Good Morning, Victoria

I'm in the midst of a brief interlude from the Olympic mania which has consumed my last couple of weeks. I arrived in Victoria last night, to find this haven on the tip of Vancouver Island just the same, and a welcome change of pace from the Vancouver hype. Due to increasingly urgent requests from some of my readers that I update this blog, I thought it might be best to take advantage of this quiet morning time. This is where you come in. With the impressive number of nations represented in the village, as well as the value-pack of mannerisms, customs, and vast span of accents, I find myself thinking of the people I know when I meet the village residents. Here are a handful of my recent experiences in the athletes' village, and the people I've thought of when they happened.

1. Grandma. Who else would come to mind when I scanned in the skip for the Canadian Men's Curling team last week at the Welcome Centre?

2. Mum, as I took a picture of the wonderful, controversial Australian banner on my cell phone.

3. Caila, as I watched two great big RCMP officers turn into excited school children as they posed for a picture in front of the moose statue in the village. They too are having a unique and special experience at the games.

4. Dad, as I chatted with (one of many) Irish security guards about the importance of taking a good five years to travel the world, and sharing experiences of living in Auckland. He also mentioned that in Ireland, everyone and everything is "always just an hour from Dublin." God bless those wonderful little gems of countries that are "only 5 hours long and 3 hours wide".

5. Robert, with all his interest in world leaders and political science. A mini convoy of 4 large black vehicles rolled in to the village the other day, and we speculated as to who we owed the honour of such a visit. An RCMP divulged that it could be a "practice run" for Steven Harper's village visit. I think it was really him. Regardless, his presence in town was confirmed when I saw him the next night at the rehearsal for the opening ceremonies.

Ah yes, the opening ceremonies! This evening you will all find out what Vancouver has in store for the 3 billion sets of eyes that will watch Canada during the games. I have been sworn to secrecy as to the performers and acts in the show, but I will say this: I am so proud to be Canadian. The show is well done and impressive, but not in your face or too flashy. In short, quite Canadian. It is organized beautifully and was incredible to watch along with 50,000 of my fellow volunteers and their guests. During the practice for the athletes' parade, when Canada was announced at the end, the crowd went crazy. Seeing and hearing Canadians get so excited about this country triggers a special kind of patriotism inside me, and I can't resist the constant warm, fuzzy feeling.

6. Elena, when I see radiant elementary school children who have gotten out of class early in honour of the torch relay in their local neighborhood. Following their teachers two-by-two, they don Canadian sweatshirts and toques, and wave their flags. The world needs more Canada. Canada needs more of this.

7. Emily, when I see the Great Britain team around the village. They are fantastic, just like you.

8. The Dining Hall position has definitely been my favourite in the village. I love checking bags for the athletes and being able to interact with them on a more personal level. After all, it's just practicing good customer service. Smile, "thank you", show them some Canadian love.

9. America, yes I think of you when I see "U.S.A" across the back of yet another athlete. You have a bigger team than my country does. You shine, and I have to smile when you live up to your stereotypes. I hear you before I see you, though. You're always smiling, or at least looking proud of yourself. You're definitely among the friendliest residents in the village, always greeting everyone and striking up conversation. Despite the fact that I find you a little more in my face than the others, I have to appreciate your warmth, and well-developped social skills.

And finally 10. I do take some time to think of me. I think of me everytime I see the members of the Italian team, in their trendy white pants and blue jackets. I think of where they've flown from, and how I'm going to get there. I think of my recent dinner table conversation with Lucas, a supervisor who divides his time between Boston and Milan. I asked him about the best places to go in Italy, where to stay. Yes, even here in the centre of the Olympic village, I still find time to daydream about Italy.

And so, the games will open tonight. After seven shifts in the village, I have become inspired to join the International Olympic Committee (IOC), or the UN. All these countries gathering in one place, you just can't deny the benefits that brings.

Canada welcomes the world

I've just completed my first shift at the Vancouver Olympic Village. Today brought with it an onslaught of wonderful emotions, so I will try to recount a few...
Emotion 1: Sleepy. I awoke minutes before my 5am alarm following a night of minimal sleep. At 5:30 I hopped in the car for the dark, drizzling drive to the village. I couldn't help but admire my beautiful blue, crisp, clean uniform. Sleepiness was quickly replaced by excitement as I went to my first volunteer briefing session, still two hours before any sign of daylight. After a tour of the gorgeous village, I was ready to meet the rest of my team and start greeting the day's visitors.
Emotion 2: Heightened Canadian Pride. I am so excited to see the Olympics take place in a city and country which mean so much to me. I. LOVE. CANADA. I also happen to love Vancouver and the Olympics! Perfect.
Emotion 3: Glee. I don't know about you, but I love barcodes and scanning things. Even after a 9 hour shift, I wasn't tired of scanning people through the security checkpoints. Buh-beep! Green box around their mugshot, and the correct symbols on their accreditation badge. "Thank you! Go ahead!" Perhaps at this point you're wondering why I felt gleeful, of all things. Greeting people is just that much better when you're greeting members of international delegations who have just arrived from all over the world. New Zealand, Australia, Japan, USA, Sweden, Ukraine, Norway, Poland, Germany, to name a few...
Emotion 4: Gratitude for Canadian athletes. They are so down to earth! The Canadian speed skating team came through to pick up their accreditation, and in addition to my excitement in seeing them, I was so impressed by their casual, unassuming behaviour. I find it so refreshing when world class athletes, especially those in their own country, can exhibit such a modest demeanor. I love Canada.

the first entry

Along with the beautiful freedom which currently graces my post-university life, there comes a feeling of imminent, inevitable adventure. Part of this feeling undoubtedly stems from the fact that I happen to have several "planned" adventures for the coming year. I have also been encouraged by several friends to start blogging. In short, this seems like a suitable time to begin collecting my experiences and impressions somewhere that they can be shared and enjoyed. As with all "planned" adventure, there comes the even more exciting spontaneity of everyday life - both at home and abroad. It is this unexpected adventure that I most eagerly anticipate.

I've always felt that every blog that's worth reading (or writing!) should have a concrete goal or theme right from the outset. That's not to say that there can't be some variation in content, but I'm personally a fan of maintaining a common thread. To ensure that I don't run myself into any corners, I've taken the liberty of making my theme broad enough to accommodate any number of experiences :)
One of my favourite quotes (attributed to Denis Waitley) reads, "Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." It is with this idea in mind that I set out to see the world as it truly is: full of love, grace, and gratitude.