Closing Ceremony

Yes! I got a ticket to the Closing Ceremony! Wow....The Chinese just kept delivering! As I sat there, it was bittersweet for me. I had suffered from homesickness really bad this last week....and on the other hand, I had a circle of new friends that I had made that was gonna be sad to say goodbye to. The Bird's Nest was sold out and the place was filled with enormous energy. And I was in great company. We had a great group of guests for Wave 5. They were an interesting bunch and I thoroughly enjoyed the commaderie that we all felt and they were a lot of fun. I've posted new pics of the closing ceremony. I'm sure most of you saw it on TV....but what can I say....I was there! :)

Dinner after the closing ceremony was awesome. Normally, us volunteers are so tired that we get back to the AO suite, grab a bite to eat and head back to our hotel. But this night was different. It was celebration night! If there was a night to stay up all night, this was the night. To have made it through this entire was adventure, way on the other side of the planet from home, alone....yeah, I felt I had accomplished something. So instead of rushing back to our hotel, we celebrated. Memorable evening.

Then on Monday after the closing ceremony.....it was a full day. First was lunch with Patrick and Michelle at the Grand Hyatt. Mmmmmm, the peking duck was exquisite! I love it! Then we all rushed to the Birds Nest for photos with the entire AO team. There were about 300 of us. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna look pretty bad in those photos. We were facing the sun, I had had little sleep, eyes were burning from the sun.....I can only imagine the faces I made in those photos. It was a pretty painful experience standing in the hot sun while they tried to corral all 300 of us for photos. Then we all were off to buses for a 2-hour trek to the After Games Party for AO. It was held out in the boondocks and we had no idea what to expect. The drive seemed long. I was exhausted and kept wondering when we would ever arrive. But I must say, when we arrived, I was impressed. It was a major shindig of a party. Very elaborate. Live band. Lots of special effects. And the guest list was huge. Party officially started at 8 and was to go to 3 am. And everyone who knows me, knows I love a good party. But I was so tired, that I took the first bus home at 10:30. Then the bus dumps me off on the side of some freeway in Beijing. Grant it, it's 1:00 in the morning. But another AO guy got off the bus at the same time...and I must have had a look on my face that said "What do I do now??" Because he asked if he could help. I said I guess I need a taxi and did he think I could get one there at that spot or did I need to walk somewhere. He said give me a sec and he hailed me down a taxi. Thank God for angels!! :)

Tuesday, I had a little bit more shopping I wanted to do. I had started packing and it became very obvious that I needed another suitcase! So it was off to the Silk Market again and bargain for a suitcase. Grant it, when I got back to the hotel, I completely filled that suitcase. I really hadn't realized that i had shopped that much. Oh well.....when will i get to Beijing again?!?!! :)

So I arrived home a day earlier than expected. I told my husband but I asked him to not tell the kids. I really wanted to surprise them.

Adrian picked me up at the airport and he asked what I was hungry for.....and I'm sure that those of you who know me, knows exactly what I wanted.....MEXICAN FOOD!!!!! I was craving it!!!

Then at 4:30 in the afternoon, Adrian and I headed to Laytin's school to surprise him as he got out of football. I saw him exit the school but he just stayed around the front door. He called his dad's cellphone and asked if he was in the Murano (Adrian's normally picks him up in his jeep).....I get out of the car and then I heard Laytin say "is that Mom?" Then he took off running to me! It was awesome!!!! It felt so good to see my son!!!!! I think he grew 3 inches this month while I was gone! He is taller than me now!

Then at about 5:30, I heard my daughter get home from work and as she headed to her room, she sees me standing in my kitchen and she froze for a second and then burst into tears. My family didn't leave my side for hours. So much to talk about. IT FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME!!!! God is good.....all the time!

Again, I was to say thank you to everyone who followed me on this journey. It has been an amazing journey for me. I would have never dreamed that I would ever be given this opportunity. A big THANK YOU to Paul!!! Patrick Adiba asked me if I would do it again.....I immediately responded...."in a heartbeat!" I have no regrets. I met so many interesting people....clients and AO people alike. And to experience the Chinese culture was such an enlightening experience. Its such a rich culture. The Chinese that I interacted with were such gracious people. As far as the work, it was a lot of hard work with no time off. Long days. And there were times I was so exhausted, I couldn't think. But still, I would do it again.

My personal email is sdhcortez@gmail.com. Please feel free to email me and stay in touch!

Love to all!!!
Sandra