Jonathan and Terri's arrival
Opening Ceremonies are over and the games are underway. It’s been quite a busy 24 hours for yours truly….
After picking up Jonathan and Terri yesterday afternoon, we headed over to a restaurant in Yaletown for some lunch. What a change yesterday! There are people EVERYWHERE and every single person was wearing red or white, or some kind of Canada gear; litearally, EVERYONE. I’ve never seen anything like that! There is so much buzz and excitement. We were only a few blocks from the LiveCity Yaletown where we were heading to watch the Opening Ceremonies, and on our way over at about 3:30pm is when we heard the news about the tragic accident that happened at the Whistler Sliding Centre. We were completely shocked – I don’t think you ever anticipate that something like that would happen at the Olympics, and we just felt so terrible; that on a day that was so celebratory for this city and the athletes, something so tragic happened. You can’t help but think about the other athletes that are going to need to get back on that track to perform - talk about the mental toughness of sport – I salute every one of them.
Ready to party at LiveCity for the Opening Ceremonies
When we arrived at the LiveCity at 4:00pm (very cool pavllion with some neat activities and sponsor tents), CTV news was covering the accident and people were glued to the TV. It certainly did put a damper and cloud over the celebration, and you could feel the mood shift a little bit. However, as the start of the ceremonies got closer the excitement built again. Although we ended up standing (and sitting) in the pouring rain for about 5 and a half hours, we agreed at the end that it was totally worth it. I never would have done that for any other event – especially since I’d already seen the dress rehearsal! But, it was great to watch it on a big screen with a crowd of excited Canadians, and some of the effects ended up looking better on TV than in the stadium. Regardless of whether or not you enjoyed the actual performances of the opening ceremonies, I’d challenge any Canadian to say that they didn’t feel that Canadian pride watching this take place in their home country. Everyone went crazy when Team Canada came in and also when the poet gave his “We Are More” speech (next beer commercial, anyone?) Despite the technical snafu (UGH!) the crowd went bananas when we saw Wayne Gretzky, and even in the pouring rain, people hung around to watch the coverage of him lighting the external cauldron down by the waterfront. As we left LiveCity, people were all over the streets celebrating and taking it all in. The entire event certainly was a ‘great one.’
All in all, yesterday was an incredible day of excitement, Canadian pride and sadness. But as the commentators have been saying, this is all of the emotions that come with the passion of sport and the games go on.
With that said, this afternoon I had my first ‘games-time’ shift at the Coliseum. Just before my shift, I met up with a fellow volunteer, Stephanie, who I’d been corresponding with on Facebook and then met up with my buddy Luc from my last shift. When the supervisor asked the group of us (about 150 volunteers on my shift today) who had worked inside the arena before, Luc and I lied and raised our hands – she chose 14 people out of that group and of course Luc got chosen and I didn’t! LOL. We were bummed to be separated after the fun we had at our last shift. The rest of us were taken up to the concourse of the arena (actually a pretty good place to be) and while waiting to be deployed, Stephanie and I were approached by a team leader asking for three volunteers. I asked him if we were getting assigned a ‘cool’ job, to which he replied with enthusiasm – “Yeah!” So – as we followed him out the doors of the coliseum (yes…that’s right….outdoors) he filled us in that we would be manning the screening area at the Media and Olympic Friends and Family tent. I was a bit disappointed to be outside again but as outdoor job assignments go, this was definitely the best one. We got to screen in all of the media members, broadcasters, and even a few Canadian athletes (including some cute CDN curlers) who came through with tickets for the event. Highlights included scanning in Donald Sutherland, Michael Ignatieff, and Jeff Zucker. Elvis Stojko also arrived at our tent, but no one was really excited about that but me. Unfortunately, (after telling him that I was a big fan – LOL) I had to send him to the spectator entrance because his girlfriend didn’t have the credentials to come through our area. He was very nice about it though.
Today’s shift was rather chaotic as the first competition day, and there were some hairy moments. Media members can get very testy, and it seems everyone wants to be an exception to the rules. Because we have some big VIPs come through this area, you don’t want to tick off the wrong people and at the same time, have to follow pretty strict security procedures. I don’t envy the job of our team leaders! I’m curious to see if things will get a bit smoother from here on out.
The perk of today’s shift was getting to walk through the coliseum on our breaks, and stop (very briefly) to watch a bit of the short track skating events. I watched CDN Charles Hamelin compete (and win) in the B-Final, and even though it wasn’t a medal heat, myself and the crowd went completely wild when he won the race. It was a great feeling – can’t wait to go back on Wednesday with tickets!!
For you figure skating fans, Josee Chouinard is also a volunteer at my venue. I’ve yet to see her personally, but have talked to some volunteers who have and the say she’s sweet as pie. Ah, the volunteers. I have met some great ones. And the blue jacket pretty much gives us an all access pass to approach and/or talk to anyone. One of my favourite parts of this experience so far has been the people I’ve met; whether it’s someone I only worked one shift with, or briefly chatted to, or have seen more regularly and have ‘clicked’ with. We all have the same passion for the Olympics and despite some of the exhausting, miserable shifts – are just so happy that we get to be a part of it. For example, imagine my surprise when my friend Jodi from my last shift started talking about how her husband makes fun of her for getting up at all hours of the night, just to watch live Olympic events! My friends have always affectionately teased me about doing the exact same thing : ) We’re just a big group of Olympic freaks over here, so I feel right at home. I had to start an ‘Olympics group’ in my cell phone address book just to keep track of all the new friends I’m staying connected to.
Now that I’m working more, my blogs may be fewer and further between but I’m doing my best to keep you all updated on my adventure! Thanks for keeping up with me!
P.S. When were at LiveCity last night, CTV interviewed us (as they were some other crowd members) and asked us a bit about how we were feeling about the games, opening ceremonies etc. After running home to see if we made the 11:00 news, we were slightly disappointed to see that we had not. Imagine my surprise when my cousin Erin texted me tonight to say that she saw me on a CTV commercial!!! I’m officially famous – look out world!
Disappointed to have missed him, Heather, Jess and I drowned our sorrows in some drinks and nachos at a restaurant in Yaletown. If you want to see what we missed, here’s some great home video of him that someone who did their proper research about where he was going to be, managed to get : ) (P.S. I have NO idea who the other guy is who ended up carrying the torch in, and no one else seemed to know either!)
