Saturday February 20, 2010

            Well, I woke up to start my day nearly 24 hours ago! I had the 5:30 am shift again at the airport. It was really easy and I managed to get off around 1. We had a bunch of guests come in for this wave, and I had a bus of about 30 people from the airport, which is way more than we have ever had on one bus so far!

            After this, I regrouped and met up with all the people that we know up here. We did a bit of Olympic shopping, but while trying to avoid the crowds. The streets, being the weekend, were packed. The cross walks didn’t even move and some places all you could see was people. We headed down to Gastown, which is a cute section of the city with many boutiques, nearly all of which carry Olympic clothing! After this, a few of us walked down to the stadium to BC Place. We went to the medal ceremony. It wasn’t all that exciting because most of it was in Whistler, so we watched it on a screen. The band that was playing was from England, called Stereo Phonics. I thought that they were pretty good actually!

            Then we quickly went to sushi… which was amazing… on our way to a hockey game. It was Belarus vs Germany. I was really excited because we finally got my mom to get out of the hotel!!! Pretty much like the first time in over a week! And so we got to see the game with her. We ended up getting seats 6 rows up, right behind the players! It was really fun because we could see them walk onto the bench and we could see into their bench as well! It was also a good game! They were tied with less than 5 minutes left, and I really wanted it to go into overtime so that we could maybe see a shootout… which I love… but Belarus had to score two more goals! But it was still a lot of fun, especially to be with my mom.

            This was just the beginning of our exciting night, however. It was nearly midnight. We had a connection to someone in the IOC, and so we had arranged to be able to be let into the USA House. This is where only the athletes are allowed to hang out, eat, and shop. I wanted to go here just for the shopping! They have all the official Olympic gear that only the Olympian can get! We were able to get in in Beijing, and this is the one thing that I wanted to do while I was here! I ended up getting a down jacket… it is the one that the athletes wear on the medal podium. I also got a few things for my brother, but I had to be careful of what I picked out because I could have easily have bought the whole store!

            While we were in the store, my mom got a call from her hospitality tent at the hotel… Apolo Anton Ohno was at the tent! Of course, the one night that my mom leaves, he comes. We quickly left the store. However, we were all the way across town, and the streets and skytrains and buses were still unbearably packed with people! With bags in hand, we all started running back to the hotel. We weaved through people and dodged traffic, literally running through the city. It ended up taking us 15 minutes to get back, and it was all worth the run! When we got back, everyone instantly started asking me to ask Apolo to sign things and get them things, since I was the only semi-kid there. I really feel bad for famous people who have to go through all the signing and pictures with strangers. Yet, I have always loved Apolo and I have watched him skate ever since I was a kid, so I decided that it would be worth it to ask him! I got a picture with him and got him to sign a few things. He was so so sweet and ever so nice about all of it. He was especially humble whenever anyone mentioned his great achievement as the most decorated winter Olympic athlete. After tonight and our various Olympics moments, I really feel like I am living it up at the Olympics!

Friday, February 19, 2010

            As far as my actual job, not much was happening today. Since it is the wave with not very many guests, we only had one venue to work today. With 15 staff, only half of us actually needed to work it. So I, along with a few others, was just put on stand-by. For like 5 hours, I just had to be at the hotel in case someone requested a special transfer or needed some assistance. It was a beautiful day, so I would have preferred to be out and about somewhere. But since I was stuck at the hotel, I rather help out and do some things than just sit around. I was actually sent to go out and pick up someone’s jacket. It was across town, so I got to go through China town in order to be there. It was really cool to see. I didn’t have time to stop by or be there long, but it was fun to see all the Asian stores and restaurants. After that, I just helped move some boxes from room to room. It was really not all that exciting, but something to do in order to keep busy!

            After this, I was able to go to the hockey game. It was Latvia again, but this time they were playing the Czeck Republic. It was really fun to see again, and just as exciting as last time. Except, Latvia was doing a lot better! They were able to keep up with the other team and it wasn’t as one-sided! It ended up being 5 to 2.

            After this, I ran out and met some people that I knew that were up here and we rushed to the medal ceremonies. Luckily, the stadium is right next to the hockey stadium. Right as we walked in, they were doing the medals for the Women’s Half Pipe. These medals were from the event that I got to see yesterday… so the Australian won with the two Americans, Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter, getting second and third! We were pretty close to the stage, and it was really cool seeing them so up-close. It felt so good to see how happy they were… it really made you realize how big of a deal the Olympics are! I was so happy for them to win, and everyone could tell that they were as well. The Mountain Police, who only come out on special occasions dressed in their red uniforms, raised the country flags. After this, they showed the Whistler medal ceremonies on the stage. Everyone was cheering and everything, and it nearly felt like it was live. We got to see the two USA skiers in the Men’s Super G get bronze and silver, including Bode Miller. After this, some Canadian band played. It was a really intense and cool opening of the band with fire and fog and lights and all. The band was like heavy metal, which I personally don’t really like. We listened to it for a little bit, but then decided to leave.

            I took my friends out to Yaletown. It was pretty crazy down there. Its weird now, when people come up, because I almost feel like this is my own town! People always ask me where they should go and what they should do! I can find my way around pretty much everywhere, and I have been almost everywhere in the city! I also took them to the caldron as well. Lately, I have been going there like once a day! Yet, every time I see it, I still think that it has the same affect on me. It is still just as powerful as the very first time I saw it!

Thursday, February 18, 2009

            Today was my one and only day off! But that didn’t mean much… pretty much only that I was allowed to wear jeans! I woke up pretty late and it was another beautiful day! I walked around outside some, but I feel like I have already seen everything around me, so I just kind of walked around with no reason. My dad actually came in today, so I then hung out with him for a while and showed him around a bit.

            Even though it was my day off, I actually got asked to escort one of the top guys of the program and his son to the women’s half pipe today. This was the one event that I actually wanted to see, either men’s or women’s! So when he asked me to escort him there, I was really happy! We took the T1 car up, so we got to get closer to the event than we normally do! It was really sweet because, as part of the Olympic Family, we got to go into a lounge and everything! Even still, the actual event was the best part! We got up there for finals and semi finals. We ended up having four Americans in the finals! Although the girls don’t go as high as the guys, it was still amazing how good they are! Its crazy how high out of the pipe they can get, and in person, it even looks higher! The pipe itself towers on either side of the people when they are just standing there… I can’t even imagine going down it! The family of Gretchen Bleiler, who just one the gold in the X-games, was sitting next to us! We talked with them and I really wanted her to win! She was seeded pretty high. In the finals, she was one of two people to throw a back flip. It was so cool to see, and the first run, she didn’t land it. But then on the second, she did land it! But then right after that she fell. I was really bummed, but it was fun to see her try. The girl who won, from Australia, actually did land her back flip… so I thought that she deserved to win. It turned out, though, that USA got second and third! It was such a good feeling to see the US do so well! It was just so awesome to see in person!

            Later tonight, I went out with some other friends of ours that are in town. We went over to the caldron, which I still like to see even though I have already a lot. After that, we walked up one of the main streets and there were a lot of people out. It was really really crazy. We were just walking through, and every one was dressed up in Canada gear. They were all screaming and the cheering, chanting Canada, Canada, Canada! There were even these people dressed up on stilts and hockey gear. There were two hockey players and two referees. They were running around playing fake hockey games in the streets and everyone was going crazy over them! It was really exciting to see everyone so passionate about their country, Canada!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

            Although I didn’t do that much today compared to yesterday, it was still quite exciting! It was an absolutely gorgeous day out! It was even sunnier than yesterday, which is hard to beat. They added a viewing deck to the torch so that people could get a better view at it. So I walked down with a few of my friends to check it out. We had already seen the torch, so we didn’t wait in line to go up on the viewing deck. But it was so nice out that we just walked around outside for quite a bit longer.

            Later in the day, I led a group of guests to the 1000 M men’s speed skating final. Since a new wave just came in, all these guests were new and had never been to an event before. This also means that none of them know much about the city, venues or any of the other facts that we tell the guests about. So we showed them around the city, and explained all the environmental measures of the games… like our jackets made from plastic bottles! It actually is pretty cool, because our whole uniforms are made out of plastic bottles. And on each article of clothing, there is a logo that states how many bottles are in each, for example, the snow jackets has 25, the shirt has 5, and the beanie has 3. I find it really cool the things that they are figuring out to do in order to help recycle materials and reuse plastic. Another fun thing is the collapsible water bottles. On our busses, we have these bottles that are made to collapse in order to save space while recycling so that more bottles can be transferred at one time. After you drink the water, you can simply smash the bottle and it is a little bit smaller than the size of a deck of cards! But anyways, this group of guests was really fun, though. They kept joking with us and having a lot of fun, which is always what we like to do. As far as the speed skating goes, it was also a really good event. It was a lot shorter than the last event that we saw, so it was more exciting! Again, the fans got really into it. There were a few delays in the middle with the timing equipment. But, the Dutch being as much fun as they are, kept the fans entertained. They started the wave throughout the stadium. Then, when the wave was part way around, they would start another one. They created a few different patterns, which the crowd would then follow, so it was a lot of fun. It ended up that there were quite a few USA skaters tonight. This was really excited because most of them were at the very end, which is when the fast skaters go. It doesn’t even look like they are trying, but these skaters are going so fast! We got to see Shawny Davis win the gold! it was so awesome!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

            Today was a long day! It started at 4:30 am when I work up to go to work. I worked at the airport in the morning for departures. We had to help the guests get their luggage and see that they were able to leave ok. It was really relaxed, since people came to the airport only every half an hour or so. It was also nice because as we help them off, this is the time that they all say their thank-you’s and tell us how much the liked everything! It really showed us how much they appreciated our help and everything!

            When I got off my shift, I still had pretty much the whole day left! I decided to go to Grandville Island. Everyone had always talked about how cool it was; yet I hadn’t had time yet to check it out. I took the sky train down and then walked around. They had a huge market, which was like a farmer’s market, yet 5 times as big as anyone that I have seen! They had a bunch of fruit and fish, as well. Pretty much the whole time you are walking through the town, you are on the water. It was really sunny and so beautiful! I then took the ferry back over to the mainland. The whole time, I was along the beach, just as the sun was setting. It was a little cold, but not bad at all considering that it was winter! Along the beach, they had a large version of the Olympic symbol, an Inukshuk. The Inuits used the Inukshuk as they were traveling through the tundra. As the Inuits were traveling down from the north, they had no trees and sparsely anything else to use as landmarks. As they traveled, they would build Inukshuks out of rocks. This would be used for several purposes. Most of them were used to aid in directional bearings. However, some stored food buried in the ground below them, since food was hard to come by. Because of the large Inuit influence, along with the First Nations, this became the Olympic Symbol. On the coast of False Creek, the large Inukshuk looks out over the water. It was really cute too, because someone had put red mittens on it, since those also highly represent the Olympic Games. On the beach next to the large Inukshuk, many people had actually gone about and built their own version of Inukshuks out of rocks. It was obvious that with the Olympics, this symbol of the Inukshuk has become very popular throughout Vancouver, whether it was before or not. I must say, after my adventure today around the city, Vancouver really is a beautiful place. With the mountains and water near by, it doesn’t really get nicer than that! Because it was so peaceful and beautiful with the nature, it hardly felt like I was even close to a city at all… which I think is a very special virtue about Vancouver.

            After this, I actually got the chance to go to a hockey game! It was the first day of Men’s preliminaries, and I saw Russia vs. Latvia. Pretty clearly, Russia killed Latvia, 8 to 2. I was actually cheering for Latvia, just because I knew that they were going to get beat by Russia, so I was very excited when they scored! Even though some people might have called it a blow out, I thought that it was one of the most fun games that I had ever been to! First off, I do love watching hockey. However, I found this so much more exciting than the NHL. There was something about the teams competing country for country that was just so much fun! Throughout the crowd, everyone was cheering for their country. There were even some Dutch fans, even though they weren’t playing! I also loved seeing all the Canadian fans wearing their Canada gear, as well. Despite all these fans, I found something about watching this game so much more powerful than that of the NHL. People were just united through a whole country!

Monday, February 15, 2010

            Today was another sweet day! I started out pretty early escorting to the Happiness House. This is the place where our guests get a VIP tour of the showcase house! We ended up only taking 2 guests, but it was still fun. It was cool to see when it was all lit up and in use. On the ceiling, they were projecting a live feed onto it. It was so cool and something that I have never seen before!

            After this, I escorted the second group up to the Snowboard Cross finals. This stadium was a long walk to get up to it, but it was so worth it. They built the tallest freestanding bleachers ever! They are so popular that after the games they are disassembling it and shipping it to Europe to use. Although it was very cool, it was actually pretty inconvenient for some of the guests. There are over 200 stairs just to get to the top! After climbing up these stairs… twice!… I was able to actually watch the event. They had canceled the general admission tickets for the standing area because the ground was unstable because of the mud. Because of this, the crow was a little smaller than usual. We were able to see about 20 heats over all, and it was really exciting. We were sitting directly behind some French fans, whose son was actually competing. This was fun to be a part of their fans, even though the boarder got eliminated in the quarterfinals. When you are watching, you can’t see the whole course, but it is still very cool. As they come down, you can watch it on the big screen. There are also a few places high up on the mountain when we could see the snowboarders go by. A lot of the boarders actually crashed. And so when they came to the end, usually they all four did not come at the same time. However, there were a few photo finishes. Its really exciting because the fans get really into it and, of course, everyone was really excited to see wipeouts… unless it was their own team! It ended up that there were two Americans and one Canadian in the finals! I was with mostly my local staff, so they were all routing for the Canadian. I, and a few other USA fans, had a rivalry going on, but, of course, we came out with the gold! the other American actually fell, but it was still good that we got a gold. This was really exciting to be a part of because all of the Americans were going crazy and chanting. It was really a cool event… even at the end, one person could look like they were going to win, yet if someone made one small mistake or fell, that would totally change the outcome!

            Tonight, after my work, I went out to dinner with some of my worker friends who are staying out in the suburbs of Vancouver. It was a really pretty, nice little area, which I believe was called Kits. This was really fun to see a different part of Vancouver, and I really liked it!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

            The sun was out today and the city was crazy! With it being the first day of sun as well as Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year, I’m pretty sure everyone in the whole city was out on the streets. You would walk outside the hotel and not be able to move because the crowds would sweep over and engulf you! It really shows how much Canada and the public are into these games! It was so nice out, that I just had to take a walk. Before I went to work, I walked around the city and along the sea wall. This looks directly over the water and the seaports. It was so beautiful with the mountains right on the other side of the water!

            Today I took a group of people up the Cyprus Mountain for the Men’s final of the freestyle mogul skiing. I was the second transfer up for the last part of the event, so when I got up there it was dusk. On the way up, there was one of the best views ever! You could see the whole city and the water right as the sun was setting! As we were going up, the traffic and police stopped us. After waiting for 15 minutes, 26 cars drove by with police as well as an ambulance. We later found out that it was Joe Biden! I have to clue why anyone would need 26 cars for any reason, but it was really interesting to see how the whole city was forced to stop, just for him! Once we finally got up to the mountain, however, it was awesome! It was just getting dark and the mogul run was all lit up. It was so beautiful. There was a general admission standing area as well as the bleachers. With my credentials, I was able to get into the standing area. This was really cool because the whole time they were playing music and the crowd was going wild! Its so unreal watching these athletes go down this run! They just zoom so fast down the moguls, like its nothing! I know if I were to try this it would take me at least 5 minutes to complete, and they do it in 23 seconds!… and that’s to say that I wouldn’t even do the jumps! To watch them go flying off the jumps and throw their aerials and go right back into the moguls, it’s just so incredible! It definitely makes one realize the skill and tactics that these Olympians have! It ended up that Canada won the gold! USA ended up with the bronze, but at the event, it was definitely more exciting to have Canada win. It was their first gold medal of the Olympics, and let me tell you, when the skier got his score and it was finalized that he had won, I have never seen a crowd go wilder! The whole bleachers and fans were yelling and screaming and cheering! It was just so awesome! And the whole walk down out of the venue, everyone was still so rowdy and cheering. Its such a cool feeling to be around such passionate fans as well as people who cheer for their own country in that way! I must say that I am so glad to be here and be able to see these kinds of things and events! I just cant wait to see more athletes and fans react in this way!

Saturday, February 13, 2010              

Today was an awesome day! I started out escorting guests to the speed skating event at the Richmond Oval. This is the stadium with the pine beetle wood roof… so it was really really beautiful! After we escorted our guests in, we were able to stay in and watch part of the event. It was really cool to see. It looks as if the skaters aren’t even moving, yet their completing over two miles in like six minutes! I was actually more interested in the fans than the actual event! We were right by all the Dutch fans. Nearly all the bleachers were covered in orange! Every time a skater came by, everyone would go crazy yelling and screaming and ringing cowbells! About halfway through the event, during a break, these people dressed in crazy red white and blue outfits showed up. They had instruments and were really crazy. Then the event stopped and the group of like 7 men we down in front of the fans. They started playing some really fun, Dutch like music. With this, all the fans started yelling and singing even louder! Apparently, these people were form the Holland House, where they have pretty much a party going on non-stop. After seeing these fans and how they have such a good time, it makes me want to go to Holland and be a sports fan there! We had to leave the event a little bit early to set up our posts so that we could meet the guests. Later, we found out that right after we left, the Dutch skater broke the record! I really wish that I had been in the stadium for this… to see the skater, but also to see how the fans reacted!            

After the speed skating event, some people that we know from the US came up for the night. I took them out to a part of the town called Yaletown. This is kind of where there are a bunch of restaurants and night-life happening. We also went by to see the torch. Since the BC Place Stadium is indoors, they decided to put another torch outside somewhere else in the city. It happens that this place is two blocks from our hotel on the waterfront! We went to see it and there were so many people crowded around just to get a glimpse of it! It was really pretty and cool to see. This was the first time that I had been out at night, so it was really fun! When we first got there, there were a whole lot of Canadian people chanting and walking up the streets. They were all wearing just a bunch of random sports gear! It was really funny to see, and quite entertaining! There were a lot of street shows and bands playing on the streets and tons and tons of people. Lots of people are in the city just to enjoy the environment of it and be in the city itself! It makes it really fun because then everywhere on the streets everyone is just cheering and really excited just to be where they are! I’m so happy to be here and experience this whole culture of the Olympics! It seems almost as if it is a different world, where the only thing that matters is the Olympics!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Wow. That’s the only word that can describe tonight! The first day of the Olympics, and Opening Ceremonies! The first half of the day was full of anticipation. Everyone was just waiting for 2 o’clock to role around…. The time that we started our process to transfer everyone to the stadium. I was so excited all day that I could not do anything. I was not only looking forward to Opening Ceremonies, but also just to start being an escort for the guests. We got all the managers to help us, as we created a lollipop sign chain from our bus bay parking spot to the guests’ seats. All 30 staff took the sky train down to the stadium early in order to set up in their positions. I and three other escorts stayed at the hotel with the buses to take the guests down. I was on the third bus, but since we filled the first two buses, I only had about 15 people. I was happy with this, because then I did not have to speak to as many people. I was actually nervous about my speech that I had to give on the bus. I was not scared of leading my people the wrong way or losing one of them, but only of speaking to them on the bus. Yet, it went well and the guests were very appreciative of my help. As we were walking in, it started to poor. We were stuck in the mag and bag (security) lines on the way into the stadium, and all of a sudden, it started to rain. Luckily, our guests all survived and everyone got into their seats on time!

            There was a lottery for the few tickets left over. However, out of the 20 staff that did not get tickets, I did not get drawn for a ticket. At first this was a disappointment, but I still had my credential to get into the stadium. With a few other staff (the Italians that I was working with), we crowded around the entrance tunnels into the stadium. We ended up watching the whole Ceremonies from this spot. Although we had to stand, I feel like we had a better view than most people in their seats! I was just so excited to be able to be inside the stadium! It was even better that I was able to watch nearly the whole thing! It was so awesome! I found it to be a very good representation of Canada, from the First Nations to Irish fiddlers. It was so cool to be able to see my second Opening Ceremonies in my life! And I thought that it was just as exciting. Every country had their own unique characteristics, and I like that Canada chose to embrace theirs and illustrate this through the Ceremonies! I was around mostly Canadians, and they were actually getting quite emotional throughout the show. It was touching to see them affected in this way by their country’s nationalism. When the Georgia team walked in, there was an incredible feeling of sorrow throughout the stadium. The Olympics are supposed to connect the world through peace and friendship… none of which encompasses death. To have this Olympics experience a death, it totally changed the atmosphere within the stadium. I have never been around such a large mass of people who all felt and expressed the same somber concern as they did for the Georgia Luge racer… it was such a powerful feeling.

            Overall, this whole event was an exciting thing, though. I really enjoyed being a part of the Olympic spirit that spreads throughout the world. I could really feel the different people coming together for such an awesome cause! To me, the Olympics are such a powerful thing, which join the world together through sports and friendship!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

            Today was a long day… and the day of arrivals! Nearly everyone on the program came in today. Since there were no venues and only arrivals, I was at the airport all day. We had guests coming in pretty much all day long, from 6 in the morning until midnight. I was lucky enough to get a good shift, during the day. Pretty much all we do, is meet the guests and show them where our coach is for them to get to the hotel. This sounds easy, but there are a lot of miny details that become very important. Since we have two badges for people to get inside the secured area, we send people in there to meet the guests. From there, they are brought into the arrival hall, and then led outside. Between all these places, we have to communicate the information of the flight as well as of the guest. With all the delays and people coming out, this actually gets pretty crazy. We didn’t have any mess-ups or troubles, but it was still a long day! We rode the sky train out, and were there for 8 hours. I was in charge of holding the lollipop sign for the guests to see. I never knew it would be so hard to stand in one place and hold a sign, but after about an hour of this, my legs started to get really really tired! Despite this, however, it was fun. We got to see quite a few of famous people coming through. Some of which were from different countries. some countries had their news crew there, interviewing and videoing some of the people. We saw many many people arriving with ski and snowboard bags! almost everyone there was wearing either a sponsor jacket, or a country jacket. This was pretty cool to see all this spirit and official Olympic people. It really set the Olympic mood!

            It finally feels like the Olympics. After being at the airport seeing all the people, the whole city is starting to feel more alive and more like the Olympics! Everyone is talking about our master plan in order to transport over a hundred people to the opening ceremonies, and how we are going to get everyone into their seats on time! We have to have a chain of lollipop signs for the guests to follow all the way from our parking spot to their seats… and the task is, to be visible enough over all the other corporate marketing partners who are trying to do the same thing! as far as I can tell, and after seeing our successful operation today, I’m sure it will all work out some way or another. In any case though, the talk about the opening ceremonies really adds to the developing Olympic feeling. Yet, I still cant believe that its tomorrow! Even since I have been here and the countdown has been on, I never really thought that it would actually come… but here it is… the start! I’m so excited!