HI!  I have 2 main things to tell you.  1- Today was an eventful day.  2- WE ARE GETTING FAMOUS!  (You read correctly – famous, not infamous.)

I hope I told you everything about yesterday, because we have gone many miles since then & I can hardly remember what went on a day ago.  One thing I might not have written is that Pete’s wallet was stolen, probably on the Metro.  He cancelled his credit cards last night.  This AM, he went to the Gymnaestrada office, where there were lots of found wallets, but not his. After our performance, I got a message from our delegation that his wallet had been found!  Pete had to take his passport to the police station to get his wallet back.  Debbie T. went with him to try to find the station.  Pete’s wallet was there – no money, but everything else was in it.  They charged him 8 francs to get the wallet back.  (adding insult to injury, I think)  The police had called his family in the US, who told them he was at the Gymnaestrada, so the police called the Gymnaestrada, who told the US delegation leader, who found me.  Great teamwork!  Today, John had his money clip & 2 credit cards stolen on the bus.  The pickpockets here are as bad as in Greece.

Several of us got up early to go to the venue because we wanted to see the British Disabilities team at 9:00.  They were great!  They have a new routine & in Greece, I begged them to tell me about it, but they kept all the info top secret.  It was worth the wait!  They used Spanish music & as always, their performance was top notch.  An acro team from Great Britain performed, too.  Perfection!  Then, we rushed to another hall to watch Paula’s team – DeVeaus from Indianapolis.  Their routine was a magic show.  The choreography was full of magic & the performance was amazing!  On to another hall to see Finland – about 6 groups sharing the performance.  They had rhythmic, dance, aesthetic & everything else you can imagine.  Denmark was next – a group of about 60 seniors, ages 60-75.  In their finale, the men wore brown stretch suit bags & danced around like a bunch of Hershey bars to a chocolate song.  OK – I really loved that one!

Our performance was at 11:40.  Katey said a lady came up to her & asked if she was part of USA 12.  She said her daughter had seen our group the day before & was so moved she had to see us.  Things like that have been happening for the past 2 days.  I am so proud of the team!!!  The hall was completely full for our performance.  I did another video & will try to upload both performances tonite.  WE GOT ANOTHER STANDING OVATION!!!  I have to tell you that in all the shows we have seen, only a couple of groups have gotten a standing ovation.  (Have to brag a little!)  When we finished, the hall cleared out, so I’m thinking a lot of people came especially to see Chattooga!  I’m quite humbled by the reception we’ve had.  The team performed with such joy today.  You should have seen everyone smiling & giving it their all.  Erik said he was going to “cut a rusty” & that he did!  Along with everybody else.  If you don’t know what “cut a rusty” means, ask someone who is really southern.  2 more US teams performed right after us, so we got to watch them.  Go USA!

As we were packing up our equipment, Team Galaxy treated me to an extra performance.  They all had belly dance skirts & did an encore in the warm-up hall.  It was great!

Ana had been talking to a lady from Denmark the day before – Hella.  She & her husband coach gymnastics & they have a 13 year old daughter with downs syndrome.  They came to our performance today & I talked to Hella a long time afterwards.  She is interested in starting a Special Olympics gymnastics program!  OK - yes – I invited her to visit us & she invited us to visit Denmark.  You know the routine!

We rushed to Hall 9 for a session of the Educational Forum. – a professor from Japan teaching exercises on the Swiss balls (you know, those big blue balls we have in the closet).  It was so much fun!  There must have been 30 of us learning the tricks – bouncing, balancing, rolling over 3-4-5 balls in a line.  Great fun, but also funny.  We were dumped on the floor quite a few times.  The touching thing was that the teacher chose Danielle & Katie K. (2 of our Special Olympians) for his demonstrators.  If you’re brave, we’ll teach you some new tricks when we get home.  Dennie will demonstrate for all my Equilates students!  (Except she fell off the curb & sprained her ankle – kept Dr. John busy again!)

We wolfed down our lunch.  In Danny’s case lunches – he got 3 today!  Then, we went back to the hotel for an hour rest.  Guess where we went for dinner – FRANCE!   You never would have guessed that, would you?  We rode the ferry for 30 minutes to Evian.  There is a fountain where you can fill your water bottle with original Evian water for free!  Delicious!  We divided up & went in groups to several restaurants – crepes, quiche, banana splits.  YUM!  We walked along the water to work off dinner & then caught the ferry back to Switzerland.

Tomorrow is our day off.  We were supposed to go to the stadium for a rehearsal for Closing Ceremonies, but we’re bailing on that.  Everybody is really tired & we need a rest day.  Some of us are going to the venue early to see one of our favorite teams – the Norwegian World War II veterans.  Yes – they’re here!  Can’t wait to see them!  Some of the girls want to play in the fountains or see a few city performances.  There are stages set up all over town & teams perform all day.

Hope you’re all having as much fun at home as we are here.  We miss you all!  More later!