THE DAY BEFORE

Today I spent most of the day outside encouraging people to head into Right to Play's "World of Play" pavilion. Most of the pavilion is dedicated to educating people about what Right to Play is and what it does.

One of the things it does is play, as you know. Turns out our pavilion neighbours who are also looking to play, the Saskatchewan Pavilion, challenged us to a game of soccer. Check out the highlights here (very insightful interview by yours truly at the end):

www.saskpavilion.ca/videos/video-blog

After spending the day kicking the ball around, I got to take The Four Hosts pavilion which featured the four First Nations that have been given co-host status, the first time in Olympic history that aboriginals have been recognized...a lone overdue recognition, but something the communities are embracing and using to educate so many. Remind me to show you the video I took.


And remember when I said that the "Oh Canada" from the Opening Ceremonies was the best version I'd ever heard. Well hearing the crowd sing it at Bilodeau's gold medal during the victory celebration has to take it.

And so tomorrow begins what many are calling the reason for hosting the Olympics...the men's hockey tournament gets under way...should be awesome!

MINE AND CANADA'S GOLDEN DAY!!

Got to sport my golden yellow Right to Play t-shirt today and take in all that Vancouver had to offer, which was mostly sun and smiles today. Day began with a meeting with Daniel Igali, the Canadian gold medal wrestler and one of RTP's most outspoken and dedicated Athlete Ambassadors. Look for his interview in an upcoming issue of The Globe & Mail, and maybe just maybe a picture of me with him and some other volunteers.

My role today was to be part of the promotions team for Right to Play - our job was to raise awareness of what Right to Play is and does by any means possible. Today that meant getting people to skip rope in the streets and shouting lots of "When children play, the world wins!"




After impressing the locals with my jump rope skills, we then headed down to the 'cauldron' where the Olympic flame burns brightly and draws huge crowds. And yes those are mountains you can see behind the flame as it was actually sunny today, and yes that is the flame behind a fence making it very difficult for all but the most important (I know, I'm blown away I am not somehow on that list too) to see. But it's still pretty cool.

This was followed by cruising the streets of Vancouver.

Being in this city at this time truly is something special. What makes it all the more special is the people I've met (gave a heart felt thumbs up to some members of the Georgia delegation) from so many countries, and the fact that as you walk around you come across scenes like this.....



and this....



These spaces are, and will remain reserved for the excellent videos I have taken. And if I ever figure out how to get them up without having to wait an hour to do so, then it'll happen.

The first video was of an outstanding troupe of capoeta dancers, and the other, a group of drummers no older than 15 from Taiwan. Both were part of the Cultural Olympiad that is taking place parallel to the actual Olympics, and both were incredibly impressive.

Of course, neither was as impressive as Canada's first gold! And the story of brotherhood that accompanies our first gold medal on Canadian soil makes it that much better. So exciting and awesome, and it's only the 2nd day!

Tomorrow...hanging at the "World of Play" pavilion for most of the afternoon, and some time spent truly figuring out how to get videos posted to this site.

DAY ONE AND HALF

About an hour until I get to board the first leg of my flight to Vancouver (I’ve got a two hour...turned into a three hour lay-over in Edmonton). Still living off the excitement of last night’s incredible Opening Ceremonies. Now most know that at times I can be a little over-the-top in my enthusiasm for all things Canadian, but it was just so nice to sit through a few hours of Canadiana that had me bursting with pride as many of the speakers and performers echoed so much of what I believe Canada and Canadians to be – AMAZING!

So while I wait to board, I will fill you in with a list of what I thought was great about last night. Feel free to add your own Top 5 moments of the night (through the comments), and let’s see if we can make this a truly interactive experience. This list is by no way definitive, and is of course open for debate. So enjoy. In no particular order…

1. Oh Canada – man’o’man what a rendition. Probably the best I’ve ever heard. Making it even better for me is the fact that daily I have to listen to myself and my students screech through 'Oh Canada' to start off the day. An important thing to do, there is no dounbt, but hearing our anthem sung like that allowed me to remember what a powerful and remarkable song it is. Oh Canada!

2. The entrance of Team Canada – the anticipation of this moment was overwhelming, and the response from the crowd when they entered left me with goosebumps.

3. A speech by the guy I’ve never seen or heard, but want to again – this guy rose up from the middle of the main stage and gave a speech for the ages about what Canada really is – an experiment gone right. We have so much to be proud of as Canadians, and this guy nailed every single one of them!

4. The entrance of The First Nations – they were a little late in arriving (the Chiefs were supposed to enter with Michelle Jean and the rest of the dignitaries) but the welcome they gave when the youth of their nations appeared on the main stage was great. I hope, and believe, that they are speaking for the majority of the Native youth in our country. Our Native heritage is something we should be proud of, embrace, and learn from. Bang that drum! Also I ask, what would you rather be wearing – the ceremonial dress of our Chiefs, or the suits the Prime Minister or Govenor General had to? I’ll take the feathers thank you.

5. The entrance of Team Norway – a little biased here obviously, but they gave a nice shout out to Johann Olav Koss, the Norwegian speed skater who got Right to Play started as they came in and is the reason I am heading out west to take part.

6. k.d. lang – yup, I said k.d. lang. Her performance of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Alleluia’ was awesome. We have so much to be thankful for in Canada, alleluia.

7. Speaking of singing, the Toronto native who sang the Olympic anthem has got a set of lungs on her and she wailed. The depth and breadth of talent in this country is astonishing.

8. A fiddlin’ and a stompin’ – a truly unique Canadian experience of music, bringing the common element of the fiddle to the diverse tastes of our many regions.

9. The entrance of Team Georgia – obviously reeling from the loss of their countryman in a tragic accident, the team (and everyone involved) rallied around his spirit, giving even more meaning to the term Olympic spirit. To be sure, a sporting event that leads to the death of a competitor is a tragedy, but this was a young man doing what he loved, competing for the love of sport and his country. If everyone who died in this world yesterday had the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams, this world would be a better place.

10. The entrance of the flame – the highly anticipated moment came with a fitting tribute to the many champions this nation has produced – Hansen, Gretzky, Greene, LeMay Doan, and Nash. Now I had hoped for some sort of hologram or something featuring Terry Fox, the truth of the matter, is nothing could be finer than seeing the potential that exists within all of us represented in these five athletes.

So that’s 10, and I certainly could go on (speeches, dancing, pictures of our troops in Afghanistan, Joannie Mitchel to name a few), but the boarding call has gone out. I will see about adding to this in Edmonton in a couple of hours, and hopefully I can get this up on the internet before the day is done.

Also of note, another great moment for me came before the ceremony began. There is going to be a running piece featuring Rick Hansen (yup, the same Hansen who entered with the flame) called “Difference Makers”. As we all know very well, individual success is impossible without the support of so many. These features will focus on those behind the scenes supporters, and yesterday’s first installment on Rick’s ‘difference maker’ was inspiring.

And now that we are at the end of this little marathon (I'm talking about my day, you may be thinking about my writing), a shout out to Jennifer Heil, who had a pretty amazing run only to be trumped by an incredible run by that American girl. I'll take silver any day, and look forward to many more medals of all colours. Let the games begin.

Next up, my first day of volunteering...and pictures. More pictures, less writing. GO CANADA GO!