Exploring Sochi

Sights of Sochi

After seeing my Tania to the airport on February 24, the goodbyes continued. I am lucky to still have my team leader Nadezda staying for the Paralympics. She’s been a great guide and translator. She understands my humour and keeps pace with me. After the Olympics, we decided to go souvenir shopping with our mixed-zone supervisor Anya. Sochi is bloated with Olympic souvenirs. Everywhere you turn there’s a vendor or shop overflowing with official merchandise. This made making decisions that much more difficult. As it was Anya’s last day, the pressure was on to find the perfect gift at the perfect price. Unsurprisingly, that took most of the day. We did stop for some lovely photos and lovely blini at Blinyouga. These ‘pancakes’ make the canteen at our residence seem pitiful. The tastes of Russia are so much more vibrant outside of Olympic Park. In the end, Anya found a couple of souvenirs, but I am waiting until closer to the end of the Paralympics in hopes of discounted prices.

Anya and I with daffodils.

Russia vs. Canada 

Nadezda and Anya with corn on the cob.

Canadian on the black sea.

I love this shot of Anya!

Crazy Soviet bus

The next day, Nadezda, her new roommate Yusta, and I ventured to the Vorontsovskiye Caves. The bus trip to the caves turned out to be the most exciting part of the day! First we caught an old autobus at the train station Khosta. The three of us sat at the very back - BIG mistake. The road wound unpredictably up a mountain, with bumps and cutbacks that would put some of the forestry roads I’ve driven for work to shame. The road was narrow enough for one-way traffic, but of course was used in both directions. I was amazed by what I saw. As I’ve only been to larger Russian cities, the corrugated roofs and shacks on the brink of collapse were unexpected. I mean, in Bolivia and Cambodia this came as no shock to me, but in Russia, even my Russian friends Yusta and Nadezda did not expect the poverty we saw.

We bounced and bobbed all the way to what we thought was the entrance to the caves. Thankfully I was travelling with Russians, because the bus driver told us we had another 3km UPHILL until the entrance to the caves. Alas, salvation came in the form of an old soviet-era bus. The bus puttered to a stop beside us and opened it’s doors to us. Whom did we find on said bus? The Moscow mounted police! (Whom I have seen riding along the beach)

Typically, moscow police officers are notorious for being unforgiving and sullen. Luckily for us the mounted police seem to be the exception to the rule. As the bus was full, three security officers got up to let us sit. The road to the caves proved even more dangerous than the one before. There were some corners where I was sure we’d plummet to our fiery deaths. Alexander, their veterinarian, showed me photos from their two-day drive to Sochi with the horses. The group has been working here for 3 months already, but were extremely cheerful. We explored the caves with the policemen and got a few photos with what I coined the ‘crazy bus.’

Crazy bus! 

Tima, Yusta, and I.

Russian tea fields.

This day was a very important one for me in learning some key elements of Russian culture. Did you know Russians wear their wedding rings on their right hands? A useful tidbit of information I’d say! Also, if a woman whistles...it means she is looking for something more...if you catch my meaning. I guess I’ll keep my mouth shut!! 

The group offered their bus to us all the way back to Olympic Park. As we had rushed out the door expecting to find food along the way, we were starving at this point. At the caves, since it is the off-season, we found only nuts and juice for sale. The veterinarian Alex offered us tea and biscuits, which were a welcome sight! I told him about how my mom is an animal health technologist, and he was so excited. He continued to show me more and more photos of himself at work and with his horses. These kind-hearted men saved us from a terrible trek in the rain, and I will never forget them!

Final Sochi Escapade before leaving the ‘bubble.’

Nadezda has been asking day-after-day to go to Riviera Park in Sochi to photograph the mimosa plant. Finally we found time to get to the park on February 27. We three musketeers ventured to Sochi again.

Yusta and Nadezda, Sochi river. 

Encounter of the fowl kind

In Riviera, I was grabbed by a Russian and dragged about 10 feet to two other men holding a monkey and a parrot. The men were shouting “pins, pins, pins” which of course I stupidly pulled out a full bag of Canadian pins. They were grasping at the bag and pulling at me saying “photo, photo, give camera for photo.” I was certain in the hubbub they were trying to rob me. I gave my camera to Nadezda specifically so one of the men wouldn’t run off with him. The first man flung the monkey into my arms and then placed the parrot carefully in a dead position in my hands. Confusion doesn’t even cover half of what I was feeling. I was utterly flabbergasted. The poor monkey was wearing pants and a jacket, and the parrot was sullen and quiet. Of course I smiled for the camera. It’s second-nature to show the pearly whites when a camera is around. After the whole encounter was finally over, I checked my bag and purse and luckily nothing was taken.

We continued to explore the entire park in search of a mimosa tree. Small amusement parks with midways seem to be very popular in southern Russia. This photo amuses me. The cat is SLEEPING on the gun game table. I hope he’s sleeping at least...

Nadezda doing what she does best - taking photos!

Might I remind you...I am at the WINTER Olympics.

Goodbye Olympics, hello Paralympics!

**HERE IS MY CTV NATIONAL INTERVIEW**

**HERE IS MY CBC RADIO INTERVIEW**

That's it. That's all she wrote. For the Olympics at least. I spent the final night with my dear Tania and watched the closing ceremonies from the comfort of our neighbourhood bar. I did manage to get my hands on one of those flashing medals from the ceremony! Don't ask me how...I've got connections ;)

It was an emotional night last shift and last night. Most of my team will not be staying for the Paralympics. The hardest to see go was Tania. I rode the bus with her to the airport to see her off just hours ago. 

Goodbye Tania. See you in Canada!

The last two shifts were energetic and eventful. As most of you probably saw, Canada bob 3 crashed. My heart sunk as they skidded down the track. The entire venue went dead silent. When the guys got up and walked away from the sled, the crowds cheered! The best part was the next day when the team decided to do the third run. Everyone cheered. The Russian team that came in fourth however... one of the athletes threw his helmet on the ground. Hard. Then he chucked his goggles, all the while swearing away like a sailor. Put side by side with the Canadians who overcame adversity, the Russian sportsman's display was disgraceful.

A certain Russian celebrity also graced our venue on the last day of competition. Former president Dmitry Medvedev walked right past me! We were all geared up to the nines with security expecting Putin, but his number two showed up instead. I also forgot to mention that I talked to Prince Albert of Monaco! He was in my zone and I asked him to move slightly to the right. (Monaco had a bob in the two-man competition)

With bobsled being one of the last events of the final day of the Olympics, I did NOT get to watch Canada take gold in men's hockey. I did, however, manage to celebrate to the fullest! I found myself at the local karaoke bar. If you've ever been to karaoke with me, you'll know I can put on a good show. Yes, I may be tone deaf, but I can perform. I belted out Queen and Elton John to the roar of the crowd. Go Canada go!

I walked into my residence at 7 o'clock in the morning. I strolled straight to the canteen to find the best blini (crepes) full of condensed milk. Delicious! The cherry on top of my Olympic experience. Now I plan to rest a bit, see some sights in Sochi and then hop on a train to Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don this weekend. I will begin my shift for the Paralympics on March 7.

I do not plan on bringing my laptop with me as I venture outside the 'Sochi bubble,' but I will post photos and stories on my return!

To cap off my tremendous Olympic extravaganza, I share with you some snapshots my friend Tania took of the last couple of shifts and our venue - Sanki Sliding Centre.

Sanki team mixed-zone!

With one of our interpreters Oleg. 

Beautiful Tania. 

Goodbye Olympics, hello Paralympics! 

Sanki Sliding Centre

With our Brit, Will.

Luke, our American on the team.

Russia takes gold in four man bobsleigh

Watching the last bit of the mens hockey game. Represent! 

Krasnaya Polyana at sunset.

Farewell team Sanki!

It's been a slice!

Alpine



Last night I visited the Rosa Khutor alpine centre. I must admit, I much prefer my sliding centre. the venue was cold and very muddy. My poor boots are covered in muck. 

The gondola ride up to the event was a lot of fun. I met a family from Hawaii. The oldest daughter gave me a russian coloured lei - Aloha! 

Kieri the friendly hawaiian.

Here is my view of the women's slalom event. There's a big TV to watch the beginning of the runs, and the announcements are done in English and then Russian. It was bitterly cold sitting in the stands. Sixty skiers went down the run. SIXTY! The time difference between each athelete came to down 400th of a second in some cases. I was surprised to learn that double medals have been awarded in downhill skiing because two skiers got the exact same time. There are so many factors going down the track that the thought of two different people getting the same time blows my mind!

Alberta's very own Bertie Beaver with the russian lei.

Represent!

Volunteers ski down after each run to smooth out the snow. That would be an awesome gig!

Beautiful but so cold!

Russian fur everywhere!

Another gold medal night meant the wine was flowing! I'm happy to report I made it to work early despite the headache. Canada is third in the medals standings. I'm overjoyed that we're doing so well. Maybe one of our 4-man bobsled team will launch to the front of the pack? (I doubt it, those Germans are fast!) My manager told me I did such a great job mediating the last press conference that he may let me do it again. It would be great to have canadians on the podium one more time here at Sanki. Be sure to cheer them on!

CTV delay

After telling you all to PVR my big CTV interview, I was bumped because of the happenings in the Ukraine. The interview was recorded and will air on CTV National sometime.

My interview with Mark Connolly will be aired on CBC Edmonton radio Friday (today) at 7:50 am. Tune in on your way to work!

My camera wasn't able to capture the view from the CTV studio overlooking Olympic park, but it sure was a great sight to see!

 

 

Today I will be in the crowd at the women's slalom finals. Last night was full of celebration for the double gold medals for Canada. I'm hoping the pulsing in my head will cease before I get to the Alpine centre. Also, a Russian holiday is coming up. On February 23, it is man day. Yup, men have a day... The tradition is to give every man in your life a gift. So I better do some shopping! We've got four men on our team. Thankfully women's day is in March, so I will get my dues ;)

Canadian gold at Sanki

Jump for joy!! 

That's exactly what I did when Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse took the gold medal in women's bobsleigh. I was elated. My team got a medal, a GOLD medal, at my volunteer venue! In the jumping process, I may have pushed my ankle too far, but it was totally worth it! The best part was every Russian on my team came up and gave me a hug. Me. Just a regular Canadian. I was congratulated for the gold medal I did literally nothing to help achieve. That's the Olympics. There's no better way to describe the feeling. When Canada takes home a medal, every single Canadian takes that medal too. It was my shinning moment. Sure, sure, I've said that before, but this has to be the cherry on top of my Olympic experience. My trip has officially been made completely unforgettable.

Getting on my own little podium

Before the final race, my press manager made me a deal. If Canada won gold, he'd let me moderate the press conference. The wagger paid off and I was one of the first people in the world to introduce the team as the gold medal champions. Me! I couldn't believe it. Before the conference I practiced and practiced my speech. When I was up on the platform, the words came out so smoothly. I kept my voice calm (not overly excited like I was in my interview with Mark Connolly) and I kept my pace clean. I'll never forget being a part of Olympic history. This is the first time a team has received two gold medals in women's bobsleigh. This is the first time two american sled teams made the podium. These are Canadian and Olympic record breaking milestones, and I was standing right beside the amazing women who made it happen.

I love how happy they are!

I will never forget this moment. I even traded one of my favourite pins to get the official Canadian bobsled pin! I also couldn't pass up getting the '88 bobsled pin either :)

The good luck keeps flowing

With the bobsled event ending so late, I was at work until 2am. My friend Tania and I managed to catch the first of three buses to the Gorki media centre. There were four of us who were waiting to hop on the bus to the main media centre at the coast. The transportation volunteers told us it would be a 45 minute wait. AT TWO AM! Thankfully a bus driver offered to take us back since his shift was over and he was going that way anyways.

We ended up going on a bit of an adventure through Adler to get fuel. I chatted with an interesting journalist from Michigan the entire ride down. He is covering Michigan athletes, so primarily figure skaters. I'd kill to go see figure skating, but it's an incredibly popular event here, so it probably won't happen.

When we rolled into the main media centre, the bus to our hotel was just leaving. I yelled "HACHU HACHU" which means "I want, I want." Our wonderfully kind bus driver started honking his horn and magically the other bus stopped midway to the street. The four of us, tired from a long day in the mountains, bolted to the bus. As we ran up the stairs, the entire busload of journalists broke into applause. Most of them had been at the Sanki sliding centre for the bobsleigh event, and were happy to see we had made it. If we hadn't caught that bus, it would have been another hour wait.

After the high from watching Canada win gold, and then by chance catching every bus I needed, I crawled into bed around 4am and nodded off to sleep with no regrets. In one day I saw the most beautiful landscapes of the Laura cross country venue, I was part of Olympic history, I met some amazing people, I was interviewed by Mark Connolly and I got back to my residence without waiting outside in the cold. Also the food provided to the volunteers yesterday happened to be phenomenal. All around - a perfect day.

Russian rain

Last night at work it rained. And rained... And rained some more. To protect us from the rain, we were given Sochi 2014 rain slickers. My team looked great as walking blue pillons.

As a volunteer, we are not allowed to wear anything from our home country. No flags, no Canadian mittens, no toques. With the unique weather situation, I managed to sneak in a very special umbrella!



The Canadian umbrella even helped out the Dutch women's bobsled team! My volunteer team is made up of mostly russians, a brit and an american. So far, every single one of their countries have got a medal here! I'm counting on Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse to take home a medal for me. I hope you are all watching at home to cheer on our Canadian women's bobsled teams!

Go Kaillie and Heather!! (My manager anya wanted to be a part of the Canadian group)

At work, I just ran into Mark Connolly with CBC Edmonton. We did a quick radio interview about my experiences here. Stay tuned to CBC Edmonton! I'll update this post with the time it will be aired. Probably tomorrow :) No more rain here either! SoIi've had to put away the Canadian umbrella...for now.