The Sojourner

When living as a stranger in a strange land, the unusual and unexpected becomes commonplace.  After an initial adjustment period, life becomes routine although it takes a little longer to adapt when moving from Florida to Dubai than from Florida to Arizona.  Regardless of how normal the world seems to be, there are events that serve as poignant reminders of geography.

Last Thursday night, I was joined by a mate from Zimbabwe to watch the finals of the 2010 FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships.  The event was held in a brand-new natatorium at the Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex.  (Sheik Hamdan is the Crown Prince.)  Attendees to the event included several members of the royal family who sat in their VVIP section.  The crowd was truly international with fans from Japan, Russia, Tunisia, Australia, Brazil, Sweden, and at least one American, yours truly.

The United States has long been a powerhouse in swimming and has turned out such greats at Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps, Rowdy Gaines, Randy Reese, and Marc Nadeau.  The U.S. team did not disappoint at this meet.  Ryan Lochte gave a world record performance in the 400 M individual medley.  Rebecca Soni out-touched Leiston Pickett of Australia by 1/100th of a second to win the 50 M breast stroke final.  Natalie Coughlin took the gold medal for the 100 M backstroke.

As impressive as these performances were, the event that knocked me off my seat was hearing the Star Spangled Banner played three times.  As an ex-patriot Yank, I have not heard my national anthem once during the last two years.  Not only did I get to see Old Glory raised to the rafters but I witnessed the Emirati royalty and the others in the arena stand respectfully during the playing of our national hymn.  Let me tell you that the kids on the podium were not the only ones who choked up.


To add to the surreal vibes of the whole experience, Lynard Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama was played as Ryan Lochte exited poolside and The Beach Boy's Kokomo was cued up during Natalie Coughlin's departure from the podium.  Hearing those songs at a nightclub would have had little significance but hearing them in this formal, international sporting event was fantastic.

The events of the evening drove home the reality that I was an American who drove across town to watch an event that was 12,000 kilometers from home.