Tony Black, USA Wrestling's Manager of State Services, was chosen to attend the 50th Session for Young Participants at the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece. While in Greece, Tony will be chronicling his experience for wrestling fans to follow.
 
Greetings from Athens, Greece! I left Colorado Springs on Tuesday morning, and 20 hours later arrived in Athens. The last time I was in Europe was in 2003 for the Greco-Roman World Championships in Creteil, France, and I have a feeling that this is going to be a much different experience.
 
I was prepped by former participants of the International Olympic Academy of what to expect, so hopefully I'm prepared.  Everyone talked about how hot it is in Greece during June, and they weren't lying.  I checked the forecast the day before I left, and it is going to be in the upper 90s during my two weeks here.  Normally I am not one to buy and drink bottled water, but my stance on that has certainly changed for the short term.
 
There are two other US delegates with me, Regina Bennis-Hartman and Angie Murphy. Regina works in International Games for the US Olympic Committee, and Angie works for USA Triathlon.  Ironically enough, Angie and I grew up in the same town, River Falls, Wisconsin (a town of 12,000), so we have known each other for many years.  Actually, our parents all graduated from River Falls High School, so our ties go way back.  All three of us are excited about the opportunity to be part of the IOA, as the mission closely allies with our own personal and professional philosophies.
 
I am not an anxious person by nature, but I always experience a little anxiety when packing for trips.  This trip was way worse.  Fortunately, I haven't realized that I forgot anything, so hopefully that is the case upon closer examination of my luggage.
 
The flights were rather uneventful, which is always a good thing.  My flight from Frankfurt to Athens was a little interesting, so I'll be sure to touch on that in a minute.  Do I dare admit that I watched a movie with Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Patrick Demspey, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Swift, among others on my flight over the pond?  Bonus points if you know what movie I'm talking about.
 
Okay, I have to tell my story about the flight from Frankfurt to Athens. For some reason, maybe flying through the middle of the night, I was tired and wanted to sleep.  I put in my headphones and reclined my seat. That's when it got a little more interesting.  I was jarred when the passenger behind me starting yelling and violently pushing on the back of my chair.  I was interested in sleeping, so I turned back to look between the seats.  The passenger's husband shook his head at me, so I shook mine back and said that I would like to recline my chair back.  The pushing and yelling (which I could hear through my headphones, which I quickly took out) continued, so the flight attendant came to talk to us.  After talking with me in English and the upset passenger in German, she told me that she was going to get the chief flight attendant to explain the situation.  After speaking with the second flight attendant, I reclined my seat and napped. Twice more during the flight the passenger yelled and tried to push my seat forward. The passenger next to me was a high school teacher from North Carolina, so at least we got a kick out of it.
 
My brother, Kevin, has been on probably a half-dozen tours as a women's coach for USA Wrestling, and it seems like he never gets his luggage when he arrives at his final destination.  I was hoping for a little different outcome than what he has become accustomed to with this trip.  Well, I'm happy to report that all of my luggage showed up in Athens with me.  Regina and Angie also had no problems with luggage, so we were 3-for-3.  Dating back to my days competing in college, I always have an imaginary “bet” to see whose luggage will come first, and today I won. 
 
After a 40 minute bus ride, we arrived at the Metropolitan Hotel in Athens. This will be my home for the next two nights, and I have been paired up with Udaya Dushan Kumara, one of two Sri Lankans at the IOA.  Udaya speaks decent English, so we have been able to get to know one another and each other's cultures.  We even got to move rooms together, as there was standing water in our bathroom from a leaky pipe. 
 
In addition to getting to know Udaya, Angie and Regina and I walked around for a little bit in the afternoon heat.  We watched a little World Cup soccer (Switzerland's upset victory over Spain) while eating gyros – it didn't take long to find the delicious Greek food.  I'm really looking forward to being over here during the World Cup, as there will be 170 others from all over the world at the IOA.  Already we have met the two representatives from Slovenia, so I'm sure we will be jawing back and forth between now and Friday, when our nation's soccer teams square off in Ellis Park, South Africa.  Hopefully Steve Cherundolo (my sister's favorite American player) and company give us reason to celebrate.
 
After tonight's dinner, I was hoping to find the latest episode of The Deadliest Catch online.  I figured hulu.com would be the place to check, so I just checked.  Unfortunately, hulu only streams video content to users in the US, so I'm out of luck for the time being to watch the US Coast Guard rescue a crewmate on the cod boat, The Alaskan Leader, that my cousin captains.  Good thing for friends with DVR.
 
One benefit of the heat and humidity here – I don't think I have to worry at all about the wrinkles in my suit for tomorrow night's formal reception, as they'll easily come out hanging in my hotel room closet.
 
Citius!  Altius!  Fortius!

Thursday, June 17, 2010
 
Athens is 9 hours ahead of Colorado Springs, so the difference in time zones really contributed to me being tired last night.  We had our first meal in the hotel, just a few hours after eating gyros, and were all impressed.  I really enjoyed the fruit tarts for dessert.
 
I'm working on meeting all of the 170 camp participants, but realize that it has been difficult.  It's interesting to meet people with names that I cannot really pronounce.  Everyone is in the same boat as me right now, and I think they're resorting to trying to learn countries for now. But even then, I have met people from places that I didn't even know were countries (like Maldives and Mauritius).
 
We spent the morning at the Acropolis, so we were able to see the Parthenon.  There are other buildings in the process of being restored and/or rebuilt on the Acropolis, so it was neat to see buildings that were built over 2500 years ago.  After the Acropolis, we went to the Parthenon Museum, and impressive building just a few blocks from the Parthenon.  The last stop of the day was the Panathenaic Stadium – where the 1896 Olympic Games, the first modern Olympic Games, were held. 
 
The (not so) highlight of the day so far has been the heat.  On the bus ride back to our hotel, it was 41 degrees.  For those of you who aren't fluent in Celsius, that is 105 degrees Celsius.  Needless to say, I was dripping sweat. 
 
I am amazed at how well the other attendees of the International Olympic Academy speak English.  At my table today at lunch were people from Japan, Iceland, Denmark, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Maldives, and Latvia.  Most even have a sense of humor in English, which impresses me.
 
During breakfast today, I heard an instrumental version of a song that I knew I knew.  After listening to the song for about 30 seconds, the chorus came on and I realized it was "Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel.  It reminded me of high school wrestling practice, as Simon & Garfunkel was a band we used to listen to.  That, along with Poison, Garth Brooks, the Lion King soundtrack, Cheap Trick, Boston, among others, was normally heard coming from our wrestling room.  Quite eclectic. 
 
Tonight is the opening ceremony at the Hill of the Pnyx.  I doubt the ‘p' is silent, so we're guessing it's pronounced phinx.  Like sphinx, with no s.  My Greek skills are not rapidly progressing, although I do know how to say thank you in Greek.  That's always a big one to learn.
 
I just got a laugh out of a question I was asked by a fellow American who is in the hotel lobby.  She is a retiree from Ohio who is on a tour, so she read my shirt (Air Force Wrestling) and immediately got excited.  Her question: Do you watch The Bachelorette?  Wow, logical question to ask with the shirt I'm wearing.  I quickly responded with no, but she went on to explain that one of the contestants is an entertainment wrestler. Does that sound correct to any fans of that show?
 
I found out that Udaya, my roommate, allegedly accepted 29 Euros worth of pay per view movies yesterday.  The hotel employee who I talked to said that he accepted a "packet” by entering our room number.  I do know that he was watching Ice Age when I was in there, so hopefully all of the movies were of the same nature.
 
Time for me to sign off, as I have to get ready for the opening ceremony. 

Citius!  Altius!  Fortius!

We're all loaded on five tour buses and ready to depart for Olympia. The last two days have been in Athens, and now the next 11 will be at the International Olympic Academy in Olympia. I will have more information on Olympia in future blogs.

Last night was the opening ceremony of the session, which was long and difficult for many people to stay awake. At least for me and everyone I talked to. After the ceremony was a reception at our hotel in Athens. At the end of the ceremony, the emcee told us that the night was still young. Considering he again reminded us of this fact once we were back at the hotel, clearly there were expectations of the reception being a party. A dance party.

Those who know me know that I'm not much of a dancer. Last night was a little different, though. It was interesting to see what songs would be played. The DJ was really good at throwing in the annoying siren sounds and other various (just as annoying, though) sounds. The highlights of music selected included "Hotel Room Service," "Beat It," and "Jump Around." I get teased about being Wisconsin-centric (more on that in a bit), but "Jump Around" has special meaning for any Wisconsin football fan.

I mentioned how everyone at this session can speak English. I wonder how thorough their understanding of English really is, because I wonder if they know what DMX actually is talking about in "Up In Here."

Back to me being Wisconsin-centric. I am quick to notice Wisconsin license plates, strike up a conversation with a Wisconsinite, or tell my non-Skonnie friends how great Wisconsin is. Well, on our first day here, Angie and Gina and I were walking down the street and saw a black Ford Escape. I drive the same vehicle, so it certainly stood out in a crowd of non-American vehicles. The Escape turned right in front of us, and that is when I saw the "University of Wisconsin" sticker in the back window. I was pumped! I was hoping that it was going to quickly pull over, as I would have went to talk to the driver, but it wasn't meant to be.

I have gotten to know one of the Australian delegates, Adam, a little over the first two days. Yesterday on our walk to the Parthenon Museum he told me that he went to college in and swam for Nebraska from 1996-2000. My next-door neighbor and good friend Brad Vering was there from 1996-2001, so of course I sent Brad an email asking if he remembered Adam. Brad said that he does, and that he remembers him being an awesome swimmer. I tend to agree, as Adam was in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympic Games.

So many towns and cities dub themselves as the official fill-in-the-blank. For example, Boscobel, Wisconsin, the hometown of USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender, is the Wild Turkey Capital of Wisconsin. Anyways, I am dubbing Athens the Graffiti Capital of the World.

I have a feeling that motorcycle etiquette isn't just different in Greece, but rather all foreign countries. I would never cruise down the road in between cars, but that is commonplace here. What really surprises me is when motorcyclists do this between our bus and other vehicles. I guess I just tend to obey the white dashes used to separate lanes of traffic, not ride right on top of them on my motorcycle.

The bus just drove by a place called Tony's la Mama's. I'm not sure what kind of place it was, but I can assure you that it is awesome. Okay, maybe I can't assure that.

We saw that the Lakers won the NBA Championship last night (this morning here). I'm not a huge basketball fan, but I was hoping the Celtics would win. I have always liked KG, so I was hoping they'd win for that reason. My Minnesota Twins got schooled by Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies yesterday when going for the sweep, and the US soccer team plays Slovenia tonight at 5:00. I'm not sure if there will be a way for us to watch the game, but I'm sure we'll try. Anything else happen in the world of sports?

Time to chat with the guy sitting next to me on the bus, Leo, a taekwondo player from El Salvador.

Citius! Altius! Fortius!