From Busbee: Olympic Dispatch #1, with so much drama in the DMZ
Hey friends! I've been in South Korea for a full week now, and I've already ridden on more buses than I ever did in elementary school, shuttling from event to event. And each one of these buses is beautifully multicolored inside, featuring a front-mounted 36-inch television showing Korean shows. They've ranged from Olympics (duh) to soap operas (which are awesome and easy to follow even in Korean) to some of the most wack-ass commercials you've ever seen (one features a Scarface-looking dude who busts out a Neti pot and drains water through his nostrils, right there in the ad. And you thought Super Bowl commercials were bad.)
Anyway, yesterday I was watching some reality TV show that involved a woman having an in-depth conversation with a dog. I couldn't tell if the dog was talking back or if it was a voice-over. Regardless, in the midst of all that, I suddenly heard a word I recognized: gomaseubnida, which means "thank you." It was a revelation, a sudden connection with a language that, for me, is damn near impenetrably foreign.
I'd made a vow to try to learn one new word a day while I was here. That plan fell apart the moment I tried to say gomaseubnida. It took me about two days to get the pronunciation right; it's basically "kam sa habneeda," which is a gross-looking phonetic reduction of what's really a beautiful-sounding word. At least, it's beautiful in the voice of native speakers; the first few times I tried to say it, the ever-polite young volunteers giggled and looked at me like I was spitting up live goldfish. Imagine someone trying to say "thank you" and it coming out "thonk oh, tank ooh, trunk yo," and you've got a good idea of what I probably sounded like to these cheery, patient folks. All part of the grand vista that is Olympic coverage.
My job over here is this: find stories. Some of them are easy: you stand at the bottom of a mountain and wait till someone comes down the hill faster than anyone else. And some require thinking a little more ... laterally. Here's the best of what I've done up to this point. Check all this out and tell me what you think:
Big heads, bare skin, and Luge Hooch: In the stands with the Olympics' wildest fans. Spent a peel-your-face-off-cold evening with the families of lugers. Those folks know how to freakin' party.
Statues of naked men greet visitors to the Olympics. There are statues of 12-foot-high buck-ass-naked dudes in the Olympic village. I had questions. So many, many questions. Bonus: this article features the first-ever use of the word "penisception" in a major American news publication.
'Olympic kill us': Shop owners across from ski mountain are struggling. This was where the language barrier hit hard. I tried to talk to half a dozen shop owners, and most couldn't understand a word of English. But a kid and I did manage to communicate via smartphone and Google Translate, and I ended up having lunch with a genial Korean man and his family.
Nigeria's first-ever bobsled team prepares triumphant Olympic debut: Talked with the members of Nigeria's bobsled team, who took this effort from zero to Olympics in less than 18 months. Pretty amazing.
Gus Kenworthy arrives in PyeongChang out and proud. Skier Gus Kenworthy came out two years ago, and he gave an eloquent defense of why it's important for him to continue to mention his sexuality. Short version: there are a lot of people struggling with their identity who could use a role model. I don't get people who complain that articles like this even exist; it's like they expect the entire media ecosystem to be tailored only to them.
How Jamie Anderson beat the wind to win Olympic gold. On a day that was better suited for staying the hell indoors and hiding under furniture than snowboarding, now-two-time gold medalist Jamie Anderson managed to survive the wind and triumph with a super-conservative program.
Opening Ceremony's moments of humanity won the night. The Opening Ceremony was the coldest event I've ever covered, a record that stood for exactly two days until the luge night above. It was, as usual, over-the-top spectacle, but there were a few small moments that I enjoyed, and the final torch run, which I flat-out loved.
At DMZ, scars remain even as South Korea tries to heal. Surreal afternoon at the DMZ, looking straight into North Korea.
Siblings Matt and Becca Hamilton aim to become America's curling darlings. Well, the curling duo got pretty well waxed in mixed doubles, but they're still competing in the individual competitions.
PyeongChang prepares for world's eyes with safety, security in mind. Opened the Olympics with this, a quick tour around several venues to see how everyone was getting ready just before the curtain went up.
There you have it. Something for everyone! Thanks much for reading and hanging. Plenty more to come; I've got to tell you about the food and the emergency alerts in Korean and the brutal wind and the magnificent sunrises and ... -Jay
PyeongChang, South Korea
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