2009 Olympics

It’s been a hectic week here in Greece for probably the first time since we’ve been here.  Classes are winding down (we only have two right now, and one’s done tomorrow, the other on Monday), homework is piling up (actually, that’s a lie), and we are now done with all of our excursions.  Our final one was last weekend, a three-day trip that circled us around the entire Peloponnesian peninsula, culminating in a two-night stay in ancient Olympia.  For those of you who are completely oblivious to any sporting knowledge, Olympia was the birthplace of the Olympics, still held today every four years (including 2016 in Chicag…oh wait, they lost).  Unfortunately, for the first time on our excursions, I was unable to think of a Lord of the Rings city to compare Olympia to.  How disappointed are you Chasers?

Just because I couldn’t compare Olympia to the ultimate fantasy realm doesn’t mean it wasn’t awesome.  It was actually probably my favorite place so far.  Filled with ancient ruins of statues, temples, and stadiums, Olympia still maintained the feel of a magical place that I could envision all Greeks making pilgrimages to.  Basically, Olympia is an open field in one of the few fertile areas in Greece.  Two rivers and large trees border the city, which is a giant grassy plain.  Amongst this plain lay some of the coolest artifacts in the world.

The first important object is the Temple of Zeus.  The temple itself has fallen apart, but it once housed one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World…the 17-meter ivory and gold statue of Zeus himself.  So where is Zeus today?  Some king decided to melt the statue down and make some more bracelets to wear.  How selfish.

The most important parts of Olympia, however, dealt with the Olympic games.  There is Hera’s Alter, where they still light the Olympic torch today before it travels on a relay to the new host country.  There are the fields where the first Olympic wrestling matches were held, including the Penkration, where the only rule was “No Biting.”  And of course, there is the original Olympic stade.  If all this doesn’t spell “Time for Scott to show off his superior athleticism,” I don’t know what does.

It’s pretty easy to still get pumped up heading towards the Olympic stadium.  The original tunnel still remains where the athletes would enter to thunderous applause, along with the original stade (or 200-meter long track).  The best part yet?  You can still run on it.  This of course prompted all of us to have a 30-person race—Bennies and Johnnies—with the winner getting to brag for the rest of their lives.  Gametime!

Since the guys here are all good Johnnies, the women were given a 25-30 meter head start (it could’ve been because they specifically had their own starting line, but we’ll just say we were being gentlemen).  Once the camera was ready and we had taken plenty of starting line pictures, it was time to race.  The girls requested to have one more picture, causing all the guys to wait nonchalantly at our starting line.  It was the perfect trap.  With us looking around the grassy bowl that made up the stadium, the girls jumped off the line and started running.  Cheaters!

Not wanting to be shown up, all the guys sprinted off the line, already having been fooled by the girl’s genius ploy.  For the first 100 meters, we played catch-up, gradually making our way towards the girls pack.  Fatigue began to set in.  Girls started dropping back like flies.  We were picking them off one-by-one, moving swiftly towards the front of the pack.  With 50 meters to go, we were free…or, at least some of us were.  Some of the Johnnies had gotten tired as well and started to back off, but I pushed on.  There was only one person between the finish line and me…Ryan.  Now Ryan is no athletic slouch himself, having played high school football and run track.  This was going to be a fight to the finish.

As we barreled down the line, our professors cheered.  We both were in full sprint, but Ryan didn’t yet know that I was right behind him.  I used my timeless old track tactic of pulling right behind him before making a move, but there was precious little space left.  With ten meters to go, I went for it.  I pulled around Ryan like a slingshot, switching into my sixth gear and pulling up beside him.  We were neck-and-neck, going down to the wire, ready for a photo finish.  We reached the line and I leaned forward, breaking the plane just before him.  I had done it!  Like Michael Johnson in his heyday, I had now won the 400-meter at the Marble Stadium and the 200-meter at the Original Olympic stadium.  How many people can say that?

The rest of the day was spent resting up our legs, playing cards, and trying our best to crash a Greek wedding at our hotel (we failed, but still were able to snag some pieces of candy).  Also, I had one of my biggest moments of cultural immersion when the Greek national soccer game came on.  The TV was quickly surrounded by over 30 members of the wedding reception who were clearly more interested in soccer than dancing.  It was surreal to stand there with a bunch of people who I couldn’t speak to, but that were still cheering for the same thing as me.  When one of the Greek forwards scored a bicycle-kick goal to take a two-goal lead, we all went nuts (Here's the highlights).  I felt so Greek.  I was later brought back to my American roots when a Greek man came over after the game ended and asked me some question in Greek.  He pointed to the TV, so I assumed he wanted the score, which I told him was 5 to 2.  He gave a different reaction than I expected, making a shocked face and quickly running downstairs to the rooms.  I stood there questioning my answer, hoping that the man hadn’t asked me the time.  Oops.  Early night for him.

The next day was our final day in Olympia.  Like the mature college kids we are, we spent the day going back to the sight and taking pictures of us doing some wrestling moves in the Olympic wrestling arena.  Just look at the pictures at the end.  It’s too difficult to describe.

Now that we’re back in Athens, we’re down to the home stretch.  Like my race against Ryan and the rest of the group, everything seems to be quickly moving towards the finish line.  We’ve made our plans to travel between Athens and Rome (we are going to Venice, Salzburg, and the Eagle’s Nest), and have already found out our flat-mates.  At long last, the Three Caballeros have been officially split up, with Ryan and Bill in the four-person room and Matt and I in the seven person room.  Since we are spread all over the city, we will be a good 40-minute bus ride from the other Caballeros.  But that’s what the rest of the group is for.

Lastly, I’d like to congratulate the Minnesota Twins on a great year.  Though it is too bad that they got swept by the Yankees (who I hate more than any team in the world), it may be for the best because we now can stop staying up until 5 AM every other night.  So, I guess what I’m saying is thank you Twins and thank you Metrodome.  Better luck outdoors next year.

Finally, I have pictures up from the last two weeks.  Enjoy!

Special Shout-Out of the Day: Snickers.  Apparently it is difficult for dogs to Skype with people in Greece, but Snickers gets a shout-out for at least giving a good effort.  This makes her the first non-human shout-out recipient, which I think she should get a treat for.  Just tell her it’s from me, please.

European Insult Tally:

Bill-1

Scott-3

Matt-1

Ryan-2

I could give out points for us trying to get into a Greek wedding, but that’s more of a compliment than an insult, isn’t it?

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Your friend or family member (or random acquaintance)

Scott Twelves