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Another few weeks and another entry, I have been keeping busy over here with my new Paralympics job, which has been great fun. I got given a job in the athlete's village which is where they live when they are not out racing. It has been an amazing experience working with the other volunteers 'blue coats' and being able to meet the different countries athletes. I got to meet the Great Britain team and got a photo taken with them and I also managed to get to hold a Paralympic torch and the Olympic Flame which I was very lucky to get the chance to do. It was amazing watching all these athletes going about their daily lives talking and joking with all the other teams and also with the volunteers which was something the Olympians did not do. Seeing them competing was something else, watching a man/woman go down a double black diamond ski run when legally blind and only knowing when to turn by a guide telling them through a headset was amazing. Not to mention their determination to finish no matter what, if any of them fell they all got up and finished their race which was something the Olympians didn't always do. These are all people that deserve recognition and all the support possible as they are all there to race for themselves and unlike Olympians they do not get a cheque at the end if they win their races. These are people doing it all for their own sakes and I was a lot more impressed by their attitudes during the entire event then the Olympians. I would love the opportunity to work again for a future Paralympics as it was very enjoyable.
I also got to work with a great group of people at my position (workforce check in), I also got the opportunity to write the newsletter for the workforce at the AthletesVillage, interviewing people and taking photos for the newsletter. Along with the chance to give out tickets to events for the volunteers and giving out random things like chewing gum to everyone on site. It was far from challenging but it was very enjoyable and it gave me the opportunity to do a variety of jobs rather than just standing in a car park checking tickets. I was very lucky to be placed where I was and with the people I was with.
Events in the Village have been just as good as they were for the Olympics, they had a tent open throughout the entire experience with the equipment the Paralympians use on a daily basis. They had a wheelchair that was like a snowmobile so they could manoeuvre through snow and they also had a Hockey Sledge which we could try out to show how hard it was to balance and move/shoot while in one.
Along with that there were bands every night my favourite was Delhi 2 Dublin which was an Indian/Celtic band an interesting but good mixture of the two cultures music. The opening ceremony was great to watch but sadly was not televised (we got to see it on the Paralympic Channel at work), the children who danced through the whole thing and the singers after were really good to watch. The closing ceremony was a bit different, it did get televised which was good but the performers were limited for it and not as good as they were for the opening but it was still great to watch and being in the Village when the parade happened was great. Everyone cheered no matter the team passing and the athletes were really enjoying it even though it was raining for the entire event.
I got a few gifts from them which included a pin (I have a lot of pins now), a luggage tag (which will no doubt break/get stolen on the way to Hawaii), a keychain with the Olympic and Paralympic logo on it (which I turned into a necklace) and a HUGE SWatch (which although is man-sized I am still wearing).I bought myself a First Nations carved box it has the design of a wolf on which I will use for my pins when I get back.. A white Paralympics t-shirt, the Paralympic poster and the Olympic Ski Bag as I needed a bag for my ski's and it was cheaper then any other bag in any of the shops around the village. I also got myself the Olympic Rucksack as it is huge and I will definitely make use of it, plus it has a nice design to it.
Other than the Paralympics I have also been busy with plans for when I leave Whistler (less then four weeks!!), my friend from College is coming out for three weeks to travel with me and we have decided to go all out and we booked a trip to Hawaii for 6 days/nights and also an 8 day cruise to Alaska. So I am now busy reading up on what to do while in Hawaii and typing it all up to send to Daniel so he can read through and see what he would like to do when there. I am now unfortunately in the middle of trying to find a tankini top and shorts but Whistler only has a limited supply of swimming attire being that it is still ski season and they only have bikinis which I won't wear. But there is a shop in Vancouver that sells them so I can visit there before we head over and get one.
I am also trying to plan what I would like to do after Daniel leaves as I would like to travel across Canada I might try and book a flight over to Toronto and work my way back across Canada on the greyhound, which will be a bit cramped but not something I can not handle considering I will be gaining a great experience from it being able to see most of Canada through it.
That's me all updated again, and I am back to ski school tomorrow so hopefully a bit more regular for the updates from now on.
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