Olympic songs, canine and Lunar New 12 months celebrations : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3173x2380+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3a%2F2e%2Fcc32da2c4cc08cb51b7d57d34720%2Fimg-0789-edit.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3173x2380+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3a%2F2e%2Fcc32da2c4cc08cb51b7d57d34720%2Fimg-0789-edit.jpg" class="img" alt="The exterior of Villa Necchi in Milan, a 1930s villa-turned-museum that South Korea has rented during the Olympics" fetchpriority="high"/> The outside of Villa Necchi in Milan, a Thirties villa-turned-museum that South Korea has rented through the Olympics Rachel Treisman/NPR cover caption

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Rachel Treisman/NPR You are studying the Rachel Goes to the Video games e-newsletter — a glance behind the scenes on the Winter Olympics in Italy. Subscribe right here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Good old school cultural trade Considered one of my behind-the-scenes bucket checklist gadgets right here has been to go to a hospitality home (authorities title: Nationwide Olympic Committee Home). Mainly, numerous nations lease out cool venues in Milan — from historic halls to common pubs — to make use of as residence bases for followers and occasions, some personal and a few open to the general public by reservation. I hadn't heard of this custom till I acquired right here, by which level every part was fairly booked up.

Fortuitously, I used to be in a position to go to the Korea Home on Tuesday — and never simply any Tuesday, however Lunar New 12 months, or Seollal!

The Korea Home is working out of Villa Necchi, a fantastic Thirties villa-turned-museum that boasts lush grounds, marble bogs, an artwork assortment that includes works by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse (displayed in a kind of climate-controlled bogs) and Milan's first personal swimming pool. It was featured prominently in Luca Guadagnino's 2009 movie I'm Love, and fewer prominently in 2021's Home of Gucci.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb3%2Fb5%2Ffe001479453abcf18a0cfe4f05cc%2Fimg-0762-3.JPG" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb3%2Fb5%2Ffe001479453abcf18a0cfe4f05cc%2Fimg-0762-3.JPG" class="img" alt="A former tennis court was the setting for musical performances." loading="lazy"/> A former tennis courtroom was the setting for musical performances. Rachel Treisman/NPR cover caption

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Rachel Treisman/NPR However I did not know all of that after I arrived. I solely knew I used to be on the proper gate as a result of, minutes earlier than the occasion's 1:30 p.m. begin time, there was already a line down the road. As individuals filed in, they made their option to an ethereal, greenhouse-like construction (previously a tennis courtroom) with a bunch of vendor tables (Korean ramen, magnificence merchandise, fragrances) and a giant stage, offset by Italian and South Korean flags. There was additionally a downstairs space the place individuals might attempt on the Crew Korea uniforms, play video games and pose for photographs.

The celebrations included a collection of performances: pansori, a Korean style of musical storytelling, then a romantic people tune that morphed into "Volare," and a sassy trio nailing the choreography to "Golden" from Ok-Pop Demon Hunters. The group — representing a variety of backgrounds and languages — clapped alongside and filmed on their telephones, clearly having fun with it. There have been speeches, together with by Korea's ambassador to Italy, and some interactive moments, like when the group acquired assist making an attempt out a hacky-sack-like recreation and wished our neighbors a cheerful New 12 months. I heard there was conventional rice cake soup, however I missed it as a result of I went inside the home on the lookout for a rest room and ended up on a stunning private tour led by a museum volunteer.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3f%2F5f%2F89951c5d4c00a4de7db0d377f808%2Fimg-0859.JPG" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3f%2F5f%2F89951c5d4c00a4de7db0d377f808%2Fimg-0859.JPG" class="img" alt="" loading="lazy"/> Artwork on show contained in the Villa Necchi. Rachel Treisman/NPR cover caption

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Rachel Treisman/NPR It was superior to reap the advantages, nonetheless briefly, of that shining Olympic promise of camaraderie and cultural trade amongst strangers — particularly within the context of one thing joyful like a vacation meant to be shared with individuals (with no judgement or competitors concerned!). I by no means did discover a usable toilet. However I left feeling very content material.

A tail of two canine <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F56%2Fa8%2F952d31544a5f8ebc475c834d16f0%2Fimg-0985.JPG" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F56%2Fa8%2F952d31544a5f8ebc475c834d16f0%2Fimg-0985.JPG" class="img" alt="" loading="lazy"/> Sleepy Margo. Rachel Treisman/NPR cover caption

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Rachel Treisman/NPR I hope you've got examine (and seen the video of) Nazgul, the two-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog who broke free onto the cross-country ski course in Tesero yesterday and raced his option to a photograph end.

However let me introduce you to the opposite canine of the day: Margo. We discovered her snoozing peacefully within the Scandinavian gummy sweet retailer we have been frequenting right here in Milan. Possibly she was dreaming of her personal Olympic second, or simply of marshmallows.

What I am listening to <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4407x2938+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F97%2Fc6%2F4b84b27d495985c05be42644e5e6%2Fgettyimages-2260763790.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4407x2938+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F97%2Fc6%2F4b84b27d495985c05be42644e5e6%2Fgettyimages-2260763790.jpg" class="img" alt="Olympic mascot Tina poses with fans at the hockey arena. She has a favorite song to dance to." loading="lazy"/> Olympic mascot Tina poses with followers on the hockey area. She has a favourite tune to bounce to. Bruce Bennett/Getty Pictures cover caption

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Pictures A handful of songs have come to outline these Olympics for me, particularly on the determine skating rink. We hear the identical playlist on loop all through the evening — each evening — throughout Zamboni breaks and skaters' warm-ups, and whereas they wait for his or her scores.

These are just some of the standouts, by which I imply I am going to in all probability by no means hear them once more with out feeling just a little nostalgic and a phantom chill in my fingertips:

"I Comply with Rivers" by Lykke Li "This Woman (Kungs Vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners)" by Kungs"Roadgame" by Kavinsky"Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas* *I'll at all times image Tina — the cute, always-beaming stoat mascot — leaping up and right down to this one: It is her favourite.