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| It's been ten days since I started working for the East Asian Games, I only noticed this fact when I saw the long nails on my fingers. I had them cut the night before my first day of duty. My nails grew with my volunteering experience, as well as my emotions to the Korean delegation.
All I have to do today was to send my guest to the airport and wave him goodbye. My eyes sprang up once my VIP stepped into the security check area. I had never expected this moment to come. After seeing off my guest, I turned back to the Korean delegation, taking photos with each one of them. I have learnt a great deal during these days working with them. I promised to go and see them in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
This is the last day of my experience being an VIPPA - VIP Protocol Assistant, but never the end of being a volunteer, and a friend of the people I met during these days. | | |
| It is the last day for the East Asian Games, and a day for the finals. I was told to come around 10am last night, but plans were changed since the assistant for the other guest from the same team would be a new person. I was asked by the team leader to come early and brief the new comer.
The journey for today starts actually an hour after my arrival. Mr P was in love with Judo, so again he went there to see the quarter and semi finals. Those VIP reception people in the Judo place was not working at all. When I asked for some water to serve my VIP, the people in the VIP area though I am serving the whole area and asked for food and drinks.... I do think my guest like martial arts a great deal. After a whole morning in the Judo stadium, he decided to see the Wushu free fighting finals in the afternoon. Though he still wanted to see the Hockey finals, we couldn't make time for it. So, Wushu is the end of our match watching schedule for this East Asian Games.
We actually went to the closing ceremony, but just very briefly. I got to know that the VIPs care different things from the other people. What they mostly concerned were attending the ceremonies, keeping presence in competition venues, other than seeing the performance, or the results. My VIP left his seat as soon as the official ceremony ends. He didn't waste any time on the performance that followed, because the top priority in his mind was - feeding himself, me and the driver. | | |
| I had the latest duty off time last night, at around midnight, but I was the first to sign in this morning, 7:00am. My VIP had a breakfast appointment with his friends, and he needed the driver's help. I was there because I am aware of the probability that the driver over slept.
Though I had the earliest start over all these days, we had the simplest schedule after all. My boss stayed at the Judo stadium the whole morning after breakfast. This was my best chance ever to really enjoy the matches. We witnessed a number of exciting "ibbon" moments. In the afternoon, we went to see the historical football game between north and south Korea. I should say, that the game between north and south Korea was as good as the game between Japan and Hong Kong. When we arrived at the football stadium, it was already the beginning of the second half, Korea was 1:0 over DPR Korea. But just when we were walking from the gate to the VIP room, DPR Korea turned the score to 1:1. The same score last until nearly the end of the game, when Korea got a off side "goal". The game was also decided by free kicks in the very end. The goal keeper of Korea saved one goal first, and when he successfully saved another, the judge fouled him. He really had very good spirit and still. That free kick was finally saved by him for the third time with the first two being "foul" said by the judge. I think this was already a legend made by the Korean goal keeper before the legend made by the Hong Kong football team later on. My boss was really excited after the game.
Again, I realized how hard it is to be "Miss Hong Kong". My boss wanted to go IFC, to meet his wife and do some shopping. This decision made me stood in front of a book store for half an hour....
I'm lucky to be a volunteer, and I'm lucky to be in the volunteer office when the Hong Kong team is playing the finals. We shouted and screamed in the office with all the other audiences in the football pitch. At the time when Hong Kong won this priceless gold medal, for the first time I have the feeling that we are part of the legend.
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| Mr. P would like to go and see the Wushu competition in the morning, one of my favorite games, but at the same time, he also wanted the car to stay with his wife, as his wife had some really important appointments. Since I needed to arrange a new car, we were a bit late for the games. When we arrived, the games of the Korean team has already finished. Mr P just had a very quick conversation with his friend in the venue, and we took a taxi back.
My lunch was taken care of by the Korean delegation, with the Taekwondo Champion. She promised me a set of Dobo with a black belt when I get my black belt of Taekwondo. It made me head over the heels~ And before lunch, my VIP Mr P sent some signals to watch the Athletics in the afternoon, which means another chance to have a close look at our hurdle hero Liu Xiang, but this hint turn into a complete disappointment when my VIP changed his mind several minutes before we leave. He decided, yet again to hang around in the hotel and wait for his victory ceremony in the late afternoon of weightlifting.
Weightlifting is the last competition that I would like to go in the whole East Asian Games. However, due to the obligation of presenting the medals, he had to go, and he had to watch the whole game. For me, it is really a torture, because I had to stick along, and take notes for him. DAMN! Again, I got to know about the hierarchy system in the social world of Hong Kong. When it is sure that Mr. Fok would come for the victory ceremony, my VIP was first asked to move his seat, then required to deliver the escort instead of the medal. As assistant, I could not do anything to help.
Soon after the victory ceremony, Mr P needed to make it to the Cultural Center in no time, but our driver was in trouble today. It cost us more than 30mins to get back, with 3 times of going the wrong path. When we got to the place for the culture night, the performance has already started for some time. Though my VIP said that the driver was not to be blamed, I was not good at hiding myself.
I, or we missed a number of things narrowly - the chance of seeing Liu Xiang, the only chance of delivering the medal (since Mr P decided not to go the coming victory ceremonies), and being at the culture night on time, due to reasons that cannot be explained or excused...
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| When I met my boss this morning, he told me he would like to relax for today, and it is the fact. We went shopping for the whole morning. From Harbor Tunnel to IFC, then Times Square.
We didn't really go out to watch any matches until late in the afternoon. Mr. P would like to go and see the semifinals for soccer, Korea vs Japan. Our driver is very good at driving, but he is really not good at telling what to do and what not to do. Leave alone the fact that for many times he spoke some conversation killers on our way, he even asked for tickets of the semifinals on our way to the football pitch. It was really kind of Mr. P to help him sneak into the VIP room, and I couldn't do anything as long as our guest was willing to do so. In fact, the driver was acting very much improperly. He treated himself as one of the VIPs, yet not their assistant in the VIP room, and this was making me really embarrassed. Lucky that I had some fellow volunteers who helped me to get him out of the place via the hands of the security guard.
The highlight of today came in the Korean Night event in the evening. The EAG invited some Korean artists to give performance on the show. Both performances were splendid. In the first performance, three Korean art students drew pictures like magic and in the second, drums and pans, even the audience's claps became excellent musical instruments.
The Korean team must be head over the moon after their night, all of the volunteers working with them and the whole Korean NOC were taken to dine in a very traditional Korean restaurant in TST after the show, so I set a new record of getting off duty late - 11pm....
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