Olympic Spirit | Being Emme

Who’s Watching?

February 28, 2010 By Brie 1 Comment

I spent nearly an hour with a huge crowd watching a man on a strange unicycle, waiting for something really big to happen. There was so much build up going on that it was like watching a bad movie where you feel you have to stick it out to the end. Meanwhile, I realized we were all missing the Olympics. Was this really more interesting?

The engaging power of a unicycle

We decided to leave and never saw the big finish. As we walked around, I started to think about all the things people are doing other than watching the games. Myself included, they are spending hours standing in line. The day before, I spent nearly 3 hours waiting to get into the Atlantic Canada House for their Kitchen Party. It was well worth it and I did make some new friends whom I’ll never see again, but it was 3 hours spent waiting, rather than watching.

Standing in Line-The new Olympic sport

There were hundreds of people that unicycle night drinking hot chocolate and ice skating at Robson Square. Even more were just sitting on the steps watching dancers perform. There were crowds waiting for balloon animals and my favourite all time non-game watching activity….the rice cracker maker! This machine would twirl around and shoot rice crackers out like fire works.

A delicious distraction

Wow

There were so many people just roaming the streets trying to be a part of the action. As I’ve had a chance to reflect on this revelation, I’ve realized that I have watched less of the Olympic games than ever before in my life because I live in the city that is hosting them. I have wanted to be with all the other excited people from Canada and all around the world and that has led me to downtown or surrounding areas where I have been nowhere near a television, but captivated by spirit. I have to admit, that as thrilled as I am for the amount of medals Canada is winning, I am most proud of the fact that I got picked up while filling up with gas the other day and invited out to party with some out of town boys! Of course, as a mom and wife I had to pretend I was unfortunately busy, but knowing you’ve still got what it takes is worth gold. I do enjoy watching our athletes, but given the chance, I can see how some might pick this alien dance party instead.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: 2010 Olympics, 2010 Winter Games, crowds, cultural olympiad, hanging out, olympic spirit, Olympics, parties in Vancouver, street parties, van2010, Vancouver 2010, watching the Olympic games

Vancouver Is Waking Up!

February 22, 2010 By Brie Leave a Comment

Ok, so I may have just slept the entire day away, but my thoughts today are centered on the unusually lively spirits of Vancouver locals. When I responded to the ‘Team Head Up Grouse In The Middle Of The Night Outing’ call from Emme, I thought we would be struggling to find anyone interested in having fun with us. That was not the case! At 3:00am, there were close to 100 people at the base of the mountain waiting in a long line, and despite the fact that the coffee shop was closed, none of them were grumpy! People were even smiling and cheering loudly for the drunk party mountaineers as they watched them unload from the gondola. Usually, I can’t even get a smile from Vancouverites when I say hello on the street! I was amused by the different outfits I saw that would normally be considered too silly to wear in public.

Loving the Outfits!

Our experience on the top was even better. Spontaneous kisses for Emme, stories from unknown great athletes, Canadian flag cape-wearing skaters, and free expert snow tips for our own novice Mario were some of our most pleasant surprises. We even got our snowshoe guide to do ridiculous yoga poses on top of the mountain (Well, our ‘top’ was only half way since Emme kept slipping and giggling, my water bottle kept falling out of my pocket and rolling way back down, and Mario was just trying to breath.) Everyone we met was more than willing to participate in our shenanigans and held back nothing in the quest for a good time.

An Unexpected Kiss

I’ve noticed this new Vancouver spirit spilling over to my regular daily interactions at the kids’ school, stores, banks and the lines I’ve been standing in to party at the different Olympic houses. I’ve made more instant friends this week than in my entire time living here. Perhaps it’s the infectious attitudes of our international visitors, or maybe it’s because we all feel united as Canadians fired up to win, but whatever it is, I hope it lasts. Please keep the love alive Vancouver, and don’t go back to sleep!

Namaste

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: 2010 Winter Games, All the Gossip, cultural olympiad, Grouse Mountain, Mario the Intern, olympic spirit, Olympics, snowshoeing, Today Show, van2010, Vancouver, Vancouver 2010, Vancouverites

Contagiously Canadian

February 18, 2010 By Mario the Intern 1 Comment

I have been present in many crowded events over my 21 years. New Year’s in NY 2009, New Year’s in Toronto 2010, when Peruvian President Fujimori resigned in 2000, to watch Britney Spears drink coffee in Boston, between others. Yet not once have I felt the energy I did last night while I was walking through the streets in downtown Vancouver. I had the brilliant idea of going to see the awards ceremony for Maelle Ricker at the huge screen on Robson square.

As I watched the crowd chant “Oh Canada” with huge smiles on their faces I felt a sense of false nationalism that has seemed to invade everyone here for the winter games. People dressed in black, yellow and red holding Germany’s flag were trying to follow the words, and everyone hugged each other as Ricker’s face zoomed in unto the screen. I have decided that every time Canada wins gold I’m going up to Robson Square and simply enjoy the happiness these people are having, as it is as real as it can get. An elderly woman came up to me as she saw I was taking a lot of photos and videos, and thinking I was still recording looked straight into my camera and yelled: “I love Canada!!”. I should have asked her to do it again but she just left yelling woos and yeahs towards the immense crowd. In total there were many chants for Canada and I participated in most of them, because even though I am not Canadian and know absolutely nothing about the rules of any winter sport (in particular Biathlon, I get lost every time I see it on the TV), I actually cheered on for Canada because I was proud to be on Canadian soil and surrounded by such great people. So from the bottom of my heart: Thank you for hosting the Olympics, they are amazing fun.

Now, of course my night didn’t end at 8. Afterwards we walked through Granville where we saw a man with an actual eagle head, a ton of jugglers although this one in particular impressed me with her skills, and my friends dragged me to Doolin’s “irish” bar where the tequila shots are cheaper than the Guinness and everyone was having a miserable time. Yet although my night was nothing short of fun (I ended up in Numero Uno Pizza being asked by a 70 year old woman what language Peru spoke and my whole life story leading up to UBC) my core memory of last night was of the following woman:

We were cheering Canada in the middle of the street when this woman dressed in something Bjork would wear came up chanting for Canada in a very thick accent. She looks younger in the picture above, but I thought she was 60. I asked her where she was from and she said Norway. When I asked her why she was cheering for Canada she said: “because I love Canada, and I am here, right?”. She took a picture and kept on walking, but I still remember her, not because of her weird clothing style, but because she was having fun by herself, minding no one’s business. She chanted on along with the drunk college boys, and was obviously having more fun than anyone on that block because she was doing it for her own sake. If you ever see her roaming the streets of this lovely city please tell her she has my respects. And she should have yours too.