setting the scene

Before I flood the blog with posts of Seoul (we took a second trip), I figured I should give a little bit of background on the lay of the land here in Pyeongchang. We work long shifts so its easy to get into hotel/work/hotel/work mode and not share any of that because it all seems routine after doing this a few times. But unlike the other Olympics I've worked since 2006, we're in the mountains for this one. Most Winter Olympics have been centered in a city close to mountains that can host the events necessary. In Torino and Vancouver, both arena and mountain events seemed pretty much spread all over with no real center, but we were in urban areas. Sochi did things differently by building a coastal Olympic Park full of arenas, pavilions and common areas similar to many Summer Games (and even with newly built housing surrounding it,) while mountain events were scattered further apart. In contrast, Pyeongchang has made the mountain area the main focus of the games, so there's an Olympic Park with the Stadium for Opening and Closing here, as well as the main Broadcast and Press Centers, along with a second "Coastal Cluster" for the arena based events an hour or so away. It's basically like being in a close cluster of ski resorts, and things like transportation and facilities have been unusually easy and reliable. And unlike the rainier coastal places we've been in, it's definitely cold. Workwise, we're in the midst of shifting schedules from all working together to splitting to two opposite 12 hour shifts, which will have me starting work around the 4pm side. Honestly I hardly know what day or time it is anymore anyway, so chances are that will go just as smoothly as everything else seems to have been.