Brunt: Back at the Olympics and blessed
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Founder
RIO DE JANEIRO — I’m back covering the Olympics, and it’s still hard to believe.
It’s been a long, winding road.
Covering the 2008 Games in Beijing was spectacular and life changing. It was my first time leaving the United States, and I remember feeling humbled as I stood on the Great Wall.
I couldn’t have foreseen what would follow four years later. Months before the 2012 Olympics, The Associated Press cut one of the two positions in Indianapolis, and I chose not to transfer because of my wife’s job.
That was the easy part compared to what else was going on.
At the time, my wife, Christina, was recovering from her thyroid being removed because of thyroid cancer, a hysterectomy that was recommended because of a tumor and a c-section that was required because of complications with her pregnancy with Eden. Because she was dealing with so many things, I carried most of the load with my newborn daughter in those days. With all that and the job situation, I barely watched the Games.
Again, I couldn’t have foreseen what would follow four years later. Christina is healthy, the AP hired me for an opening in Oklahoma City and the company asked me to cover the 2016 Summer Games.
I will enjoy this experience, because again, you never know what the future holds. God is good.
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I will have to miss my kids’ first day of school, but modern technology will allow me to watch them before they go, so it won’t be as bad.
I watched Purple Rain on the flight from Dallas to Sao Paulo. Horrible acting, great music. I mean GREAT music. Prince was Prince and The Time was no joke. Shout out to my friends Peter, Tessa and Kat. #domination.
I think Sao Paulo’s airport is the largest I’ve ever been in. I wish I had one of those step counters – might have given Christina a run for her money for one day. It was probably close to a half hour worth of walking. Combine that with customs and paperwork, and that was quite an experience after a 10-hour flight. Fortunately, there was enough time before the one-hour connecting flight to Rio.
The gate changed twice for the flight to Rio. Not a big deal, but not what you want when you’re in another country.
I landed in Rio and realized a few things quickly. Rio is the opposite of New York. New York is go, go, go. Rio is whatever. It took on average asking about five people for basic instructions. The instructions on the walls are inconsistent, and there might not be any in places where they should be. One thing about this place — you’re going to have to figure out a lot of things on your own. The people are happy here because they don’t care. They care, but they don’t. You get what I mean?
A key difference between Beijing and Rio is language. In China, everyone wanted to talk to me because they wanted to copy my clean American English. The helpers spoke English and used me to get better. In Brazil, they don’t speak English. They speak Portuguese and insist that you do, too. Obrigado – Thank you.
At the airport, after walking in circles for about 20 minutes, I found my bus. The ride out to the Deodoro military facility where I was staying was eye-opening. I grew up in the north side of Omaha, Neb., one of the most impoverished black communities in the United States. There are hardworking people there and I’m proud to be from there, but it’s a rough place. Still, it’s nothing compared to Rio’s favelas, the slums within the city. They are much worse than poor areas in the United States and stretch for miles. I felt a bit guilty by the time I got to my accommodations.
No major problems with housing, other than the Zika laboratory in my room. Just kidding. For the record, there are few things flying around here, as I expected. No country wants to look foolish to the world. No way Brazil was going to have a bunch of people getting Zika. I didn’t see any living creature other than humans for the first two days of the trip. I do have one mosquito bite, but no symptoms of anything.
One of the highlights so far was a ride from my room to the Main Press Center. I spoke with three AP colleagues about world events — Hassan Ammar, a photographer based in Beirut who is married to a Brazilian woman; Themba Hadabe, a black photographer based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Akmal Rajput, a technician based in Nairobi, Kenya who appears to be of Indian heritage. Mix in a black man from the United States with a sociology minor and an East African wife, and you can imagine that was a lively conversation.
A few highlights:
-I’m getting tons of questions about Donald Trump. A lot of people I’ve encountered, Brazilian or otherwise, are very concerned about him possibly becoming president and can’t understand how he’s even in the race. I tell them it doesn’t look like he’s going to win. They are immediately relieved.
-People here can easily tell I’m an American by the way I speak. They say I have an accent. I’ve been told I talk proper, but rarely have been told I have an accent. To those outside of the United States, clear Midwestern speech is different.
-When I tell foreigners I’m based in Oklahoma City, many offer condolences for Kevin Durant leaving. I tell them it’s fine. I remind them about Russell Westbrook. It doesn’t really change their tone.
-Meeting a young Brazilian named Ana. She’s about 21, maybe, and she’s one of the few volunteers I’ve encountered who speaks English. She told me she taught herself English by listening to Beyonce and Rihanna. I joked back and said, “I’m not sure what they’re teaching you.” She got it and laughed.
-Watching the USA women’s basketball team. Ever since covering the Creighton Lady Jays as Creightonian sports editor back in 1994, I’ve been hooked. Interviewing Tamika Catchings, whom I covered in Indiana, was extra special.
-Got a new follower on Friday – Montel Williams. Felt like a little kid.
-Covering field hockey. Covering an overlooked sport reminds me of the days of covering high school sports in small towns for the Beatrice Daily Sun, Omaha World-Herald and Jefferson County Journals. It’s nice to be appreciated.
I’ll cut it off here for now. I haven’t gotten out much yet – that will come at the end. I need to establish myself on the job early. Thanks for following me on this journey.
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter @CliffBruntAP.
