Arrival in Beijing!

With only a few minor hiccups along the way, we have safely arrived here in Beijing. We arrived in Los Angeles for our 1:40 am flight to Beijing and discovered how lucky we are to live in California. We met up with referees from Panama, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Mexico who had been travelling for hours and hours just to get to Los Angeles. After 12 and a half hours en route and a small delay in customs to smuggle Marlene into the country, we arrived at our hotel just in time for breakfast.

Enjoying the luxurious surroundings of our hotel we settled in for the whirlwind of introductions awaiting rookie officials as referees for the men’s and women’s Olympics began trickling into our shared accommodations. Without the other US referees who were still en route to Beijing, we ventured out on our own a bit. After breakfast we embarked on a journey through Beijing to complete the accreditation process at the Beijing Hotel. With the help of a map, Veronica’s language CDs, and the gesturing and waving of volunteers at Olympic information booths we were successfully able to traverse the four blocks to the other hotel.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed the amenities of the well appointed fitness center and grabbed some lunch. After lunch, we fought the urge to sleep and picked up the clothing issued by FIFA and the Olympic committee. Continuing to resist the call of jetlag, we proceeded to try on the mountain of clothing we lugged up to our rooms and began checking email and settling into our rooms. Tomorrow we begin classroom and fitness training in earnest.

Marlene and Veronica