2010-02-12. Not an ordinary date in Canadian history. This is the third time we're hosting the world for the greatest sporting event, and today we're kicking it all off! 17 incredible days are ahead of us. Years of waiting and preparation are behind. Let's party! But only after we pause for a moment in silence...
That's because today is also a day of mourning, for Georgia, after Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a horrific crash at Whistler, on the luge track, just hours before the opening ceremony. A grim start to this rainy day...
I kicked it off by meeting with an old friend from Montréal who's here working with CTV/RDS at the International Broadcast Centre. Pierre-Luc is one of many junior journalists contributing to the stories you read about on the net and see on TV.
We took the SkyTrain down to Main/Science-World station where Russian House (Sochi 2014) is located. From there, we walked along False Creek towards BC Place, where crowds were already lining up for the opening ceremony. After a brief pause for few Chinese dumplings, we continued through the downtown core, enjoying all the street action. And there is plenty of it here: from LiveCity areas to celebration sites to international houses, pavilions, and cultural centres... the city is buzzing! Police forces from all over Canada are patrolling the streets (I saw a few of our own Montréal cops!) but there aren't many protests and it's incredibly safe in the city, even late at night.
After the stroll, Pierre-Luc went to work to cover the main event and I headed home to change, pick up the bottle of my free wine (volunteering perk #28), and head to Kate, Dionna, and Marion's place on Quebec Street, for the opening ceremony house party! Why there? Well, A) they are 3 really cool girls I had just met on Wendesday, and B) the view from their 11th floor balcony gives straight onto False Creek, BC Place, and the downtown core. It's absolutely spectacular (and no, I still have't figured out a way to transfer pics from my camera onto my work laptop... but when I do, you will see what I mean.)!
The party was wild! I won't get into the details but watching the ceremony with a large crowd (there must have been at least 30 people there) of rowdy Canadians, drinking and cheering, and looking out the window to see the place where it's all happening... I mean... words can't describe it! Hopefully, my pictures will :)
My buddy Adam finished his shift at the main ticket place and joined us around 11:30pm. The party went on until about 1am at which point we headed out to see the torch (see picture) that Wayne Gretzky had lit up earlier on. My friend Andrew and two if his buddies (Dustin and Dan) joined us. Adam went home 'cause he had an early morning shift the next day and I hit the party scene with the boys. We had some drinks and watched parts of the ceremony that was replayed on all networks and all screens at the bar, to finally end up at some club called Odyssey, where we partied well past 3am. After some well-deserved pizza, I made it home without remembering much of how exactly that happened, and crashed at 5am...
So there you have it! The Games are open. The parties are on. The world is watching.
Tomorrow, I start my volunteering journey! Stay tuned...
I am already having an absolute blast here and I hope the tiny bits of it that I can share here with you are enough for you to enjoy these special times we live in with me...
Enjoy the Games, Canada!
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