The Sochi Olympics! This is a time for the world to come together and embrace the talents of others. This is a time for cultures to unite. It's a time for nations to experience other ways of life and enjoy it. However, these 2014 Olympic games have turned into a whining fest for Americans. "The water is yellow!" "I have no door handle!" According to some of my classmates, these conditions are "HORRIFIC." But once again, The USA is making it all about themselves! They aren't comfortably roomed in a four star hotel, so they are going to complain about it all over social media and make Russia sound like hell hole where no one is worthy to live. Well, that needs to change. American athletes need to stop their dramatics about hotel water and start living for the games. In frank, this is a time for the USA to suck it up and stop complaining about cultures they don't and will never understand.
The problem with the American culture today is that athletes are worshipped. They live in penthouses and make millions of dollars. However, that status must drop when entering a foreign country. In my trips over seas, homeless men go to the bathroom in the streets and leave the waste out to rot. Our family doesn't drink the water because it is yellow but we DO NOT complain. We brush our teeth with bottled water. 20 Homeless dogs were on our heels in Greece. News Flash, American Olympians! Dogs roam the land in other countries. Who cares if there is a dog at the bottom of the ski slope. It will not alter the athlete's score, unless they are also judged on aristocratic complaining. Americans, as a whole, must be humble when traveling. America is blessed. We have beds to sleep in every night and we have fresh water. We have protection. Other nations don't. This is a time for The USA to show compassion and honor when dealing with less fortunate people. Instead of making the people of Russia feel like failures for not putting on the greatest Olympics of all time, let's instill them with a sense of dignity and let's be grateful! The athletes need to hold close to their hearts the experiences of dirty water, and the sights of stray dogs, and the laughs of unfinished rooms. Because in the end, it will be a memory. I once stayed in a room with my whole family on the top of hill (literally), with a toilet that didn't flush, a bed that wasn't soft, a door that didn't close and froze the room, and smelled of garbage. The owner greeted us in his strawberry boxers... But we were in Greece! An hour away from Athens, one of the most historical cities in the world. And somehow that memory of a gross motel room with a strange, owner man ,who spoke absolutely no english, turned into a joyous remembrance of the most beautiful place I've ever visited. It is their culture. And it is my job to love it just the way it is.
So, instead of laughing at Russia for their poor accommodations or their "unpreparedness", look around, American Olympians. You are in Russia! The home of some of the most beautiful architecture on the planet. Stop complaining and enjoy the best two weeks of your life. Make every moment count. Make sure to use bottled water when you brush your teeth so you can laugh about the "old days in Sochi when their wasn't real water" when you are ninety. Remember it is their culture. Russians live with the poor water everyday. They have dogs on their doorstep that beg for food. AMERICANS DON'T. Respect the place that is called Russia. Embrace the mishaps. Because in the end it won't be Russia that looks unprepared or undignified, it will be America that appears as discontented, spoiled brats.
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