Goodbye.....

I still can not get over the fact that the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games are over. It hurts to think that the flame that travelled through the country uniting all Canadians is gone. It is hard to believe that when I get off the Vancouver City Centre station I don't see a sea of people. I am going to miss the random singing of the Canadian Anthem. I am so sad that it all has to end, it felt like to me it went by so fast.

When I first was told that we were moving to Vancouver, Canada I did not know a single thing about this city. So I decided to Google it, and the first thing I saw was Vancouver 2010. I clicked on the site and from that moment on I wanted to be apart of the 2010 Olympic Games. I got to Vancouver and was just buzzing with excitement. I was going to live in the city were the OLYMPICS are going to be held! On my 16th birthday I said to myself I will go to an Olympic event on my 17th birthday. It has been a ride from them, a very crazy one. I tried my hardest to get my hands on some tickets but I just could not. I was starting to lose hope, but I started to also start collecting pins. My hope was in the pins now, trying to get all of them.

Then one day while I was sitting in my English class listening to the announcements when I heard about Students Live. I jotted down the website only to find out that this was the last day to enter. I entered via a Facebook post, and hoped for the best. A month went past and no sign from Students Live. I started to think that I was not picked, maybe they already sent out the people who got picked. I was wrong, when I got that email I jumped for joy!! I was so happy, this was going to be unbelievable. Students Live is so much more that I expected, I made great new friends and had the time of my life.

The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic games have changed me. I have become more confidant, I can go up to a stranger and ask them questions. My whole experience of the Olympics is something that I will never forget. The Paralympic games have shown me that the sky is the limit. People like Brian McKeever are fighters, they will never give nor will they let hardships and disappointments let them down. Goodbye Olympics and Paralympics, you have left your mark on Vancouver and on me. This is my last blog post. I had fun writing on http://www.evelyn-olympic-blog.blogspot.com/

Paralympic Games

Wow what an amazing ten days! The party had started again in Vancouver and it was jumping. Everyone was ready to witness some amazing athletes, and they performed spectacularly. I have to say that I think the Paralympic Games are an even match for the Olympic Games. Some may say the Olympics are better but the Paralympics ROCKED!! Vancouver put on a great show for the Paralympics and the world watched in awe. The Paralympics started off in a bang on March 12 with the Opening Ceremonies. The torch lit by a 15 year old boy that aspires to be on a Paralympic snowboarding team. It was all so inspirational, everything made me feel ready to do something great.

I watch a couple of wheelchair curling matches and it is so intense, Canada got the GOLD in that sport and I was proud to watch two of their games. Then Sledge hockey was a heart breaker for Canada, they did not even win bronze, but they played their hearts out. Japan was amazing, rewarded with a silver metal. This hockey takes so much skill and it is fun to watch. The game has the same hype as a regular hockey game! I went to Whistler for the first time and watch some epic cross country skiing. Canada's Brian McKeever, who I did an early post on, won GOLD. I was watching his race, it was mind blowing. I will never ever forget that fabulous day.

The Paralympics went to Sochi with a bang the closing ceremonies in Whistler was spectacular. I loved how children gave the torch to children from Sochi! The Paralympic games have shown me that you can reach for the stars. These athletes all know that they have a disability, but they never ever let it stop them. It motivates me to go out an shoot for the stars! My next post will be my final post.

Now a complete Pin Head!

At the beginning of the 2010 Winter Olympics started to collect pins. I was watching CTV news when they were announcing there pin give away. At that moment I was hooked pins, I wanted every pin I could get my hands on. I started to watch the news every night to find out when they were handing out the pins. I was behind on the CTV pin collection, but I was determined to get all eight pins. I heard about the Coca Cola Pin Trading Centre in the downtown Bay. I decided to go down there to check out, they had a wall of pins where you put a pin and they give you a pin.You could also make a pin with your picture in it, I made one and it has to my favourite pin!

There was some pin traders all ready were in Vancouver ready to trade there pins. These pin traders are serious, they come to the Olympics not to watch the games but to trade pins. I personally think that it should be an Olympics sport! Over the days my collection grew, especially the CTV pins. I had all the pins by the time February 12 rolled around, this was the date that they were giving away the final pin. Its my bad luck that I had food poisoning that day and I was in no condition to go wait in line. I was crushed I worked so hard to collect those pins and I could not get the last one. It did not stop me from collecting pins, I carried my pins around when I was downtown, hoping that someone had the pin I was looking for. The streets of Vancouver was filled with pin traders all over the world.

One day I was going home from the Media Centre when I saw some pin traders near the Canada Line Station. I looked at a couple of traders pin, but they did not have the pin I wanted. I started to lose hope, until I saw a final pin traders with his pins. I walked up and he had the pin I wanted! Finally I could finish my collection, but the pin did not come easy. I had to trade two of my pins for that one pin, but I think it was worth it. My CTV pin collection is finally complete. I trade a couple more pins and all together I have 36 Olympic Pins and 8 CTV Limited Edition pins. I have the whole mascot set, including Muk Muk!

Trading pins is really fun, and the Olympics have made me a Pin Head.

Cirque Eloize:Rain

I went to a circus tonight, but not you ordinary circus. This was a part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad, the cultural side of the Olympics. The Olympics are not just about sport, the IOC has three strict pillars to the Olympics. The most famous one is sport, sustainability and culture. There have been many cultural events occurring around the city of Vancouver. Some of them have been art show, dances, singing and musical. Tonight I went to watch Cirque Eloize perform Rain at The Centre.

The show was spectacular, I loved every aspect of it. I really like to watch theatre and I understood the show. The show did not have a strict flow or narration, but a central theme. A man's fiance had left him, and he was thinking about the times they had played in the rain. The show had many circus type acts, but with a modern spin. There was several jugglers, , and they were all great actors. The acrobatics in the show was mind blowing, I really like when they did the curtain piece. It was funny at times, but also sad in other times. At the end it rained on the stage and topped the whole performance off. A great show!

Tomorrow I hope to post about my pin collection and the Paralympic Games!

Curling and Sledge Pics!

Gold, Bronze and SNOW!

Yesterday was a great day in Vancouver, the sun was shinning and it was my first trip to Whistler! I woke up at 5 AM to get ready and was in downtown at 7. Christina was going to drive me and my fellow Paralympic reporter Lorie up to watch Cross Country Skiing. The drive up to Whistler was fun, I loved seeing all the mountains covered with snow. Once we had arrived to the parking area we took a quick shuttle up to the venue. We had to walk a bit to where the race was taking place. While walking there was several demo area. You could try some of the paralympic sports and it was really fun. First I tried Alpine Skiing, it was pretty fun, it was cool to experience how the skiers to it. It was really awesome walking to the racing place because it was so beautiful. I got to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the snow. I bet any visitor loved that because it was a great way to experience walking through a mountain.

Once we got to the venue Lorie and I decided that we want to try so more demos out. We both tried Sit Ski, an event that we were going to watch later in the day. It was really fun, I had not sense of direction and kinda crashed in to Lorie. It was fun, and I really like that they let us try. It was a great idea to give demos, this makes me learn more about the event. I really saw how hard of an event it is and it must take a lot of work to do it. Next was the hardest demo, biathlon shooting. It was soo hard, you had to shoot by sounds. I am amazed at how visually impaired shooter do it. Amaaaazing!! Then we got pictures with SUMI, the official mascot of the 2010 Paralympic Games! In about 2 mins the race was going to begin so we got ready to watch near the finish line. The first race was Men's 10 km, it was a great to see all those athletes. I was in awe when I saw them compete, they way they ski is incredible. A Japanese athlete won the race, he was not a favourite to win. It was a great surprise for the Japanese fans in the crowd. While the men were racing the women had started. The winner for that race was from Ukraine, next was the race that I was really excited to see. Men's ten kilometre visually impaired, Brian McKeever and his brother Robin. It was wonderful to see them race, I think the way they guide each other is mind blowing. Not just the McKeever brothers, but every competitor and guide. The guide is their eyes, they rely sometimes solely rely on them depending on how severe the disability. Brian won GOLD for Canada and I was glad I got to see him race. After that there was the flower ceremonies and then the Women's Sit Ski. Colette Bourgonje won bronze, she was really good. I am still mind boggled on how they ski and the power they have. It was such a magnificent day, I'm glad I got to go. We headed up to Whistler Village to check it out. It was my first time, and the place was really nice.

This was my last sporting event for the Paralympics and I have one cultural event tomorrow. I watch Cirque Eloize: Rain! I think its going to be loads of fun. It still hasn't really sunk in that this is all going to end soon. I am sad =( I'm going to write a couple more post in the next couple of days. Cirque Eloize is going to be one, I will write one about my pin collection that has grown and my overall experience of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympics Games!

A Paralympic Day!

Today I was out and about watching paralympic events. I am extremely tired and tomorrow I go to watch Cross Country Skiing! So I will summarize my day today in a paragraph. I got to go watch Paralympic Curling with my Tourism class and it was fun. By the end of the matches I was frozen. We got nice seats, but they were right in front of the air conditioner. The sun was shining in Vancouver today so I warmed up right away after we left. At the game there was a lot of school children, from high schools to elementary schools. I believe that the government is giving the tickets to children at a low price. I think this is great, it a good way for children to see amazing athletes. They learn about the Paralympics too! On to the really amazing hockey game that I saw today! It was between Korea and Sweden and it was such a close game. Till the last second, they game was so intense. I was rooting for Sweden but they lost. They put up a great fight though.

Tomorrow is a fun day! Lots of pictures!