Happy weekend from Whistler! It's been an incredible week, filled with lots of fun both at the athlete village and on my two days off. On Monday evening, I was able to attend the medals ceremony, where VANOC awards all the gold, silver, and bronze medals from the Whistler competitions of the day. The thing that impressed me the most about our Paralympians was the fact that none of them were too cool to celebrate winning, whether that be gold, silver or bronze. These athletes were literally ecstatic to have made the podium, and they held nothing back from the celebratory dances on the stage.
It's always exciting when the athletes throw their bouquet of flowers into the crowd. It's like a wedding...only different. I actually caught one of the medalist's bouqets two days later as I came back for another nightly ceremony. Of course, what's a 23-year-old guy going to do with a bouqet of flowers? So I gave them to a little girl with her dad three rows ahead of me. Good choice, I must say, as both she and her father were so excited!
That Monday night, I went on a jog around the village...just needing to get some fresh air and some exercise. I heard music playing that echoed as if it was a concert. I followed my ears to the source. Though no band awaited at the pot of gold, a fiery celebration did. Apparently, every night during the Olympics and Paralympics, there has been a "Fire and Ice" show, featuring a guest DJ and 15 of Whistler's most talented skiers and snowboarders. Though I didn't have my camera that night (I was running, remember?), I have been back two more times since (and plan on going again tonight for the finale).
Then comes snowboarding on Tuesday. Below are two pictures, one of me and one I took of my friend, Miles, showcasing the ridiculous blizzard we experienced at the top of the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.
I say "top" loosely, as we were truly about two-thirds of the way up the mountains. The ski lifts going higher in altitude were closed for obvious reasons. The crazy thing was that the snow turned to rain on the bottom third of both mountains. Thus, we would be skiing in untouched powder, then without warning it would switch to slush in the midst of a steady downpour of rain. To say it fairly, it was the most unique snowboarding trip I've taken to date.
On Thursday, I was able to see my first Paralympic event: the women's downhill. There were three divisions: visually impaired, sitting, and standing. I was blown away with all three, and one of the resident athletes at the United States Olympic Committee while I was interning there, Allison Jones, competed in the standing competition. I was so proud to know her!
After the women's competition had ended, I went snowmobile through some mountains just mere kilometers from the Whistler-Blackcomb area. It was a blast, and though my future in professional BMXing looks bleak, it's still fun to pretend!
Today has been my final normal shift with Plaza & Events. Normal is a slight under-exaggeration, as I was able to attend a luncheon with Prince Edward of the British monarchy. Though I actually sat two tables away from the prince, I was still very thankful my mom has taught me proper table manners...you never know when they'll come in handy!
Tomorrow, I will be doing two shorter shifts, one in the day and the second one during the wee hours of the night. In between the two shifts, I will be attending the closing ceremonies at the medals plaza. On Monday, there will be a farewell luncheon for all workforce (volunteer and paid staff "blueberries," as we're affectionately called). I'll be sure to provide a Paralympic wrap-up sometime early next week, as well as a picture of the much anticipated village snowman.
'til then,
Brandon
Spring is back at the village! Though I won't be posting a picture of my large snowman in all his glory until the conclusion of the Paralympics, I definitely can show you what he looked like yesterday. You wouldn't want to see him today... :-(
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