Justin Correia is the brother of Maritza Correia, a member of the U.S. Olympic swim team. He and his family have joined Maritza in Athens for the Summer Games and will be providing an ongoing diary of the experience.
By JUSTIN CORREIA
Published August 13, 2004
The past week has been so exciting with all of our friends and family wishing us luck as the days came near. But Wednesday finally came and we were off on our journey to the Olympics.
Our flight left at noon from Tampa, and we stopped off in Atlanta to continue on to London. The flight from Atlanta to London had to be the longest flight I have ever been on. As excited as I was getting on the plane, my excitement shifted to getting off the plane to see some land.
It was a seven-hour flight, so we were to arrive in London at 6 a.m. When we came close, I looked out the window and saw the country of England below me. I thought to myself, "I can't believe I am so far away from home -- Thank you, Maritza!"
I was actually born in England and I lived there for my first 4 years of life. I had not returned since, so when we stepped off the2 plane, I realized that I had not been here in 24 years! We had four-hour layover in the London airport, and the excitement started to build again. We had 3 more hours of plane travel and we would be at the Olympics.
We finally hopped on the plane for Athens, and that is where we first really felt all the excitement of the games. The British Olympic Team was on our flight, and they had so much energy and laughter. We talked to some of the cyclists and they were giving us their names and what they were competing in.
As we crossed over Greece, the noise level in the plane increased. It was a fairly bumpy ride, but nobody seemed to care. As we disembarked from the plane, I looked around and thought "Wow, this is where all those mighty battles were fought, this is the place that it all started." The Olympics were about peace and competition -- not war.
Walking through the airport, I realized quickly that in Greece, not everyone speaks English. This is something that I am still in awe about. It is very hard to convey information when the other person has no idea what you are saying and vice-versa.
As we drove to our hotel room, I saw the Athens that I never knew about. My knowledge prior to this was nothing to what I have seen so far. It is a very different country over here. The people are very nice and friendly, but very poor.
One thing that the American team adviser had told us was not to wear anything that would make us stand out as Americans. At first I understood why, and it was for our own safety. But as we have started to walk around and seen some of the other countries, exposing their flags and their colors, I felt sad. I want to be able to wear my colors proudly whether it is safe or not. I felt that way on the plane, too, with the British team. They had all their Team GB stuff on, and we were in plain clothes. Walking around Athens, American families were not in the "red, white and blue." Starting tomorrow though, I have decided that i am going to be wear my colors and not be afraid, because I am a proud American.
Time's up. I'll write again soon about the opening ceremonies.
