Hello again from beautiful Paris. I apologize for the delay – this will be the first of two updates back-to-back so be sure to return for the second post TOMORROW!
My experience over the past week and a half has been a whirlwind. We began our first day with a tour of Team USA House, where we are volunteering over the course of our stay. It was incredible! There are two floors of activities including a Roblox-type game, photo areas like the USA lock display where athletes will sign and attach a lock in the Parisian fashion, and the team store (spoiler alert: I could afford very little).
After our tour, as we were taking a group photo outside, we met Olympic alumni Karen Keehn and Claudia Schneider who are also volunteering! Their personal stories from being part of the Olympic movement for so long were amazing to hear. It was an experience I never expected but would happen repeatedly over the next several days.
Later in the day, I was lucky enough to catch the finale of the torch relay in Paris! It was the last exchange before going to the opening ceremonies which some of us decided to watch from Poland House. It was a terrific experience to be able to celebrate with people from another culture and Dr. Neirotti’s family. We made great friends with a local, Damian, who was raised in France but whose parents emigrated from Poland. The watch party was outside and I did end up getting soaked but their team store was a little more reasonably priced (I paid with Mastercard). My back also made an appearance on Polish TV!
My first volunteer shift actually took place at the Olympian house – a site for alumni to gather for events or hospitality where they can sign a wall of posters from previous games (except Atlanta???) and take a photo with one of the Paris 2024 torches. My role was to help with printing credentials which meant I didn’t get to spend too much time discussing the games and their history with the guests, however they were all extremely kind and happy to talk. This house also boasts its own Olympic torch which we were actually allowed to hold! It’s heavier than it looks…
Volunteering at USA House was much more active; for my first shift, I was stationed at the credentialed access gate and applied stamps to everyone entering the building. That gave ample time for conversation and, again, most everyone was very friendly! Google is soft launching their Project Starline, essentially a fully immersive virtual meeting setup, onsite and I spoke to one of their representatives about it. They’re targeting it to medical professionals but I could see it used for virtual classrooms as well. After our shift, we were allowed to peruse the store and I took another photo with their torch. I ran a fundraising campaign prior to the trip to help cover program costs and any potential event tickets. Every donor will receive a personalized photo like the one below from sites across the city. This one is for my parents who have always been my biggest supporters–
After our shift – a group of us when to Montmartre to view the Sacre Coeur cathedral and take in the full view of Paris.
Part 2 will be coming tomorrow with many more updates including Dutch House and attending the swimming competition at La Defense!