I’m ecstatic I’m not a journalist overseas in the resort town of Sochi, Russia, the stomping grounds of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Don’t get me wrong — if I was blessed with the opportunity to travel and cover the games for a news outlet, I would jump at the chance. But with the recent pictures and bits of information coming via Twitter and other social media about the hotel accommodations, the unsafe water and food and the terror threats that have been the talk of the town leading up to the games, I would be at least a little hesitant.

My television will have to be enough over the next couple of weeks as I spend every free minute that I can find watching different events on my computer and on the NBC networks. Events like these don’t happen often, every four years to be exact, and I try to take advantage of every media outlet at my disposal to soak up all the action.

I’ve been excited for these Olympics for quite a while now because they are in Russia, classically known for the strange and curious aura that surrounds them and everything that happens there. With estimates of around $50-60 billion spent on the Olympics this year, you’d think that they’d have everything ready and it would be spotless.

The opposite has happened, however, and hotel rooms have been in shambles for many media personnel who are staying in Sochi.

Pictures of torn curtains, bathrooms with two toilets directly next to each other, water that cannot be consumed or used for washing and door knobs falling off leading people into hotel rooms that already can’t lock are unfortunate happenings that nobody expected entering the week.

Beijing, China was ridiculed for their poor way of living and their worse-than-poor environmental standards and conditions entering the 2008 Summer Olympics, but once their now-famous opening ceremonies took place, it was smooth sailing from there.

Sochi’s opening ceremonies were a good start to what should be an entertaining Olympics to say the least. Of course, what would be an event in Russia if there wasn’t a mishap of some sort?

The first came during the beginning of the opening ceremonies as an extravagant display of five snowflakes were pulled out into the Olympic rings. All of them made the journey from flake to ring except for the top-right flake, which stayed in flake form like a caterpillar that never got to realize its butterfly dream.

Russians watching on TV never saw this happen as the local news stations broadcasting the event switched to rehearsal footage of all five expanding into the complete Olympic symbol, but folks in America were able to see it in all its unedited beauty.

Most events of the Olympics should go off without a hitch as the venues built for the 98 different events are big, beautiful and safe. However, even before the Friday night opening ceremonies, injuries were happening on Thursday’s early rounds of some snowboarding and ski events. Gold medalist snowboarder and American star Shaun White hurt his wrist in a practice run for a new event, men’s snowboarding slopestyle, and pulled himself from the event to focus on defending his gold in the half pipe.

Some athletes have complained that the snowboarding slopestyle course, along with a couple others, were unsafe for competition and have pulled themselves out of competition, some luckier than others by pulling before injury. Some people, including some of White’s competition, have accused White of dropping because he knew he wouldn’t win while others agree with White in that it is an unsafe course.

Some other events that are highly anticipated for me are the men’s hockey games, curling and most of the snowboard events. I enjoy the international hockey games because the fury and anger of the NHL translates well to the Olympics with every single player playing hard and proud for their countries. The competition level is tremendous from start to finish, and if the gold-medal game this year resembles even a sliver of 2010’s instant classic between the U.S. and Canada, fans will be in for quite the treat.

Curling is always interesting as the sport has risen steeply in popularity over the past couple of winter games. I find the sport funny looking, but most countries outside of the United States take it just as, if not more, seriously as many other winter sports. Look for the Norwegian curling team and their not-made-for-TV outfits that have already turned many heads on the Internet.

Hopefully Sochi is safe during the 16 days of international competition. Security has been of the utmost importance for Russia for some time now in preparing for the games. One attempted hijacking of a plane in Ukraine has already been caught and stopped, but it creates a higher sense of terror in the minds of the visitors in Sochi this week.

All in all, Russia should be able to take care of business in their own unique way, to say the least, and I am excited for what Sochi, Putin and the country of Russia have in store.