MIDVALE — Her daughter was preparing to go for the gold in speedskating, but Elly den Hertog could think of only one thing when she woke up on her first morning in Utah.
Would she have to survive for two weeks without a cup of coffee?
There were smiles and sighs of relief all around when Elly and her sister, Greet den Hertog, climbed bleary-eyed up the stairs and were greeted by their hosts, Jennifer and Marc Schaerer.
"Good morning," said Jennifer cheerfully. "Would you like me to brew a fresh pot of coffee?"
"We were so happy and so surprised," recalls Elly, 59, who came from the Netherlands to watch her daughter, Andrea Nuyt, compete for the Dutch team at the 2002 Games. "We thought that nobody in Salt Lake City drank coffee or tea. In Holland, that's all you do, drink coffee and tea, the whole day long."
Thanks to the Schaerers, all of the dumb myths Elly and Greet had heard about Utah were shot down before they could finish their pancakes. Yes, they could get a glass of wine with dinner. If they wanted to, they could buy an entire bottle. Yes, it was legal to buy cigarettes, and no, they would not find any polygamists in the neighborhood.
"One wife is more than enough for me," joked Marc as everyone laughed.
Four days after that first breakfast, Greet and Elly sit with the Schaerers in their living room over a Free Lunch of Hawaiian pizza, thankful that they've had the opportunity to get to know some ordinary Utahns, up close.
"We've learned we're really not that different after all," says Greet, 55. "That's what we will take home with us, now."
If not for volunteers like the Schaerers who are offering their homes at no charge through Samsung's Athlete Family Homestay Program, Elly and Greet wouldn't have been able to come to Utah to cheer for Andrea and sample American life.
"It would have cost them $2,000 to share a hotel room for just one week," says Marc, 36. Disgusted with stories about homeowners gouging Olympic visitors for hundreds of dollars per night, "We decided, 'How about if we let somebody stay at our place for free?' "
Never mind that Marc was laid off from his engineering job nine months ago and he and Jennifer are expecting their first child in June.
They could certainly use some extra cash, but "it wouldn't be in the true Olympic spirit to rent out our home," says Jennifer. "The athletes are the heart of the Games. If their support network can't afford to come, it's not a good experience for them. Imagine not having anybody there to cheer for you during the biggest moment of your life."
The Schaerers have another reason for opening their doors to Elly and Greet. Marc's dad, Max, was an Olympic athlete from Switzerland who competed in the modern pentathlon and was thrilled at the idea of volunteering during the 2002 Games.
"If he hadn't died a year and a half ago, I'll bet he would have hosted an athlete's family, too," says Marc. "There's just no better way to get to know another culture."
Greet and Elly are delighted with their cozy accommodations, especially with the family cat, Abby, who pops in for attention every night.
"It seems just like home," says Elly, motioning to the flag of the Netherlands, flying from the Schaerers' front porch. She hopes that Jennifer and Marc will visit her and Greet in Holland some winter and lace up ice skates for a tour of the frozen canals.
"We promise," says Greet, "to have plenty of coffee."
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