An Olympic State of Mind

Inspire a Generation. That is the motto that the 2012 Summer Olympic Games adopted. The Ancient Olympic Games began almost 2,800 years ago. Although the purpose of the games was not necessarily to bring about peace and unity, but rather to honor Zeus, every four years, when the Olympics would take place, an "Olympic Truce" would go into effect so that the athletes from the different city-states of Greece could safely travel to and from Olympia. As such, the Ancient Olympic Games effectively brought a brief period of peace once every four years. Unfortunately, the modern Olympic games do not enact an "Olympic Truce". Obviously, this isn't a very realistic goal, as the world today is very different than Ancient Greece was thousands of years ago. Nonetheless, it disgusts me to turn on the news during the Olympics and watch as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt take a back seat to a suicide bombing in Yemen, a devastatingly bloody civil war in Syria, and a case of domestic terrorism based out of intolerance and hatred in our own backyard -- leaving seven dead in a Sikh gurdwara outside of Milwaukee -- as well as countless other unnecessary acts of malice. Within the Olympics themselves, several athletes have been ejected due to racism, and the IOC continus to cower in the Arab world's powerful shadow, yet again refusing a memorial to commemorate the Munich 11. That's not to say that there hasn't been any progress made -- these Olympics were the first to see a Saudi female compete, quite the feat in and of itself. Regardless, the sharp juxtaposition of the previously mentioned atrocities, most of which were (and are) based out of unfounded bigotry, against the backdrop of an Olympic games meant to "inspire a generation" is reminiscent of the 1972 "Happy Games". Interestingly, the Ancient Olympic Games, along with the "Olympic Truce", were brought to an end in the fourth or fifth century as part of a forceful attempt to impose Christianity as the official Greek religion.

On a lighter note, I will fill you in on my personal observations of a second consecutive Summer Olympics from abroad (I was in Panama during the 2008 Games). During the 2008 Games, while I was in Panama, the village of San Cristobal rallied around long jumper Irving Saladino, one of only five athletes representing Panama at the Games. Many saw him as the country's first realistic hope at winning a gold medal, which he did in fact achieve. (He didn't qualify for the final this year, failing to record a legal jump.) Here in Brazil, however, the majority of people seem to be relatively indifferent regarding the Olympics, even when it comes to their beloved boys in Green and Yellow. 258 competitors represent Brazil in 24 sports, yet the only real interest I have observed has come from some of the volleyball-playing women in my office at work, who follow the women's volleyball team (we had a fun time listening to the USA beat them 3-1 last week during work). There was also some buzz about 50 meter freestyle swimmer César Cielo who was a heavy favorite to win the gold, but choked his way to a bronze, and Thiago Pereira, who was in 2nd place behind Phelps in the 200 meter medley going into the last 50 meters, but ended up falling from the podium as Phelps and Lochte went 1-2. Everyone in my office noted that "his arms clearly fell off" before the last 50 meters. Another funny observation was the inability for Brazilian sports announcers on SporTV to learn how to pronounce Natalie Cook's last name (apparently her Brazilian name is Natalie "Cookie"). The last bit of comedy that followed the Olympics once again comes from Marcio's wonderful sense of humor. When comparing medal counts last week -- the USA had 30-some at that time, 10 times more than Brazil's three -- Marcio noted that Americans were simply gluttonous; Brazil was content with it's three -- one gold, one silver, and one bronze. "After all," he noted, "isn't one of each enough? We want to share with the rest of the countries!"

Nobody really knows...

Leaving the topic of the Olympics, this weekend again proved to be a successful one with the crew of Far, Far Away. Dave and I spent Thursday and Friday nights just hanging out with Tom, Ulf, and Alex, listening to music, grilling burgers and chicken, and sipping Skol and Tom's assortment of magical piña coladas. Friday night got a little bit out of hand, and Tom somehow ended up in the water, trying to stay afloat in what some might classify as a boat, and others as an anchor. Saturday became a long day of sitting by the pool drinking "Mangria", a wonderful (and dangerous) concoction created by Ulf consisting of wine, brandy, triple sec, and fresh fruit. There was some sort of pool party going on with a famous Brazilian band and some famous (and, needless to say, very attractive) Brazilian television stars, so that provided our entertainment for the day. Saturday night, Dave and I ended up going out for dinner and a night out with the crew -- a choice that neither Dave nor I regret, or will soon forget (or entirely remember). We'll just chalk it up as yet another Brazilian "learning experience". Today, Sunday, was just a lazy day watching the Olympics, soaking up some sun, and recovering from the weekend. After all, I have to be ready for my last week here. Até a próxima vez (until next time), tchau!