Central Michigan University Athletics
Olympic Notebook With USA Assistant Softball Coach Margo Jonker
9/15/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sept. 15, 2000
What is the Olympic Village like?
Most of the Olympic participants are staying in the Olympic Village, which is just that. It has everything needed for a two-three week stay. The softball team is sharing a house with the 15 players and the two assistant coaches living there. It is a little cozy, but nice. The room I am staying in and sharing with the other assistant coach is a little smaller than my office at CMU. I never experienced dorm living but I think I am getting the sense of it now.
One thing that would catch your attention right away is that all the houses look alike. There are rows and rows. The village is broken up into sections that are identified by colors. We live in the green section. Most of the houses have flags hanging from them signifying which country the athletes and coaches are from. The village is full of many people who are extremely fit and wearing warm-up type clothing. Their outfits have the names of many, many different countries. Some of them I am very familiar with, some I have heard of but have no idea where they are located on the globe and some I have never even heard of at all. I'll have to get a world map out before I leave here.
There are many food areas and there is one huge eating area where there are foods from many countries. It is buffet style, much like a huge dining hall in the residence halls at CMU. I heard there were chefs brought in from around the world to create the cuisine. It is pretty good. You just have to look around to find the better choices. There is also a post office, bank, technical building (where I spent a large portion of time trying to figure out e-mail and phone services), souvenir shop, florist, game room, etc. You get the idea. Oh, I forgot the gymnasium. It is always busy-- no I haven't been in there, a little intimidating with all the world-class athletes working out there. But, I have reserved a free massage for tomorrow.
What differences have you noticed in Australia?
The accent is great here. I love to hear people talk, I go up to people and get into a conversation just to hear the accent. It is fortunate that Australia is English speaking, even though some terms mean totally different things here. One must be a little careful what one says. One expression that is so common is "G'Day Mate," with the appropriate accent of course. Another one is calling everything "bloody". I was told I was in front of the bloody mirror on one of the bus rides. We take the bus all around the village.
Lori Harrigan, who is one of our pitchers, loves to pick up on accents, so she is in her glory. Everywhere we have gone this summer she has picked up the accent and uses it until we leave the area. Until meeting her I never thought I had an accent, but I am now a little paranoid about it. She loves to tease.
One of the most dangerous things is driving on the other side of the road. Look right and then left is advice I have received from friends who have been here before. One athlete who drove a car his first day here was killed in an accident as he pulled out in front of another car. I cannot remember the country he was from, so one needs to be careful. I think I have the cars figured out, but every once in a while I find myself face to face (literally) with someone as I am walking down the wrong side of the sidewalk or worse yet walking up on the wrong side of the stairs. I am learning.
