an internship with the Green Bay Packers. I soon began to realize that my reason for staying in school was solely to get the internship with the Packers. As much as I wanted that internship I questioned how much worth the internship had if I was completely unhappy with the route to get there. I was so set on the Green Bay Packer internship, but through a series of events I was informed that I was expected to have almost 2 extra years of schooling before I could graduate instead of my anticipated half a year. There was very little explanation and after already completing a 4 year degree in a related field, I believed it to be unacceptable to go 6 years for a second degree. Especially in one where I had experience and a degree currently.

Halfway through the semester I made the very difficult decision to withdraw from the program and the university. I finished the semester but after much prayer and consideration of my future this was the best path to follow. Now my classmates are in their last semester before their internship and I am working as a waitress. I enjoy my job a lot, I am happy with my decision and believe it was the right one to make.

Now my sights are set on getting my Emergency Medical Technician certificate next fall and working as an EMT. In addition to that I plan on becoming a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist as well as Functional Movement Specialist. Until then, I am enjoying my job, as well as my freedom from school.

The difficulty now is to not second guess. My goal was to work with the Green Bay Packers, and eventually go back to the Olympics. Now that is on hold, whether indefinitely or not I don't know. It's hard knowing where you want to be and not achieving that goal, especially after having success with others, such as going to the London Olympics and working there. Its hard to know what your goal was, and see others who are able to stick through and achieve a job that once you believed was the only thing you wanted to do. Certain dreams are fading away, or rushing away, without the chance of catching them, and new ones are hopefully developing. Theres still difficulty knowing that the dreams closest to your heart are gone.

Update 2: April 2nd, 2013

I can’t say that what you will read in this blog has a lot to do with my previous post and how I felt about Athletic Training. I began to feel like that prior to the events that I will share here. That being said the two are not mutually exclusive I’m sure.

I have a close family. I love my family with all my heart and would undoubtedly do anything for them.

Two months ago, I lost a man very dear to me, and although at the time I did not realize it, he had a big impact on my life.

My grandfather passed away in April after a long battle with lung issues. It was not unexpected as these problems had been long lasting, but losing someone you love is never easy. I had visited him a few times when I was able to over the weekends as he lived in Minnesota. The last time I visited before he started to quickly decline, he was able to walk to the kitchen and speak with us. The very last time I visited he was bed-ridden and could not carry a conversation.

He was a man I looked up to and respected. He was my grandpa. He was a big man with a loud laugh, lots of opinions, and stubbornness. But he was the best big, loud, opinionated, and stubborn man I know!

It’s nice to have someone who supports you, someone who follows your life and knows what is happening. Everyone wants someone who will ask you questions because they remembered your conversation the last time you saw them. That is the kind of grandpa I had, the one I knew that, if I called him, he would know what it was about, he would be able to encourage me without trying, because he just knew, and he believed in me.

When I told him what I was going to school for the first time he was nothing but supportive and even looked up what kind of career paths I could have. When I told him I had an internship with the USOC he looked up where it was and what kind of contacts he had, if any, and who was involved in the USOC. When I told him I was going BACK to school he was again extremely supportive, asked if I knew some of the people that he knew at UWM, and always talked about me getting in touch with his old professors. UWM was one school he went to and he said a few times to me how he would have liked to visit again. I can’t imagine how our conversations would have gone if I could have walked the UWM campus with him.

When I told him I was going to volunteer for the Summer Olympics he looked up what London was doing to provide security and safety, where the Olympic venues would be. He wanted to know where I was staying and how I would get to my volunteer venue. When he found out I would be working with wrestling, he looked up what wrestlers from the Midwest would be competing in the Olympics. He saved newspaper clippings for me to read about wrestling, he gave me names of wrestlers specifically from MN, just in case I ran into them. Despite his age, he was the only person I did not have to repeat myself to regarding my volunteer position and my anticipation as well as things that I was pursuing in my life. He always told me he was proud of me, he always told me I could make it, and he always always told me he loved me.

Now he’s gone. While I know he is praising his Lord in heaven, and I’m extremely happy and excited to see him there again, I miss him. Now when I talk about my life, even to family members, I have to repeat things frequently, and I have no one to talk about my plans with who understands. About this time I would be calling him to “check in” and let him know how classes ended up. No matter how my semester went he would say, “You can do it toots.” I had plans and goals that he was a part of helping me to create.

I love him with all my heart and will miss him with all my heart. Despite him being gone and not having his unfailing encouragement, there are things I need to achieve because they are plans that he and I made together. 

The Long Overdue Update: Part 1 (It's a long one)

The last time I wrote a post was during the fall semester in 2012. Now the spring semester of 2013 has finished and although I cannot say a lot has happened there is a lot to say.

I have always been someone who likes to push limits. Growing up, if my parents said no you can't I would test them just to see how much I COULD. I always did the opposite. My parents knew that if they wanted me to eat my broccoli all they had to say was "Shayla, don't you dare eat that broccoli." Being the child that I was I would "defiantly" stuff all the broccoli in my mouth while looking at my parents with a satisfied and, what I thought to be, rebellious face. 

This characteristic has stayed with me, although some days it is repressed and intentionally put away compared to other traits I have. However, this particular characteristic is what I contribute much of my experiences to in my pursuits in Athletic Training. If my professor had not told me originally that my internship had to be in state I would not have pursued the internship with the United States Olympic Committee. If I had not been told that I could not volunteer for the Summer Olympics of 2012 for the US, I would not have pursued other options to be involved in those Olympics.

So with all that pursuit in advancing my career and “pushing the limits” what happens when there are no longer any limits to push? Do you make new goals when all your efforts focused on one thing? Where do you put your energy?

From an academic perspective this semester was difficult. My motivation disappeared, and, although the semester is finished I do not think it has come back yet. I was not struggling early in the semester, but once spring break came and went so did my semester. I began to struggle with focusing, studying, and doing homework. I did not want to be working in the athletic training room, but enjoyed talking to the athletes. Despite enjoying talking with them I did not really want to be helping athletes and “putting in hours”.

Eventually I made an appointment with one of my professors and as I walked down the hall to meet him, I had every intention of dropping out of the program. I had my reasons and they made sense, ultimately I was burnt out and did not want to put the effort into my recovery. I have a degree in kinesiology and could get a job, anything would have been better than constantly being tired, unhappy, and having anxiety as soon as I pulled into the parking lot at UWM. When I reached the office of my professor all of these things had run through my head and I was determined. The conversation ended up going in a completely different direction of course. My professor and I spoke about the future, something I had not thought about and did not want to think about. My class schedule for next semester, my rotation assignment for the fall, and internship possibilities were all discussed during this meeting. Leaving the office I had said nothing of what I had planned, I was still in the UWM Athletic Training Education Program, and had minimally restored motivation.

I now had goals. When thinking about things that I had accomplished I realized that although I hate making goals, I work quite well when I have something to strive for. These goals are not pushing any limits, that I can see, but they are things that I will have to work very hard to accomplish. I still do not want to be in school, I still do not want to go to classes, so good thing its summer, but I do want to be in athletic training, despite my current unexplained apprehension towards it.

Sometimes we struggle, sometimes there are barriers, and sometimes we doubt everything we have ever done. There are no clear answers, no yellow brick roads to take us to where we want to be, and for some people; there will be every possible obstacle placed in front of them just to prove how strong they are, how much they want something, and where they place their faith. The result, goal, or final destination will not always be the thing to get to. How we react to these obstacles and situations will either benefit the end result or deter it.

I have been taught that in everything I am to lean on God. While I firmly believe that with all my heart, it is not something that comes easy for any person who believes in God. It’s a daily decision, a conscious effort, and a matter of the condition of the heart. So many times already this year I have failed, and have chosen to fail, in relying on God for all my needs. I see and feel the difference between when I trust God and when I do not. This is not something that suddenly I realized or something that hit me “like a bolt of lightening”, I have known to place my trust in God my whole life, and during this time of questioning and doubt I knew to do this, I also chose not to. I was tired of trying and tired of failing. I know and have experienced the difference between relying on God and dismissing Him and it is much better for me to rely on Him.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. FOR WHILE WE WERE STILL WEAK, AT THE RIGHT TIME CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY.” Romans 5:1-6

Busy Times

Now that I have been back at school and the Olympics are long over, maybe it is time to update everyone on what my life has been like post-Olympics. In my head I created a "spin-off" blog that focuses more on the profession of Athletic Training and things that stand out to me in my coursework, but after evaluating the amount of time I have available to blog versus study and work I realized that the idea would have to wait.
The UWM ATEP certainly keeps you busy, especially if you want to succeed and do well. I'm taking 18 credits this semester, which seems to be a lot to people, but in all honesty one course is a Ballet class which does not require much else than dancing. My athletic training courses keep me busy. I constantly need to be reading my textbooks, which I fail at more often than not, as well as practicing what I'm learning in class, which I do. I am much more interested and motivated to do the hands on side of my courses than anything else, which is not always a good thing.
Since my return from the Olympics I have done 2 more interviews for UWM and one little "blurb" for my work; the Milwaukee Ballet. The UWM interviews were for the Alumni magazine, as well as the website. For the website I did a video interview where I worked with an athlete and answered the questions of the staff who were interviewing me. I was nervous but overall I think it turned out well. If you are interested in seeing it you can follow this link:

http://www4.uwm.edu/discover/video.cfm?v=84C725BB71ABA513:JjqXug8VHTA

I had never done a video interview prior to this, that I can recall, so it was an exciting experience.

Hopefully those were the last of my interviews to do. I find myself wishing for more time throughout  the day and I also have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to excel. This is for a few reasons, one because I need to, and two because these interviews are public and I feel more pressure to do well now that this story is "in the public". So many people still don't know me, but is seems like a big deal to have a video, and I want to represent the sponsors who made if possible for me to go to the Olympics and UWM's Athletic Training Program well.

Hopefully in the near future I will have more free time to keep a better update on this blog, I wouldn't want it to go to waste just because the Olympics are finished for this year. Now my sites are set on RIO 2016!!

Withdrawal and the Future???

It's all over. London seemed very quiet and contained the last two days of my visit. What do you do when everything you prepared and hoped for has come to an end? Where do you put your energy and excitement when there's no expected event?

The past year has been filled with preparations for this trip, along with school and work, but my excitement and anticipation was building for the sole purpose of being involved in the Olympics. Now it's finished.

There isn't anything else I would have rather done with the last two weeks, and if I was asked to do it again I would not hesitate, but now it's done. The thing I look forward to every two years, Olympics (whether summer or winter), is done and to have been a part of one has been invaluable.

I met other volunteers from all over the world, I made great friends, I saw new things, I learned about sports that I had minimal experience with and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I miss the Olympics, I miss London, and I miss my friends in London. I'm going through withdrawal. Now on the plane ride home I think about life and what's ahead for me. There's no doubt in my mind that I want to have a career in athletic training, that has most definitely not changed and if anything that decision has become more concrete, even if I have to be in school for 5 more years, although unlikely, I will become an athletic trainer.

But what will I do along the way to that goal? The Olympic winter games will take placed in Sochi in 2014. Should I add winter sports to my experience? Will I take time and money to learn to speak Russian in order for this to be possible? It's a good idea and one that I entertain on a daily basis, volunteering has its rewards, but although I need experience in the winter games they do not fall at a

convenient time like the summer games do. Unless I will have graduated from UWM by that time.

I also was fortunate to make a contact who works for the Commonwealth games. These are something I didn't even now existed until I volunteered at the test event. Quite honestly I'm not confident trying to explain it, I understand it to be a mini Olympics that happens halfway through the "off" time for the summer games. But I don't know what sports and countries participate. Anyways, if I were to get the opportunity to have a paid job, through my contact, at these sporting events I would have to take time off and move to where they are taking place, which is Glasgow. I've never been there and I think that

opportunity would be invaluable but then that brings up the topic of school. I will most likely have to take time off of my courses in order to take a job there.

Which brings up another question. If I were to get a job at the Commonwealth games would it be possible for me to add/take a course in Europe that would add to my current and future degrees and allowed me to practice as a physiotherapist in the UK? The UK does not have the career of athletic training, as far as I am aware, but if I would take just one or two courses that allowed me to be a physio

in Europe then what would stop me from taking time off from my courses at Uwm, moving to Glasgow, if I got a job for the Commonwealth games, and take courses there while working? 

So many questions, so many feelings and emotions, and I'm still over water. I haven't even landed in the U.S. yet!!!

Last match photos

Last Shift

For my last shift we were scheduled to arrive at the venue at 6:30 am. Of course this was impossible for the majority if the volunteers as the first tube did not leave until 6:20. I arrived at 7:30, after previously alerting my team leader of my arrival time. 

There was nothing to do. It was actually quite a normal shift despite starting early. No weigh-in's needed preparation or assistance. Only two weight classes were competing and it honestly ended up being the most exciting day to watch the wrestling matches. Fortunately help was needed in the tunnel and I managed to snag a spot doing that work. I was able to watch all the repechage and medal rounds of wrestling. It was especially exciting when the U.S. won the gold medal in the 96kg round. The spectators erupted and there was so much excitement. The atmosphere was incredible.

The day finished early so that athletes were able to go to the closing ceremonies. There was a small get together for the wrestling volunteers at the venue, but it actually ended up being very anti-climactic. Pictures were taken and goodbyes were said and then a few of us went to get dinner and find somewhere to watch the closing ceremonies.

I found out later that the volunteers who worked at the Olympic park had been invite to the opening and closing ceremonies, that was not an option for my group unfortunately. I would have liked to have watched the closing ceremonies in  the Olympic park, instead we found a screen in a park to watch the ceremony.  It was very busy at the park and I didn't stay for the whole thing. I ended up watching the final parts of the ceremonies back at my hosts house, which was great. No crowds, no shoving, and the ability to determine how cold or hot I was.

Then it was done. Two years of anticipation, application, interviews, preparations, fundraising, planning, scheduling, and in two weeks it was all over.

Now what?

Jumping around

So I am going to jump around in this blog and try to catch everyone up on my week. I have been kept very busy during my shifts, and exhausted when I'm finished so I haven't really organized my thoughts or what I should put on the blog. Although Clarissa's bronze medal win had to be put up because it was so exciting.

Let me go back to this past Sunday, this was the first day of greco-roman competition and it was fairly exciting. The USA had two athletes competing and one lost and one won in the first round. The athlete who won his first round lost his second, and the other athlete did not make it back in to the repechage.

During their matches I introduced myself to their athletic trainer and doctor. The AT is from Colorado Springs and works near to the Olympic Training Center. He was very nice and helpful to me and didn't mind talking about athletic training and working with the athletes. One of the wrestlers injured his elbow, in his second match, so the AT came in to the store room to get some ice. He told me he had a possible Ulnar collateral ligament tear in his athlete and invited me to watch him evaluate it, of course I did. The AT went through a history, observation, palpation and special tests. He explained everything that he performed after speaking with the athlete. It was great to be able to be involved in that evaluation, there was no torn ligament.

This athletic trainer does not work with athletes of the other disciplines of wrestling so I did not see him much this week. After Tuesday he was gone and we haven't had any injuries in general in wrestling which is good although I haven't been able to observe because of that. The women's team and the freestyle have not had an athletic trainer, although team USA has had the same doctor here all week.

My volunteer job has changed a little bit. I'm not sure if it's good or bad honestly, I get to do more things, but only because a different group hasn't show up to do their job really. My team has started working as security of sorts during the day. We make sure that when athletes are making their way to the media that a. They don't skip out on press time and b. the spectators aren't crowding them and blocking their path. Their path crosses the areas spectators enter to get to their seats so I guess we are more of traffic control, telling spectators to stop and directing athletes and coaches in the right direction. It is kind of a nice job as we get to watch the wrestling matches and see the different countries reacting differently to winning or losing. Other than that my job is the same. In the morning I get things ready for the field of play, at 4pm we assist with weigh in's, and at the end of the day we help with clean up.

I now have two more shifts left and I am starting to get sad. Even though I haven't done as much athletic training type things as I would like I have loved being here! It's been exciting, I've made friends, I've observed a lot about how emergency action plans and medicine works in different countries, it's been a great experience and I'm not ready for it to end.

Is that a medal? Can I have it?

Clarissa and I before

Clarissa and I after

Clarissa Chun takes Bronze!

Today was the first day of the women's freestyle wrestling competitions. Wow! Much more excitement today then the previous days. Not that Greco-Roman wrestling isn't interesting but it's much harder to follow; with freestyle wrestling I actually can understand what is happening. 

Again the competitions went by weight class, so today the U.S. had two women competing, one I each weight category. Clarissa Chun won her first match and lost her second. The other U.S. athlete lost her first match. 

In wrestling the losers get the opportunity to continue competing in what is called repechage. This allows the loser of the original match to get back in to the competition, they just need the athlete beat them to win two more matches. So the U.S. athletes had a bit of time to wait in anticipation hoping that the person they lost to would win. 

For Clarissa Chun, that's what happened. Clarissa was able to get into the repechage and compete to go on for the bronze medal. A different thing with wrestling is that they give out two bronze medals. If Clarissa were to win her first match she would move on to the bronze match, which she did. She battled inane won and had a break before competing against Ukraine for the bronze medal.during the match she flipped her opponent amazingly and scored 3 points! She had fought 3 times before the medal round and went on to win the bronze! Her first Olympic medal (she had also competed in Beijing) and the first women's wrestling medal.

I had the pleasure of meeting Clarissa during my internship in Colorado. She is a wonderful person and so king and friendly. I was very glad to be able to watch her compete and very proud to say that I know her. I couldn't be happier for her! 

That's my excitement for today!

What Number Please?

So let me explain wrestling now, but please keep in mind that I'm no expert, so I will just explain what I confidently understand.

There are three styles of wrestling but two different disciplines; the styles are women's freestyle, Greco-roman, and freestyle wrestling. The different disciplines are the freestyle and Greco-roman, women only compete in freestyle. The difference between the two disciplines is: Greco-Roman wrestling the athletes can only attack from the hips up, they are not able to attack the legs to flip and gain points. Freestyle wrestlers are able to use the legs in addition to the upper body to flip and gain points. There are additional differences but I'm not sure what they are.

Similar to other combat sports, such as judo, the athletes compete in weight groups. The smallest or lightest group to start the Olympics competitions off was 55kg (for those similar to myself who are bad with the metric system that is about 121lbs) Yesterday two weight classes competed, 55kg and 75kg. In order for the athletes to compete they had to weigh in to determine if they matched the weight class they registered to compete at.

As a sport equipment team member we had to prepare the scales for the man who would calibrate them for each weight group. We also stood outside the weigh-in areas with stress balls with the number the athletes had in the draw on them and gave them to them after their weigh in. Just as a souvenir and a reminder as to what order they wrestle in.

Weigh-in always happens the day before they are scheduled to compete, and it seems to be a slightly stressful time for the athletes. They typically let themselves be a little heavier than they want so they wrestle and practice against heavier counterparts, then when competitions come around they do as much as they can to drop weight and get in the category they register in. Once, in Colorado, i saw wrestlers in the saunas on bikes in hoodies and sweatpants, at least for an hour. As far as I can tell, if the athlete doesn't fit in their weight group, or "make weight" they are done. Kicked out I suppose you could say. Here they have 30 minutes from the time weigh-in starts to the time they can't weigh in. We had one wrestler take the whole 30 minutes and we could tell that he was trying to get down to weight. He made it. No one has gotten kicked out yet.

Please Mind the Gap

Saturday was my first shift for the Olympic wrestling competition! The actual shift wasn't too exciting. But I'll start with the morning, as I had venue training first.

I arrived at the venue much earlier than I had planned. It's been advertised everywhere in London that the tube will be busy from 7am to 9am. I left about 7:45 expecting to be late, I had to be at the eXcel arena at 8:30 and the trip planner said it would take an hour. I arrived at the venue at 8:10. Much faster than I thought it would be. As soon as I stepped off the train I heard someone say my name and sure enough another volunteer that I had met in December at the test event was stepping off the train with me. It was very nice to have someone else to do everything for the first time together.

During training I found the rest of my assigned group, who except for two, I had met in December. It was so nice to be back together and it seemed like the test even had just been last week. My team leader was just as funny and energetic as he had been and everyone gets along great. The actual training itself was repetitive, essentially all the same information we received at the test event we got again,  but not everyone volunteering currently was at the test event, so I suppose they appreciated it.

After lunch our actual shift started, and almost everyone in my group had to work immediately. We started putting up the flags for the dressing room assignments so that athletes and coaches knew what room they should be in. We organized our storage room, and threw away some things that the judo volunteers had left, and then we had some downtime.

Most of what my team does happens out where the competition takes place, the field of play, but there was a turnover of the field of play from judo to wrestling which needed to be done in 24 hours. To be honest the turnover itself went smoothly, but it took longer than expected I think. We were to be done with our shift at 6pm but we were unable to get equipment out to the field of play until the mats, arena, and technical/electronic things had been set up. Although things ended up getting done, nobody likes delay, and of course no one would admit that things were behind.

While waiting for the competition area to be finished weigh-in's for the following day's competition took place, which fortunately my group is involved with. We had to get the scales into the weigh in rooms, there are three, and organize some stress balls with the number 1-22 on them for the players to have when they did the draw. For people who aren't familiar with wrestling I will explain weigh-in's and the disciplines of wrestling in a following post. I ended up leaving the arena at about 9:30. Some of the other competitions at the arena were finishing at that time so the train back to the flat was busy but of course emptied along the way. 

Photos from the day

There's a palace here?? Who knew?

Today I decided to go and watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. There is a website you can go to and find out the days and times the changes will take place. The guard changes every day but with the Olympics taking place here their schedule has changed just a little. The change takes place at 11:30 officially but before they actually change the guard the guard "band" walks around the fountain and road in front of the palace with the current guard walking being them, and then the new guards will take a turn, following the band, of course. So the entire process is close to a full hour long.

The band is very entertaining. Today I heard renditions of the Indiana Jones theme song, Star Wars theme song, a Lady Gaga song (which I couldn't identify) as well as the national anthem. They were all executed wonderfully, which is what you would expect from members of the Queen's guard I suppose.

I arrived early, or what I considered to be early, at 11am, only to find the entire court and surrounding areas of the palace completely crowded. This event is not just commonly attended by tourists but the residents here are high in attendance as well. I did not get anywhere near the palace for quite a while. My standing place was along the road and I did seem some of the guards and the band pass by from my position, but not very clearly unfortunately. But I was able to hear the band very well which was nice. When I got up to the gates I was near the front as the area had emptied out about half of its spectators. While standing at the front close to the gates; the flag bearers, and I think section leaders, marched right up to the gateand stood there smiling. Just so people could take pictures of them. They had their bright red coats on, sabers at their side, and huge black hat things that came just below their eyebrows making me wonder how well they could actually see. When they got near us and stopped everyone around was pretty quiet, possibly wondering why they had come so close to the gates, as none of the other guards had. After about half a minute of silence one of the guards smiled and said, "Good morning", everyone started giggling and snapping pictures, the guards counter part took his turn and said, "Lovely day", of course that brought more laughter and after about two minutes the gentlemen turned and walked away. Even though I wasn't able to see the actual "changing of the guard" that exchange was well worth the trip to the palace.

Once I had stopped taking pictures and being a tourist, I started my walk back to the flat. This had been determined last night after looking at a map and seeing that Buckingham Palace was only about three miles away. This morning I rode the tube to Buckingham but walked back so I could walk through Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and past Kensington Palace. Although it was not far, I like walking so three miles didn't seem too bad, my initial route had to be changed. I kept coming upon signs that stated "ticket holders only" so I had to go around, or down a different street. But I did get to walk through Hyde Park, and past an Olympic venue, I think it was for triathlon. I took a few pictures but whatever was competing there had either finished or hadn't started. I also walked through Kensington Park and was very excited to see Kensington Palace as well, when i came up to where it is located a sign said "Kensington Palace is being transformed" not quite sure what that means but whatever it is, I could not see the palace. So I walked the rest of the way, which was maybe half a mile, back to the apartment.

London is so compacted that what seems like a far way away is actually very close. You just pass by lots of buildings to get to where you need to be. Kensington Palace and Gardens is probably a ten minute walk away from where I am staying and all this time I thought it wasn't in walking distance.
So I got some pictures and will put a few up with this post, I walked around London and discovered there are very nice parks walking distance from where I am staying.

Tomorrow, venue training and shift one.

Olympic Excitment?

I was asked recently, by one of my readers about the weather, the people, and if there is any excitement from them. Also if I had heard any conversations or talked to anyone here in London about the Olympic Games.

First of all, the weather. It hasn't been too bad here yet.mit rained a bit on Sunday but raining here is different than raining in the Midwest. I was caught in a downpour while walking and a few hours later it rained again. This happened while I was out in the Westminster area and fortunately had just received my umbrella with my uniform. I do not like using umbrellas at all, I'm not sure why, but I held out as long as I could but finally it was just raining too hard and I had to bring it out. Yesterday was cooler with no rain, but today it's going to rain. It's been misting all morning and there is an 80% chance.

On to the people. There is a general excitement here in London for the Olympic Games, I'm sure there was much more excitement on Friday night when the opening ceremonies took place. There is probably also more excitement nearer to the venues and read that competition is taking place. I am not staying extremely far from competitions, but far enough where it would be possible to go the whole Olympics without knowing they are here in London. There are signs at pubs saying "Watch Olympics here" but aside from that and souvenirs there is no indication that the Olympics are taking place. I haven't had conversations with anyone about the Olympics since my first day.

When I fist arrived and was speaking with the customs officer at the airport he was telling me about the opening ceremonies. He had enjoyed them very much and thought that England put on a good show. He told me I would probably enjoy it but that it was "very British". He seemed quite excited that his country was hosting these Olympics. I did talk to a security guard at the Westminster abbey gift shop. He told me to have fun and enjoy my time here, but he just wanted to know why I was here, I had been walking around with my hosts and he wanted to know if we had come to London together. He was more interested in the why and how of my visit than anything else.

When I went out this morning I expected there to be a little more excitement about the games, especially considering the men's gymnastics team had just won England their first medal in the sport in 100 years, but nothing. Life just goes on.

I haven't made any plans for tomorrow as far as sightseeing, I should make some I think. but on Thursday I will be going to the Olympics village and hopefully there will be more excitement in that area of the city.

First Olympic Volunteer Experience

On Sunday I woke up pretty late, due to staying up very late and the time difference. Once I had "breakfast" I took the tube with Cassie and her family as I started my journey to the Uniform and Accreditation Center to pick up my ID and uniform.

The tube ride was uneventful and not too long. Once I got off at Canning Town I had to walk a little ways to wear the pick up center was. I did not realize that the DLR (docklands light rail), another train, stopped right in front of where I needed to be. So of course, on my walk, I got lost.

It really was a simple walk and I knew I walked right past the street I had to turn on. I looked down the unidentified road and thought "wow that road looks shady"' there was no one walking down the street, which in London is rare; and I walked past it. I was by myself and slightly scared of walking down that road myself. But finally I had no choice because the place I needed to be was down there. I pulled out my ipad every now and the to look at the map and would get nervous about the area and put it away quickly. So I finally got there and got my ID, and uniform. My ID picture looks pretty much like a mug shot, very similar to the athlete photos that have been popping up.

After getting everything I needed I met Cassie, her dad, and her sister again at Westminster. We just walked around and took photos of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, Big Ben and other sites in the area. During our time out it rained quite a bit somit was good i had picked up my uniform as i got an umbrealla with it. When I left them, because my bags were getting heavy from carrying everything I got when picking up my uniform, I got some groceries and went back to the flat to skype my family.

Overall it was a good day despite fearing for my life when walking to pick up my uniform.