Tiffany: Our class went to Club Bud, a VIP/invite-only club. We first got a tour and learned about Budweiser’s marketing relationship with the Olympic Games. The place looks amazing, integrating elements of Chinese culture such as artwork, vases, decor and colors. It’s open every other night during the Olympics and there’s a theme each time based on Feng Shui. This night it was “Water Party” — fitting on the last day of swimming competition. We enjoyed drinks, met some athletes and their friends, and spent hours tearing up the dance floor.

Maggie: The Aussie rowing team and Carl Lewis showed up before I left. Michael Phelps was scheduled to make an appearance in a few hours….

Anna: It was great to get invited to Club Bud and to see all the marketing Budweiser is doing for the Games. Many athletes like to hang there in the evenings, so I got to see Olympians from around the world. But the highlight of my night was talking to an athlete with a gold medal, a rower who had just won his event that day. And the best part was that he actually let me hold it! I can’t believe I can now say that I’ve touched a gold medal. It was a rush to be that close to something the whole world holds in such high regard.

Matina, Alex and Gina: Phenomenal time at Club Bud. We saw a lot of athletes, though unfortunately Mr. Phelps never showed up. Many were wearing their medals all night. A couple of us talked to Raj Bhavsar from the U.S. men’s gymnastics team, who was super nice. He told us how even though his team is done competing — and already won the bronze medal  —they’re not allowed to drink alcohol because they still get drug-tested after competition.

Stephanie: We finally got to hit Club Bud, which looked really cool inside. We stayed there until 4 a.m. and danced all night. Many athletes were there, even Evander Holyfield. Toward the end of the night, we ended up having an impromptu air guitar contest (really we were just trying to all do air guitar) and people from all over the world joined in. Quite an eventful evening.

Kara: The design for Club Bud was obviously done by a man. To our shock when we got to the venue, all the toilets were squatters. Imagine the surprise of all the women (especially those wearing heels a couple of drinks in) that a U.S.-based company had overlooked this detail. We women all learned very quickly how to master the art of the squatter.

Rosina: Before the Water Party started we took a tour of the facility — amazing. We met spectators and athletes from all over the world, several of them wearing their gold medals. The late night definitely made it tough to get up the next morning.

Lisa: After waiting for Michael Phelps to show up at Club Bud until 4 a.m. and then getting up at 8 to listen to Dick Pound and four other lectures, the students are exhausted.

– Tiffany, Maggie Webbert, Anna Owsley, Matina Golias, Alex Steinberg, Gina Graciano, Stephanie Baldwin, Kara Franz, Rosina Romano, Lisa Delpy Neirotti.