Diversity

One of my favorite parts of being apart of the Olympic Games was meeting people from all over the world.  Obviously there was an overwelming amount of people from GB, but I ended up meeting a lot of people from around the globe that I would have never met anywhere else.

One of the coolest moments was right before the Olympic Ceremony. There must have been a few thousand people outside the Olympic Park celebrating, playing instruments and waving flags. We saw people from Brazil, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Netherlands, Germany etc.

At two of the three events I went to, I sat next to German people and tried to speak with them with the 2.5 years of German I have taken.

While walking into boxing, I noticed two men with Mongolian flags. I had never met anyone from Mongolia before so I went up to them and asked how they managed to get here and get tickets and who they were here to support. We briefly talked about the sports that Mongolians excel at (boxing, wrestling and other fighting sports).

The whole trip everyone was very open and friendly and excited to meet people from around the world.  That is what the Olympic Spirit is all about.

Trof and I with Brazilian high jumper Guilherme Cobbo

Some crazy Thai boxing fans

In Japan House we met members of the Tokyo 2020 bid committee, an agent for two Japanese athletes and Japan enthusiasts.

Thailand and Brazilian supporters

Taiwan supporters outside the Olympic Park

Posted by olympian on August 10, 2012 | Filed under: Olympics.