Ch 1.2 The Olympics

Enrique's pov

The United States of America, what a beautiful country as always. I've already been here for less than an hour and I already feel so welcomed. It feels nice.

And it's even more cool to see what the city I'll be competing in looks like.

Sure, I went a few times in the United States to compete in a few championships but never had it been in Washington so it's really cool to be in a new city I've never seen before.

Otherwise, the flight from Barcelona from here was a bit long but during the entire ride, I just couldn't wait to land.

Towards the journey to the Olympic Village, I noticed key buildings including the iconic White House and I believe a few venues of the Olympics.

Then after a sort of long ride, we enter the Olympic village and then we stop for security but it only takes a few minutes.

We get back in and the car continues to move. As we move I get excited to see all the flags of the nations and the residence of each country.

Then the car stops at a residence with Spain flags marked Spain on it too on the balconies of each room.

Wow, it's so beautiful, I can't believe I'll be staying there.

I'm amazed by all the hard work the Olympic committee has invested in making this.

It's unbelievable to know I'll be staying here during my stay and be a part of this amazing journey.

I haven't completed it yet but I already feel so proud of myself for making it here.

We get out of the car, my personal coach and I take our suitcases and get greeted in English by members of the Olympic committee.

They welcome us, remind us of important information, explain a few rules and then I get a pass in the form of a card.

Wow, it's so crazy to have that card with my name written on it, I'll cherish this forever.

I swipe the card for the first time and get in and get even more amazed from the inside.

It's a huge dining hall filled with tables and beautiful decorations.

I can't believe this is all for us, have become an A-list celebrity overnight or something?

"Wow, this place is even better imagined." My personal coach says in our mother tongue Spanish amazed too and I agree.

"For sure, it's so well decorated. I can't believe all of this was made for us athletes." I say

"I heard most cities in the United States do an excellent job when it comes to this but this still blows my mind, too bad I won't get to stay here." He jokes and I laugh.

"You can always come sometimes," I say sympathetically and he smiles.

"True, true. Now, shall we explore this place?" He asks and I nod.

"Yes, I want to take a look over everything before getting in the room," I say and my personal coach accepts my decision.

We go sit down at a table eager to rest a bit before.

And then I notice other athletes coming in including one of my relay partners. I immediately go to salute him.

"Hey, Miguel," I say smiling and he smiles upon noticing me, he also takes off his glasses.

Miguel Sanchez, he's my 1st partner on my relay team for the men's 4x100 m medley and is also making his 1st appearance in the Olympics just like me, however, he's younger than me, at just 19.

Among my relay partners, only one is making his 2nd appearance but he only qualified for a few individual events for the 2016 Olympics.

But this year for the first time in a while this Spanish relay team qualified and it's such a pleasure sharing this honour alongside them.

"Hey, Enrique!" He says happily and he hugs me and I hug back.

"Can you believe we actually made it?" I ask in disbelief as we pull back.

"I know right? Still crazy to imagine." He says still amazed.

"Let's go sit down together and chat." I offer and he agrees.

We go sit down and chat for a bit as other Spanish athletes enter.

We both go greet all of them, some familiar, some less so.

And then later another partner in my relay team arrives, and Miguel and I both go greet him.

"Welcome Emilio," I say smiling and he smiles softly noticing us.

Emilio Anglés, he's the other partner to make a first appearance and the youngest too. He's only just 18, while I'm 23, he's impressive for being here so young.

"Enrique, Miguel, it's so nice to reunite with you two." He says and we both agree.

"Yes, for sure. I missed you all. So what do you think so far, really cool, huh?" I ask and he agrees.

"Yes, it's surreal to be here after working so hard to get here those past few months." He says looking around amazed but less prominent.

"And what's even better is that we all get to debut together," Miguel says happily and we all agree.

"I know it's so cool. So have you gotten more information? Or went in the rooms yet?" He asks curious.

"Ah, no we were catching up but we can look around now if you want," I say.

"Oh yes please," He says exaggerated.

We start touring everywhere and we are met with lots of surprises.

Then as we get back in the dining hall, we are surprised to see that our final partner has arrived in the meantime.

"Andres over here!" I yell and he flinches but then looks at us, he waves a bit less enthusiastically than us.

Andres Cabrera, he's the only one of us to make his 2nd appearance and the leader of this relay team as he has the experience despite never making it past the heats in his individual events.

We'll try to at least reach the semifinals but we know that it'll be complicated as others prove to much more be of a challenge.

But really, just being in the Olympics itself is an accomplishment and we'll still be proud even if we come home empty-handed.

He walks to us.

"Hi, you arrived before me?" He asks.

"Yes, a while already," Miguel says.

"We already made a tour of the residence except for the rooms of course," Emilio says.

"Ah, I should have arrived earlier than that." He smiles softly.

"It's starting to get late and it seems like others are already going to pick their meal at the buffet stall," I say as I notice and their eyes widen.

"Oh yeah, you're right, let's go find out if the food is as good as the decorations in here are," Miguel says winking.

"Ah yes, but should we with our jetlag's?" Emilio asks.

"Well, since we are jetlagged and already ate a bit, we should eat to get used to the time here but not too much either." Andres is the one to answer as expected of a pro.

"Oh ok, makes sense."

We all go to the buffet and wait in line, we each pick what we want.

There are a lot of appetizing choices but I take only what is a light meal.

We then go sit down together, eat together and then chat together. During that time, the sun slowly goes down, the lights open and the hall slowly empties.

We take it as a cue to get in our rooms but then I get greeted by another swim member.

"Enrique Martinez, right?" He asks and I frown but still smile politely.

"Yes, that's me."

"Then hello, I am Esteban Ruiz and I have been told that we will be roommates during the stay." He says smiling politely and then takes out his hand and I take it as a sign to shake it.

"Nice to get to know you, Esteban." I smile and he smiles politely too.

We then all head to our respective rooms which we'll wait in before the opening ceremony in a few days.