A look ahead towards March

On Wednesday, I took a day off from work at the Coke Pavilion to attend training for my role as a Plaza and Events volunteer at the Whistler Athletes Village during the 2010 Paralympics in March.  Though the training session didn't start until 12:30pm, I had to wake up at 5:30am in order to make the 2.5 hour Greyhound bus trip to Whistler.  Can I just tell you that I found this Greyhound experience to be AWESOME!  It was just like the thrill of getting on a plane, except...well, you're on a Greyhound.  The scenic route was just breathtaking, and I would have gladly stayed on the bus for an extra 2.5 hours if we'd kept on trucking to Alaska or Russia (yeah, I know the second option's not exactly feasible, but does it hurt to dream?).

After exploring the village of Whistler for a short while, I made my way to the Athlete Village for training.  Though a slight miscommunication between the Village workers and myself had me thinking I came up to Whistler on the wrong day and that I was not actually a volunteer, these issues resolved themselves within the hour. (phew!)

At our training session, the highlight was by far taking a tour of the Village, which officially opens today.  It's huge, and during the Paralympics, it will actually host more athletes than its sister village in Vancouver.  Internally known as the Alpine Escape, no minute detail was left unmentioned during the tour.  In an effort to display new sustainability practices to the entire world, both villages will be heated by their respective sewage systems.  Though that slightly weakened my stomach at first, I can tell you from personal experience that the heat smells fresh and crisp, with no (for lack of a better word) foul aftertaste.

The athlete dining hall was huge!  Though I will actually be eating elsewhere during the Paralympics, it was definitely cool to see the vast area in which athletes from around the world will eat during one of the pinnacle journeys of their lives

After finishing the tour, I was able to grab some delicious cheese fondue with friends before heading back to Vancouver on the 9pm Greyhound...it was delicious!  I doubt I'll be back in Whistler until March 4th, but knowing just that gives me something to look forward to after my Olympic experience with Coke has ended...woo hoo!

I would love to go on and on about my week, but seeing as my Monday morning starts in five hours, I'll wrap up quickly.  It was sunny and gorgeous in Vancouver this week...it was awesome!  The Pavilion looks better and better with each passing day, and I truly cannot wait to bear witness to the final product.  Okay...'til next time!

-Brandon

[Pictures from this post will be available following the Paralympics in March...thanks for understanding!]