What is it with Brits abroad?

It is through the key hole that you discover what makes a holiday unforgettable. 

I cannot take credit for the beautiful photograph above, that all lies with my younger sister and her creative touchscreen (none crapberry phone). However, I will proceed to present an insight into my muddled thoughts which have circumstantiated having experienced Brits abroad. Being British is a rigid image, we are certainly not the tall athletic physiced blonde, blue eyed tanned German one sees sipping a cold beer in the sun. We are not the chirpy, bright-eyed Dutchman we see during hotel breakfast; the early riser who talks proudly over orange juice at the breakfast table and opts for sour yoghurt and honey to awake his pallet in the morning. We are also not the energetic, loud and somewhat annoyingly enthusiastic American, licking a fast-melting ice cream looking out onto the harbour. What are we then when we are abroad? 

On a family holiday away in Kos, Greece I enjoyed the heat, the relaxed way of life and the friendly Greeks. I enjoyed this holiday, but it was a different kind of enjoyment, an enjoyment that I was not accustomed to. It panned out to be a slow-paced vacation and a week of escape from the normalities back home. Without any sort of guided recognition I found myself observing the different nationalities and their style of holidaying. The German holiday maker appeared organised armed with a bulky, black, optical zoom professional-looking camera and with some sort of plan for the day in mind. They mooched about the souvenir shops taking a more steady look at what it was that Greece had to offer the tourist. They did not commit to a sale over a snap-shot decision nor did they spend many minutes considering what to buy. The German style of shopping that I observed appeared relaxed, they would look with the eye and only intermittently quiz something more closely with their hands. They confidently handled the tourist scene which stirred interest on my part. The Dutch governed the cycle track, they rode fast, tall and straight-backed clearly being an old hand at such an activity. The Dutch cyclist saw the bicycle as an effective mode of transport opposed to a means of fun and would warn off slower riders ahead, and wandering pedestrians encroaching onto their cycle route with an assertive, short and sharp ring of the bell. The Dutchman's face looked relaxed, he was able to appear friendly without smiling, a unique trait. 

This only leaves the British holiday maker from the Europeans that I had observed whilst in Kos.

The Brit was a late arrival at breakfast, why should he awake early, he is on holiday after all. He ordered a beer at 11am opposed to a water or fizzy drink, the sun was intense and he was sunbathing and groping for something cold after all. His locality accent was strong (Mancunian, Brummy or Southern) and his laugh was loud. He roamed the island mostly topless, he was on holiday after all. He was red. Red-face, red-bellied and red-backed. However not all Brits took on this glow. Others appeared, so brown that you couldn't help but try and calculate just how many days had they been lying in the sun, had they time to see anything else of Kos beside the shore? The Brit ordered big at dinner; meat, chips and a large Mythos beer, dessert as well, he was on holiday after all. 

Even now, I try and fathom through my thoughts in efforts to pin-point why the Brit abroad stuck out so rigidly for me. I was thankful that I was on the island at the end of the holiday season (mid September) as I knew that had I holidayed earlier I would have seen many more Brits abroad. When talking to other Brits on holiday, conversation flowed and was warm, it was nice to contact familiarity whilst away. However, it was all too British for me. Did I notice these traits because I could spot the Brit abroad wearing an M&S linen trouser, a Topshop playsuit and Matalan beach bag? I think that what I am trying to admit is that I didn't like seeing so many Brits on my holiday. I wanted to meander through the small streets of Kos hearing different languages, looking at different clothing that I couldn't recognise the branding of and have help from the waiter because I couldn't read the menu. This holiday, this time around was too commercialised, it was too much of a little Britain for me. 

I am appreciative to be British and a second generation Brit lucky enough to have holidayed abroad in this current economic climate, and I mean that. However, I wanted to be cultured from the experiences from my holiday. I wanted to taste the traditional Greek cuisine. I admit that being a vegetarian did limit my ability to do so, and Greek taverns were plentiful however what I'm trying to say, is that I wanted a little more. I wanted more moussaka and less pizzas, less tour guides, less sun loungers and more mythology. Maybe this is something that I will experience more mainland Greece, who knows. Maybe it is I that has been spoilt by my previous holiday experiences and by my History degree that I sought more culture over convenience. 

More fun and games

So I think that it is about time for my next Olympics related update. My last blog was all about the more glamorous side of volunteering; meeting the athletes, embracing some of the coaches, watching the tournaments and, being in general awe of the Olympic Games. However this time I have noticed something different, maybe this has something to do with the fact that we are now into the second week of the games and the nation are accepting the world event as  a part of our daily routine. Some of the sparkle, smiles and pizazz from last week has been diluted. The bone that I am trying to pick is about the London underground system. In my last entry I remember being surprised by the way that the everyday Londoner portrayed himself differently. I saw him as friendlier, approachable and forthcoming. He was someone who looked up opposed to straight ahead with an icy stare. Eye contact was not an awkward misdemeanor.  I now hold a contrasting view. I ventured out around London, this being the first time not sporting my Gamesmaker uniform. I was pushed, squashed and not spoken to. Neither did I have half as much of the attention that I had been used to receiving last week. People would look at my uniform, smile at my presence, start conversation, and generally offer me a half an inch more space in an underground carriage than I was experiencing on my journey in disguise. I had become more background than foreground. I had a taste of commonality and it was bitter. I wanted to be a Gamesmaker again. I made my journey back to base camp and slumped on the sofa. London had reverted back to its giving with one hand, taking with the other persona. Had I been cocooned in an Olympics-loving bubble which had now been severely deflated? I cross - examined my journey and reflected. Yes, I was squashed at times but it was rush hour. Yes, I was not approached with enthusiastic conversation about the Olympics but that was because I was part of the London's general traffic. Yes, people didn't smile at me BUT I smiled any way during intermittent awkward eye contact, and that is what matters. I still love that London are hosting the Olympics and I still believe that London is changed by hosting the games. Yes, I smiled and although receiving a lesser ratio to the times that I smiled to the times I received a smile, I believe London is proud to be the hosting nation. It is simply expressed in a 'London' way: reserved, conservatively proud and borderline friendly. 

Back of house

Enough on that, now onto what makes volunteering for the Olympics hot and, what makes it not. Thursday afternoon, first shift back from my day off yesterday. During our twenty minute  group brief I got chatting away to fellow volunteers and we exchanged what we had got up to on our day off yesterday and how much our feet had been aching. Conversation started with a volunteer that was slightly taller than myself, a black rimmed glasses wearer who had a 'I work in IT' look about him. It materialised that he didn't in fact work in IT but was a Project Manager in Surrey. Nonetheless his day off topped mine. I relayed how I rested my entire body as I spent my day off sprawled across the sofa watching the Olympics on TV which was broken by venturing out during rush hour to make my way across London to spend time with my cousin brother. On his day off he travelled to his girlfriend's parents' house and asked her Dad for her hand in marriage. Hugh Grant eat your heart out! After I stopped melting over how cute it all was, reason caught me and I quickly asked if it had gone well. He replied with a huge grin and offered more detail on the background of their relationship. They met at University, lived together in their final year and in total had been living together for four and a half years. I asked if he had thought about how he might propose to her and he said if the weather stays nice, during a picnic. Nawww, what a brilliant way to start the shift. We were split up into groups and deployed to our various roles. I was in back of house. It sounds exciting but I soon realised that it was not! Below you can see what I was doing. 

This was the view I was looking at from my sitting position

I swapped between sitting on the chair, and casually pacing the floor. During both methods of existing I was left alone with my thoughts. It was a lonesome experience. My role was to check security passes as my post was an access point. After about half an hour of no one walking past, trickles of boxing athletes from various countries and their coaches began to walk past me. I engaged in a short wander and came across the boxing warm up area. I sneakily took a picture and accidentally backed into a Turkish boxer on my way back to post, oops. 

Athlete traffic was slow and far between and considering I did not know any of these boxers I was looking forward to being relieved. I was then posted on manning the entrance to the Olympic Family Lounge. This was fun as it was a fairly busy entrance point and I did get to meet some more boxing athletes and IOC members. All of whom were extremely friendly! However, some of the media did try and sneak past me. I did at one point have to get a bit of a jog and shout on to drag them back. Without an accredited  pass it is a no go - there was no getting past me! After my dinner break I managed to watch some of the boxing too - I love being in the Olympics bubble!

Boxing warm-up area

On my next shift I was placed in the seating bowl. It was my role to guide people to their seats and engage in friendly chat. I was at my most active just before the event began. Pretty much from then on I was watching the table tennis. During my afternoon shift I was enjoying the women's table tennis and during the evening I was watching some of the men's. Team GB were playing during both sessions so that was extra exciting. Especially because the crowd get completely behind the British competitors. It really is an incredible atmosphere to soak up, and I did let out a few cheers myself when a particularly nifty shot was played! 

Some of my Olympic volunteering pizazz - watching Team GB

If I was to choose what I had enjoyed watching the most out of what I have been lucky enough to have seen so far it would have to be the Boxing. This is because the crowd are so enthusiastic in supporting and watching the rounds. Cheering, clapping, and stomping on the floor - its a fantastic environment! My second most enjoyable to watch has been the Judo. It is again great to see the crowd get so behind the competitors, however I think that a lot of my fondness of the sport has to do with being in touching distance of the Judo athletes and coaches! 

Table tennis is a sport that I have not as yet been able to fully appreciate. It was introduced as an Olympic sport during the Beijing Olympics and so London 2012 has been the second year that it has been included in the games. I think that the sport is awkward to watch. The athletes appear like giants in front of a 'kids' size table and net, holding tiny bats. They have breaks in between each round and wipe the sweat from their faces and arms with unnecessarily large towels. I can't help but think that Table Tennis is the amateur version of 'proper' Tennis where sweating buckets, grunting and skidding across the court is fully understood. I don't know, maybe I need to watch it a little more to give it a fighting chance. For me, it was the atmosphere from the crowd that made my experience. The enthusiastic roars and mexican waves definitely help take away some of the scepticism I felt toward the sport. 

From behind the tainted glass

My cousin and I waving the flag!

On Sunday I went to the Olympic Park and was lucky enough to watch the Synchronised Swimming in the Aquatic Centre. I went with my family; my Uncle, Auntie, Grandma cousins and their family. That is three generations that had come to see a part of the Olympics! We were a group of ten and I was on kiddie patrol. I spent the day making up songs with them on the bus and around the Olympic park whilst tightly holding their little hands. Imagine getting lost in the park when it was at full capacity, eek. It was a brilliant day watching the swimmers in their bright and sparkly costumes dancing in the water. 

The event lasted around an hour and a half to two hours. I was trigger happy throughout the entirety of it, I wasn't missing a snippet of this wonderful Olympics experience. By the end of the swimming I was ready to get out of there. The Aquatic Centre is so warm and has this way of making you sleepy! We wondered around the park and soaked up the atmosphere, everyone is so energetic and chirpy - its amazing to be a part of! 

I think what I liked the most from this day is that I got to see the Olympic face head on as a spectator opposed to from behind the scenes as a volunteer. The many faces that make up London 2012! 

Start right, end right

First day back at ExCel after a couple of days off I was bouncing with energy. On the way down to the arena from the staff area I bumped into only David Cameron! He was sitting in our break area having a cup of coffee. I tell you no lie, he looked straight at me and smiled! I was wired for this shift. It was an extremely busy day in the seating bowl for the women's wrestling but I enjoyed meeting lots of wonderful people. At the end of my shift my team leader grabbed me and told me what a brilliant job I had done all day. She said that the arena manager had told her that this was the first day out of 11 that the arena had ran without any hiccups - its a wonderful feeling to be recognised for the effort that you put in. Perfect finish to the day! 

Only 2 more shifts left until my Olympics experience is over, I've had a ball! 

Keep smiling x

The Insider's Scoop on the Olympic Games

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past month and have missed the build up to the greatest sporting event....we're smack bang in the middle of the Olympic games!! I think I'm feeling different about the Olympic Games this time around. Usually the games has been something that I would watch casually on TV and follow occasionally in the newspaper but this time I'm hooked! Maybe it is due to a combination of aspects; its on home turf this time around, I'm in London for the duration, AND I'm a Gamesmaker volunteer!! 


The atmosphere around London is electric. The feeling of hope, excitement, pride and expectation is so strongly evident.  Its felt on the underground, the platforms, the streets and even when waiting for a bus, people can't help but be inspired by the olympics, its unavoidable. An example, generally speaking Londoners aren't the most forthcoming of people, rarely do people talk amongst themselves on the underground or out and about on the streets unless they know one another or at best, they absolutely have to. The rule of thumb is that people often keep to themselves. The entire dynamics of London's social means has evolved and shifted. I have people approaching me when I'm dressed in my Gamesmaker uniform on my journey to and from the games wanting to talk about the sporting events. They want to hear about my experiences and highlights so far, whilst sharing their own views on the whole affair - it is brilliant! Yesterday evening a gentleman started conversation with me on a hot, stuffy and overcrowded carriage along the Jubilee line between Canada Water and Waterloo. He was a typical swarve - looking businessman wearing a grey suit, neatly pressed holding a black brief case. He took his earphones out and began conversation. We exchanged our tales of how we thought that the tube system has been coping well so far with the high tourist volume and that all lines seem to be working well with frequent trains. We moved on to Rebecca Adlington securing a bronze  medal and then conversation steered onto which venue it was that I was working.

I'm volunteering at the ExCel arena where the boxing, weightlifting, judo, wrestling, table tennis and fencing is held. On my first day, the Saturday after the opening ceremony I was working the Boxing spectator zone where ticket holders would buy food and drink before they entered the seating bowl. It took me back to my first day at school feeling. The venue was HUGE, I didn't know where I was going and was praying that no one asked me where anything was as of course I didn't have a clue! It calmed me once I got upstairs to the staff area where I saw one hundred plus volunteers dressed exactly as I was. Beige trousers, Ribena coloured top and an unsure look on the face. We were briefed and deployed. A group of British spectators approached me and we got chatting about about the opening ceremony and the different parts that we really enjoyed. I realised later that I had forgotten all about how I was struggling to pull off my beige, lose trousers and how alien I felt in trainers. Before they left me to go and take their seats, two of the men shook my hand and said, 'thank you'. I smiled uncomfortably as I didn't understand what I was being thanked for, after all we were just chatting. I asked why, and they replied, 'For volunteering, without you we wouldn't have this so thank you.' It was moving and so unexpected to have heard that. I think it was at this point that that I felt the enormity of the games and what a fantastic opportunity it is to be a part of making the games happen. To top off the day, I even got the chance to watch some of the boxing.  

Since then I have been outside scanning tickets and welcoming spectators into the venue. Some of the fancy dress outfits that come through the gates are so imaginative and hilarious at the same time. One man was dressed as an ancient warrior supporting Thailand. Another pair were dressed in leotards and had foam weights who came to enjoy the weightlifting. The best I have seen so far are six men wearing morph suits in the colours of red, white and blue who were supporting the United States in the judo. I've also been asked a couple of times to have my photo taken with people. I think it was because at the time I was wearing a huge giant pink finger opposed to them appreciating my smile and charm! 

There are so many army personnel at ExCel, they are always wondering around the boulevard, outside and in the arenas. Most of them are working the security check points where bags and body scans occur. However every time that I go up to the staff break area they are there in their masses chatting and having dinner. It is a welcomed distraction to have them around though as it is always nice to gaze at men in uniform and exchange flirtatious banter. 

I think that the best moment of my volunteering experience so far has been watching the Judo quarter and semi - finals. My role was to stand next to the Olympic Family area where the athletes and their coaches are held. I constantly had to approach 6ft something athletes to ask them to find a seat and sit down. The reason being is that they were restricting viewing from those in the seating area behind who had paid a handsome price for their tickets. I got chatting away to the USA team coach and we jested after his team lost a match against Germany. When Canada was fighting in the semi - final the Canadian coach was so nervous that he came and stood behind me and shook me at one point. As you can imagine I didn't know what was going on! Then Canada won and he came over and hugged me and muttered some words in French. I replied, 'Oui, baguette' and walked away. Of course I didn't, I smiled and congratulated him and then asked an athlete from Mongolia to sit down. 

Sitting on the left are the Olympic Family

Yesterday was my first day off. I slept in and spent the day watching the swimming and cycling on TV, and rubbed Germoline on my achy feet. Today I'll get my debrief before my shift and will be deployed to my post for the day. No two days have been the same and I'm excited to find out where and what I'll be doing later. 

Feel free to leave your comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions :) next update will be posted soon, sit tight. x