First day at Cypress - Heil wins Silver

Wow, what an amazing day!

I left Don and Dana's at around 9 with a beautiful walk down to Dunbar St to catch the bus. What a difference coming from Ottawa (-14C) to here (+6). Grass everywhere, felt like Spring or early Fall. All I could think about was "Man, Lisa would LOVE this." Yes Lisa, you'd be out running every single day, and I would almost join you on some of them ;)

So the bus got me to Waterfront where I took the Seabus over to North Vancouver and Lonsdale Quay. This is my main hub to get on the OBN (Olympic Bus Network) up to Cypress. I noticed a lot of other volunteers in our obvious blue uni's, but really didn't strike any conversations with anyone at that point. Walking to the buses, however, was a man from Tanzania, so we chatted about the Games, Vancouver, our families and so on. It was a nice start to the morning.

As I got on the bus, a guy came and sat down. He was from a very small town in northern Quebec named Joseph and he works Tech, which means he assists the many international teams' set-up people, those that wax and sharpen the athletes gear. He has been here for over two weeks, loves the Games, and got me very excited about my eventual arrival at Cypress. We quickly became friends, and he was my first 'mentor' around the hill. Someone like this is great to have when you enter a new situation where you have no idea where anything is or how things work.

So, a 20-minute walk up to the security check point, sign in, get meal voucher, newsletter of the day, and then walk to our assignment building. Keep in mind that we are there two hours before gates open, and already there's a buzz of anticipation in the air. And there's a lot of walking. A lot.

Role call and teams are divided and duties are given. I find out that we lucked in today, as we were all working the Grandstand area. To make a long story short, I was an usher to help people find their respective sections, rows, and seats. I also ended up having front row view of the Ladies Moguls qualifying.

However, before I was able to greet the public, me and the rest of the team were assigned our posts, where we waited...in the rain.....the high winds....the wet snow...which turned to rain.....then snow...and on and on it went for the rest of the day. If you weren't dressed for the elements, a long and uncomfortable day lay ahead. Thanks to my crack planning and experience patrolling on the hill, I was more than prepared. Still, my hands and feet were getting pretty soaked.

Finally, the announcer said it was 1:30 pm and the gates were opening, to be ready to welcome the world to the 2010 Olympics. The music was blaring, people were pumped, and I had a grin from ear-to-ear from that point until right about now...many hours later. There was such a positive vibe throughout the day - we were dancing around, partly to keep warm and moving, and partly to get the crowd excited, but mostly because we were so glad to be part of something so incredible! It was amazing, because the more you smiled and showed enthusiasm, the more it rubbed off on the crowd. Truly unbelievable.

I did get to see many of the runs, including Jennifer Heil's great qualifying run, which I later found out in the evening medal round, she won a silver! Go Canada! I also met some nice delegates from Russia, Italy, Germany, lots of Americans as well as enthusiastic Canadians. One of those Crazy Canucks that I managed to say hi to was former Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Definitely a highlight for me. My friend and fellow ski patroller Dave Moffat was on hand doing spectator First Aid, so we took a few snaps together. It was good to see a familiar face from home.

By the end of the day, I had made a really nice group of friends and I had the time of my life. That's Day One! I hope I can maintain this energy up, but as I type this, it's already 11 pm and I have an earlier shift tomorrow. Oh well, I can always sleep on the bus.

I'm thinking of all of you back home, wishing you could all experience this. I've never been so proud to be a Canadian, and to have the opportunity to be a host to the world is such an honour. I'm staying safe and healthy so far, my hosts are extremely gracious, and I've got 14 more days to go.

Pictures tomorrow, I promise. Lisa, kids, I love you with all my heart. xxoo