Saturday, February 8, 2014

The Olympics Are Finally Here

So the thing that someone in our house has been highly anticipating is finally here.  

The Olympics in Sochi, Russia are on the air (well, sort of--whenever NBC decides that we should see them) and our DVR is going to be very busy over the next 2 weeks.

My daughter is 16 years old as of last month.  As I recall, being an adopted child who is 16 is about the perfect age to be totally into returning to your roots, finding out who you are in the scope of the world in which you live.  At sixteen I was really into reading books about adoptees who had searched and found their birthparents.  I gave speeches in speech class about it and about adoption.  It truly is the peak time to be finding yourself, whether you are adopted or not, I suppose.

Well, at our house right now, it is all about "the Russia".  

For her birthday we gave her a language program for the computer for her to play with so she could learn Russian or at least try to revive it from her brain a little.  I'm sure our search engine is filled with requests about Sochi and I know that her singing in the past couple of months has been totally focused on the Russian singers she has found on youtube that she loves.  

After this last big snow she went out in our front yard and trudged out the letters SOCHI 2014.  The anticipation has been dripping from her every pore.

Last night after we got home from her basketball game we stayed up really late and watched the DVRed opening ceremony from the Games.

It was fabulous and beautiful.  Sure, it was filled with government propaganda that glossed over the darkest part of the country's history, but it was a fantastic use of modern technology focused on an event showcased for the world to watch.

The music from Russia's history is gorgeous and moody and dark and bright all at the same time.  The dancing was awe inspiring and the singing was tear inducing in its sheer beauty.

Though I am not a lover of world travel, it felt comfortable somehow that I was seeing people from a region of the world to which I have been, knowing that the people are what matter in a country, not the government.  

The people of Russia are wonderful, generous and kind.  

I should know, I live with one.



2 comments:

  1. What a nice tribute, Linda! I'm sure you will have some special moments with your girl over the next couple of weeks.

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