We were fortunate to get some Olympic tickets. It was a lottery system and the majority of our friends who applied did not get any so we felt really privileged to get tickets to two events: volleyball and football. Charles and I went to the volleyball match today. We watched Japan vs. Dominican Republic in the first match and Russia vs. Algeria in the second match. The first match was fairly close with Japan winning. The second match was completely lop-sided. Russia crushed Algeria. It was close to embarrassing at times. The crowd really got behind Algeria and cheered really loudly whenever they got a point, which really wasn't that often. There were times when I thought my high school volleyball team could have beaten them. But overall, it was a really fun experience. We have never seen London before more efficient or friendly in our time here. Here are some pictures:
The Earls Court Venue:
Ready to go in (the stewards were so friendly they were offering to take people's pictures!):
Pretty high up but still in the arena so we were happy:
Eliot was a star. At one point we laid him on the ground on a blanket and he had a fun little kick about. We got a couple of funny looks, but mostly smiles from those around us. We wondered if we looked negligent or laid back, thoughts?
A close up of Eliot which is both cute (with the smile) and kind of scary (with the red eyes!).
All in all, it was a great day. A big thanks to Charis for watching the older three kids. We will do the same for her next week as she and Seulgi have the same tickets for next Monday. There was part of us who felt bad for not taking the older kids, but we are confident they were more excited about going for a long playdate at the Byuns than they would have watching the volleyball. :)