Traveling is a Game

Fan Sighting on Seymour Street – CODE RED

Not even CLOSE to a quiet, day-of-rest Sunday as we anticipate the USA/Canada Hockey game. Are we talking religious fervor or an international excuse to drink the entire population silly? The line for Irish House across the street (where you can get a can of beer for $8 – in a non-breakable red dixie cup for $15) is already thumping with disco music, the line is half-way around the block and liquor stores have threatened to close at 7:00.

Irish House across the street – 9:00 a.m.

I don’t know how the Ancient Greeks celebrated, but pitchers of Retsina do NOT come to mind. Never have I seen such zany socks, capes, temporary tatoos or toques. If you’ve been following along with text with the occasional picture, but sure to check out the photo gallery for the upclose and personal portraits of fans gone awry.

Vancouver’s ENTIRE police force is on duty for crowd control. The influx of the inibriated on public transit is causing 2-3 hour waits to get on the metro and one takes one’s life in one’s hands to ride the skytrain (or at least could write a book about the experience).

They say that this is the land of hockey, but we are also deep in the land of LOGOS. Everything (and nearly every athete) is branded, marketed and displayed with a specific intention. This particular infrastructure is carefully knit together with licensing agreements, almost scientific precision and well defined regulations. We joked that we couldn’t bring in a Starbuck’s coffee cup since McDonalds is providing the coffee, but it is no joke. Unlike many other countries, the USA Olympic Committee  does not rely on government support, so the generousity of sponsors is integral to their success. We all are more than grateful for the support of donors, partners and suppliers. Imagine if this were a non-profit that required annual pledge drives or bake sales?

Then and again, there is the sweet story of the one athlete - the sole representative of his country -who showed up at the opening ceremonies without a uniform. The citizens of Vancouver gathered funds together to purchase a beautiful jacket, pants and hat for him for the closing ceremonies. I’ll be looking for him. And making a quiet salute to all his fans.

One of the most inspiring things here is the sustained camaraderie of ALL the athletes.We have been here eleven days and the demonstration of humanity has not waivered once.  I am continuously stunned by the respect, courtesy and admiration that transcends national boundaries, religious differences and historic animosities. This code of sportsmanship and honor encompasses more than just the sport.

As for those that are not the elite athletes in the spotlight, politeness and patience is the norm. The city is filled with ordinary people just aching to be helpful. If Olympus was the mythic home of the gods, somehow every individual we meet has been blessed with a little of their splendor.

I am also in awe of the OLYMPIC TRUCE which I knew little about prior to our visit. It is a simple declaration: All competing countries cease fighting during the duration of games. It is an extraordinary thing when you think that there IS the possibility of peace just around the corner.

This is intense and focused and an utterly remarkable place to be.

by Lauren Selman

Today our plan was to head up to Whistler, but unfortunately here at the Games going to Whistler isn’t a “last minute” decision because it requires having a ticket to a Whistler event or having made reservation long beforehand. We had neither. So, rather than heading up to the mountain, we chose to explore Emily Carr University of Art and Design and the artistic side of Vancouver: artisans, jewelers and sculptors.

The art finders…and now the art….

We explored paper shops, book shops, art galleries and watched a handful of street performers. We especially liked the CODE 2 exhibition at the Emily Carr University.The first one we came across was exploring the relationship between our physical environment and garment. Artists and designers created interactive dresses that responded to the wearer. For example, one dress got tighter the more you tried to get comfortable. Another one barked when danger approached. There was a fabulous blue one that expanded as the air pressure dropped in Montreal.  Crazy, right? Well, you should have seen the one light up when you blew air into the sleeve.

The next exhibit we passed was originally installed at the Venice Film Festival in 2001. It was a mini movie theater and when you entered the space it felt like you were in the balcony of a vintage movie house. It was a sound and cinematic experience that both haunted and inspired us. The description of the installation reads as follows:

In a small replica of a full-sized movie theatre balcony with 16 red velvet-covered seats, viewers put on headphones to watch and listen to a film projected in a miniature movie theatre in front of them.  Surprisingly they hear other more intimate sounds and stories. A real and a fictional layer of sound are intertwined, creating a strange sensation of reality for the viewer.

Movies are, of course, The Paradise Institutereferred to in the title. Looking over the full-sized balcony into a hallucinatory space of a miniature movie theatre below, a visitor’s senses are further misled by putting on headphones that create surrounding sounds which are equally deceptive between the film being shown and noises being heard. The projected movie is about a man who is a prisoner in a hospital with its own soundtrack faithful to the images. Simultaneously, another soundtrack, more intimate, is confidentially whispered or heard nearby with a surprising fidelity in the viewer’s ears. This other soundtrack seems to directly emerge from other members of the audience present with coughs, secrets, cellphones and other sounds of ordinary life interrupting the flow of the movie’s audio effects. The impression is disturbing as the realities created by the sounds close by are more real than the fiction of the movie, although both are illusions, with their narratives culminating in an eerie conclusion. How the brain tricks itself into believing through image and sound is one of the inescapable implications of the experience of The Paradise Institute.

Lastly, we stopped by an exhibit of the best of Canadian Industrial Design. Everything from snowshoes, to bike co-op programs, backpacks, collapsible  kayaks and fishing rods, we learned about the influence of Canadian ingenuity.

The innovative bike sharing program in Montreal where members of the collective can check out bikes throughout the city.

Today was also the first day of Winteruption, a winter festival of events and art on Granville Island, so the island was packed full of activities! Our favorite street artist was Circus West, Vancouver’s own circus troop. They performed an under the bridge circus show that included fire dancing, trapeze arts, tissue and unicycling. Very cool!

We also had the best fish and chips in Vancouver at “Go Fish,” located just steps from our front door. We had fish tacos and battered fish that was fresh off the boat. All of the proceeds go towards encouraging sustainable and local fishing practices by Vancouver’s fishermen.

I had the pleasure of inviting my mom to my favorite Yoga studio in all of Vancouver,Semperviva Yoga. The studio looks out onto the water and at night the instructor lights small tealights that line the windows. The candles against the night skyline of Vancouver created the most serene and peaceful yoga experience.

We are turning in just a touch early so we can be up for our first day shift. It is a big day tomorrow!! There are 3 Hockey Games slated and one of them is USA versus CANADA! Repeat after me…U-S-A! Your turn! Louder, we can’t hear you!

Today we were feeling particularly exhausted so we kept it low key. I went on a walk and then when I came home, Darlene taught me how to make a real Canadian Breakfast. I made pouched egges and Canadian bacon crusted in corn meal. Now that’s a Canadian Breakfast for Champions!

Breakfast for CANADIAN Champions

We hung out around the house and then headed over to Granville Island. Darlene showed us her favorite stores and secrets of Granville. My favorite was the Gelato Store!

Our time to work at USA House came soon enough and before we knew it, we were back on our shift. Tonight’s highlight was learning about Carl Lewis’s new iPhone application called, “Fit Forever,” from Carl Lewis himself! For those of you who don’t know Carl Lewis, I’ll say this, he won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championship medals in Track and Field and he is not only a funny and full of charisma, but he is a world class athletic legend.

He was so proud of his new application, if you have an iPhone, download “Fit Forever.”And, while you are at it, download the guide to the 2010 Olympics. Both are free and totally worth it!

by Lauren Selman

What a day! It was all about great expectations and the surprisingly unexpected.

We started the morning by rolling out of bed at a bright 7:00 with the sun. We pieced together our uniforms and necessities for the day and headed down to the Science Center, now known as Sochi House (located at the end of False Creek) for a morning taping of the Colbert Report. He was scheduled to shoot at 9:30, but we had learned from volunteers who saw his show the day before the importance of getting to the stage early. We eagerly stood in line and then all of a sudden, the line was no longer a line but a mad rush to the stage. Over six thousand people ran as fast as the could to the edge of the stage. Luckily, we were fast enough and were close to the action. Canadian, Americans and “ICE-HOLES” from all over the world stood side by side anxiously awaiting Colbert’s arrival. When he ran on stage, the audience went wild. We cheered and hollered! The energy was electric. Flying by the seat of his pants, Colbert welcomed us to the Report and we were well on our way to a hilarious show. He interviewed aerial skiers, snowboards, politicians and ended by jumping on a moose.

Stephen Colbert comes out on stage and all of the cameras are in full force!

Colbert rides a moose for his finale!

After the show, we had a decision to make….what event we wanted to see. We had tickets to both an event at Cypress Mountain and one out at the Richmond O. Luckily, scattered throughout Vancouver are the helpful “blue jackets”–friendly volunteers who are equipped with the answers you need. A friendly “blue jacket” helped us with our transportation logisitcs and moments later we were on the SkyTrain heading out to the Richmond O for the Ladies 1000m Medal Event.

When we arrived in Richmond, we got off on at the Aberdeen stop. We found out later that it was the wrong stop. It was a 2km walk to the stadium, but it was nothing to complain about. A we walked along the river that was accented by several bridges, it felt like we were across the world experiencing a scene from a French or Italian landscape.

We passed the UBC Boathouse and every cell in my body wanted to get back in a boat and back out on the water, but I resisted and kept walking towards to the stadium.

We arrived just in time. The first skaters were setting up at the starting line. Bodies crunched down, held in tight in colorful spandex, anxiously awaiting the sound of the starting gun. “Ready,” a deep voice announces and then “Bang!” The skaters take off. Short steps off the start launch the skaters forward, as they take their first turn the strides become longer and they surge forward. You never know what the ending will be because every trip around the track is a new chance for victory. One second it could be Germany in the lead, the next Japan, then at the end there may even be a surprise finish.

This was certainly the case for the Gold medal win by the Canadian speedskater. The Netherlands skater was in the lead and then the combination of crowd support and the desire to win, the Canadian skater pushed through for the final 50 meters and took the gold. What is particularly exciting about speedskating is one one-hundreth of a second can change your fate. For instance, there was only two seconds between 1st and 7th place. Wow!

After an exciting day at the races, we headed back to downtown Vancouver. On our way, we met volunteers from the Salvation Army who were handing out hot chocolate to travelers on the train. It was surprisingly quite delicious. We boarded the train in just 20 minutes we were back on the crazy street of downtown. We stopped by the USA House and got the results in from the day. It turned out that the USA was doing well. We had scored an additional handful of gold medals and there was a rumored possible gold for Evan in figure skating so everyone was buzzing with excitement.

We ran into a fellow volunteer who had extra tickets to a victory ceremony at BC Place. So we exchanged her tickets for grateful hugs and hurried down to BC Place. It was the perfect night for a Victory Ceremony. Shaun White and Shani Davis were among the athletes getting medals for their performances. We scurried up to the third floor and into our seats, just as the Canadian Police were bringing in the official Olympic Flag. As they raised the flag the audience went wild, while my mom and I turned to each other and cried. “We’re here, at the Olympics!” my mother whispered to me under utter excitement, “I can’t believe it.”

It was clear that the experience and the emotion of the Olympics were finally hitting home and the heart. She was right, we were at the Olympics and together experiencing something quite extraordinary and magical. Our dream was coming true. As we stood there, an emotional duo, we witnessed the best of the best in  the world being escorted to their podiums. Athletes who had spent their careers training for this moment, spent practice after practice working towards this day and devoted their lives to their dreams coming true. Not to sound too cheesy but, it was pretty awesome being witness to dreams coming true.

As we were leaving the ceremonies, we saw that the men’s free skate was still going on. We scurried back to USA House to catch the tail end of the men’s performances and saw Lyscek take home the gold for the US.

We continued into the night celebrating with our US Olympic Family. Go USA!

by Lauren Selman

Vancouver is a beautiful city, full of activities, friendly faces and unforgettable scenery. What we love about Vancouver, especially, is that you don’t need a car. It is designed in such a way that everything is accessible, walkable and convenient. To top it off, if you have a pass to an Olympic event then all public transportation is free of charge. How cool is that?

Today we put our boots to the pavement to fully embrace the walkability of this city. We walked down the seawall for lunch at Monks, where we were so Canadian and watched a hockey game and Colbert being interview. Then we continued up onto Cambie bridge which overlooks Olympic Village. Canadian, French, American flags all hang outside the appropriate apartments and colorful uniformed athletes lightly jog along the pathway below.

We then continued to walk throughout Yaletown and much of downtown soaking in Vancouver.

We ended at our “famous” USA House where we worked in the store. I set a little goal for myself of selling at lease two pieces of merchandise that I was wearing and sure enough I sold 4 hats and 5 pairs of boots. Not bad, right? The evening concluded with a walk home and straight to bed with an anticipated early morning walk up to see the Colbert show……

by Tina Hittenberger

“Sorry” (pronounced in Canada as a clipped combination of “surrey” and “sooh-ree”, not “sawry” or with ANY amount of sarcasm). Please. Thank You. These are the three most used Canadian words – way outweighing eh?, touque, chesterfield and even Molson.

So we are sending a genuine “Sorry” for not having kept up our blog on a daily basis. Things are so chock-a-block that they are definitely blending together. We go to events in the day, work a long swing shift and walk home to plop into bed around 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. My body is ready to go from being in hospitality to wanting to be in hospital.

Please forgive us.

Thank you.

Go Team USA!

by Lauren Selman

Whoa! Did we seriously just sleep in until eleven?! These late days are tough and result in late morning, but good thing we got up in enough time to see our first Olympic event, the Mens Short Program. I read in the paper that American Evan Lysacek ”It’s been said that this is the thoughest field ever with four world champions,” so the performances were bound to be spectacular!

The world’s flags as a halo above the rink

Yesterday, we had had the opportunity to see the athletes practice and today we got to see them perform! The Mens Short Program is the first in a serious of two events–a Short Program and a Free Skate Program. Thirty athletes perform pieces that are no more than 2 minutes and 50 seconds in length, then 24 athletes will have the opportunity to compete in the free skate, a performance that is 4 minutes and thirty seconds in length. The points that the athletes are awarded in both events are then added up to determine their final placement.

We sat next to our fellow US Volunteers. We LOVE the sign!

At 4:15pm, sharp, the first wave of men entered the rink for their 6 minute warm up. Triple axels, twisles, and hypnotizing aerials left and right wetted our appetite for the real deal. A woman’s voice boomed as she announced the first skater. Now, each skater has exactly one minute to get to their starting position after their name is announced. Once they are in position the music begins, you are in for a treat.

Evan from Team USA

As we watched each skater glide through their choreography, we thought the experience couldn’t get any better. But sure enough, it did, the woman in front of us turned around and began explaining the rules and technicalities of figuring skating. Turned out that she was a US figure skating judge and had a trained eye of what to look for in the performance. Additionally, her friend introduced us to a little radio that you could get and put into your ear for a live commentary of the event. I didn’t realize before but I kind of take the commentator for granted on television because without them there is definitely something missing.

The Crowd

However, in the live performance, half the fun is seeing the crowd react to the skater. When the Canadian skater, Vaughn Chipeur came out, he received a warm welcome from his home crowd. Everyone knew that he was opening with a triple axel and anxiously waited for his performance and when he didn’t hit his first spin, the crowd brought out in a big “Aw.” But that didn’t matter because he was Canadian and the audience loved him. The other skater was had us in total shock was Swedish skated, Stephane Lambiel who was the fastest spinner I’d ever seen. In his Shakespeare inspired outfit he turned 15 times!

The surprising audience support was for the Japanese team. Each time a skater from Japan took the ice, the audience went wild. The red dots covered the audience space and their was a huge uproar of support. With a majority of Canadian, Japanese and US supporters in the audience, you would think that there was no other colors but red, white and blue.

There were two specific performers that took the headlines and took our breath away were Russia’s world champion Evgeni Plushenko of Russia and Evan Lysacek of the USA. Plushenko was the tenth skater on the ice and opened with a flawfless Quad. Each move he skated with precision and perfect technique. The commentator in our ear explained that each one of his moves was deemed a “Level 4″ in difficulty and that he is favored for a medal. After his performance, he was awarded a 90.85 which secured him a top ranking place above the previous top ranked skater from France, Florent Amodio at 75.08. Plushenko held the lead for awhile until the Japanese skater Daisuke Takahashi caught up with him with a 90.25. Then towards the end of the program, our man Evan Lysacek gave a memorable elegant performance that resulted in him tailing Plushenko at 90.3. During Evan’s performance the audience was with him through every turn and spin. We clapped in support as he turned 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 times. Every move was full of passion and emotion.

We left the rink full of pride to be wearing the USA colors. People came up to us saying, “Great job tonight!” and while we didn’t do anything, our country did. Great job Evan and thank you to all who supported him getting there.

We anxiously await the results tonight.

So just two weeks after the Superbowl (which we think of as a demostration of all the values of Ancient Rome) we are in the thick of the values of Ancient Greece: individual triumphs, sportsmanship, elevation of the human spirit. Being part of this is MUCH more than a mere spectator or even a loyal fan - we find ourselves cheering for competitors even if they are not USA TEAM.

As one of many “thank yous”, we get 2 complimentary tickets to one event, but it is completely subject to availability, transportation (Whistler is two hours away) and it must work into our schedules. So we decided to have no expectations. Well…so far it’s a good strategy: we were presented tickets to observe the practice for Figure Skating Men’s Short Program and Pairs. It was a much more relaxed, intimate event. No fancy cameras, encouraging coaches, approachable competitors - little children leaned over the edge of the rink to touch their heroes or ask for autographs, young skaters in sweet little uniforms skated out with small white puckets of shaved ice to gently fill the scrapes and nicks on the ice. These children will remember this all their lives.

The Men’s Short Program practice was like a circus performance with something going on in every area of the rink – spins, jumps, fancy footwork. Each performer worked through his program one final time with their chosen music, while others practiced all around him. There was always something to watch – and no one ever got in someone else’s way – and most skaters took full advantage of the opportunity.. Some had their final glitzy costumes, some were in practice wear but in all cases the focus was on the the upcoming ultimate performance: 13 compulsory moves in less than 2.5 minutes. We are going to keep an eye on Evan Lysacek: tall, spiderlike, elegant and an effortless skater. A Czech, skating to Zorba the Greek,  landed a QUAD axel (the judges said it was the best they had even seen) – the audience went WILD! Many of the judges were present so that they could see what the skaters were capable of doing when not under pressure. We are learning about the scoring system which, while complicated and technical, is much more balanced.

The French Pair! We thought they were AMAZING!

While watching Pairs Practice, we created the discinction between A PAIR and A COUPLE. It was clearly obvious who was a romantic couple and who had a more professional relationship. There were only six sets: China and Canada had practiced earlier. We were mezmerized by the French couple: both black, lythe, expressive hands with the most elogated fingers I’ve ever seen and emitting energy from some hidden core. Watch for Vanessa James and if you ever spot her, watch with rapt attention. I’ve never seen a coupl float to easily.

During lunch at Earl’s we watched a video backstory of a beloved, beautiful Canadian Pair who had a horrific accident in 2007 when, while doing a double camel spin, his blade slashed across her face. Blood was everywhere. Eighty-one stiches, extensive plastic surgery and hours of rebuilding trust, they will be in the competition this evening. Just the fact that they are back on the ice makes them champions.

Fact: Once on Olympian, always an Olympian. So if you ever hear someone start talking about “Former Olympian….” or “Former Gold Medalist…” dress them down. Once a person has been to the top of the mountain, it lasts for life.

by Tina Hittenberger

Street Stiltwalkers entertaining us as we wait in line. Their wigs were made out of recycled materials! Cool, eh?

Since it was a glorious Sunday, we meandered down to a the dockside of Granville Island and hopped on the ferry across False Creek – trading Olympic stories and pins all the way.

Trading on the ferry

Everyone is exceedingly friendly and because Lauren is wearing a TEAM USA jacket and pretty much matches the age, shape and perkiness of the atheletes, many people strike up a conversation that begins with “What event are you going to be in?”  I’m pretty invisible – except when it comes to the security check points which abound all over the city. The four words describing the some 4,500 athletes from around the world are “They are sooooo YOUNG!” The four words that describe me are: Out. Of. Shape.

The Academy of Art (note proper logo placement on scarf) is represented. Perhaps this could be their new acquisition…

Vancouver is town of people who seem to love walking, bicycling, and heading fearlessly into the rain. we’ve not been in a car for four days. We’d decided it would be the day to check out LiveCity, the Green Vancouver Pavilion and find out more about the USA TEAM Family House (where the families of the athletes can rest, relax, be entertained and fed so that the competitors can concentrate on their events). They really go to great lengths to take extraordinary care of visiting Moms, dads, family freinds and siblings – right down to providing Pampers with the Olympic rings emblazened on them.

Back at the USA Team store we readied ourselves for two major receptions and another busy night. While on “hall monitor duty” I stopped a man who didn’t have the plastic creditials we all must carry – he flashed his White House Sercret Service badge, pointed to his lapel pin and then motioned that Joe Biden was about ten steps to my left. Evidently he’d wanted to buy a few hats, but spent the majority of his visit engaging us in polite and appreciative conversations as if he had all the time in the world.

No caption necessary…. 

The medal winners were treated to a heartfelt celebrations at the house and as you step off the elevator there is a LARGER THAN LIFE  photo mural of all our athletes entering the stadium on opening day. It sucks the air out of your lungs – all those bright, shining, anticipatory faces. As USOC says “Amazing awaits.”

We were tired as well as amazed as we walked home across the bridge at 2:30 a.m. The excitement kept us up until 3:30. It would be only 3 more hours before we would wake up to go watch the Figure Skating Training at 7:00.

We’d been given tickets to the intimate session and wouldn’t miss it for the world!

Thank you Chuck for the wonderful Valentine!

Chuck’s wonderful Valentine