A Malaysian sports enthusiast, recently fulfilled a lifelong dream by volunteering at the Paris Olympics.
Despite the unpaid nature of the position, Andrea Wong spent nearly RM12,000 to make her dream a reality.
Wong, who is a huge fan of both Paris and the Olympics, shared on Facebook that this was her fourth visit to the city, but undoubtedly her most memorable one.
She wrote on her Facebook: “July-August 2024 will forever be a highlight of my life because I achieved another item on my bucket list: I became a volunteer for the Paris Olympics!”
Breaking down her expenses, she revealed that she spent approximately RM3,800 on a one-way ticket to Paris.
Her other significant expenses included RM6,500 on Airbnb accommodation and RM1,200 on food, bringing her total expenditure to RM11,500.
She managed to save on transportation costs by walking 30 minutes each day from her Airbnb to her workplace.
For meals, she kept things simple, spending around 15 euros (approximately RM73) on dinner each day, while breakfast consisted of oatmeal with milk and protein bars.
Fortunately, lunch was provided at her workplace.
As an Olympic volunteer, her main responsibility was guiding spectators to their seats—a task she admitted could be tedious at times but was worth it for the experience.
“The job of an Olympic volunteer is to guide the audience to their seats to watch the games. At the same time, I got to watch the games on the spot, too! It’s all about the experience and I finally got to tick off one of the items on my bucket list,” she shared.
“I can’t believe how lucky I am to be one of the 45,000 selected out of 300,000 applicants.”
During her time in Paris, she also had the opportunity to interact with athletes and other crew members from around the world, capturing precious memories through photos.
“Thank you, Paris, thank you, Olympics, for giving me such a beautiful memory,” she concluded in her post.
