I feel very sad at the closing of the olympics. When they passed it on to Sochi I actually thought to myself "how can I get to Russia? Let's make a four year plan". I also thought briefly of recycling my 2010 plan and applying to a school in Russia but I'm not sure Sochi has universities that I would be interested in. And I don't speak Russian.
I watched the gold medal hockey game downtown in the LiveCity at Yaletown. Originally I had planned to wear Red and White and rock a maple leaf, but changing your stripes (as well as stars) is not as easy as I had percieved it to be. It all started at the first hockey game I went to: USA women v. China. I painted myself and wrapped a flag around me (which surprisingly traps body heat well and keeps one warm in an ice rink). From that moment my little flame of patriotism became a wildfire. By the time I went to the USA v. Finland game I was an all-american girl. Then on my way back from a trip to the states I decided to go off the beaten path (aka the 99 b-line) to UBC and catch an 84. Lo and behold I saw one of the USA women's hockey players sitting across from me. I went over, introduced myself to her and rode the bus with her for about 10 minutes. I think she was mostly shocked that I recognized her. I was a little shocked as well, also shocked that I, of all people, talked to a total stranger on the bus. She said something that stuck with me. When the guy on the bus asked her who she was cheering for in the men's game she said: "I never cheer for Canada". Not spitefully or anything, just as a given. Which is kind of true. You don't support the opponent, you support the place you grew up and the team you've always loved. And no matter what sport it is, Team USA has always been #1 to me.
So with that in the back of my mind I went up to Whistler on the second to last day. No skis, no tickets, just a pass on my roommates car to get us through the road block up to her family's parking space. Whistler was amazing and I had packed my flag. I started to see other stars and stripes everywhere so I busted mine out. There's something unexplainable about finding other Americans in a foreign land. We are not a very popular group of people abroad, especially in Canada. Here's what I found weird about (or aboot) it:
For the last 17 days there has been some sort of maple leaf pandemic that has stricken all Canadians. It's all over their bodies. Everyone has one. This is the most patriotic I have EVER seen this country in the 2 1/2 years I've lived here. But the coolest thing about an event like this is the random people you see. In Whistler I saw the most Polish flags in one place I'd ever seen (breaking my record of: one). There were also Estonians, South Koreans, and yes, even Jamaicans. The people in the streets celebrated these people for their pride. When I pull out my flag I'm seen as obnoxious. I should point out not by everyone, but it was sad to feel like I had to hide just because I share a border with Canada. It's not like it read "54-40 or Fight!" on it. In Whistler though, I was accepted. Probably because there were significantly less plastered high schoolers there.
I don't want to give the wrong impression. Most people accepted me everywhere. Most even called me brave, which probably is true because love is a very brave thing. Especially love of country. There is an insecurity that comes with sticking out like a sore thumb in a crowd. But its also a lot of fun. People were taking pictures with me and of me (paparazzi everywhere you know) and I even made it into newspaper websites over the two weeks. In fact I was filmed being interviewed by some guy from acer computers (i think) yesterday for a story on me: the lone american.
After the Whistler trip I crashed for a few hours and then took the bus off campus at 6am with all my Canadian friends. Here was the true test, who was I now? Still American or a Canadian to blend in? The answer was American. I wore a USA hat and shirt to the hockey game which we lined up to watch in LiveCity. There I was in a crowd of over 7,000 people, which on the CTV helicopter shot looked like some sort of communist rally due to all it's red, all alone in blue. Cheering not for Canada. At the olympics. In the final game. In Canada. A few blocks from the stadium. I don't know how I got to be such a nutbar, I honestly don't, because if there is one thing I value it's conformity.
Needless to say we lost a heartbreaker. I was bummed. I watched the people go absolutely apeshit over it as I stood alone. In blue. Next thing I knew one of my friends put his canada toque (translation for the USA: toboggan or stocking cap) on my head and we were headed to the heart of downtown. It was insane. As soon as I learn how to post pics of it I will. It was here I realized that no matter how much I wanted the USA to win it was probably a good silver for us. I was being crushed in every direction by revelers. If they lost that was a guaranteed riot and I had a HUGE bullseye on my back. And head. And face. And internal organs. So even though, as an American, I should automatically dislike Sidney Crosby, he probably saved my life that night.
We reveled in the downtown craziness and I ran through the streets high fiving cops. I'm sure we were both the most relieved that there wasn't a riot. On a sidenote, the cops were awesome these last few weeks. I genuinely felt safe but also felt like they didn't hinder the celebratory environment. Gold medal, RCMP, gold medal.
Then we headed back to the closing ceremonies at Live City on the big screens. They were awesome especially Michael J. Fox and Bill Shatner. BUT was Nickelback the best they could do for Canadian music? Off the top of my head I can name maybe 10 better acts Canada could present to the world: Metric, Arcade Fire, Feist, The Tragically Hip, Sam Roberts, Barenaked Ladies, Broken Social Scene, Stars, K'naan, and especially the Arrogant Worms (who would have fit perfectly I might add). When Nickelback was announced I heard a significant amount of "awww" and "booooo" in the crowd. Some was provided by me. Why? Because Nickelback suck. End of story.
After the closing I put my American flag back on my back. It was here that I was exposed to a whole new experience in Canada. If I'd walked down the street naked I would have received less attention. Most of the things that were said to me I can't repeat. I will never repeat. I try not to think about them. But I did notice that the F word can be used as a noun, adjective, and exclamation making it the most versitile word in the English language. Gold medal, f word, gold medal. My personal favorite was the guy who got in my face, pointed at the stars and said "oh no you got some shit on your flag, oh wait, that is your flag". I bit my tongue and didn't respond "oh you got some shit on your face, oh wait, that is your face". Though I admit it was hard to take from someone who has a leaf on their flag I did need to move on not just because he was rude but he also smelled as though he'd been drinking Molson since 9am which is like smelling a babies diaper after it's been eating lots of asparagus.
It was right after this rude drunkie that two guys approached me and said "you shouldn't have to take that, you deserve a hug". I accepted their hugs, there were several, and learned that people have choices in life between being a douche and being kind to others. I also was able to contrast the difference between a mean drunk and a friendly drunk. After those two guys people seemed to change. Looking back maybe they just changed my outlook. One guy said "F*** off, America" to me but was promptly put in his place by his girlfriend who shook my hand and said "good game". We talked a bit about how it was just a great sporting event to watch. I got a lot of high 5s, a lot of hugs, and also felt the wandering eye of the Vancouver Police Dept. keeping watch over me.
It was a night of celebration, fireworks, and revelry. I even got home before midnight.
I'd like to apologize for some of the swear words in this post. It was never my intention to say "Nickelback" four times. I hope you accept this apology because after all, I don't want to tarnish the image of the internet as a place of strict values and censorship.
I'll try to get some pics up soon!
