Author: mckenziesteele

As much as I’ve loved my time in Korea, I’m very happy to be going home. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything, but I am exhausted. I feel so lucky to have been part of this program and to learn so much about the Olympics, organizing groups, sponsors, and so much more.

Before heading back to Seoul, I was able to attend the Figure Skating Exhibition Gala. This was so fun to be able to see performances by so many of the top figure skaters in the world. This event isn’t scored or judged, so it was awesome to see the figure skaters have fun with their routines and be creative, since there weren’t strict rules to follow. My favorites were the Canadians and Spanish (look up videos of their routines to see why!).

One of my favorite things while I’ve been here was to collect and trade pins with other visitors. I think I got a pretty good collection and hope to be able to add on to it at future Games.

It only took us until our last night here, but we finally found good Korean BBQ! I wish we would have found it earlier, because I would’ve come back here a few times.

I honestly couldn’t tell you what we had, but the meat, sides, and sauce all made for a tasty meal! I’m excited to go back to American food, though.

In the athlete village, there was a group that was trying to set a world record with their collaborative painting. They encouraged athletes to come participate and paint part of it. On the last day, they had all of the pieces on display for everyone to enjoy.

I thought this was a fun way to get the athletes involved in something other than sport and show a sense of community. The painting ended up really beautiful as well!

At my shift today, security called me over to approve something (which I have no authority to do…haha). There was a group of Slovenians in crazy costumes that security wasn’t sure if they were allowed to wear, based on IOC rules. I tried to explain that I was only there to count the number of people coming through and that I didn’t actually know the rules/work for the IOC, but they didn’t understand. Eventually, they just decided to let them in.

When they got up to the seating area, everyone was understandably asking to take pictures with them. I think they got sick of it, but that’s part of what happens when you dress up at the Olympics 🙂

Leading up to the Games, we kept hearing about how fun Heineken House (Holland House) was and how we had to make sure to go.

A big group of us decided to go last night and it lived up to the name! It was fun to be able to do something all together as a group and to hear music that we recognized. I love that so many of the countries have houses where everyone can go relax and enjoy each others’ company while celebrating the victories of the Olympic athletes.

Today, I had the chance to visit Japan House! I had heard how delicious the food was, so I was excited to be going and getting a meal that may somehow be less foreign to me.

We were able to eat dumplings, soup, sushi, and a few other Japanese items, which were all a nice change of pace from the food we’ve been having in the workforce lounge. I was particularly happy to be eating something with salt 😉

If I have the time, I’d love to come back here to enjoy another meal!

Sadly, I must not have taken any pictures here…so here is one another classmate took 🙂

Today I finally had my first real shift (meaning at an event). I grew up skiing, so that’s the event I was most excited for and luckily got matched to work all alpine shifts!

We had a training session on the first night, but to be able to actually understand my venue made it easier to collect the data needed. This venue is quite large, so I had to first count the PSAs and Workforce Lounge, take a chairlift up to the seating area to count that, then walk back down to collect the parking data that was spread throughout the area between the base and the seating.

Luckily, this venue generally only has 1 session per day, but my venue tomorrow has 2. Trying to get 2 counts of this venue would be tricky and make for a long day.

It seems so silly, but something I always wanted to have done as a child was get a caricature. They’re generally overpriced, so I had never gotten one until now!

After working a shift at the Athlete Village, I wandered around their plaza and noticed that they were doing free caricatures. I asked if they would do mine, and they said yes and got started right away.

The way he did it was very cool! It wasn’t your typical drawn or painted caricature, he used a tablet and drew it digitally! It was awesome to watch my picture take shape as he added details and layers.

I love the end result! I’m so happy to have something personalized to take home with me.

I’ve always admired Korean nail art and knew I wanted to get my nails done while we were here. I’ve been scoping out designs for months and was very excited to have them done!

While I didn’t find a place in Seoul that was reasonably priced, I happened to find one in Gangneung! I made an appointment and got them done today! They’re just what I wanted and I’m glad I was able to get my Korean nail art experience.

I finally had my first shift today (since my first 2 got canceled). It was a transport shift, which isn’t as fun as the sporting events but still very useful information for us to gather. I was at the Media Village, which is where most of the media stays and is a major connecting point for all buses.

About an hour into my shift, it started to get really windy. I figured it would pass, no big deal. However, as the day went on, the wind got worse and worse, to the point where the fence and signs were starting to sway and metal trash cans were blowing away. I did my best to hide out from the wind, but it was a long day of dirt blowing into my face.

Right at the end of my shift, one of the big metal signs actually ended up falling over. I couldn’t believe that something cemented into the ground actually fell in front of my eyes! Luckily, no one was too close and no one got hurt, but it could have been a very different scenario had someone happened to be walking by at that moment!

When I got home, I was coated in a layer of dirt, but happy to have worked my first shift.

Having grown up ski racing competitively, I was so excited to be working the alpine events!

Unfortunately, when my first shift came along, the event got rescheduled because of strong winds. A bummer, but not the end of the world. I went and met the group for some company meetings. My second shift was supposed to be the next day, but it also got canceled because of the wind.

While I was disappointed to have now lost out on 2 days of racing, I did have the opportunity to go watch the team figure skating competition. I always wanted to be a figure skater as a child, but my mom wouldn’t let me (thanks mom 😉 ). This is always one of my favorite events to watch when the Olympics are on TV, so to see it first hand was so amazing! I watched the amazing Adam Rippon (I love him!!) and watched the phenomenal Alina Zagitova (who is only 15 by the way) win her event. The talent these athletes have is so incredible and I wish I had even a sliver of it.

We had the opportunity to visit the USA House! This is a place that not many people get to see, since it is one of the national houses that is closed to the public. It is decorated so beautifully with Team USA items and sponsor sleds painted to represent the sponsor company. It is meant to be a space that athletes, their families, and sponsors can come relax, watch events, and eat delicious food.

We were able to visit because we got to meet with Lisa Baird (Chief Marketing Officer of USOC) and Lisa Reliford (Director of Meeting and Event Services of USOC). Hearing these two incredible women speak gave me a better understanding of much of the behind the scenes work a country does to make the Games happen and also strengthened my desire to work in this industry.

Being here truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We are meeting and learning from so many people that we would otherwise not have the chance to.

Today, we had our first day of training with the IOC. They taught us what we would be doing over the next few weeks!

For those who may not know, we are on a short-term study abroad program with school and our purpose is to collect data on security, seating, and transportation that the IOC can use to plan future games. At our training today, we learned how to gather the necessary information and input it into the app they use for this data collection.

After our initial training, we got to go wander around the Olympic park. It was surreal to be in an area that so many people dream of seeing firsthand.

We spent that night doing our first data collection as a group at Ski Jumping. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be so close to where everything happens and to be part of this team that is helping to improve future Games.

We are so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work with the International Olympic Committee to help them gather data to help plan and produce future Games. As part of this team, we are lucky enough to be fully outfitted in the same gear as the IOC (we have to look official, after all)!

Today we went to pick up our uniforms! The IOC was so generous and I can’t wait to wear all of my new things! We have options and layers for all the possible weather we could encounter and they will hopefully keep us warm during our shifts (it’s freezing here)!

Leading up to this trip, I had people asking me if I was going to do a DMZ tour. I honestly hadn’t given it any thought and when I finally did the idea scared me (if you don’t know, the DMZ or Demilitarized Zone is essentially a 4km border between North and South Korea). The more I looked into it and talked to people about it, though, the more intriguing it became and I decided I wanted to go. I looked into all my possible options and decided I wanted a DMZ/JSA tour and found one through the USO for a reasonable price.

The first stop on the tour was to the 3rd infiltration tunnel. Since the war ended, South Korea has found 4 tunnels that North Korea was in the process of making to use for a sneak attack on South Korea. As the name suggests, this is the 3rd tunnel that was found. Many South Koreans believe there are around 20 more tunnels that have yet to be discovered. Before you can enter the tunnel, you have to leave all bags and cell phones/cameras in a locker and go through security (no pictures are allowed in the tunnel for security reasons). You walk down a steep, long path to the tunnel itself and once you reach the tunnel you can walk a few hundred meters to where it has been walled off. The tunnel is very short in height and narrow in width, and at the end are 3 bulletproof walls that were installed to prevent North Korea from invading.

After gathering our belongings, we headed to the next stop: The Dora Observatory. From here, you can see North Korea. I was lucky to go on a clear day and I could see everything very well. It was surreal to be looking into North Korea and to be so close!

After the Dora Observatory, we went to Dorasan Station. This is the last train station before the border. It is still in use today and could eventually be used to go between the two countries if they ever reunite (the tracks are currently connected, but no trains run between the two countries at this time, although they have in the past and even as recently as a few years ago).

After Dorasan Station, we headed to the highlight of the tour: The JSA or Joint Security Area. This is the only place where you’ll find both North and South Koreans. It is where any meetings between the two countries take place and it is always staffed by military from both countries, as well as United Nations and U.S. military. We were able to see the buildings where these meetings take place and even step inside one. Halfway through this building, you are in North Korea – so I’ve stepped a few feet into North Korea!

I’m so happy I decided to book this tour because it was fascinating to learn more about Korean history and see things that not many people have the opportunity to see. I would highly, highly recommend it to anyone visiting Korea. It’s a great reminder to be extremely thankful for the freedom we have.

I’ve been full of Seoul puns since we got here and I’m sure my friends are really sick of seeing them on my Instagram but it hasn’t stopped me yet!

When I found out I was accepted to this program, I knew I wanted to have a spa day in South Korea. Korean beauty products are all the rage right now so I figured their spas had to be great too. I found a spa that was highly rated and booked appointments for Caroline and I to get the “Diamond Package” which included a massage, nail design, facial, and a skin treatment.

Fast forward to now…when we got to the spa today, we tried to explain that we had booked this package and they kept shaking their heads “no” at us. Luckily, there was an employee who spoke English (probably for people like us…you’ll understand soon) who came over to help us. We told her what we had booked and she explained that the package we chose isn’t offered anymore. We told her we wanted to do the next package down and she looked at us with horror in her eyes and assured us we didn’t want to do it. Apparently what we had signed up for (in both packages) was to get fully nude and, quite literally, boil ourselves. She said it was a common treatment among Korean women (not sure what the benefit is) but that she would not recommend it to anyone because the water is so hot that it burns you and you’re sitting in a hole with all naked women. We quickly told her this is not what we wanted and opted for just the massage.

After she helped us get oriented with the spa, and showed us around the 10+ saunas, game room (yes, I’m serious), and the changing area, we went to get our massages. Don’t be fooled – these are not relaxing. I’ve never had someone dig into my back so hard. It was incredibly painful, but I knew it would help get out the tension. The massages are not conducted in quiet rooms either – our masseuses talking to each other, leaving to go answer the phone, and the obnoxious music from the video games outside all made for an interesting experience.

We spent some time in the different saunas after our massages were finished. Each sauna is a different temperature with a “theme.” The first one we sat in was a “rock salt” room. People were laying in the rocks and on the floor (apparently that’s normal) and it’s a relaxing experience. The next two were shaped like the ancient pyramids – one was scented and the other was a “jade” room. There were three igloo saunas – one freezing and two very hot.

We played a game before leaving to get the full experience then headed on our way.

All this being said, I’m very glad we went and experienced a true Korean “spa,” although it wasn’t the same luxurious, relaxing experience we get at a spa in America. My back was sore for days to the point of feeling deeply, deeply bruised, but I don’t feel as tense anymore. I’d probably visit again, but it’s not something I’d need to add to my routine and I’ll know what to expect next time.

The day we’ve long-awaited is finally here – we are on our way to the Olympics!

Caroline and I (along with our 34 pound bag of snacks) have a 25-hour travel time, going from DCA-LAX-ICN. It will be the longest flight I’ve ever taken, but I couldn’t be more excited to finally visit Asia and the Olympics!

Leg one – DCA-LAX: Overall, not too bad. We had a good amount of leg room and were able to get some work done and sneak in a nap. When we landed in LAX, we had quite the trek from our arrival gate to the international terminal (hey, good practice for all the walking we’ll be doing in PyeongChang). We stopped and grabbed something to eat and after many failed attempts of getting into an airline lounge, found a spot by a window to wait for our next flight.

Leg two- LAX-ICN: Getting on this plane, it was like they were trying to torture us. Every cabin you walk through gets progressively less nice and has smaller seats. Luckily, we weren’t at the very back, but we were pretty close. This was easily the least leg room I’ve ever had on a plane, and it was going to be a long 13 hours. We ate some dinner then settled in for “bed” for the next 8 or so hours. When we woke up we only had a few hours to go and watched some TV.

We are finally here and are so ready for what is to come! Caroline and I will be spending 2 days sightseeing in Seoul before meeting everyone in PyeongChang. I can’t wait to share my experiences with you!