Monday, February 17, 2014

Canada hockey and meeting Pres PUTIN

Well it is now Monday FEB 17 th and it is Family Day so I hope everyone back home spends some time with there family as I FaceTimed my families earlier.   The Olympic experience continues to be just an amazing as the moment it started.

When I came to Sochi I wanted to go to see Canada play hockey and I managed to get tickets to all three prelim games.  The first game was Canada vs Norway and as I expecting it was a tune up as it was  there first together.   The second game was vs Austria and just before the game and I had the opportunity to go to Canada House.  Just before we were to leave to head to the game PRESIDENT PUTIN walked in and I was able to get right to the front.  As he was holding a pair of Canada mittens I said "put them on" and the chanting began.    Then the most amazing thing happened I reached out my right hand and the next then you know I was shaking the hand of the PRES of RUSSIA.  After this it was off to the hockey game and where I saw the Canada team play a much better game and won over Austria.

I have also seen luge, skeleton, and speedskating which have all been great.  The luge was great but the Latvia beat out Canada for bronze medal.   The speedskating was great to watch from the second row as it is my son Jeff favorite sport.  It has been time filled with work, events and hanging with new friends and little sleep so guess what...I got a cold......but I didn't let it slow me down for the big game on Sunday.

I got up on Sunday and a few of us decided that we would head to Russia exhibit where we could learn a lot about Russia.  Wearing out Canada gear and all my pins got a lot of attention including a lot of personal  one on one info on the different parts of Russia.  It is truely amazing how Russia landscape is like Canada's in many ways.  I will attach as many of the photos as possible to Facebook.  Afterwards we headed over to Coke pravillion where we were able to take our picture with the Olympic torch....holding the last two winter olympic torches has been great.

The last event of the day would be highlight as it was the last game of prelim and determine 1 st place in pool.  A stop over the Coke cafeteria to purchase a fee pre- game drinks and chat with a number of Canada fans...Once inside you quickly realize that both players and fans knew that this was a big game.  My friend Brenda and I decided to enjoy this game with a few Finnish fans from about 6 rows from the ice. A great location for pictures and getting into the game.( see Facebook).   The game was back and forth and ended up going into OT where Canada would come out on top.  

I will update everyone in a couple of days....Go Canada..

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Olympic Opening Night and the Olympic Spirit.

Well a couple of days have passed since the rehearsal and opening of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and I am still in awe of the experience.  Prior to the opening I had the opportunity to go to the rehearsal for the opening and to be there with 40,000 people and see the many people demonstrate what looked would be a great opening.  I watched in an amazement as the many Russian people cheered and I so wanted to show my Olympic spirit.  So I decided to do what every great Canadian would do …….I got 40,000 Russian people to do the WAVE and support there country.    When it came time for the Canadian flag bearer and pretend Canadian athletics enter  the stadium about 200-300 people around me got up and started clapping.    What a feeling…...Well on the way home on the bus and at work the next day I was greeted with a Thumbs Up.

On the day of the opening I decided to take my Latvian roommate and a few friends to bar where I had a steak and beer(it was nice) and then we went over to the live site next door.  It was a great experience that I will never forget as I watched the show on a huge screen while I used FACETIME to talk my family back home at the same time.  The beer was great and it was so nice to FaceTime home as the people around me waved to my family as they watched.  When then made our way into a Russian only party next door, however it seems that Russian truly do like Canadians or just my outgoing personality. See the history of USSR/Russia unfold was nice, however some of the young Russian were upset with the old Russian parts as many want to move forward.  The Russian vodka and friends were great =, however 5 AM does come early so it was off to Vesoyle.

The next day it was a bit rough as I arrived at work as like many Russian I spent the night enjoying celebrating a wonderful opening, even with a bad snowflake…:)…Well upon arriving at work I was advised that I would be TEAM LEADER of my group on this date.  Well if you are the leader to be a good leader it is important to surround yourself with great people to make you look good so I made sure I picked one of the Russian young ladies that liked to translate so if I had any issues they could  have me.  I have taken the time to teach many of the young people that a good smile and even say "Good Morning" in english will look nice.

As many of you who know me will admit I have an outgoing spirit that can be a bit contagious and as such I have used that with my other team mates.  As each day goes by many of the Olympic teams come up to me as probably 90 % speak english and say "Where are you from and say you are not from Russia".  I tell them from Canada and they tell me it is so GREAT to hear your voice and see your contagious smile.  I have been given so many Olympic pins as it seems to be a regular occurrence to drop by and have a look.  If you ar on Facebook drop by and have a look at the picture of all the pins that I have.

On my day off my roommate and I headed over to where the two cruise ships were docked to meet a man who i had bough CAN vs FINLAND tickets.  After receiving the tickets the man stated he had tickets for 1 man Luge so as I have never seen it  and my roommate is from Lativian I decided $36 CAN was a good price for last minute as he is a huge luge fan.   The luge event was great and we met a  few friends and had a great time even with out cold beer…

Well on Feb 10 th it was back to work to meet to meet with the people of the OLYMPIC NEW CHANNEL as I had been told the night before that all the paperwork had been completed for them to come into my work area to interview me.  It has been my dream to come to Russian since I was a young teenager and since I have been here I have done nothing but demonstrate what a Canadian smile will get you.    I sit and wait as out supervisors do there morning briefing and surprisingly I am beginning to understand a bit.   At the end there are a couple of tickets given out and I was advised that I was going to be given to one for my hard work and being so nice to the various teams.

I was so appreciated by the kindness, however I had to tell them that I could not go as the OLYMPIC NEWS CHANNEL were almost there so I said given them to the my team mate who help make our team run so well.

Well ONC finally arrived and I learned that they had been told that I had come from all the way from Canada and they had been told about my Olympic spirit.  So I was asked to explained why I wanted to come to Sochi, my travel from Moscow to Sochi and to speak about my experience in Russian.   I hope to get an opportunity to watch the clip so if while you are watching the Olympics and you see me please tape it and let me know as I hope CBC picks it up as well.

For the Youth of Today …..If you reach for a dream and you don't reach it just get on your toes and              
                                             reach a little higher I am sure you will each your dream.

Check Facebook for some pictures…….Have a look for my picture of Canada helping Russia

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Olympic Park, Opening Ceremonies and the Moose


Well a quick follow up to my last date before I start my new blog.  I arranged to meet a couple of police officers and I can say I had a great time.    I discovered that officers here in Russia deal with the same type of issues that we do back home.   It was great to hear how that Russian police are taking the security of volunteers and fans here very serious and are working to make the games truly a safe games.

I had an opportunity to take a day and tour Olympic Park and I want to tell everyone of you reading this blog that you truly will be amazed by the wonderful sites that will host the games.  The games slogan is HOT COOL YOURS and I want each and everyone of you that these words do reflect the Russian natural character.  HOT represents the heart of sport passion that the games will bring.   COOL needs no explanation as the nation of Russia is associated with its frosty, snowy winters.  Finally YOURS is a reminder that the Olympic games are for everyone.

I took one of my days off and went down to the Coastal cluster where I saw all the wonderful stadiums and rinks that will be used for the games.  Standing in the middle of the Olympic park and looking around and see all these wonderful structure was one of the first things that made me speechless.  We walked around the park and the centre piece of the park is the Olympic Flame  certainly was the centre piece and nightly light show from the base made the day.   One of the rinks there  is Ice Cube which will be the host of the curling events and after the game will be taken down and moved to another town in Russian.  The stadium is one of the smaller ones as it only holds 3,000 people.

The next place I went to was the Adler Speedskating arena and I can say that this place was amazing from the outside and some day I would love to see my son Jeff skating here.  The arena has two tracks as well as a training track.  I look forward to hearing the Canadian national athem coming from inside this arena many times.

The two hockey rinks that will be used by the men and women are the Bolshoy and the Shaybe arena and I am looking forward to watching the Canadian hockey games from here.  We did our touring around the Olympic Park in the late afternoon and the lights from these building were brilliant.  The Bolshoy  is complex that is a spherical dome and the lights on the top change frequents and makes a wonderful array of lights on the top.

The Coastal cluster is made of the Fisht Olympic stadium which is the host for both the opening and closing ceremonies.  The stadium holds 40,000 people and from there the fans can see the spectator mountain peaks to the north and the wonderful Black Sea to the south.   A little research and I was able to learn that the structure resembles a rocky crag which blends perfectly into the panorama of the Caucasus Mountains.   On January 28 th I can say I got one of the best calls I have had in a very long time.  My roommate Jinsong called and told me that I got selected to go to the rehearsal of the Opening ceremonies.  The show was great and will be something that many will truly enjoy it.  The rehearsal was great, however the best part was when I was able to get 40,000 people to stand up and get them to do the wave.   As a result of my personal style it was even better when so many Russian people stood and cheered with me when the cheered for the Canadian when the flag was brought into the park.

In the last day or so things have truly reached the next level up at Endurance Village.  All the athletics walk by my Info booth and the bag storage area daily and I have had a great time talking with them and even collecting a few pins along the way.  Many of the young Russian are truly enjoying my unique style when dealing with the athletes and I make many of them smile.

One of the highlights of the weeks was yesterday when I took the time and visited the Mountain Village which is where may roommate from England works.  The two villages are very unique in there own ways.  While my friend talked with a co-worker I took the time to take the long walk to visit the residence of the Canadians and I was not disappointed as I turned the corner and I saw a huge wooden container out front.  As I got closer I was amazed to see that the CANADIAN MOOSE had arrived.  The CANADIAN MOOSE was decorated in its fine Canadian colours.   I was a great moment when I took a picture while inside the actual container.


The beginning of the games are moments a way and I my roommates and I salivating at the prospect of being a part of such and amazing events.  Have a look at a few

Thursday, January 30, 2014

A LITTLE SOCHI and a GREAT POLICE BROTHERHOOD

Todays post is a bit long as I am actually off today finally and really wanted to provide a little insight into the last few days.  Please read it all as I believe you will all appreciate it.

Well I have been here since Jan 20 th and I have to say I have seen and met many wonderful people and I have seen the world change before my eyes.  When I left Canada I was excited about the adventure that was presented to me and was so looking forward to the adventure that I believed would change my life and maybe pass on a little of "Dave Swaine".  I came to Sochi Russia to see the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic and to live a childhood dream which was to see the Russia, however I can say after one week I have done a lot more than that.

The land around Sochi Russia is one wonderful seaside to steep and majestic mountains.  When I arrived here I arrived by train from Moscow and I was so excited and I did not have a chance to look up as I was in another world(HAHA).  To those that are using my blog to educate I want to add a little bit of info I gathered from the internet to describe the area.

Orientation

Greater Sochi occupies 105 km along the Black Sea coastline and most of the population is along the coastline, however Sochi does include a large mountain area.  The Greater Sochi area officially includes four administrative area which are Central Sochi District, Lazareveskoye District, Khosta District, and finally the Adler District.

The two area that are a part of the Sochi Olympic are Central Sochi District and Adler District.  Sochi is the main city area and is the most developed and populated part and is about a 1 hour train ride from Olympic Park.  I have travelled to Sochi and it is a beautiful city with European charm with many nice stores, businesses, parks and it also has a waterfront area that has boardwalk that has many unique shops and there was one shop where a few of my friends and I had for a FISH MASSAGE.  During the olympics there are many Live Sites where there is music and events leading up to the games themselves.  

The Adler area is where the 2014 Sochi Olympic games are actually being held and this is the area in which both the area international airport as well as the train station.  When I come here next time I shall remember that when booking train ticket tell them Adler not Sochi train station.  This area has grown greatly due to the olympics as it is this area that contains all the olympic venues.  The Coastal Cluster is about a 15 min bus ride from where we are living in Vesyoloe and the weather is about 10 C and is either overcast or damp as we have only ha one really nice sunny day.   The Mountain Cluster is about 1 hour from Adler by the new train and is referred to as Krasnaya Polyana and is where many of the outdoor events are held as there is snow unlike Veyoloe where I live.  I leave to go to Krasnaya Polyana( Endurance Village) in a light hoody and then sometimes need to add a heavy jacket due to the weather which can change by 10 C when I arrive or leave.  I have added photos on Facebook in an effort to show the contrast in the two areas.

The people of Russia have been wonderful and have done everything that they can do be gracious host to both myself as well as those visiting the 2014 Olympic games.  During my struggles getting orientated in Moscow I spoke to many people that reached out a helping hand and to that I say "thank you".  While here in Sochi I have also met many wonderful and helpful people who have gone out of there way to help the international volunteers feel welcomed.  I know the stereotype is that the people of Russia are cold, however I have seen met many warm hearted people.  The volunteers here are eager to speak to Canadians and I have done my BEST to leave a great impression.  Due to my outgoing personality and my desire to trade pins I have met many people.  

Well I am sure many of you are totally bored and want to do something more with your winter but I really want to tell you all about AN AMAZING SIDE OF MY VISIT LIKE NO OTHER VOLUNTEER.

As many of you know that are reading this blog I am a very proud CANADIAN POLICE OFFICER and am proud of where I have come in my life and at this time would love to say thanks to my wife (JoAnne), my boys (Michael,Trent, Jeff), and to many people with the Durham Regional Police  as without them this trip would not have been possible. 

During my first few days I made my occupation unknown as I did not want to draw any attention to myself`(honestly I am in Russia), however I did bring a number of DRPS and DRPA items to give away later on in my stay aswell as patches to trade if possible.  One day I was travelling through the security checkpoints going up the mountain and I had my wallet in the basket and one of the officers on the desk saw the metal of wallet and asked to view the inside and then they saw my badge and were all quite surprised.  There was a lot of Russian conversation and then a officer approached and we began a conversation through one of my new friends who likes to help translate.  My travels up and down threw the checkpoints are quite interesting now.  I recently gave him a golf shirt as we have seen each other regularly and yesterday he reached inside his winter police jacket and took his shoulder flash from his shirt and gave it to me.  We exchanged numbers and at the end of this blog I will be meeting him as we are both of today.

The next interesting story I want to tell is how I managed to(Kevin and Mark you will love this)  meet the head of the security for the Endurance Village and surrounding ski events.  I usually work on the INFORMATION booth in the village due to the number of english speaking people here, however I was asked to work one of the checkpoints to help out. While there an officer approached and did not have his acrediatation on him and as stated he forgot it and of course I with the help of my translator explained to "Nyet".  He left and game back a few moments later with his ID and pulled out his wallet and explained that if it looks like this they are ok to come in at which time I showed mine badge to him.  Wow that certainly made for interesting conversation as he later stated it was great to know that there was a Canadian officer here.  Serkey and I have met at least four times since and have traded both patches and I have given him some DRPS clothing items.  Last night I was shocked when he came to the EVS headquarters to find me and took of his old CCCP army dog tag with his badge number  attached off his chain and presented it to me.

What a first week  .......thank you everyone....


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Endurance Village and trip to work

The last few days we have begun the dress rehearsals for the arrival of the many athletics that will arrive in the next few days. The property that I am working at is as I previously mention is the home to all the biathlon athletics.  I am tasked with helping to setting up the information booth to direct them and provide with information why they here at Edurance Village.  Due to safety and privacy concerns I am unable to provide you with details of the village, however it can tell you that it will be part of a Five Star resort later.

Traveling to Endurance Village from Voysolye which can only be described as a painful process.  I start with a brisk 10 min walk out to the Main Street.  I then wait for bus WKF # 8 or 3 which will take me to Olympic Park where I then must complete 10 - walk to the train station.   Once I am there I then need to go through the check point before heading off to the train. It's here were you go throught the scanner and it's where you must produce all item such as Ipad,iPhone,coins , cameras,etc and then get pat searched.  Well I can tell you that this is a new experience and according to some of the female volunteer here the security are very personal with there search

It is then on the train from Adler to Kasnaya Polyna which is about50 mins long and it goes up through the mountains and passes throught three separate tunnels on the way.the temperature goes from +12. To about -11.  Once arriving up to the top it another 30 mins walk including a trip across the bridge and a stop for a picture by the Olympic Rings before catching the gondola to Endurance Villlage.

The view at the top is nothing short of amazing and I have added a few pictures on Facebook of the view.  As the athletics are just beginning to arrive my Info Booth has not been busy so I help the Guest Services complete the finishing touch to the residences.  I have had again a amazing opportunity to speak with a number of Russian police officers while I am here. I met Sergei who is the head police officer for Endurance Village and he has made a number of opportunities to meet with  me and was appreciative of guy.

The Canaian biathlon team is due in in the next day or so and the final touches are being done around Sochi to prepare to host Olympics.   Ok they will continue right up to the moment and for those that are interested the I will add as many photos as I can.  I worked all night and am planning on staying up to do some cleaning up as I am off today Jan 28 and then having a good night sleep before I work tomorrow.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Landed in Sochi, Russia

Well last we spoke I had arrived in Moscow and it was -20 outside well my short stay in Moscow did involve having a Traditional Ukraine soup called Bolsh which was amazing.  The next day a took a quick pre-arranged taxi to Keneasky train station where I caught a the new high speed train from Moscow to Sochi.  Well one of the reasons I took the train was see the country side of Russia and to use the free internet.  Well the view was nice and the internet worked in the Moscow train station only.  During the train trip I was able to meet some wonderful young people going to Sochi who just wanted to talk English to someone.

Early Tuesday January 21 approached Sochi at which time I learned that the Train tickets that I purchased were Sochi not Adler where the Olympics are actually being help.  I was able to speak to one of the beautiful train attendants and she was able to let me continue on the last 40 km to Adler.  Upon arriving in Sochi I was amazed by the wonderful train station that was built to accommodate all the people coming to the 2014 Sochi Olympics.  Once inside the station itself I instantly became aware of the security here is Sochi.  All personal belong had to  passed through a scanner and then you proceeded thought.   I then observed two wonderful dogs sitting next to a handler as it sniffed through the luggage.

After passing through this area I went outside and was advised that I could take a few different ways to Vesoyla which is located just outside the Olympic Park area and is the area that will house the volunteer.  The volunteer housing where I am is three recently completed apartments which will be turned in local housing after the games.

On Wednesday I went over to the accreditation and accommodations area and completed by process for getting my pass.  I went into the accreditation area and was quickly advised that my passport was not updated.    I provided them with my new passport and shorty afterwards the completed the documentation at which time I discovered that I am now part of the best sporting event ever.  The whole process took about 5 yrs


Thursday was my first day actually here that I didn't feel completely wiped from travel to Sochi.  I got up and made my way to meet the other volunteer and we made the 2 1/2 track to the Endurance Village.   It was a a nice drizzle on the lower part of the mountain but when we got half way up I saw,, the most beautiful snow covered mountains.  We left at 0800 hrs and we arrived and had a full day of familiarization with the Endurance Village which was very well completed.   I have learned that the staff here  have been outstanding and have seen the security increase slowly but can see  that it will be a very safe and secure.  

A number of officers have learned that I am a police officer and we have traded some wonderful gifts  and I have been able to talk with them which has been great.

 Well the next time we speak I'm going writing about the job at Endurance Village.


Sunday, January 19, 2014

Paris to Moscow

Well the trip has begun and I have made it all the way to Moscow.  I got the plane in Toronto and it was very enjoyable as there were two guys the kept me entertained. We arrived in Paris 1/2 hr early so made the connection easier especially since the next plane was smaller and was almost full except for the middle seat in my row.  I had this young lady sitting with me and she spoke Russian and heard me practicing and later helped me prepare to navigate the RUSSIAN METRO system.

Well I got to Moscow and it hit me It's going to difficult talking to people. I got off the plane and I had to take an express train (35 mins) into Moscow which stopped at BELORUSKAYA and once I got into Moscow I had gad to take the METRO.    THE METRO here is amazing as well the people that were willing to help out a stranger.

After taking the last subway I arrived at TEATRAL NAYA and went outside and near froze as it was -20 out.  I walked about 10 mins and walked right past Bolshi theater and was amazed how beautiful it was.  After another 5 mins I arrived at the Marriott Aurora Hotel and the staff was great as they helped me organize ride to train station for the 24 hr rain ride .

Talk to you from Sochi Olympics