25th of Feb. – Manitoba Day

I start the morning in a relaxed manner, planning to stay at my place and watch some Olympic competitions. But instead seeing that it isn't raining outside I decide to take advantage of the weather to go visit the Russky Dome, about the Sochi 2014 Olympics. The pavilion is installed in the Science World building. When I arrived at about 11:45 (the dome opens at noon) the line was quite long and I expected it do move quite quickly at the beginning as they filled up the dome. So I started munching on my picnic lunch. But the line was not moving very much...ends up that there was some big press conference with Jacques Rogge and other important Russian people. So we wait and wait and wait... It starts raining a little bit a one point and is quite chilly outside. At one point they start a 2^nd line for people with kids under 4 or seniors over 65, who get to go in right away. Yes its a good idea, but it isn't fun to not be in that group and have to wait a really long time and see those people go straight in. We see some Russian athletes head into the dome and I spot Plushenko and barf a little bit (I am not a fan of his!)

At one point where the line winds near one of the athletes village entrances so we see some athletes coming in and out. My favourite was spotting a athlete from Great-Britten wearing the red Canada mittens. There were also a few film crews using the dome as a backdrop and one person was interviewing Vladislav Tretiak, who was the goalie for the USSR for the USSR in the 1972 summit series. When I finally got through security it was 2:30 and I needed to start heading out to BC place for my volunteer shift, so it was quite a rushed visit! They had some Russian hip hoppers, a model of the sites for the 2014 games, looks really cool. Lots of pictures of Sochi and the Karasovar region of Russia. For those of you that don't know where Sochi is, it is in the south-western extremity of Russia. Apparently their average winter temperatures are warmer than Vancouver's which could lead to some problems in my opinion! They also had a ''club'' area with tv's and different exhibits from major Russian companies. They also had a gift store but I didn't have a chance to visit it since the line was quite long and I had to rush off to my volunteer shift. So I power walked along the sea wall off to BC place. Its settling in for lots of volunteers that the games are almost over and we wont be spending every evening together very shortly. It is very special to be part of the games as a volunteer. You feel great every time someone thanks you (whether it be your team leader or supervisor, spectators or people on the streets). Volunteers are popular people and we often get asked if our jackets can be bought or get offered money for them. Sadly one man got his jacket stolen.

Today I was assigned to China and part of Hong Kong. We were in charge of accreditation points checking people's accreditation as they walked into the Olympic family area. Not exactly the most thrilling post as there are not that many people that come in through this area. But since I was outside I was happy that it wasn't raining and for most of the time I had some one else to chat with, which helps time go by faster! For a while I chatted with a police officer from Sherbrook. After a diner break (chicken cacitory or chili and either mushroom or vegetable soup) I quickly checked out what was going on inside the stadium, tonight was a feature on Manitoba and a concert by Burton Cummings).

I headed back outside to check more accreditation. Around 7:45, just after the medal ceremonies finished, people started exiting the building, so we had to be there so they could ask us questions and so we could make sure the general public didn't head into the restricted zones. I was at the exit onto to Beatty st, at the Terry Fox plaza and from there we could see the Alberta Pavilion which had a large TV screen outside, so I did manage to see Joannie skate live, though I was really far away and could only tell that she didn't fall. And cheers meaning that she was in 3^rd place after her program, which I expected since Yu-Na Kim is unbeatable and Mao Asada brought 2 triple axles with her yesterday! Lots of people were standing around in front of the TV's watching the end of the competition.

The people just kept on exiting the building until about 10pm, it is incredible that so many people can come out of the stadium! We discussed with the other volunteers ways to get the spectators to leave faster and we decided on herding dogs (like sheep dogs except we would use dobermans instead) to heard the spectators out of the building). When we finally finished and were very sore from standing for so long, we had our debrief. Then, we were supposed to get some treats from the VIP lounge (ie leftover food) but since it took so long for people to leave, the caterers had already put away all the food, so we missed out. Then I headed home to watch the ladies long program.

I got to watch the top ladies. First Yu-Na Kim skated amazingly, which is what everyone expected. Then Mao Asada, who landed 2 amazing triple axels, if only I could skate like that! Then Joannie Rochette. She was amazing, a beautiful skater. She showed such composure and determination and mental strength in light of the passing of her mother. She won the bronze medal, which is what I expected, but much more special considering the circumstances under which she skated. It was so special to see her standing on the podium. As well seeing Manon Perron (Joannie's coach) and Brian Orser (Yu-Na's coach) congradulating each other on their students, and seeing various skating related people (including Tessa Virtue) wipping away tears, so happy for what Joannie accomplished. By the time I was done watching all the skating it was quite late, I went to bed teary but still very very happy.