Communicating in Rio

As you are all no doubt aware Brazilians speak Portuguese and only some speak Ingles. So it can be a challenge making yourself understood and understanding them. Fortunately elementary sign language and Google Translate help a lot. Because I have a good capacity in French I can read a lot of the Portuguese- sure it's not perfect but it's enough to basically understand. Writing it of course is out of the question as is understanding it other than the most rudimentary of phrases like "Obrigado" - thank you. When I try to say some things from Google Translate I'm met with blank stares until I show the person the translation. It would seem the way we say certain letters of the alphabet and the way they do is very different.

The bilingual Brazilians at the Games all wear a small plaque on their ID that says " I Speak English ". They gave me one as well but then I stopped wearing it as people assumed I also spoke Portuguese. A young bilingual DCO said I didn't need the plaque as the fact I am English is "written on my forehead". This young lady Thais is also a PhD student in neuroscience.

This was my last day at Archery. Compared to Athletics, where I return Saturday for my final day of work, it is a quiet venue. However the equipment the archers use and the skill they show is astounding. Below is a picture of a compound bow that shoots an arrow of speeds around 250km/hour. You can buy one of these with scope, support arms, etc for a mere $US2000 plus 13% HST in Ontario.




The station manager at this venue is an MD from Serbia who is head of their anti-doping agency. Tonight he was pressed into service as the Chinese team official photographer. Nenda is the tall thin guy with longish hair.



A little while later I became the official photographer for Great Britain when I was asked to take some shots of the gold medal winner. I don't have any on my camera in case you're wondering.

However the most surprising moment of the evening came when one of the medalists asked for a microphone and proposed on stage to his girlfriend . This was shortly after the medal ceremony. I believe she said yes. Of course the happy moment got interrupted a few minutes later by the guy getting dragged away to doping control.