Olympic Mania

It has arrived: Olympic Mania.

Since we have been living in British Columbia for the past 5+ years we have been entertaining the notion of hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. We certainly hold mixed feelings about the Olympics in our household. These past few weeks we have gotten to see some positives and negatives held in relief of one another.

Yes, it is good to feel a part of a common cause--even if it is sports. Yes, it is fun to be excited for your country, your peers, your competitors. And yes, it is fun to win.

It is not fun, however, to watch your hard earned tax dollars go towards housing that only a few people can afford. It is not fun to watch people be displaced from their homes. And it is not fun to have the Winter Olympics during an El Nino year; this means I am literally paying for snow to be created.

We have given much thought to how we feel about this grand event and have decided to speak freely about our dislikes, but to participate in some of the events that have come our way. Here are those things we have seen/done in preparation:

The official Nelson torch bearer about to light the cauldron.

The torch arriving in a moment of excitement.

Eagerly watching for the flame.


A highlight of the evening for me. A local skipping group performed. They are really amazing and it was so inspiring to see young people do something they love, and do it well!

An ice slide made by a local (and quite famous) ice sculptor.

Korban playing hockey at the Olympic day at our local elementary school. His "Americana" kept shining through because he insisted on yelling, "touchdown!" while playing. Sheesh.

That is as close as Korban would get to any of the mascots. This is Miga.

Quatchi

The kids were so excited that the mascots actually came to their school.

Entertaining our Olympic dreams. (or something like that)