Home again

We are happily back home again. It was a real nice trip going to see Keri although Mark was here at our house. We somehow missed him even there is only one road in and out. I will do some more posts with pictures as I find the opportunity. The pictures I hope will turn up are of Leroy and I at the hockey game. Another case of being in the right place at the right time. It was an absolute blast. There will hopefully be another one of all of the flags in the hotel. This was my favourite part. On the first day I saw the sight and hoped one day to get a picture. They were pretty sticky about picture taking for fear that you might end up with a picture of someone on it. There was someone standing in this area of the hotel for close to half an hour while I was waiting to take it. I did patiently wait. This was only half of the flags. It was such a spectacular sight. To think there were people from each of those countries here having a great time. Another of the pictures is me standing beside the Dutch flag! What a thrill that was.

february 23, 2010

Last and final day of the Olympic Dream, but what a finale it was! Once again, I was asked if I wanted tickets to the hockey game! Leroy and I got to see Slovakia and Norway. It was unreal! For the last week, I recieved two hockey game tickets and one Celebration Ceremony. I would have never dreamed of that happening! It was so fun. The only downfall was the transportation. Once again we were herded onto the sky train like cattle. So so full! You could not only barely move you could barely breathe! So so many people crammed in such a small space! I read in the paper that the Canada Line was moving 950,000 people per day! There were other really neat facts too. One was that they had sold 3,000,000 pairs of the red mittens. They sell for $10.00. Last night at the entrance to the hockey game someone was trying to sell a pair for $35.00! I don't know what they were thinking! She did seem to be selling some though! The scalpers were selling the tickets for next to nothing minutes before the game. It sure was fun.

We left Ladner this morning to head for Warfield to visit Keri. The passes we went through were amazing. What a feat to build them! It has been so much fun and what an experience! As I think of more, I'll try to write them down. As for now, we're headed out for dinner and spend some time with Keri.

February 22, 2010

Another day at the Heineken House! You'd think that it is the only thing going on! It's not but, tonight we had reservations for dinner and Leroy had to go experience it! It was a lot of fun!

Tomorrow is the final day of my volunteer commitment. It's been a fun time. What an experience. We'll have to get some final pictures tomorrow. Sven Kramer was supposed to be in the building somewhere while we were there. He didn't ask to have his picture taken with me, so maybe he had left already. Enjoy the pictures.

February 21, 2010

I could have my dates wrong, the dates all just seem to fly by but.............Leroy came yesterday. I met him at the airport and he walked with me to the hotel. He then wandered the streets for quite a few hour to wait for me. He was sitting in the White Spot watching the Canada/US hockey team. I had a big surprise and asked him What would it take to tear you away from this game? Well....I again was in the right place and the right time and got tickets to the celebration ceremony where TROOPER AND LOVERBOY WERE PLAYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you young bucks, you're probably asking yourself Who??? but those our age will understand...............LOVERBOY AND TROOPER!!!!!!!! IN THE SAME NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was in complete awe! They were so amazing!!! In the end Leroy only missed the third period, and we hear it was a painful result anyway for the Canadian Hockey team. Better next time!

I sure am proud to be a Canadian. Regardless of how our hockey team is doing, what a show of patriotism all Canadians are showing!!! I was again proud of my of my heritage! Holland won ANOTHER gold medal in speed skating. All I could remember was 'de koningen van Spainje heeft ik ook lang ge eerd!' The rest I hummed along with. Those dutch fans are hilarious!!!! They are always dressed up all the time! The get-up of some of them is unreal!!!! So between the dutch and the canadian, I think it's a great mix!!!

Tonight is the big night at the Heineken House. Because I rode in the inaugural bike ride, I got a letter which entitles us to go through the "short line" for the dutch citizens! What perfect timing is that!!!

To get anywhere here takes such a long time. Two hours is nothing, yet from home in two hours, we could just about be in Terrace! So it's off for a very short shift, and then some more fun. It's funny how this volunteering is such a small part of all the fun I'm having! Nice to have someone to hang around with again!

I have double triple and quadruple made sure that this time the camera is going to work. The rest of the pictures will be forthcoming so please don't give up on me! I have yet to make the same mistake twice, but it is amazing how many DIFFERENT mistakes I can find to make!!!

February 20, 2010

I just can't believe it sometimes. Although I made triple sure that the card was in the camera, it seemed something was not quite right. Sure enough, the card was not pushed into the slot! For the final set of shifts I have been assigned to work in a different area again. Regardless, here are the adventures with pictures to follow later. Saturday, just before the end of my shift someone comes in asking "would anyone like to go to the hockey game?" Sure! Well two tickets were passed to me. I asked my nephew nicholas and he met me there! We were not sure who to cheer for, Germany or Belarus. As we walked closer to our seats, THEY WERE RIGHT BEHIND THE BELARUS BENCH!!!!!!! Belarus it was!! What a blast that was!!! We cheered our hearts out! We sure had a lot of fun! Who would think I would get the opportunity to watch a hockey game!!!! Just happened to be in the right place at the right time!

February 19, 2010

Thank you again for all your comments. It sure is great to see people interested in what's going on in my life! It was a wonderful day today. Took some much needed "down time." I've been go go going a lot and just thought today I should take the time and do some relaxing before my time here was done!

Today was my opportunity to see the Olympic event of curling. It was the one ticket I had and it was really cool! I had great seats for every other round. I was at the end of the odd rounds, closest to the Canadian rink. Some of the other rinks looked liked they had more excitement each round, but the Canada game resulted in a tie. The extra end resulted in a victory for Canada! The crowds were a sea of red! What patriotism was shown. In fact all over the city Canada is showing we indeed are a very proud country. It is fantastic to see! Everyone is dressed in some kind of "canadian wear". has flags flying on their cars or painted faces. It's hilarious to see the get up some people have chosen.

Wilma de Vries is stationed at the Curling rink. She told me there were 100 volunters. Well I must have seen 99 of them, because try as I might I never did see her! She was hoping they would not ask her to sell 50/50 tickets, and although I saw some of that, none was her. As I was talking to some people about her I thought I spotted her and went to talk to her. Thank goodness I noticed in the knick of time that it wasn't her. That could have been quite embarassing!



Tomorrow begins my last run of shifts. It is time. I have enjoyed myself extremely, but I am anxious to return home. There are a lot of things going on that I feel I should be helping out with, yet others have been pulling together to make sure all is well. I am really missing those sweet little darlings that call me manna and will some day call me gramma. It's funny how they come up with their own way of saying things. Maya asks if I'm still at the lympics. She's so sweet. I have been able to talk with her a few times on the computer. That was so adorable.

february 18 part two!`

Where do I begin? As I mentioned earlier, hooked up with my niece Shawna this morning. That was so cool to have some one to hang out with although it was short. While we were together, ran into a fellow who said, hey I know you! Turns out he did and we had a great chat! Amazing|! It just baffles me to think WOW what a small world. As I was walking to the sky train tonight after the Victory Ceremony, I asked a young fellow for directions. I looked at him and said Hey! Another young thing I knew. He was Henk Meerdink's bookeepers son! WOW!! Who'dathunk! I just couldn't believe it! Amazing|! It just baffles me to think WOW what a small world! Brad Goss, Jim Van Tol, Steven Jarrold, how is it possible to run into these people, so far away? Well, it sure is cool!

Anyway, back to the Celebration ceremony, it was so cool to see Canada awarded the gold with a Nederland on either side was amazing!!!!! What a party that was! My age crept up with me and I just couldn't handle the party! Had to go home. Nice though, the bus was waiting as I got off the sky train. The walk home made me pretty nervous though. I walked as fast as I possibly could from the bus stop to Van tols. I don't think I'll do that again. The adrenalin was just rushing through my veins. Even though this is the Olympics, I'll save the power walking for the athletes. It was a great evening. The only thing that would have meade it better would have been to have someone to share it with. Next time! Believe it or not.....................I left home without the "card " for the camera! Although I have the pictures, you'll have to imagine once again! Sorry!

February 18, 2010

My plan for today was to get up early and head downtown to visit some Pavillions. The Mint Pavillion opened up at 9:00 a.m., so my thinking was that if I was there right from the start, there would be no line up. WRONG!!!! As the line kept movin the authorities came to where we were and said it would be three hours from the point we if we wanted to see the Olympic Medals. There was a much shorter line if you wanted to see everything else but the medals. That was the line I went to. Shawna called and said she would meet me there. It was fun to have someone to go through with. It didn't take very long. The photos I have are of a one million dollar coin, and a $25000.00 coin. Amazing to say the least.

As for famous people sightings and other pictures, I am not allowed to take any pictures in the hotel I am working. I have seen some famous people and some royalty. For now it is taboo to talk about it. There were specific instructions for anyone writing a blog, so as not to get into any kind of trouble, I will stick to those rules.

Tonight I have a ticket to the victory ceremony. I should be able to witness the awarding of the silver medal to the speed skater.

The crowds are so overwhelming so I headed back to the comforts of Ladner.

I may recieve some company from home in the next few days, so I am looking forward to that.

February 17,2010

Imagine for a moment the Olympic Flame. The high security gates have been taken partially down, the view is practically unobstructed, and you can approach the flame pretty close. Although there is a huge crowd around, keep imagining that I am standing quite close on a bright sun shiny day. That my friends is the picture you would see had I had a memory card in my camera. You could have also seen that picture had I remembered to bring the cord which attaches from the camera to the computer. I did neither, therefore the picture remains on the camera. Along with that picture is one of the flame burning in the morning darkness, along with one of the new sky train station which I took today. It reminded me a lot of the movie Benjamin Button, and the scenes of the train station. That about wraps up my day. I again had intended to visit some pavillions but the crowds were absolutely over whelming. I instead opted to spend a quiet afternoon watching the Canadian women play hockey on television. Funny though, although the women are playing live CTV instead choses to televise a team practicing. They do say though, if you want to watch them play a real game, TSN is broadcasting it. Good advertising for TSN I guess.

February 16, 2010

Well believe it or not there is not a whole lot of exciting news today. I was working today at a different hotel. There was not a whole lot of things to do other than look beautiful. I have one more day there and then it's back to the other one. I'm quite looking forward to that. It is nice to be around people I know instead of a whole new crew of faces. The picture is of the troupe The Teatro Tatro from Slovakia with their Magic Theatrical Vending Machine. Funniest guys I've ever seen. Got to see them twice now. They make comedy in the very simplest form!

In other news, My dad is enroute from Prince George back to home. We're very thankful for that! I'm sure he'll be happy being there.

February 15, 2010

I know this starting to sound like a broken record but wow what a lot of fun today. Went with Ashley and Wilma Devries and Annemarie Van Ryk to the O Zone. It is the outside area of where the festivities for the "oval" are. Let me give a little background on these pictures. The red in the Maple Leaf and the Olympic rings are actually all cranberries. There was a Ferris wheel to lift you up to get a real perspective of it. It was so beautiful. On the one picture there are people standing there so you can see how big it really is. Amazing. And of course you couldn't go back there without visiting the Heineken House. They are quite overwhelmed by how many people are interested in them. It is one of the most popular venues. We waited in line for over an hour again just to get in. Once you're in, there is so much room, it's amazing how empty it is.
The one of me in the ski outfit, well if you want to believe that it is real, just go ahead, be impressed.
As I was walking to the bus having parted from the girls, I ran into Brad Goss. One of Curt's friends from his hockey days! That was so cool to see him! He's just the same as he's always been. So nice to see him!
It's back to work bright and early tomorrow morning. I have some shifts at a different hotel, so we'll see what that holds in store for me. So good night to all!

Febrary 14,2010

CANADA WINS GOLD!!!! How exciting was that! I started the afternoon out by visiting Nicholas and Teresa Braam and their little family in Surrey. Eva warmed up to me very quickly. It was so cute to talk to her. She's getting ready for kindergarten in the fall, but when she is six, she will try skating. For now she is very happy to watch the skating of the Olympics on television. Their young Katelyn was sleeping at the time. Hope to spend some more time with them on Thursday. It was nice to see how they live their life.
I then went with Wilma Ashley and Kiera, (sorry if I spelt your name wrong) to Holland Park. Don't let the name fool you though, there was not much Holland about it. There we watched along with hundreds of other proud Canadians, Canada win their first gold medal on Canadian soil. We also got some culture while watching some ballet. Amazing what those young ladies, and young man could do. Their costumes were just beautiful. I couldn't believe how long they could turn and turn and turn, without even losing their balance. It was so beautiful. We also watched some young folks get to try their turn at sledding. I guess they don't get the opportunity to do that. Amazing the small things we take for granted. It was really cute watching those kids have a big thrill down a small little hill. As for me, if there is not a snowmobile to bring me back UP the hill, I am more likely to stay on the bottom. Anyway we sure had a great time.
The girls came up with a great name for my GPS, his name is now Garner. I guess that's what his name should have been all along, because that's what it says right on it! Ironically Annemarie and Hendrik's is named Curtis! Imagine that!
Well it was another fun filled day. Ashley took some interesting pictures. She said she was going to post them on faceboek, so check them out if you can. Until tomorrow when there should be some more adventures, I bid you adieu.

Heineken House

I went with John and Wilma to the Heineken House this morning. Another sea of orange. People were so dressed up it was so fun to see. The 5000 meter long track was played on the big screen televisions. It seems to be a hockey rink re-modeled into separate rooms and was huge pub. The beer was flowing like water. The cheering was loud a boisterous. There were so many versions of dutch hats, it was hilarious. They were selling Holland team memorabilia but it was "niet te kopen" (not to buy). Regardless I did take a picture of the shirt that was for sale for $169.00. The picture was free, so enjoy it! Unlike Canadian bars, the beer started flowing at about 9:30. I guess they live by Holland Rules. It was quite the party. Earlier I talked about some young girls from Holland Curt and I met on the skytrain. Funny thing, they spotted me and stopped me. We chatted for awhile. So funny to see them again. They were really enjoying themselves. I hope to have an opportunity to go again.

And more yet

Some artwork along the streets

February 12, 2010

I am not so sure how to do this but hope I can fight my way through it. So far the way I can see is only to do separate posts, so please bear with me. I was walking to my post early this morning and didn't think the pictures would work. Regardless, one picture is the Art Gallery is the peace and quiet. On my return there was a protest being held. The amount of people there was unbelievable! I was trying to get a picture of the clock also. Over the last couple of years I have taken pictures of the clock but now it was down to 3 hours!

February 11, 2010

My day began at 5:00 a.m. today. That was a little difficult to get the old bones rolling that early in the morning. My shift began at 7:00 a.m. It was pretty nice going when a lot of the people in the city remained snug in their beds. Driving was a snap. The return trip was a little different though. It was a mass of people all trying to leave the city. I either have to walk about 15 minutes or try and catch a bus. Over and over as I was walking the bus appeared as I was a block away. Oh well I thought, I'll catch another at the next stop and sure enough, I was a block away, there it was.......... I finally did catch up to one at the stop, but.......It was at THE SKY TRAIN STATION!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well the exercise won't do me any harm. Walking to the hotel is great, it's all down hill, but the other way around.....it's not! It was quite a hike. Must be about 12 blocks. Just so you're not thinking oh well what's a block, these are NO Smithers Main Street blocks, these are CITY blocks! I am starting to learn the where abouts of where I am. For a Telkwa girl with absolutely NO sense of direction, this is no small feat!

When I arrived at the hotel, there was an army of police officers all doing a sweep of the hotel, securing it the "lock down" state. Quite often there was the sound of the dogs barking. The dogs were not very friendly looking either. It has now become "secure" and to enter I have to go through the same type of security screening as what happens at the airport. All bags are x-rayed and you must pass though a metal detector. It is just fine with me though. At least I know that if they are doing it to me they are doing it to everyone else also.

I am also becoming more confident in my job. There are less questions now as there is a complete process that everyone has to go through. Now it is all black and white, there is little gray. Everyone is the president of vice president of some type of federation or another, but they are all treated equally. The RCMP officers I am working with are wonderful. I really am having a lot of fun.

On the home front. My family remains faithfully promoting my being away from them. They're the best! I hope they will still need me when I get back! They are all filling shoes that are a little different for them. They sure do understand the role of being a member of a family, and I am so proud of that!

My dad is on the mend. It was very difficult to leave him the first time, the second time was more so, but the care he is receiving at the Prince George hospital was unlike anything I have ever seen. I'm sure they will bring him back to enjoy a high quality of life. He is also in the hands of the Almighty Healer, who is looking after him so we all take great comfort in that.

Thank you all for the comments once again. It's so nice to read them. I laughed so so hard at all the comments about the stroop wafels!

Well a quick trip home and I am now back in Ladner. It seemed like a whirlwind trip. My dad had some health issues so Curt and I went to visit him in Prince George. I did have a lot of fun with Maya on Monday morning. She came over and we played some games. What a sweet girl. Amazing how much her vocabulary has increased in ten short days.

Eli is ofcourse just as sweet as ever. He rolled over at Gramma and Opa's house for the first time.

Tonight we got to attend the dress rehearsal of the opening ceremonies. It was absolutely amazing. There were 50,000+ people there. It was so amazing. Nothing like anything I had ever seen before. So many proud Canadians, all in one group. As it continued on, it was hard to remember that this was the dress rehearsal as opposed to the real thing! It was so so cool. Make sure you watch it!

Tomorrow begins day shift. Should be a whole new ball game!

Stroop Wafels

Well sorry about that, I did write about the stroop wafels, but to my dismay, I had some problems. I'm still not all that computer savy, and was lost about what happened. The stroop wafels were absolutely amazing!!!! AMAZING!!! Unfortunately ( I really dislike that word, it never means anything good,) but there was only one per person, and I ATE IT!!! I enjoyed every bite! They were nothing like you buy in the store! They were some good, so sorry girls, guess you'll have to take me to Holland to enjoy the real thing!

I arrived back home to my family this evening. They bought me a photo-book of many family pictures, all with a personal message from each and every one. I'm sure they tried to make me cry, and I'm sure I will when I return and look at them. I am so so proud of my family. There have been a lot of issues here, and they are keeping that ball in the air so to speak.

My dad has been transfered to Prince George where they are more equipped to handle the issues that he has. Once again a family member is keeping that ball in the air. Sweet Mark is there to keep an eye on him. I have such great son in laws. I am so proud of them! I keep thinking that famous saying "God is good, ALL the time" and it is evident every day.

It is comforting to once again see darkness. The snow is everywhere. They would probably love to have this on the mountains around Vancouver. If only they could move the events here, they would have no problems. Be that as it may, we will enjoy it here and they will continue to struggle to solve the problems they have on Cyprus.

Once again I say thank you to you all for the comments. Chelsey has fixed it so that those without a g-mail account can leave messages. Look forward to hearing from those of you who couldn't previously let me know they were reading it. This is as they have put "my dream". I've anticipated this moment for eight years, and it is finally here! I am home for a few days and hope to return to the excitement on Wednesday. Until then..................

Some more pictures

This is is Go Green Go Dutch go Bike. I did get to ride in it. The hats were quite the hit. There were a lot of people who brought their dutch paraphenalia along. Some even dressed in authentic costume. It was expected that 400 people would show up but there were probably 1000! It was amazing! It gave a whole new meaning to the phrase a sea of orange. The Dutch are well represented in the Lower Mainland. For today I am making preparations to travel home tonight. Time to reconnect with my family. Time to reconnect with my family!

February 5,2010

Another exciting day! This morning stepping off of the sky train and heading up the escalator.........THERE HE WAS!!!!! I was so excited! It was.............Martin Hamhuis! Oh the thrill! Someone who knows about me! Someone who knows my husband and my children's and grandchildren's names! I couldn't believe the rush of emotion that flooded me. I've only been gone a week. I see thousands of people every day, walking down the street, on the busses and sky train, in the hotel, but no one knows my name other than looking at my name tag. It was oh so nice to see someone I knew! At home every five people you see, you at least know one of them. To think there are so many people in this city, all with their own lives and goings on. I was starting to feel so overwhelmed. There are so many people here.

In other news............I had another exciting day today. Starting to almost feel like I knew what I was doing. So this is my "job" in a nut shell. I am assigned to the Olympic Family Hotel. It is the home (boy I hope I haven't written this before. If I have pardon me, for not only do I not know whether I have written this, I don't know how to check at this point with out erasing everything I have written thus far!) of the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Association etc. The Hotel only houses those who are members of the IOC and heads of state. My assignment is to be in a "department"(for lack of a better description) which hands out guest passes to those wanting access to the hotel without actually being a guest there. At my station are members of the RCMP who carry out criminal record checks on all those who request access. It is very interesting at this point as there are many who request access. Technically there is a 24 hour waiting period for these passes, to allow the RCMP time to do what they need to do. Time went quite fast today, as there was always quite a lot to do. I believe things will get more intense as the days go on and wrinkles get ironed out.

I am so thankful to be given the opportunity to do this! My family is sacrificing so much for me and for it I am so grateful.
Yesterday I got to talk with my sweet Maya somehow on MSN with the camera! I know it has only been days, but boy I miss her! Of course I miss the rest of my family too, but I was so happy to see the excitement in her eyes when she got to see her munna!

Thank you all also for your comments. It really makes me feel good!

February 4, 2010

I FOUND IKEA ALL BY MY OWN SELF!!! I was so impressed. That magic little box that "I didn't need because the signage is so good in Vanouver" has sure come in handy! Leroy insisted I have a GPS, and what a wonderful thing! All you need is to post in the address and it magically takes you where you want to be! It even "recalculates" when you make a mistake. I quite often hear the words "recalculating" and think Oh great, here we go again. I have since learned the difference between 250 meters and 750 meters. At home we give directions such as just turn right at "the" stop light! Not so here! Regardless, I found the Ikea, without any mistakes. It was great. It was so cool looking at all of their "stuff".


Yesterday I learned something new again. I had too work until 10:00 p.m., and was quite worried about walking to the bus stop, but there were about 10 others all heading for the same bus stop. It was quite comforting. I made it back to Van Tols in about 45 minutes! I did learn quite a few short cuts, seeing as I was doing a lot of walking that wasn't necessary. Go figure!

The green green grass outside is absolutely amazing! They were planting flowers outside of the hotel. The picture is the view from outside Van tols's condo.

As for the GO GREEN GO DUTCH GO BIKE, I received an e-mail saying "unfortuntately we won't be able to fulfill your request. Demand was larger than the supply was. Oh well, I am still going to attend, after all, there will be hot chocolate and stroop wafels, how could anyone say no to that? It will be cool to watch regardless. The lady of the house was accepted, so I'll be cheering her on. It will be cool I'm sure. This is not supposed to be a book, so I will sign off for now.

This is me on my way to my first shift. Great excitement.

Today I had to say goodbye to my sidekick. Curt had to go back home. I'm now on my own in the big city. Went this morning to pick up my tickets to the dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony. Waited outside in a line up for over two hours. I left the door here at 8:30 a.m. and returned back again at 12:00. I thought I would never get there! Yet the tickets also included a bottle of wine, so it made the wait a little sweeter. The dress rehearsal is only for volunteers. Some are selling their tickets on craig's list. Well mine will not be sold. It's going to be a great time.

The sky train this morning was overwhelming. It was so full. I thought not one more person could fit on yet at the next stop, the doors opened and another 50 people squeezed on. I guess it's only going to get worse. I should miss the rush hours though as I start at either 7:00 am and finish at 2:30 or start at 2:30 and end 10:00. Eight hours in a row is something I haven't done in a while.

The first picture is of some coke people arriving. Thought one might be Marty Hamhuis, but since then I hadve hundreds and hundreds of those red uniforms. They could be their own Olympic team! The second one shows some of the tents around the hotel. There is a three foot high chain link fence around the whole thing. I hope tomorrow to get some pictures of the inside.

February 2, 2010

WOW!!! No other word to describe it. I had my first day at the Westin
Bayshore. What a hotel! What an experience! As my daughter so terrifically said, "my olympic Dream!!!!" The only thing missing from this dream is my wonderful family. How I miss them and how I wish they could all be here sharing in this wonderful experience. But I am so thankful to them for all of their love and support making this dream possible.
Curt is with me, and he has spent a lot of time just hanging around and being my chauffeur. Him and sweet sally (the GPS). If you don't have one...........don't leave home without it! She'll take you anywhere and everywhere! What an amazing piece of technology that is!
Today was my first shift at the hotel. Everyone is so happy to be doing what they're doing. What fun!
Whilst trying to get the feel of our 'jobs' it is the best meeting people, where they're from etc. one lady came from Sarnia to volunteer. She works in the 'health' field. Tried to play some dutch bingo, but to no avail. I'm sure I'll meet her agasin, and I'll try again.

While heading to the downtown, I met some young ladies from Holland. They were here coming to cheer on team Netherlands. They couldn't get any tickets, but hoped to get some whilst they were here. Now THAT is dedication. I had aa great time chatting with them. It's so wonderful chatting with folks, whether you have some connection with them or not. In the spirit of the Olympics....We're all here for the same thing!

Curt and I got to experience something completely off the wall! There were some tickets left over for a cultural Olympiad event. I'm still trying to digest it. It was somewhere between life theater and an x-box game if you can imagine. Vancouver is quite reknown for it's value in creating video games, and this was a celebration of that art. We were a part of it and thankful for the opportunity to be.

It is now quite late and what a day it has been. I am so torn between my family at home and the adventure here.

My dad Oepie, has been having some health concerns, and is currently hospitalized. In fact he was in hospital when I left. To say that is a concern is a major understatement. To go or not to go, is it completely selfish? Should I stay? Should I go? What is the problem? Ohhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He told me when I told him the plan was to leave the next day that it was no problem. He was "in the Lord's hands" He was not worried at all. What a testament! Meanwhile here, I just can't help but think, is it the right decision. Should I feel guilty? But I am so thankful that it is a lesson to me, he knows who is in control, therefore has no worry. What an example that is! I am so thankful to my family at home that they are all stepping up (and then some), doing all they can for him, so I can continue on with this. What an awesome family I have! Again,, I truly thank them all.

Tomorrow I hope to get a very early start to stand in line for the tickets to the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies. That will be a night to be remembered.

Thanks for your comments. I am just having the time of my life! One I've waited eight years for and it is really all I could have imagined. I did take some pictures today, but they will be here tomorrow, I promise!

Sure do miss those little darlings in my life though. I really think, if I could have been a Gramma FIRST..... I would have been a much better mother!

fEBRUARY 1, 2010

What a day today was. A lot of information in such a short time. Got to learn about the place I will be spending my time. It is the home of the International Olympic Commitee, The World Anti-Doping Agency and the Arbitration for Sport. Absolutely way way over my head! There will be over 2100 people "working" at this hotel. It is such a beautiful hotel. My favorite part was during the tour was seeing all of the flags of all of the countries participating. Things really began to feel "for real".

The transit is really amazing. I start with about a three minute drive, 15 minute bus ride, then 25 minute sky train, then another 15 minute bus ride. Altogether if all goes well it takes about one hour. The city is full of the buzz of the Olympics.

As I was walking towards the sky train after the training was finished, I came upon an ING Direct bank. I saw all of the orange balls, a windmill. klompen in the window etc. I walked in and asked if anyone there knew about "heineken house". Two of the tellers looked at me kind of strange, but a young fellow there said "I know EVERYTHING there is to know about it, just have a seat and I'll come speak with you." After chatting with him, some in dutch and some in english, he told me he had just come seven months ago from Holland and was working at the bank. What a friendly young man. He gave me all the information I was looking for. Those with a dutch passport get preferential service but dutch speakers would be high on the priority list. Tonight it happened to be on the news also. We had alot of fun just chatting with each other.

Tomorrow I begin my first shift. The camera is charging as we speak so I hope to be able to post some pictures tomorrow. There was ofcourse quite the lecture about taking pictures so I will abide by those rules and let you see what is possible.

I must give a huge shout out to my family for supporting me through this as I am neglecting my other duties. As this is happening, other crisies are happening and they are more than pulling their weight. Love you all and THANK YOU! I am truly enjoying every moment.

Curt is with me and we are being spoiled by the Vantols. What a blast so far!

Well we've made it!

After a long long drive to Vancouver, Curt and I arrived safe and sound in Ladner. We have such gracious hosts who allow us to stay with them for this week.

We've had a great time exploring the downtown of Vancouver. Some bus experiences have not been the best but we'll iron out all of the details.

Tomorrow is my big day. I begin the on the job training. I am super excited to join the exciting world of the olympics.

Yesterday I also got my uniform. That is just utterly amazing.

Reconnecting with old old friends has been alof of fun.

On Saturday I am going to ride in Go Green Go Dutch Go Bike. It is a program where the dutch government is bringing 400 bikes to Vancouver to be ridden during the Olympics. People of dutch background will be riding these bikes and then they will be donated to be left at various spots in the city to be used by people to get from point A to point B. They can be used for no cost.

It is pretty amazing seeing the city transformed into all Olympic themes. The hotel where I will be working looks awesome! I hope to be able to put some pictures up, but I'm just learning as I go. Greetings to all!