The Scope

Banners fly outside Canada Hockey Place

Walking around in the ten-degree (relative) warmth with the sun shooting down, it’s easy to forget how cold it is on the other side of the country. Or that this is the Olympic Winter Games. Signs lining the streets depict skaters and skiers, yet it’s not hard to find someone walking right below them clad in shorts and/or flip flops.

People, people everywhere

When I first arrived, I didn’t think the crowds were all that bad. There seemed to be more security than people. But as the day grew later, more and more people filled the streets to the point where you envy sardines. Several main streets around downtown have been closed to traffic so people can party outside. Crowds gather around televisions in the windows of shops to watch the events. Even grocery stores in the area have screens inside so you can watch the post-game interviews while shopping for celebratory cheese. I stood outside Alberta House watching the Canada-USA game and I couldn’t help but get caught up in the cheers of “Go Canada Go!” The energy is infectious.

Granville Street as the sun sets and the crowds gather

On Granville, one of the closed streets, you can have your picture taken with a man dressed as Batman. Or Superman. Or a Smurf. You can get a free hug or strike the pose of an athlete in giant cut-outs. Or you can sit and watch as everyone files past, screaming the name of their country. Or at the very least wearing the flag as a cape. (A very popular fashion choice here.)

The N-word

With so much to see and do in Vancouver, it was only fitting that I try to see and do things. That, however, was when I was met with the dreaded n-word that sums up at lot of my exploration attempts here in Vancouver: no.

Can I go in there? No. Hello restaurant, do you have a table? No. Then how about you, corner pub, can I have– No. Then there are the seventeen other ways my exploring was turned away, including my personal favourite, the guy who stood in my way again and again as I tried to move around him, not saying a word. He was either mute security or just really rude. Generally though, everyone is really nice and helpful, even when they are telling you what you can’t do.

What you can do, however, is wait in line. Want to take the subway? It’ll take you a while to get a ticket. Want a t-shirt? Well at The Bay, there is a multi-hour line to get into the Olympic apparel superstore. Want to get into the Canada Mint Pavilion? The average wait is four hours. Four. This one baffled me until someone told me that inside you can touch the medals. Now, there are a lot of things I would wait four hours to touch, but Olympic medals don’t make that list.