O Canada - The Olympic Scene

We're watching the parade of nations during the Winter Olympic opening ceremonies.. We thought we'd still be living in BC during these games. But things changed, and we're not there right now. Which, we're glad we don't have to deal with the added traffic and the craziness of the border crossing. We were excited to see a more "cosmopolitan" viewing of the games (the US tends to only show competitions which they are good in).

It's fun to see sights from our old backyard again. And it's hard to see the sights we hoped to see, but didn't get a chance to do so. We never drove on the Sea to Sky highway to the Whistler area or got out to Victoria Island. We never really spent much time in Vancouver itself.

Yet Canada was a part of us for a year. We enjoyed it (while, of course, there were parts we didn't enjoy). We sing along with the anthem. We know that it's called "bobsleigh" instead of "bobsled." I've been curling.

Maybe that's why I enjoy the Olympics so much (especially as a person who seldom watches televised sports)--because it brings the entire world to our door. We learn about the history, culture and traditions of people from other countries.

It's tragic that the games have to begin on a tragic note with the death of the Georgian luger (and I'm a bit alarmed at how often the video was played). There is much tragedy in our world, of course. Yet, the world comes together and puts aside their differences to play. Yes, competition is involved, but it's for the sake of pride, not of conquering.

I don't necessarily care about who wins how many gold medals (though I like to see a country win their first medal ever). For the next couple weeks, I'll be watching with the rest of the world as Canada hosts the Olympics and we all come together, cheering on the best in us all.