Cairo City Champions!!

In Egypt, volleyball ranks very near the bottom in terms of sporting popularity - first being football, umm, I mean soccer - which probably is more accurately the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd most popular sport!! This followed by European handball, basketball, and then maybe volleyball. Maybe.

In any event, we managed to put together a team for a city tournament - we had about eight practices, maybe nine, and two exhibition games to get us ready - and WE WON!! It was an exciting day as we went undefeated to the finals where the boys won a three set thriller, two games to one (25-14, 24-26, 25-23). It was awesome, and just another reason teaching is pretty much the coolest profession on Earth!!

C.I.S.E - Cairo City Champs #1!!

Jordan - must mean "Crossroad"

With another week long holiday on offer – this time because of a second Eid festival in the Muslim calendar, Eid-al-Adha which celebrates a story many faiths are very familiar with, the willingness of Abram to just about sacrifice his son – we were off to Jordan.

Most people, if you have ever even thought of Jordan the country, and not the basketball player, probably only associate it with one significant site – Petra, the stunning and spectacular city carved into the sides of mountains, and hidden from Westerners for centuries. But Jordan is more than this newest wonder of the world. It has an incredible geography that comes from being so close to two continental divides, and a history that seems only fitting when you consider it sits directly in the middle of so much historical, political, and religious turmoil. And with that, it was time for our one hour and bit flight from Cairo to Amman.

We had been told renting a car was the way to go in Jordan as it is a small country that is friendly on the foreign drivers. Needless to say, we did, but not without some serious nerves having just come from Egypt where driving is as much a contact sport as soccer is – not really allowed, but if no one is looking (and no one is, ever) all is fair! But driving truly is the way to go in this country as it frees you from the schedules of public transport that is trouble-some and confusing at the best of times.

After an evening of recovering from our tough travel day (remember that whole hour of flying?), we set out to explore.

The "Promised Land"

On the first day we traveled to Mt. Nemo to visit where Moses first spied the ‘promise land’ and subsequently died at the ripe old age of 120 (we’re shooting for 125); from there we wound down to the River Jordan (more of a muddy stream smaller than 16 Mile Creek at this time of year) to see where it is believed Jesus got baptized by John the Baptist!

The site of Jesus' baptism.

After that it was a short drive to the Dead Sea which is so named because of its incredible levels of salt which is a result of sitting at the lowest point on Earth, some 400 m below sea level – floating in this sea is really something that has to be experienced!



Day two took us to the former Roman city, Jerash. This city is on the Eastern frontier of what was once the Roman Empire, and the ruins here are compared to Pompei. It is truly extraordinary to think of how far the Roman Empire expanded at a time when most travel was by row boat and foot! And then to see the ruins, some incredibly well preserved, elbowing up next to a modern Islamic city is quite something.

The Temple of Artemis - who was Artemis?

Day three was a driving day to find that lost city of Petra, but on our way we crossed some stunning scenery as we moved through mountains that separated the relatively fertile soils of the Jordan valley to the barren desert that covers roughly 90% of the country. Also along the way was a stop at a Crusader castle for some more history – the beginning of the truly violent divide between Islam and Christianity. It is a sorry history on both sides, and something that has us hoping that the bad decisions of today (or the ones we think are good, but turn out not so well) do not have 1000 year repercussions!

After 7 hours of winding around 300 km of roads through the mountains we finally reached our destination, Petra! And just in time for the night walk – a highly recommended activity that takes you on a candle-lit walk to the city inside the rock. An eerie way to be introduced to such a place, but interesting as it is as close as possible these days to replicating what it must have been like to enter and leave the city in the dark. We followed this up with a trip to a cave believed to have been in use for some 6000 years, and for the last 1500 years at least, as a tavern for weary travellers. Today, it sits next to a posh guest house, but once inside you can almost taste the history.

The next day gave us a chance to really explore this magnificent creation of human ingenuity – a city protected and hidden, and very nearly preserved for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Believed to have been a place where the people of the area hid their bounty from controlling the region’s trading routes, it is more recently thought to have been a sacred place where many important people were buried in tombs. However you slice it, it is impressive to see and impressive to walk around in.

Kind of speaks for itself.

The centre-piece known as "The Treasury"

From here it was a short drive for our last adventure – out to the desert for some camping – which as it turned out is actually like staying in a pretty nice motel in the middle of nowhere that provides an outstanding restaurant, a pool, and even an ampli-theatre (that unfortunately sat empty while we were there). Now of course we have loads of desert here in Egypt, but what makes this desert interesting is the incredible rock formations and the fact this was the setting of the Arab uprising during World War I led by T.E. Lawrence, a British soldier made famous by Lawrence of Arabia. Epic and historical country for sure! Made even more epic when taken in at 60 km/h on your ATV! Not quite the romantic way of seeing the desert, like on the back of an uncomfortable camel, but a truly hair-raising good time!

Now if your head is spinning after having read all this, simply grab a map of the world and find Jordan – it’s just east of Israel and the West Bank, a little north of Saudia Arabia, west of Iraq, and a little south of Syria and Iran. No wonder this place has seen it all. Amazingly, it stands proudly as a place of incredible beauty and history!

I think we'll go straight!!

Many differences, many similarities!

You don't see this too often driving around Canada!!

Obviously anytime someone travels thousands of kilometres to a new continent and country, they are going to encounter differences. Differences in language and culture, differences in thoughts and ideas, differences in appearance and priorities. More often than not however, when one travels thousands of kilometres to a new continent and country, it is the many similarities that remind us that home may be far in distance, but the heart travels with us; and it is our hearts that show us we are all in this together.

For instance, in my last posting I mentioned how kids here are the same as kids everywhere, which left me missing students of the past - and how so many of the characters I once taught are reflected in the new characters I get to teach here!!

This morning was another one of those mornings when I remembered that no matter where I go, I go with my brothers and sisters of the world, and I go with their hopes and dreams, loves and losses. This morning I got to join thousands of Egyptians, Canadians, Americans, English, Australian, Korean, you name it, at The Great Pyramids of Giza. And while many were there this morning to take in the spectacular ancient ruins, many more were there to show their love and support to those affected by breast cancer.

It was just one of those mornings where every fibre of my being seemed to be stretched to its very limit as I tried to take in everything that surrounded me - many thousands of years of history; a modern phenomenon that does not care about race, creed, or colour; an ancient culture that honoured their dead with HUGE monuments; a modern, multi-cultural world that honours their dead with memories, and walks, and fundraisers, and research, and monuments of our own; a personal stake in what is happening and has happened; a future so bright, yet so unknown. It was quite overwhelming.

It was a strange and wonderful day indeed. A day I had to share with you because you have shared so much with me. Thank you.

Ready to walk in support of a cure - by the pyramids!?!

Sporting pink, Egyptian style!!

And we're off! Literally thousands kicking up the dust of thousands of years!

Traveling in style - after the walk was done of course!!

We were at THE Pyramids!?!

To School and then Mt. Sinai!!

It's incredible that nearly a month has passed since I last had an opportunity to sit down and write to you everything that is going on. Just goes to show how fast time flies when you're having fun!

Since my last post, school has gotten underway, quite successfully, and you may be surprised to learn, the kids here are just like kids everywhere else! They like to play, they don't like to sit, and most times they wish they were home doing something other than listening to their teacher!!

One thing that has really impressed me here though, is that while Arabic is most student's first language, almost all speak fluent English, and many at our school are also part of the French Immersion program. This means that throughout their day they spend 3 hours speaking to their teachers in French, 1 hour in Arabic, and 2 hours with English - an impressive feat for anyone, not to mention students as young as Grade 1!! I find this especially incredible as I continue to struggle with English and hope to one day speak more than passing French! Makes those 40 minutes of French most of you do seem like a breeze (and an opportunity not to be wasted!!), n'est pas?

With a couple of weeks under our belts at school, it was time for the students to get a rest from me, and fortunately, Egyptian Armed Forces Day (Oct. 6) and then Thanksgiving came so close together, that they combined the holidays for a nice long weekend. To help us celebrate this important time of year we headed to where it all began for Christians, Jews, and Muslims - MT. SINAI!!

A big reason for wanting to come to Egypt is the obvious history of the land. Civilization, at least as we are familiar with it, has been in this neck of the woods for thousands and thousands of years. But one of the defining moments for many of the cultures of the world took place right here in Egypt, on the Sinai peninsula, when God spoke to Moses and the 10 Commandments were born. No matter your beliefs on how or why this happened, to be sure, in the history of human civilization, the adoption of these commandments as law and as a way to govern was an inspired step forward in the way people dealt with each other. As a result, this place holds considerable significance for people from all walks of life and faiths.

Of course, before tackling the midnight hike up the mountain, some much needed R & R was called for on the Sinai coast, in a small little coastal town of Nuweiba - a sleepy village on the Gulf of Aqaba with stunning views of the mountains, the sea, and near the cross roads of four countries (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia) and two continents (Africa and Asia). No wonder there is so much history in this area!!

A pretty sweet way to start this adventure and remind me of just how much I have to be thankful for!

I wonder how long people have been traveling down this little beach road??

Our little huts, with an emphasis on little - no wasted space here!

Amazing what you can get used to - camels on the beach!! (those are mountains of Saudia Arabia faintly in the background)

After a couple of days of relaxing, it was now time to follow in the footsteps of Moses, and hike up Mt. Sinai. To do this we left at midnight(!?!), and began our walk at about 3 in the morning (more !?!?), in what seemed like another world - a hundred languages, hundreds of people, just as many camels, and all the smells and sounds that go with it all - IN THE DARK!

I have often said pictures can never do justice to the experience, and in this case, I have never been more right. Walking in the dark up the side of this famous mountain, feeling the presence of so much, listening to the chatter, the singing, and the chanting of others as they too make their way up in the darkness will be something I never forget. That, and the fact our guide decided he didn't feel like making the final ascent up the 750 steps and instead choosing to sleep at one of the little rest stops along the way!! Oh well, I think it actually gave us more a sense of adventure as we had no idea what to expect.

Eager anticipation of the sunrise over the mountains. The ever changing colours were awesome!

A just a few of the hundreds of people taking in the warmth of the sun and rejoicing in the new day. There was singing, a few solemn prayers, and a number of religious services, giving a real sense of the pilgrimmage we were a part of on this night.

It was truly a tremendous experience, and despite being surrounded by desoltion (there is no greenery anywhere), the colours of the rocks and sky were something I've never witnessed. Spectacular! And to think, "I coul be sitting right where Moses sat some 4000 years ago!?!", is not something I could ever express adequately. Maybe if I spoke a second, or even third language!

Looking back up in the day - Mt. Sinai!

The OTHER Pyramids

As our first day approaches (finally!?!) we took one last opportunity to go exploring around our area. Instead of hitting up the more famous, and far more crowded pyramids of Giza, we decided to go a little further south and see some the lesser known, but still very impressive, tombs. Admittedly, we are now even more excited about seeing The Great Pyramids of Giza, because these were pretty great, and it makes me appreciate how grand they must be to be termed 'great'.

Our first stop was to Saqqara, Egypt's largest archeological site, covering nearly seven square kilometres - one French archeologist spent an astonishing 75 years here!! What Saqqara is, is a massive grave yard of ancient Memphis, once thought to be the capital of ancient Egypt for a time.

The centre piece of Saqqara is the Step Pyramid. It is considered to be the earliest stone built monument in the world - it is thought to have been constructed in 2650 BC!!

The Step Pyramid

From just north of the Step Pyramid, the Great Pyramids of Giza (the famous ones) can be seen in the distance.

As part of the funeral complex, we were able to go into one of the crypts where we came across these hyroglyphics which I am pretty sure say, "Learning to read is fun so we can read to learn!"

From Saqqara, we drove a little further south to Memphis, the ancient capital. Not much remains of the place, but the open air museum is built around the huge fallen statue of Ramses II, one of the most ruthless and successful(?) leaders of antiquity.

Massive limestone statue of Ramses II.

From Memphis, it was a short drive a little further south to the sites of the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid. Building upon the success of the Step Pyramid, ancient architects wanted to build a smooth faced pyramid. Their first attempt was the Bent Pyramid, which given away by its name, didn't quite live up to their hopes as they had to change the angle to get it finished. Their next attempt was far more successful, and the huge Red Pyramid is considered the oldest 'true' pyramid.

The Red Pyramid - too big even to fit in the picture!


Inside the Red Pyramid - hard to see, but truly something to experience. Staring up into, and standing underneath, thousands of pounds of ancient rock carved perfectly to right angles. How'd they do that?

Looking back over the desert at The Red Pyramid.

The tiny Bent Pyramid!!

Kidding, it is huge!

The interesting thing about this Bent Pyramid, is not only its shape, but that it is one of the last remaining pyramids with it's some of its smoothness intact. At just about everywhere else, including The Great Pyramids, the limestone used to create these smooth sides was removed for the building of ancient Cairo!

Next up - SCHOOL!!!

With more time, you get PICTURES!!

The incredibly busy summer that has just passed still seems as though it was just yesterday. But with so much having happened, it also seems like it was years ago I was saying good-bye to the students of St. Andrew's and the family and friends I love so much!

So with this little added time before I begin my school year, here are just a few of the thousands of pictures from the amazing wedding right up until the diving trip in the Red Sea over the weekend - get out those atlases, find the Red Sea, and it will be easy to figure out this is a great area for diving for many reasons!

Husband and wife!!

Taking a little time to ourselves in our getaway boat!!

Honeymoon travels!

Gone - 4 years in the making, 15 minutes of shaving!!

Sunset on the Nile!

Front gate of my new school - Canadian International School of Cairo

Our street.

Headed out into the desert to get to the Red Sea

There it is!! The Red Sea!

Not too shabby! Beautiful dive spot with coral reaching up 30 metres to get to the surface!

There were some pictures being taken under water, and hopefully I can get my hands on them to share with you. They won't do the diving experience any justice, but they are fun to share at least.

Take care. Peace.

The first of many as we wait!

The whirlwind that was my summer - getting married, a honeymoon, watching my brother get married, packing, cutting my hair (!?!) and then lifting off to Cairo - has slowed considerably since arriving in Egypt. Which is probably a good thing, actually it is definitely a good thing, as we adjust to life in an ancient culture very different from ours at home.

The big slowdown has been as a result of Ramadan - a very important time in the lives of Muslims around the world as they fast from sun-up to sun-down and reflect on a year that has passed. We were originally supposed to start August 29 and then take a short break around now, as the end of Ramadan approached - a time of feasting and celebrating, as I am sure you could imagine after a month without food or water during daylight hours!! However, the Education ministry decided that school should not take place during Ramadan, and therefore pushed the start date back to the 13th. But again, the ministry thought about it, and has now decided that the date for school to begin should be the 19th of September to allow families adequate time to return from holidays and prepare for the start of a new school year.

I wonder how that would go over in Canada?

To those of you who are so inclined, you may notice the start dates I mentioned are Sundays - the work week in most of the Muslim world is Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday serving as the weekend. It is something all the new folks are still trying to figure out, and we've been told that as soon as we start refering to the days correctly, we are finally at home in our new country - it is a strange thing to wake up on a Tuesday, think it is Wednesday, find out it is Tuesday, and then realise, no big deal, still only two days of work left!!

The time so far has included a lot of rest, a lot of water (it is hot here even apparently by Egyptian standards) and a couple of adventures. One of the first things we did was take a fellucca (an ancient sailboat) ride on the Nile for a sunset cruise. It was really quite something to be on the historical waters of the Nile - so much of life in Egypt is determined by the Nile and here we are, a group of Canadian teachers just cruising along as if it was anywhere in the world. But it wasn't anywhere, it was the Nile! And it was pretty awe-inspiring. For the next adventure we headed out on was a diving expedition to the Red Sea. A truly remarkable experience where we got to swim with so many sea creatures and even down to a couple of sunken ships. Awesome! Pictures just could never do justice to the experience.

Speaking of pictures....

As this is my first post from Egypt, it is rather bare, but I hope to spruce things up as the days and weeks go by with pictures (inlcuding that awesome wedding!!) and more stories from my time here. Thanks for reading and following along, I hope it is something you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing about!

Until next time - PEACE.

HOME BUT NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN!

I have arrived home, safe and sound, and still trying to digest all that I have seen and been a part of.

I really don't know how this will all eventually play out, but do we ever? What I do know is that traveling to the Olympics and being a small part of what Right to Play is doing, and trying to do, has been one of the most exciting and interesting experiences of my life.

I am pretty sure words will never do it justice, and I am quite certain the photos that follow will not either.

In any event, enjoy them and I hope one day everyone gets to experience the fun and excitement I enjoyed these last 8 days.

You can view the slide show as is below, but if you'd like to get a real look, you can make it bigger (click on the slide show, and then choose 'full screen') and slower (you can control the speed with the + or - signs at the bottom).




Thank you so much to everyone who read my blog, those that commented, and especially to those in Vancouver and at home who made this all possible with their kindness and generousity. THANKS!

MR. DINNER IS EXHAUSTED!

I am hoarse. I am soar. I am tired. I am happy!

What an incredible 8 days!

But I am exhausted.

So my last post from Vancouver is going to be short (highly unlikely) and sweet.

Spent my morning and early afternoon spending some final hours trying to take in as much as I can about what makes Right to Play so special for me. Still hard to put into words, so I won't (which is rare). Got to say hello to a few more great people, and of course had to say goodbye to many great ones.

From there I got to participate in the what seems like the one Olympic event everyone here in Vancouver gets to go in....standing in line. I must point out here this is not a complaint. Just a fact. If you came down to Vancouver for the Olympics along with hundreds of thousands, if not millions of other people (okay maybe tens of thousands) and didn't expect in line, well then I think you expect a little too much of what others are supposed to do for you. In fact the line proved to be a nice time to finally slow down, and the families and friends around me (and there were a lot of them) enjoyed their time together...hmmm, weird...people actually enjoying family and friends on a beautiful sunny day in, for the moment, the greatest place on the planet.

Sat down to watch some television on an amazing HD television, watched our Olympians triumph and come up short, witnessed joy and disappointment, say the pride in what they do, all the while re-living everything I have just seen and participated in, believing in my heart of the potential we all have for greatness. It's a pretty awesome feeling, and hopefully it's not just because I am exhausted.

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS!

Continued technically difficulties (and probably a lack of rest) have once again prevented photos from being included in today's entry. Arrrrrrgh!

This is especially disappointing as for the 7th consecutive day things got even more exciting. I couldn't imagine it was possible after the stress of a shootout with the Swiss led to an enormous explosion of energy that nearly toppled the city of Vancouver. Last night was crazy, and to be a part of it was something I will never forget.

At the time, this was especially true as it looked as though taking in any actual 'live' events wasn't going to happen and I needed to cherish my moment. I was fine with this.

Of course, they do say ignorance is bliss, and if I had missed out on the opportunities I took advantage of today, I would have missed out on something extraordinary. As my story goes, I went from seeing no events to seeing two in one day - the Latvia vs. Czech Republic in men's hockey and the Victory Celebration. Incredible!

This was then followed up by being in the streets of Vancouver - an incredible experience to say the least last night, but tonight a party/experience/celebration I have never once been a part of. Roads were closed (again). Cheering and yelling was everywhere (again). High fiving (again). You name it (again). I'm not sure what made tonight that much more insane - maybe it was the gold medal in skeleton, or maybe it was more people, or maybe people are now, after a week, getting familiar with everything and just letting loose. Whatever it is/was, it is/was working to perfection. The love of life was in the air and everyone was infected - it was great!

And so my final day here in Vancouver is near - I will spend one final day at the Right to Play exhibit - some 40, 000 people have visited the tent since I arrived, and almost the same amount in dollars has been raised! As a result, the goal now becomes to have 100,000 people come through leaving behind them some $100,000 in donations which would be an incredible number for the short of time we've been at. Good luck to all who are going to be there when I am gone.

I am then hoping to head out to Richmond to the Ozone and the attached Heiniken House along with the speed skating oval. I can't imagine tomorrow any more insane or unforgettable, but as I am a person who learns from his past, I can't doubt that it won't either - I got a feeling, today is going to be a good, good day!!

Fewf!

Sadly no pictures today...got a bunch from a very busy and exciting day at the Games, but they just don't seem to want to cooperate today. Hopefully I can get that fixed before I return.

It was an unbelievably exciting and tiring day today, following the trend of each day being even more than the last. Today we started with a group of Grade 5's (who I am sure know that they must hold the 'shift' key down to make letters capitals, especially on their names) come visit in the morning - they learned a little about Right to Play and then played a wicked game of human foosball. A great way to kick things off.

Then we did a flash mob dance thingy where people 'spontaneously' appear out of nowhere to dance as a big group - and when I say 'spontaneous' I mean, in this case, totally planned, collaborated on, a rehearsed. It was fun none-the-less and I hope to teach you guys at home this little dance so we can continue to spread the word (hopefully it will be up on YouTube tomorrow).

And then of course we finish the day with another gold medal (WOOOOOOOHOOOOO!) and a stressful win over the Swiss in hockey.

The win touched off a celebration in this city I have yet to see, further proving hockey to be #1, and I think was made all that more explosive and awesome because it was so stressful! Literally the city exploded....it was awesome!

Once again, thanks so much to everyone who has commented (you can view your comments for each entry by clicking at the bottom), especially those who have cleaned up their grammar act. 'U' is not a word!

To answer a few questions posed in the comment section: yes, I am loving my time here; no, I haven't met too many athletes; and if I were to be an Olympic athlete at these games I would be a hockey player (yeah right) or compete in the biathlon!

IT'S NOT JUST ME DOING GREAT STUFF!!

Once again I appreciate beyond measure everyone joining in on my experience here in Vancouver. As you have lived through what I do, I have to tell you, part of what makes this place so exciting and electric is the fact that everyone, and I mean everyone, is in town and they are all loving what they are seeing.

To prove this point, my friend who I am staying with is a chef at a restaurant called the "Italian Kitchen". It is such a great restaurant that it hosted me on Valentine's Day (which means I own my financee big time) but also the president of Latvia, and more importantly, Wayne Gretzky. So while you live through my experiences, I live through the experiences of others...a pretty awesome circle and one I am glad to be a part of. I mean after a long day of work, where my man had to serve the likes of Wayne Gretzky (a stress I couldn't imagine), he got to sit down with the "Great One" who just wanted to say thanks for some awesome food. Could you imagine Wayne Gretzky saying thank you to you? I couldn't before today! And it is that possibility that brings this city alive, because you just never know.

A signed "No. 99 Wayne Gretzky Estates" bottle....cool.

Today gave me the opportunity say hello to a couple of our Athlete Ambassadors - first up was Chris McElroy, the captain of the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League and then it was ZachPlavsic , a Canadian Olympian in wind surfing. While these guys might not be the most recognizable of athletes what they do to raise awareness of of what Right to Play does cannot be under-estimated. They bring energy and a love of sport, along with their excellence that takes them to the top of their respective sports, to the children of the world. Fantastic!

Chris McElroy - awesome lacrosse player, captain, Edmonton Rush

Zach Plavsic - 2008 Canadian Olympic wind surfer - a true believer!

And of course, with everything I've talked about and how it makes this city jumping, another medal takes it to another level. The Olympics are great!! And today will bring even more I am sure...awesome!!

WHY I'M HERE!

Before we get to anything important, let me just say - WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Been an exciting day today for so many reasons! WOW!

And now back to the regular scheduled programming - I've got to get a couple of things off my chest:

First, thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to read my stuff, and to make a comment or two. I am really having fun with it all, and having you participate with me makes it all that more special. Thanks.

However, and this is the second thing, please make sure to at least put in some effort when leaving a comment (especially those Grade 5's of mine - I know who you are because many of you leave your names!). I have no problem with the odd spelling mistake or missed letter, but not having capitals in certain words (especially your names!!) or at the beginning of sentences is crazy!

I believe, and you should too, that you always put your best foot forward in whatever you do, but especially when putting something out there for the public see (in this case the small group of people who read this). It doesn't have to be the best, but it has to reflect your best - missing capitals says to me, "I'm lazy." I know you're not, but others who are reading this might think so - I couldn't bear to think people believing my students lazy (because again, I know you're not) and you shouldn't either.


Which brings me to my point about why I am here.

Many may think it's to watch the men's and women's hockey teams kick butt (which is kind of true and this city if going crazy because of it) or to practice my skipping skills (I am already an awesome skipper, just like I am also a very fast runner, but I could always get better). It is also however, to continue my own learning about our world (one thing I need to learn is French - it's an embarrassment that I do not) and to get a better understanding of this organization Right to Play along with its profound effect on children and adults around the world.

Today at the Right to Play "World of Play" pavilion, it was a bit slow - we had over 10,000 visitors on Sunday and were down to about 3,000 today - I think it had something to do with those puck-chasing Canadians, so I took the opportunity to document a few of the reasons others have chosen to get involved with bringing sport to thousands of children around the world.


Inspirational words for sure! And just in case you didn't know who they were, Ban Ki Moon is the head honcho of the United Nations, Lance Armstrong is cycling's answer to Wayne Grtezky, Wayne Gretzky who is Canada's answer to just about everything, and Clara Hughes, our most recent flag bearer. I think sometimes we take for granted the wonderful lessons that can be learned through play - not just sport, but play. Team work. Equality. Effort. Respect. I could go one, but you get the idea. Playing is awesome! They think it. I think it. And I am pretty sure you think it. So wouldn't it be nice if we could all play? Yes, yes it would.

But back to today.

As I said, it was slow today at the pavilion, but really only at the pavilion. Throughout the city, things were electric. Gold medals won. Hockey played. Red and white worn by thousands! Being here and experiencing the passion, goodwill, and general happiness that I get to experience each day has been something I will cherish forever! Whether it's Team Canada in hockey, another gold medal, or kicking butt in curling, this city is alive and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to take it all in. Thanks for joining in.

Entrance to the Molson Hockey House (our pavilion neighbour - and no I can't get in!)

**As for those autograph requests, I will get you one or two as soon as I get myself one or two - which hasn't happened yet....so, good luck!**

And to answer one comment/question that was left about the player I would choose to start my dream hockey team, it has to be, and always will be Wayne Gretzky - the guy's magic and our answer to just about everything!!