Day 16 – Friday 3rd August

The mañana attitude.  A Spanish word, a Hispanic way of being.  I thought the Spanish were the Kings and Queens of Mañana.  Until I met the Venezuelans.

Last night on my way home I texted Fran and asked where I needed to be at 10am today.  I waited and waited for a reply, which came at about 11 that night.  “Sí”.  Yes.  Helpful.  Amused I texted him again before bed and once again in the morning.  No reply.  So, I had to guess.  I remembered a discussion two days ago about where his hotel was.  Trying hard not to giggle the entire way there about the situation I was in I arrived at the hotel to find the girls and their British-Venezuelan friend Alexander, who I met a couple of days ago, waiting.  Phew.  Unfortunately, they hadn’t had breakfast yet, so I headed to a coffee shop over the road to wait.  Alexander came and apologised.  Seemingly as a Venezuelan it’s eventually easy to slip out of ‘mañana’!  It makes me wonder how long it’d turn me to slip into it if I lived there.  Cheerily I told him not to worry about it: it’s a learning curve for me, and the entire situation had greatly amused me.

Eventually they were ready for us to go.  Although it was a slow start it turned into a great day.  With great pride I showed them Trafalgar Square, walked across the Golden Jubilee Bridge to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament to the right and the London Eye to the left.  We must have spent ten to fifteen minutes on that bridge as they took photos.  It was lovely to see people enjoy this wonderful city.  We then walked along the South Bank until we saw St Paul’s Cathedral before heading to Baker Street to leave them at Madame Tussaud’s.  After sneaking a peek at 221B Baker Street, and an impressive, giant statue of Sherlock Holmes – both of which I can’t remember seeing before – I went back to Stratford to begin my shift. 

I needn’t have rushed away – there wasn’t terribly much to do.  Goli and Mike tried to make me go home, but I didn’t want to abandon them or my duties, so I agreed to go home after dinner at 6.  For an hour I showed a Venezuelan guest around the Village, showing her the Multi-Faith Centre, the dining room, the giant Olympics Rings in the park area, taking photos of her by the flags.  Although I was already tired from the day, it was really nice to see the Village through a fresh pair of eyes.

The most amazing moment of the day, though, was hearing the Olympic Stadium erupt frequently into roars of support for athletes as the first day of the Athletics began.  It’s something I never expected to hear, and a sound that will stay with me throughout my life.

With nothing much left to do, I went to dinner and went home.  The day had been a funny one, and I had a feeling I’d been culturally enlightened!