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Good morning! So, I arrived in San Jose, California yesterday for team processing. They are kind of cycling athletes through San Jose and China everyday depending on what days they compete at the Games. Since I will be competing the first day that track starts in Beijing, I was here with about 15 other track athletes that also start on the first day. There were also athletes from judo, fencing, diving, men's gymnastics, beach vollleyball, and women's basketball who processed with us. During our team meeting, they told us that the US is sending more athletes to the Games than any other country- somewhere around 600. And around 130 of us are track athletes! It's been really fun interacting with people from all different sports, and trying to guess who does what. Which reminds me, for those of you who remember Nicole Branaugh who used to play volleyball for the Gophers- she is here competing for the USA in beach volleyball! It was fun to have a little Minnesota connection during all the chaos of processing.
Speaking of chaos- I don't know if I can even begin to describe the overwhelming process of team processing. First, we got sized for our Olympic rings and jackets, took our photo for the media guide, and then filled out a medical review that was about 20 pages long. That was the easy part. Next we entered this warehouse with boxes piled high with Olympic gear. Mainly from Nike but some from Polo. They give us a shopping cart before we enter (yes, the same kind of carts you use at the grocery store). And it was filled to the top by the time we left. We just went from one station to the next, trying on whatever articles of clothing were at that station to figure out what sizes we needed. Sidenote: it was kind of hilarious to see athletes stripping down in line to try things on. Don't worry, I just kind of slid the clothes over what I was wearing :). So we left there with a suitcase and a duffel bag full of clothes, shoes, and hats in addition to our opening and closing ceremonies outfits. But that's not it.... that was only the clothes we get from the US Olympic Committee. Next, we got another suitcase full of clothes from USA Track and Field!! I was overwhelmed to say the least. Luckily they let us ship a box home because there was NO WAY I was getting all of that stuff to China!
This is a picture of what my room looked like while I was trying to organize all my new stuff! Crazy!!!
So after a good night of rest, we are getting ready to head to the airport for our 12 hour flight into Beijing. Talk with you all in a couple of days...
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