City pair finds Olympics uplifting

Rachel, left, and Deb Misra, of Gallup, recently returned from their trip to the Olympics in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Nick Short/Independent)

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — For one Gallup couple, the allure of Olympic games may have something to do with the cross-cultural and international nature of their lives.

Rachel and Deb Misra, both originally from India, came separately to the United States to pursue educational and career goals. After meeting in the American Midwest, they married in spite of their different religions, languages, and cultures. Rachel, a Christian, is from a very old Christian Indian community that traces its origins to Saint Thomas. Deb, a Hindu, was born into the Brahmins, a scholarly class long associated with the Hindu priesthood. Raised speaking different native Indian languages, they can only communicate in English. As two "real Indians" from India, the couple worked in Window Rock, Ariz. for the Navajo Nation, and raised their children in Gallup, the self-proclaimed "Indian Capital of the World."

And between making trips home to India every few years, the Misras have added regular trips to the Olympics as an important part of their lives. Although the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens is now history, the event is still a very fresh and exciting personal memory for the Misras. They recently returned to Gallup after spending a week at the Olympics and another week sightseeing in Egypt.

"We have been fans of Olympic games for many, many years," said Rachel Misra. Husband Deb has attended six Olympics since 1976, she has attended four, and their children have attended two. The couple was particularly interested in attending the Athens games because of the event's historic ties to the ancient Greek Olympics.

They were not disappointed by their experience. According to the Misras, the games were exciting to watch and Greek authorities did a good job handling security - a modern day problem that seemed to be nonexistent when Deb Misra attended his first Olympic event in 1976. The couple also believes Greek Olympic organizers did a great job of creating Olympic structures that follow the historic tradition of beautiful Greek architectural design.

The couple's only real disappointment centered around who was not able to make the trip with them. "We would have liked to have our children with us..." Rachel Misra said. "That was the biggest disappointment." Son Ronnie, a senior scientist for Apple Computers in California, had just made a trip to London and couldn't leave work again. Daughter Sheila, who has had a long interest in Greek civilization, just began medical school in Vanderbilt University and couldn't miss school.

The Misras were able to watch six competitions during the week they were in Athens. Highlights of the week included watching the Greek national tennis champion Lena Danilidou play in a match against Russia, watching a synchronized trampoline performance being introduced as a new gymnastics exhibition, and sitting with an American father of a volleyball player and sharing his excitement during a volleyball game against Russia.

However, the most exciting competition, said Deb Misra, was a preliminary beach volleyball game involving the United States and Czechoslovakia. Unlike some sports venues that had empty seats, the beach volleyball games played before packed audiences, he said. With cheerleaders, spirited cheer dance routines, and audience participation, the beach volleyball games had an exciting and very fun atmosphere, the couple agreed.

The Misras also enjoyed watching a close hockey game between India and New Zealand, whereby New Zealand was able to pull off a narrow victory. The couple was also able to talk with some representatives of the Indian Olympic team and took a photo of the Indian group.

That photograph is one of just many photos documenting what the Misras called the "instant friendship" they were able to strike up with other Olympic visitors. The open, international atmosphere of the event, they explained, encourages people from different countries to share that instant friendship as they watch sporting events, stand in line, dine in restaurants, shop in stores, and visit tourist destinations. Rachel Misra described the Olympic atmosphere as sparking "some kind of magnetism that travels from one person to the next."

Even in the stands among fans from competing countries, she said, "There was so much friendship... there wasn't the ugly rivalry you would expect."

Because of the spirit of international camaraderie that he has experienced at the all the Olympic games, Deb Misra said he encourages others to plan ahead and budget their vacation money and time for an Olympic trip.

"These kinds of things lift up your spirit," he explained. And to recapture that uplifting experience, the couple is already hoping to attend the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.