3, 2, 1, GO!

Only hours away from the Opening Ceremony! We can feel the excitement of the people everywhere we go! The Londoners are so proud about hosting this worldwide event... so funny how a week ago we heard people complaining about security and such, but today everybody seems to be confident with safety issues and eager for the Olympics to begin!

We went to interview some Athletes and fans by the Olympic Park. We found athletes from Brazil, Russia, Canada, U.S.A, Spain, and England. We even saw the Prime Minister walking by! I pushed record because I saw a bunch of security guards and people opening the way for somebody, and after he walked by I asked, "so who is this?" haha... Well, let me tell you, I wasn't the only one who didn't recognize Dave Cameron, but hey, at least I got him on camera :) Good thing nobody told me to go interview him, because I would've done it without giving it a thought... haha

Fans! Interviewing the fans was so much fun! People can reaaally get into some sort of strange sports... Two little kids were really excited about fencing (the sword sport), I didn't even know that was a sport! But it was fun to get to talk to the fans about their favorite athletes and sports, and ask the athletes about their training and preparation. All of the athletes we interviewed mention that besides their mental training was really important to them besides their physical training. They talked about the importance of having a coach whom they can trust in, having some kind of mentor, and good relationships in general.

I also got to meet a couple of Chaplains who are staying here in the hotel and got to interview them. They are here to support athletes with any spiritual, emotional, or mental needs they may have. Just a few chaplains get selected for the Olympics, depending on their languages, religions, and specific roles in their communities. So it is a big privilege for the chaplains to be able to share their faith and help in anyway they can to athletes and their families that are going through a really important time of their lives.

Today my teammates and I are producing some more video content and getting ready to watch the Opening Ceremony! Watch our latest videos here http://www.planetsport.tv/latest

What language do you speak?

Today was our first day out in London, what a crazy city this is! There are people EVERYWHERE, but literally everywhere... from all different ethnicities, speaking all different languages, and dressed all so distinctly! I am such a people watcher, so it doesn't help to have this many people around! Specially when my job is to take video and photos! haha...

We are only two days away from the Opening Ceremonies, so we went to well-known touristic places in London to get some street interviews of the public. Our first question often was... "do you speak English?" Most people did, but quite a few didn't. Londoners were particularly concerned about traffic. It's already pretty crowded with their population, so adding an extra who-knows the number makes it even crazier!

Most people were also particularly concerned about security, because apparently the company that was supposed to provide all the security officers for the Olympics wasn't able to do their part, so they had to bring and are still bringing military officers from all over the world to help out. We interviewed Londoners, and they seemed to be fine with the security issue.

I got some video of Lennox Lewis yesterday! You might know who that is, I had no idea of who he was... he seemed famous, so I grabbed the camera and hit record while he was talking. After finishing the recorded I asked my teammates, "so who is that?" And they were like... "He's only one of the most famous boxers in the world, not a big deal..." haha... Oh my, I really need to get into the sport world asap... Otherwise I will bump into someone like Michael Phelps and not even know about it!

So if you have favorite athletes, sports, or Olympic stories that you'd like to share please do so!

Remember to be checking out the video blogs here http://planetsport.tv/

E for Excited! E for England :)

Would you like a cup of tea? Is the constant offering wherever we go! I knew that the English liked their tea, but I didn't know that they liked it that much! Fortunately, I do enjoy tea as well so I hope I don't get tired, since we still have three more weeks to go! 

Our training was amazing! Honestly, we learned things that we will be using for a lifetime. We learned so much about ourselves and about working well with the best of the others in our team. We are part of a huge team that involves people from everywhere, starting in England, U.S.A., India, the Middle East, China, Kiev,  South Africa, Paraguay (hehe just myself) and other countries from all over the world. I have been learning so much about different cultures... so fascinating! 

During this first week we stayed with host families. Me and other girl stayed at a house that is located 2 minutes away from the English channel... so beautiful! We went swimming this past weekend, but the water was SO cold! I went kayaking for the first time, and managed to get somewhere after making people laugh (at me, not with me...haha) because of my lack of arms coordination. Amanda (my lovely house-mate) and I are so thankful for the family that opened their doors and their hearts to us. We are truly so blessed to end up in such an amazing home and meet such wonderful people here in Worthing, England. 

There is so much I can say about this week, but I'll let the pictures tell the story :) 

Tonight we packed up our stuff again and we are getting ready to head to London tomorrow morning! The Olympics begin this coming Friday 27th, but we will be filming and producing media content this week to warm-up before the real deal ;) 

The Olympic Torch Relay went by our office last week, and we got some good footage and photos of the runners and the people living the excitement of seeing the Torch being carried! You can check out some of what we got in http://planetsport.tv/

Also, you might see more of me in KTIV Channel 4 reporting about my daily experiences at the London Olympics. We are working out the details of doing Skype interviews every day, so stay tuned for that!

If you haven't had a chance to look at the pictures I uploaded recently, please help yourself to this link http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3933892960130.153002.1663985791&type=3&l=edbec7dfc5

To end this post I'll throw some interesting facts about Worthing, England, which is where we had our first week of training :) - Oscar Wild wrote the Importance of being Earnest here! and Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice stayed here for a Holiday! Oh! and we visited the Arundel Castle, a medieval Castle that is like a thousand years old! (Yeah, I'm too lazy to do my research, so if you really want to know, just google it! haha)

Our first week in England has been amazing! 

Taking off!

The day has come for US to take off! Can't believe I'm only a few hours away to fly to London. Everything that has happened before today has been an amazing adventure, every little detail leading to this new journey, but absolutely nothing would've been the same without YOU - without each one of you. 

A HUGE THANKS! to all and each one of you for your prayers, encouragement and support! This dream is becoming a reality because of you - God uses you in amazing ways to bless me, so a big GRACIAS for all you've done! 

Just a few updates before I get to London -

• I'll be getting there on Sunday July 15th and starting my week of training the following Monday. The coolest thing, on that Monday the Torch is passing right by our office! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1tOSzGVGeM - what an awesome way to begin our internship!

• You can watch everything we produce, all media content and video blogs on this website 

http://www.planetsport.tv/

• If you haven't had a chance to watch this interview for Channel 4 KTIV, Sioux City, go ahead and click on the link -  http://www.ktiv.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=7480927&h1=Dordt+photog+ready+for+Olympic+experience&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=143200&LaunchPageAdTag=Homepage&activePane=info&rnd=30153838  - I don't know how long it will be on the web, so let me know if you have any trouble viewing it!

• Tip night at Pizza Ranch: SUCCESS! Thanks for all of you who could come, we got a really good turn out, and thanks so so so much to all my friends who were there giving their time and waiter/waitress skills! It was an awesome night!

Two hours until my first flight to England! I'll keep you posted on everything, and PHOTOS coming soon :)