I still can’t believe we went to the Olympics. We entered the lottery and booked our events package a year ago. Now August 2024 was here and we were ready to live this dream.
Lille, France: We started the trip with Saya smashing her finger in the door of the ‘adjoining’ rooms that we had booked. The hotel just gave us two rooms in a corner next to one another. The mix of ‘first night’ excitement and the to and fro between the NOT adjoining rooms left Saya with a badly smushed ring finger. I triaged with Auntie Erica that night and felt proud of my improv bag- clip finger splint.
Saya’s finger injury meant we visited the pharmacy first thing the next morning. The pharmacist knew what to suggest for her finger but only spoke French, and the junior pharmacist translated everything because we still only speak ‘American’. It’s a beautiful thing for me when people are working together yet don’t speak the same language. While we were rung up for arnica and disinfectant spray, Corey found a Paul patisserie and introduced the girls to small chocolate donuts. This detail is important because the Paul chain is from a small town twenty minutes outside Lille called Croix. So we had to support ‘local’, ya know.
Being in Lille was so fun because everyone we met was there to watch basketball. A city center filled with people who love my sport! And everyone had great energy, both representing their country as well as coming together for this global event.
On this first full day, we didn’t have any events scheduled. We decided to step outside of ‘Olympics’ world for a moment to see a small part of Lille. When I visit a new place, some of my first google searches are for local markets. Marche de Wazemmes did not disappoint. There is an outdoor section with rainbows of veggies, fruits and flowers, bric a brac stalls with tubes of buttons, and then a covered section at the other end of the lot with fish and prepared foods. I found Afghan fried dough (outside) and Corey found lasagna (inside). The girls were treated to chicken goujons at a food counter in the covered part of the market. Apparently, we missed a very famous old cheese stall in there, too (we learnt about this later from a friend who grew up in the neighborhood). We ended up with punnet of strawberries to eat for an afternoon snack.
After the market, we took the metro back to the central plaza. Part of the Olympic festivities included a pop-up basketball court. We watched people line up to play pick up, kids and adults alike donning favorite NBA jerseys mainly. The sun was in full effect today. The girls kept cool in the fountain and we tried gaufre for the first time. Today, we also established a daily routine as part of our Olympic ‘tour’: rounds of naps and watching Olympic coverage on TV in our air conditioned hotel room for an afternoon rest.
After our siesta, we strolled to the other festive sites for some swag and souvenirs. We snacked on strawberries, and I looked up a true gaufre shop. We made our way to La Meert. The waffles were already a treat, but the atmosphere made things taste even more delicious. Wow.
During dinner, I thought I was discreetly describing a yukata to the girls, but then the woman (Hiromi) came over to the table sharing paper cranes she’d made out of the placemats. It was so sweet– until my children ‘graciously’ asked her to change her creations into paper airplanes!? I tried to speak Japanese. Hiromi forgave me and asked about our basketball plans. It turns out we’d be sitting somewhat near each other in the stadium. We both couldn’t wait to watch Japan take on Brazil. She’d brought her 84 year old father to France solely to watch the men’s Japanese basketball team. We were also excited to see Greece play Australia in the second game because we’d get to see Giannis as a bonus!
Friday, at the men’s games, I was curious about the tallest player on Japan’s team. Maybe he was 1/16th Japanese? He looked completely Hakujin. This was confirmed when we looked down our row of seats to see his family sitting there. They were a White family from Seattle whose son was playing for Japan. How? He’d just gotten his citizenship after playing in Japan for about 7 years. Apparently, the Japanese citizenship test is the hardest to pass in the world. Their entire family was sports focused from the mom playing at U-Dub in the 80s to the family business being travel agents for current Uni teams. More fun meeting new people!
While we stretched during half time, I saw Hiromi coming up the stadium stairs from another section! We waved her over and she had a small bag of omiyage for the girls! Origami boxes with a little paper ball inside, Japanese crackers, and flying cranes. Oh wow, was I teary-eyed as so many parts of my world were colliding. Watching basketball with my kids, a Japanese woman thoughtfully gifting us with origami creations and being in an Olympic stadium. Too much!
I’d mentally prepared for our travel to include crowds, long lines, and stuffy spaces. The train from Lille to Brussels to Paris was none of these. We’d picked up Asian buffet from a mall by the train station and enjoyed our dinner on a chill journey to the epicenter of the games. Paris’ energy was vibrant and we could see the city had prepared well. Admittedly, I didn’t do research on the preparations leading up to the games, but as a guest, the city was buzzing.
The Madama’s came to have drinks with us at the hotel cocktail bar. Hugging family and sharing updates was the cherry on top! Corey and Jean-Medard even swapped stories with a PSG player who was sitting at the table next to us.
The next day was athletics, the event that I was honestly least excited about. My memories of track meets are waiting in the sun and only being able to see events directly in front of you. However, I was in tears by the end. Seeing the determination of individual athletes was overwhelming.
I guess people would feel most excited to hear that we saw all of the men’s 100 sprinters in their various heats …so Noah Lyles and his competition. But I was swept up in the women’s 800 repechage – a race that allows contestants who missed the qualifying standards to re-run in the competition. These women were giving it their all. I was in tears every time they circled the track; the Palestinian athlete running her heart out though she would place last in the heat. I was also in moved to tears (again) when a Mozambican sprinter was disqualified for a false start. The years of training gone in an instant for him.
The pole vaulters were the most joyful athletes at the stadium. The discus throwers weren’t getting much attention. Sachi was taking a nap through most of the games and Saya and I were enjoying hot dogs. The long walk back from Stade de France was well worth it. Saya tackled the whole thing on her own!
As I mentioned, we’d have a siesta and then regroup every afternoon with a sweet treat. On this Saturday, we’d just been handed our gelato cones when we saw people rushing to the barricades along the street. Turns out, we’d timed the men’s cycling impeccably. They are flying down the road even after riding almost 170 miles!
After the cycling race, we attempted to see the Olympic flame. This was the first time I felt overwhelmed by the sheer crowds. We also didn’t know that guests needed a timed-entry ticket. We didn’t have that. Instead, we met with Danae, Doreen and Dylan in the gardens right outside the Lourve for a couple hours and this was a much better option. So proud of Dylan for heading to Michigan State, Danae for her study abroad trip to Argentina and Doreen for heading back to Uni a week early to welcome the new international cohort of students for freshman week.
We had Thai that night and then I fell asleep with the girls while Corey met up with an old colleague at the hotel cocktail bar.
We packed the next morning and were on our way to beach volleyball. Talk about picturesque! The stadium was in the green behind the Eiffel Tower. The volleyball matches were a turn up. Music and cheers after every play. Sachi’s favorite part was a dance party with the Olympic mascots. Corey’s favorite part was the chants for ‘Monster block’. The announcer was also a fun time getting into the crowds and interviewing fans from China, Brazil, and Sweden. We saw a men’s and women’s match for this one. So fun!
We finished with a nice French lunch and boarded the Eurostar. The server couldn’t have been nicer. I think it was also our best meal of the weekend, unless you count the gaufre from La Meert. Without a doubt, our family got caught up in the Olympic spirit every day and we’ll be telling the stories from this trip forever!
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