On June 18, I went to Special Olympics NJ to pack my suitcase and my carry-on bag with 6 other Team USA members from NJ. We left at 11:00 am on a bus to go to Baltimore with Lillian Narvaez, VP of Sports. We got to the Doubletree Hotel and checked in. That night, we had send off party. We had dinner with Team USA. On June 19, we flew to Ireland and then to Rhodes. We practiced swimming and shopped. Even though the games were in Athens, I explored more in Rhodes. We went to Old Town Rhodes. On June 24, we took an overnight ferry to Athens. It was not easy to sleep. We got to Athens on June 25, in the afternoon. The first part of the Special Olympics World Games was the opening ceremonies. We walked down a pathway in the middle of the stadium. The audience was cheering and the volunteers were high fiving us. Also, performances were going on that I could not see. My parents took pictures of two men steering paper rams. It looked silly. I felt proud and a little scared. It also scared me to meet new people. We got back to our hotel at 3:00 in the morning.The swimming competition was stressful because there was pressure to do well for myself and my parents. The backstroke was exciting because I could see my opponent. I was nervous because my parents did not know who won! I missed being home but I was more happy to have my once in a life time experience in the Special Olympics World Games. Being with the team helped me be less homesick. I stayed in a hotel where I ate American food. When my parents took me out to lunch, we ate gyros. They had French fries inside which were delicious.
The food was good and so was the sight-seeing. We went to watch the US Tennis Team and the track team. One day, some athletes and coaches from Team USA went sightseeing. We walked up to see the Acropolis Museum and the Parthenon. The walk was hot and tiring. The museum had statues in it from ancient Greece. It is cool that the statues did not fall apart over time. The Parthenon was my favorite part because I was surprised how much of the building was left. My experience was really fun! The closing ceremony was July 4th. I got sick riding the bus to the ceremony. There was good music but I couldn’t see very well because I was laying down. . My coach Meg helped me trade t-shirts with people from other countries. I got a Japan and an Israel Special Olympics t-shirt. I traded pins with athletes from other countries, too. Trading was fun.
The food was good and so was the sight-seeing. We went to watch the US Tennis Team and the track team. One day, some athletes and coaches from Team USA went sightseeing. We walked up to see the Acropolis Museum and the Parthenon. The walk was hot and tiring. The museum had statues in it from ancient Greece. It is cool that the statues did not fall apart over time. The Parthenon was my favorite part because I was surprised how much of the building was left. My experience was really fun! The closing ceremony was July 4th. I got sick riding the bus to the ceremony. There was good music but I couldn’t see very well because I was laying down. . My coach Meg helped me trade t-shirts with people from other countries. I got a Japan and an Israel Special Olympics t-shirt. I traded pins with athletes from other countries, too. Trading was fun.
On July 5, we flew back to Baltimore and stayed there overnight. On July 6th, the NJ athletes rode in a van to Special Olympics NJ where my mom and dad picked me up. We took pictures with NJ athletes of Team USA with a banner from the world games.
