Olympic Journal: Tuesday, February 16, 2010

18 Feb 2010

by amw

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This is a passage from my friend and author Shelly Khushal’s Olympic Journal.

Today, we happened to be at the right places at the right times.

It started off by Sohail meeting the Australian Mascot.

We then went on to visit the Native pavilion – a great display of various Native Cultures. Here, unlike other exhibits, we learned the stories of history through dance. It was inspiring.

Outside, we met a Native man playing some traditional music on a wooden instrument. He made a joke that this was his version of ‘Heavy Metal’ and he called it ‘Heavy Wood’. Everyone laughed, including himself. He then gave this wooden instrument to Sohail to play. What an honour.

What I found most amazing about this whole experience is all of the people’s energy on the streets – tons of people keep coming up to Sohail commenting on what a happy baby he is. Everyone kept giving him gifts. Every time Sohail smiled at a passerby, or waved or laughed, someone would give him a gift. From flags, to stickers and even a miniature hockey stick. It was quite interesting to see the impact he has on complete strangers!

Another fun thing that happened today was when we passed by the CBC Studios. The CBC Producer immediately noticed Sohail and pointed him out to the News Anchor, simply because he was smiling and waving the Canadian Flag. As a result, we got on to the news LIVE!

The night was soon approaching and we still wanted to check out LiveCity Downtown (Georgia & Beatty). So, after going through a security check, we visited the Manitoba pavilion and Ontario pavilion. Here, the boys got their photo taken with the Stanley Cup!

While at LiveCity Downtown, we also took advantage of watching parts of the Hockey Game with thousands of other viewers on the big screen. As we exited the grounds to head home, we realized the hockey game had ended at that moment. With all the goals we scored tonight, the streets were packed with people…and the crowd was going wild. Cars were honking, and people were screaming and ringing bells.

Every day I am more amazed than the day before. I have never seen such a collective happiness in all my life – thousands and thousands of people everywhere overflowing with happiness. And it’s only increasing!

Shezadi Khushal currently lives with her husband and son in Vancouver. Visit her website http://www.shezadivallani.com/

One Comment

Mildred July 26, 2011 at 10:08 am Reply

A few years ago I'd have to pay someone for this informaotin.

Olympic Journal: Tuesday, February 16, 2010

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