as i’ve been talking on the Twitters about going next month to the Winter Olympics, several people have brought up fears for my safety as a member of the LGBT community.
that actually is not high on my list of concerns.
while i’m definitely not a fan of their anti-gay laws, i did just fine in St. Petersburg last September and i figure as long as i don’t go around waving a rainbow flag i should be ok.
here’s what i am worried about, though:
- terrorist attacks and overbearing security given what happened in Volgograd last week, i fear an Atlanta-esque event happening and/or way too much security to prevent something like that from happening. (of course i’d rather take the security and surly soldiers ruining my Olympics high.) realistically, though, i’m only in Sochi for less than 14 hours, so statistically speaking, chances of anything happening while i’m there are pretty low, though i hope the entire event is uneventful in this respect. at least now it’s clear what the spectator passes are for — when i applied for it i thought it was just more bureaucracy but now i know they have a specific security purpose.
- a snafu in getting to Sochi my time in Russia this go-around is limited, so i don’t have a lot of leeway. my flight lands less than three and a half hours before my event (curling, of course) starts. if the flight is delayed…yikes. trip in vain!
- problems with transportation between the airport and Olympic Park the spectator transportation system does not have a good link between these two locations. rail stops running at 2 AM and buses stop at 1 AM and as far as i can tell, there’s just one bus line that makes a direct connection. i’d rather not have to pay for a cab if i stay to explore the Coastal Cluster after the event. (my current plan is to hang out until the last train runs from Olympic Park towards Sochi and then take the 24-hour train to the airport; my flight back to Moscow leaves at 5:30 AM.)
so yeah — while the homophobia will never be far from mind, i have more immediate and practical/logistical things to be worried about.
oh! one more thing, i need to try to find mascots to take a picture with in my limited time!
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