The Last One...

I'm sad to say this will be my final post on this Beijing blog! It's been really fun to share my experiences in China with everyone back home and if I ever do anything as exciting again I'll be sure to write all about it.


I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the chance to see the USA men's and women's volleyball teams play in the gold medal match. The women, who were heavy underdogs, put up a good fight but was eventually overpowered by Brazil.

After the women's team played I had the opportunity to take pictures and congratulate them on exceeding all expectations and finishing with a silver. Logan Tom, who I've spoken with a few times after the initial bathroom meeting, gave me a hug and was more than happy to let me examine her silver medal.

(Me and Logan after the medal ceremony)

The men also faced Brazil in the finals, but the result was in our favor as they defeated the defending Olympic champs 3 sets to 1. I can't even begin to describe what it's like to watch your country win a gold medal in person. I didn't think it would be emotional or anything, but watching these grown men break down and sob and jump into the stands to hug and kiss their families was so heartwarming. It made it that much more bitter sweet knowing these guys overcame a horrible tragedy as well. I later heard they dedicated their gold medals to head coach Hugh McCutcheon. Every American in the stadium sung the National Anthem as loud as possible.



(Video of the men's gold medal ceremony)

I again had the opportunity to meet-and-greet the men's team after the medal ceremony. You don't know what true happiness is until you speak with someone who has just won a gold medal. Riley Salmon, one of the outside hitters, was nice enough to put my name on the guest list for the gold medal party at the USA House since there was really only two American volunteers working at volleyball.

(Me and Scott Touzinsky with his gold medal)

Later that night, me and a few of the girls got dressed up and headed over to the USA House. Every country has a "house" that is for athletes and sponsors only. To get in you have to be from that country and invited by either an athlete or a sponsor. Unfortunately I didn't know that the party ended earlier in the evening and we had shown up a bit too late. But it was nice to see the volleyball teams there and get a quick glimpse of the USA House.

We figured there would be a lot of athletes out that night just because the closing ceremonies were at 8 p.m. and all the remaining athletes were leaving the following day. Everywhere we looked Olympic athletes were celebrating their victories and enjoying the last night of the Olympics.

Of course we all wanted to do a little dancing on this last eventful night. Wearing our Olympic credentials helped us get into this place called China Doll, which can be difficult to get into. We were all just hanging out minding our own business when I recognized three athletes standing next to us. They were Rich Lambourne, Sean Rooney and Jennifer Joines. All three are volleyball players that I've seen everyday for the past three weeks.

(Hanging out with Jennifer Joines and Sean Rooney...ignore the cheesy smiles on mine and Rooney's faces)

Lambourne was still wearing his gold medal. Once they realized we were all Americans and that my roommate Sandie and I had worked at volleyball, we hung out for the rest of the night. I think they were flattered we actually recognized them and knew more about them than just their names. Other than Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh, there aren't many widely known volleyball players. They were so down to earth and really just regular people.

A few hours later Lambourne was having a really good time and decided to let me wear his gold medal. Fortunately we took pictures for evidence. That was probably the highlight of my night. The rest of the time we did a lot of people watching as athletes from all over the world were showing off their moves on the dance floor.

(Me wearing a gold medal!)

I guess it made sense to cap off the trip by having a fun night with volleyball players.

In other news, I've made so many business contacts recently. I was even offered a job with the FIVB. It seemed like an unbelievable offer until I was told I would have to relocate to Switzerland. I think I'm going to pass haha.

I've also met so many wonderful people and it was difficult to say goodbye to everyone I worked with the past month. I can't wait to come home on Thursday and be able to tell everyone my stories in person!

I appreciate everyone's support the past two months and I'm grateful there were so many people willing to help me get to China in the first place. Thanks for reading my blog and if you want to know more about my trip, China and the Olympics feel free to contact me!