We are the true north strong and free

Friday marked the start of my 2-week Olympic Break and since then, I've been getting a huge Olympics spirit kick. On Thursday, Megan, Sohrab, and I left Biology early to catch the torch run going through our school. This was my first taste of the whole Vancouver 2010 hype and I loved it. The relay took place at the lower bus loop and the entire school on that side was lined with students & non-students who came up here to see the torch. People were spilling into the roads as buses and cars and cops tried to drive up through the crowds. When the torchbearers finally came following a parade of Coca Cola trucks and security, we managed to be standing at a prime spot along the bus loop to see the exchange of the flame! The torchbearer receiving the flame was a 3rd year SFU student, Obi Vattanawong. As Obi ran by, I also got pushed by a cop for standing too close haha!





That same night, I went with Megan & Jonathan, and later Desiree, Marie, & Irish to see Michael Buble carry the torch. We thought it was on the Burrard Street Bridge but after getting semi-lost for a while, we finally realized that it was in Yaletown, right up the street from Livecity. We nabbed an early spot along the road and I went down to Livecity to check out the festivities. Sooo much excitement! There were sponsor booths all down the block, people giving out free stuff, long line ups, and so many people sporting Canadian pride! When Michael Buble came through with the torch, it was really just a blur of people because he had so much security running alongside him and everyone around him was yelling and trying to get closer. We ran down to Livecity after him where he passed the flame to the last torchbearer of the day before the cauldron. After that, Buble was ushered through the masses of people by security and I was literally like a foot away from him. Haha! Then we all watched the cauldron being lit inside Livecity on the large screen outside the venue, followed by fireworks. It was seriously an amazing feeling to be watching all of that happen right before my eyes. I wasn't really super excited about the Olympics until this day.





On Friday, the 12th, I went down to Granville Island to meet up with Wilson after his class to catch the torch relay through his school. After they came through Emily Carr, we followed the torch to the Granville Island ferry docks where the torch traveled by dragon boat across False Creek to the Yaletown ferry docks. After the torch was out of sight, Wilson & I went to watch Paradise Insitute at Emily Carr's Code 2 Exhibit which was hella weird, creepy, avant garde type of thing that freaked me out. Then we went through the market to look at things. I love the market! It's so fresh & homely feeling.











Later that day, we watched the Olympics opening ceremony at his house. It was pretty amazing even despite the fail of a torch lighting at the end haha. But what can yah do. I really can't believe this is all actually happening in our city.