It's about 7:15 a.m on Aug. 6, and I am safely in China! We arrived here yesterday around 2 p.m., but then had to get all our bags, go through accreditation, customs and find our way to the buses. It's been quite the trip so far.
Packing was a mess. In more ways than one. Photo Gallery
I spent our week off in Texas! I was able to catch up with so many people while I was home, which was a nice way to relax. My dad and I worked out quite a few times, so I could leave for China with a good feeling about my pitching. Also I took in two Astros games. They won both, so I might be a little luck for them. My packing started two days before I had to leave, but that didn't help me with the last-minute stresses. Check out the pics to see the mess I had lying around.
On the 2nd, our team arrived in San Jose, Calif., and went through processing, which is where we get all our podium wear, opening and closing ceremony outfits and some other lounge wear. It's always fun to see everyone trying everything on, and laughing at each other when we look silly in some of the stuff. Overall though, the clothes are nice. Our opening ceremony outfit will be hot since it includes pants and a long-sleeved shirt, but it looks good. The meetings were good and informative; the USOC likes to show motivational videos, which get all of us pumped up to get out and play.
The 4th was our day to fly to China. It was also the day I officially enrolled in grad school at DePaul! =) We were up and out of the dorms early to ensure enough time at the airport. The 12-hour flight was so long. I didn't sleep much, and finally convinced someone to switch me seats so I could be next to a teammate and not get bored. (Crystl) Bustos, (Jennie) Finch and I had a good time talking and reading magazines together.
The athletes village is really nice. We had our first taste of the dining hall food last night. There is a 24-hour McDonald's in there, but Finch and I insisted we weren't going to cave to that temptation, yet. I had some BBQ pork, a lamb kabob and some potatoes along with a salad and pita bread. There's a little bit of everything, so I think we'll survive. We all went to bed really early last night, so that means today started really early. We have practice at noon, and then I'm sure we'll all head to the international zone to get our souvenir shopping out of the way!
I'll report again soon!
=) Cat
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