I finally ventured outdoors today after recuperating from the past 2 weeks yesterday by cleaning up my ÜBER MESSY room! I can now walk around my room without having to leap over bags and piles of stuff lying on the floor!

After a week of no sunshine & about 10C, it was surprising to have 14C. Unfortunately, since I’m sensitive to heat, I felt like I was in a furnace! :S I hope I’m not sick!

March – It feels like Spring, a Time for Changes

• Since it is now March, I have to remember that I need to flash my Paralympics accreditation card (and not rummage in my bag for my purse) to the bus drivers. I haven’t worn my accreditation card yet. I look so surreal that I just jam it back into my bag! I’ll wear it when we MUST.
• Downtown is much quieter. There are fewer passengers on the bus and other public transit. The Olympic population has been cut by half and during the day, most of the Vancouverites are at work or at school/uni.
• SPACE! How can I describe the vastness of Canada? The personal space is back and I get a whole sidewalk to myself, without worrying that I’m in someone’s way. Honestly, a “cosmopolitan” city that’s not crowded or heavy with traffic? How lucky are we?

JUDGES, YOUR SCORES FOR VANCOUVER, PLEASE!

http://www.bcliberals.com/EN/clippings/the_world_is_talking_about_british_columbia/

“Canada, you were gold. For two weeks, you lived your anthem, your hearts glowing like that moon that hung nightly over the Burrard Inlet, a light on the front porch of a house that felt like a home.”

Los Angeles Times (By Bill Plaschke, February 28, 2010)

“There may be no more heart-stopping view in all the world than the glimpse to the west, toward the distant Strait of Georgia, from the span of Lions Gate Bridge, which links Vancouver to its northern suburbs. The pan-Asian cuisine of British Columbia, built around a bounty from the sea, forest and prairie, puts London and Hong Kong to shame. And the cheeky sensibility of Canadians — without the British snarkiness — is a fine colonial legacy… It’s the cool North American sibling.”

New York Times (By Timothy Egan, February 17, 2010)

[French 2020 Olympic gold medallist, Gwendal Peizerat] told The Province that Vancouver’s party scene completely outshines his experience at Nagano and Salt Lake City: “There’s more activity in the centre of the city. Salt Lake was spread out everywhere, but here, you can really feel the fun, people are always outside on the streets — and I love the Canadian way of receiving people and welcoming us. It’s really cool.”

The Province (By Lena Sin, Sam Cooper and Katie Mercer, February 19, 2010)

“Rarely have I seen a host city so passionate and so ready to embrace the Games.”

London Telegraph (By Sebastian Coe, February 23, 2010)

“We have had fantastic competition, people enjoy the Games, you can see the people on the street and at venues. Athletes and stakeholders are rating the Games very highly.”

Gilbert Felli, IO executive director (February 21, 2010)

“The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has given (the Richmond Oval) an award of excellence, praising its innovative design and use of wood, and last year the Institution of Structural Engineers gave it a gold medal, honouring it over Beijing’s dramatic Bird’s Nest national stadium.”

The Globe and Mail (By Mark Hume, February 18, 2010)

 http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/02/26/2213393.aspx: MSNBC’s Brian Williams thanks Canada

Countdown

100 days til the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

10 days til the 10th Paralympic Games in Vancouver (1st in Canada!)