Sara In Rio: Wednesday, September 8, 2016. My first full day. Rio Paralympics Opening Ceremony.

It was a terrible night of sleep. Tossing and turning the whole night. I couldn’t get the AC to turn on since I didn’t have a remote, which made it muggy and hot in my room. On top of that, my bed was like a wooden plank. Stiff and hard. Beyond uncomfortable. I literally woke up feeling sore from the hard bed. I had no clue what time I was supposed to be in the office, but I thought 8 sounded good to me. I got up and went for an early morning swim – a refreshing way to start the day! The fresh crisp outside air made me rejuvenated and ready to start the day with a new positive perspective and outlook. Rather than my first groggy busy day, which hadn’t been the best welcome to the Village. This finally felt like I had arrived.

I went down to our USOC office space and the Village Director gave me the lay of the land and of the office. An overview of important people to know (maintenance, housekeeping, etc), where keys were, office hours, different rooms, and all of that. The office was just another apartment (without living furniture and beds of course) and transformed into an office, with different rooms for different work spaces and/or storage of things. There were a ton of tables set up as desks in the “living room” area. My office space was in a back room, and it would be completely mine as no one else was set up here. I set up my stuff from the window that overlooked part of the village housing and mountains peeking through. I opened the window as I pulled out my computer, and let the fresh breeze keep it cool. Having a window and fresh air was everything that I had been yearning for in Houston, and now I had it! I spent the morning catching up on work. My work here was to be “on call” if there were any athlete issues, help with any random tasks, and just keep up on my regular day-to-day work from back home. A few people informed me/kept me in the loop about athlete issues, but no action on my part were necessary immediately. So, I just got settled.

I took a break at lunch and wandered around the Village a little bit. The Village is complete with a huge dining facility, medical facilities, post offices, bank, general stores, Rio-merchandise store, entertainment center, tennis courts, a soccer field, ponds, and everything you could need to get by while living here. After a couple wrong turns, I finally made my way to the incredibly HUGE dining hall. Literally at least two football fields long. And it was bustling. I watched all the athletes, in all their different uniforms, headed in all directions waiting in line for various food selections. There’s technically two parts to it that are identical, so it doesn’t have as many options as you may think. And, a lot of the stations have the exact same thing. Although it looks impressive, the food was far from that. I had tried a little the day before and knew this, but it was even worse. The salad bar is dismal at best. Some wilted iceberg lettuce, corn, cabbage, brown onions, and tomatoes. It tasted as good as that sounded. The grilled chicken breast wasn’t too bad. I was quite disappointed. When I went back for dinner that night, it was the exact same food as lunch, and as the day before. I was already beyond sick of this. I missed my grilled salmon and fresh salads and meals from when I lived in the Copacabana area for the Olympics. I already couldn’t wait to get out of the village for another meal. Thankfully, I had brought snacks with me, so I am sure I will be enjoying those from time to time. The thought of cafeteria food for the next two weeks made my stomach churn.

Today was the Paralympics Opening Ceremony. The official start of the Games! All of the athletes got dressed up in their matching Ralph Lauren uniforms and headed out at 3:30pm (for a 6pm start). We cheered them off. Then, with the Village finally quiet, I went for a jog around the perimeter of the Village. When all the athletes are here, it is bustling! I can’t imagine the Olympics with more than twice as many people and how crazy it must have been here. People are just all over, walking everywhere, and walking into you. People from some other countries aren’t used to common courtesy of moving over, or around you. Instead, people bump into me all the time. It’s extremely noisy too. From my room, even with the sliding door closed, it sounds like people are in my room. The Village is a very special place to be, but I can tell you that it’s not the most peaceful place to be.

After my jog, I went back down to the office again, but I really didn’t have much work to do. I knew this about Village life. Even if you are done with work for the day, you feel guilty for heading back to your room and calling it a night. You feel like you should stay around because other people are staying around. However, near 8pm, my eyes were beyond fading and I had to excuse myself. I know people don’t really judge if you do that, but that’s how you feel. It's just that I want people to know that I am there and ready to help with anything. People were watching the Opening Ceremonies on TV, but there were no chairs left in the “living room” area, so I didn’t even watch. I didn’t feel yet like I was part of our team here. Although the Games were underway, I felt distant from it: I hadn't really found my niche here yet. I am sure I will eventually, so I was more than okay with heading up and trying to get more rest. I still felt like I was lagging from my travel and needed to settle in. This was only my first full day here. Another 2+ weeks to find my spot. I couldn't get too hard on myself yet.