Volunteer at the Olympics

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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Back in 2011 I wrote a post about volunteering for the Olympics. Well some of you already know but I was offered a role and assigned to the Accreditation Team of the Athletes Village and I remember jumping and screaming with excitement when I found out.  I have done bits of volunteer work but for someone like me who loves sports, I knew this was going to be a unique experience.

The accreditation team at the athlete’s village – a group of around 30 volunteers – was responsible for all the athletes and official’s accreditation passes. We were the first stop for every athletes and official on their arrival to the village. We would check their ID, take their photo and print out their pass making sure it was validated and they were able to access the venues they needed to.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I started my role in July 2012 a couple of weeks before the Olympics as all the athletes were arriving then. My very first exciting moment was printing and laminating The QUEENS accreditation badge along with other royals. I didn’t meet the queen as a member of staff collected all their passes. I did however meet some famous athletes: - Tom Daley, Usain Bolt and the England Football Team being a few.
 

Before and after my shifts I was allowed to look around the village. There was always something going on in the village plaza where the shops were. In the post office you could have your picture put on a stamp, have your nails done in the salon and freely wander around with all the athletes. Each country would have a welcoming ceremony with the National Theater performing and the countries national anthem playing while the flag was being raised. I loved this idea, as this would be the only experience of their national anthems being played.

 

 


 The Olympic village accommodated more than 17,000 athletes and officials with 11 accommodation blocks as well as shops, restaurants, gyms, and even its own hospital! The atmosphere was buzzing all the time and the experience was amazing.

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Become a Postcrosser

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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Postcrossing is an online organization were your can send and receive postcards from around the world. It is free to sign up and you just need to send a postcard to receive one.

I first sent a postcard in September 2011 to New York USA and it took 8 days, which I think is a miracle lol. You can send up to 5 at a time to start off with so I received addresses for Germany, Netherlands, Taiwan and Belarus.

Postcards I'v sent


 
 
Once you have sent out your postcards you have to wait for the receiver to register the postcard and then your address gets given to someone random. I am quite an impatient person so waiting to receive a postcard was hard.

After nearly a month of waiting a received 3 postcards on the same day, so I guess it was worth the wait. Since then I have been sending and receiving postcards from around the world and connecting to people from all walks of life.

Postcards i've recieved
 
 

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Visit the Olympic Museum in Lausanne

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of the Olympic games, so when I travelled to Switzerland I knew I had to visit the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. When the Olympics is on I am glued to the TV watching every sport out there from Equestrian to High Diving, from Basketball to Archery.

So when I found myself in the Olympic Museum, I was ecstatic. Why is there an Olympic Museum in Lausanne? you might ask (just like I did). Well, it turns out that this hilly city on the coast of Lake Geneva is the home of the International Olympic Committee.

The Olympic Museum in Lausanne is the Olympic Museum. The grounds of the museum are beautifully manicured with statues relevant to the Olympics, the Olympic flame and marked Olympic records (such as a pole indicating the highest high jump).

When I arrived I purchased an audio set as it goes into a lot more detail about the exhibits you are looking at.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The first exhibit is packed with historical memorabilia including a gold, silver and bronze medal from the Sydney Olympics. There is also an entire display of all the Olympic medals from every Olympic game. The next section, one of my favorites, was a huge display of every Olympic torch from the very beginning up until the 2008 Beijing torch. Each was is surprisingly very different from one another and each has a story behind it. The London Olympic torch was not displayed as I visited before the games, but it has to be my favorite for many reasons. It was designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby and the 8,000 holes within the design represent the number of people involved within the Torch Relay around the UK.

 
The second floor is packed with equipment, clothing and shoes used and worn by former Olympians. Some of my favorite pieces were Michaels Phelps swimming trucks from Athens 2004 and Venus Williams’s winning tennis shoes from Sydney 2000.

There is a timeline that shows how world history has aligned with Olympic history, including the death of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team during the Munich games of 1972 and the 1980 Olympic boycott to the games in Moscow because of the country’s choice to invade Afghanistan. One section of the museum is also dedicated to the fight against doping.

Rotating exhibits also make an appearance at the museum. I wandered through Athletes and Science, which focused on the advances in technology and how that has changed the Olympic Games. There was also a section on the chemistry of an athlete’s body, which invited guests to participate in experiments of memory, reaction time and other essential skills Olympic athletes need. There was a lot of school groups in at the time I was there so all the activities were occupied by children!

I had a fantastic time at the museum and would recommend it to any Olympic Fan!

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Visit Every Country/ Continent (FIJI)

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I arrived in Nadi, Fiji around 5 am after a long flight from Los Angeles. I don’t know about you but I struggle to sleep on planes so I was ‘cream-crackered’!

It’s standard practise in Nadi (pronouced Nan-Dee) to offer airport transfer, which I found to be very helpful as I would have otherwise been stuck in a random airport at 5 in the morning. However I was picked up from the airport and was able to check into my room straight away. I then slepted for the entire day!!!

At night I went to an incredible Fijian Fire, sword and dance show. The traditional dancing was brilliant; each song told a story through movement. However the fire-dancing was the best; sometimes all the men danced together in a choreographed routine with sticks of fire, while other times they danced alone, breakdancing with fire! They would throw the sticks in the air and catch them, balance on eachothers backs and even twirl them with there feet.

Towards the end of the show they started dancing with machete’s. To prove they were real and very sharp they would cut a coconut in half with one slice. The men then went on to dance with it like with the fire, into the air and with their feet. One guy even danced with it blind folded!!!

The show ended in a huge conga line with the audience all dancing together on the beach as the music changed from traditional Fijian beats to reggae and other club mixes.  It was an incredible show and a spectacular welcome to Fiji.

The next morning I started a 7days/6nights tour around the Yasawa Islands visiting 4 different islands and resorts. The first resort was ‘Nabua Lodge’ where we visited the Sawailau Caves made famous in the film ‘Blue Lagoon’. 

At night we participated in a traditional kava ceremony, a Fijian ceremony where you sit cross-legged in a circle on the floor, play instruments, sing and drink kava.  Kava comes from the roots of the yaqona plant, but it is ground up and mixed with water before you drink it.  It looks and tastes like mud, and makes your mouth and tongue tingle.  If you can get past the taste of the kava itself, the ceremony is very nice. Every time you are given a cup you clap your hands once, say "bula" (which means hello), and drink it.  When you drink  from your shallow cup the rest of the circle claps three times in succession.  Everyone is happy during a kava ceremony.  It is a chance to enjoy time with friends, sort out any tribal differences, mend relationships, and learn from one another.



In resorts around the world there tends to be a distance kept between the local peoples and the tourists they serve.  In Fiji this is not the case.  In both Nabua Lodge and our next resort Waya Lalai we've met Fijian men, women and children excited to be our friends and to teach us about their culture.  They welcome us in with enthusiasm and sincerity.  Fiji doesn't feel like any other generic tropical paradise, it feels like Fiji, and it is definitely the Fijians and their willing openness that make it feel so special.

At Waya Lailai we swam with sharks and walked to the summit at sunset. The climb itself was steep and hard work but once at the top it is the most stunning view over the islands (Not as good as the view from a skydive lol). At the top you can also see the famous wobbling rock that is a must see when visiting Fiji. Whilst staying a Waya Lailai we also met some of the fijian rugby team as they were running to the summit for training ready for the world cup. Unfortuantley they were staying at the resort across the water!

The next resort was Korovou but unfortunatly we didn’t do any activities here as the day we stayed it was a Sunday (the day of rest) no activities were taking place. This meant we missed out on swimming with Manta Rays. However we were invited to church by the locals. This was an experience in itself as their style of teaching is more fun and energetic.











Last was Beachcomber Island, also known as the party island. We had a great evening here with ‘Happy Hour’ every hour! Fiji is fairly cheap anyway! The next morning we went on a Seaspray sailing trip. However most of my group were unable to go due to having too much fun the night before!!! We sailed all day and had a BBQ lunch. We visited the Island were Tom Hanks filmed ‘Castaway’ and we visited another village. This time the village didn’t have a resort near it so again this was real fijians!!



Fiji has to be one of the best places I have visited so far!

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Swim with Sharks

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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Fijians believe that they have magical powers.  One of these powers is their ability to charm sharks.  During my trip around the Yasawa Islands we stopped off at Waya Lailai, where we had the chance to swim with reef sharks. I couldn’t pass on this offer!

After a twenty minute bumpy boatride to the reef, one of the workers jumped out of the boat with a metal rod and speared some fish. I was a bit nervous at first as I’m not very good a snorkelling and was worried the waves would go over the top of my snorkal (they did!). I eventually jumped in with the rest of my group to see all different coloured coral fish eating the dead fish from the fijian. This fish frenzy brought out a few curious reef sharks who swam with and around us for a long while. The fijian guy’s were treating them like pets, feeding them and even stroking them!
We stayed in the water well past the point where we started getting cold and running out of speared fish, but I didn’t want to go back as I was having the best time. The entire ride home I wore a huge grin on my face, thinking about the magnificently gentle shark.

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Shake hands with a member of the royal family

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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I haven't quite managed this task yet but I am one step closer. While I was in London last week I passed by Buckingham Palace as you do and there was a few men with motorbiked hanging around.
I knew that something was happening as you don't normally see this kind of activity. The men are called 'out riders' and they stop the traffic for the queen when she is out and about in her car.

I positioned myself right next to the barrier outside the main gates and waited for about 20 minutes. THEN it happened! The Queen rode out in her car straight passed me. Below is the video I took.



As I am from England you would think that seeing the queen wasn't a big deal but believe me it is. Not many people can say they have actually seen a member of the royal family in everyday life.

Have you ever met someone of her importance in your own country?

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Skydive

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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Skydiving is on everyones bucket list and something that everyone should experience at least once. I had always wanted to do it but wanted the perfect view to look at. I had thought about doing it over the Great Barrier Reef while in Australia, but as soon as I arrived in Fiji I knew that this was the perfect place for me. Blue ocean and white sandy beaches, you couldn’t really go wrong with that.

I booked it with ‘Skydive Fiji’ though the hostel tour desk and they picked me up from there. You have to go through all the paperwork and basically sign your life away!

We arrived at the plane and I was given a harness to put on and tie up. This was the point I began to get nervous as they don’t exactly make sure it’s done up propery and you don’t get told what to do. We then got into this old, rickety plane that held 2 people and 2 instructors. As we slowly reached 12,000 feet I began to think about what I was actually doing and wether I would go through with it. My instructor Malachi, then finally tightened my harness and attached it to his, and then proceeded to tell me to put me feet out onto the step and and cross my arms over my chest when the door opened. Simple as that!!!

When we reached 12,000 feet my instructor opened the door and you could feel the wind straight away and it was freezing, but I didn’t care as my adenaline was pumping. Before I knew it we had let oursleves fall and we were literally falling to earth at around 120mph for 40-50 seconds!

It doesn’t feel like you were falling though as I think the higher you are the slower your brain registers that you are falling. With Bungy jumping for example the ground is getting closer and closer very quickly!!

As I was enjoying the scenery and getting relaxed Malachi opened the parachute and with a jolt we rushed back up a little bit. Floating through the air was such a great feeling and Fiji looks even more amazing than on the ground. After a while Malachi let me steer the parachute in circles and from left to right trying to get us over our target on the ground, and as the ground became closer he took over and when told I lifted my feet up for the landing. We both landed smoothly on our feet and I was totally in love with Skydiving.


Have you been skydiving and would you do it again??

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