My Olympic experience

Ok, this really isn't my Olympic experience. I was asked to write up a blurb about what it was like to live and work here during the Olympics, and send it to the company. My hope is that it gets published in the company magazine, that gets sent to all the properties, across Canada and the US.

I had to self-edit a bit, and write what they wanted to hear.

The Olympics were a good time though, I just left out the parts that were't 100% positive. I will write those here later, and you can know what it was really like. It wasn't all rainbows and butterflies, like I make it seem. There were a few thunderclouds and bee-stings along the way too!

This is a first draft, and I will look at it again tomorrow and edit it a bit. So, it's not a final product really, but a pretty solid start. It's dry, and devoid of any real personality. I think that the format and style will work, considering the magazine I hope to get it in.

My name is Jon, and I live in Whistler, British Columbia. For the majority of the years I’ve lived here, I’ve worked at both the Sundance and Cascade Lodge properties.

I have been fortunate, living and working in this little mountain town this year, as Whistler was the Official Mountain Resort of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. We hosted the alpine skiing events, Nordic skiing events, and the sliding events, which include bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton.

It has been a great experience living and working in Whistler during this exciting time. While we’re used to tourists up here, we weren’t used to the number of tourists who came, and the varied cross-section of people who visited our town.

The Village was packed every night, full of people taking in Olympic events, free concerts, and simply drinking up the Olympic atmosphere. Athletes, journalists, fans and locals all mingled together, watching, talking, and experiencing the Olympics. Everyone was friendly, and the majority of people had flags, face paint, or national gear from their home countries with them. Strangers laughed together and high-fived each other in the streets, and everyone was excited to be experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime, seventeen-day event.

For me, along with most of the country, the highlight of the Olympics was watching our men’s hockey team take the gold medal in an overtime thriller. Every bar and restaurant was packed, and giant screens showed the game in the Village. When The Goal was scored, it seemed like the whole town started to shout and celebrate at the same time! If Whistler ever experienced a single unifying moment, it was then. We were all Canadians, all hockey fans, and all super excited to see our players establish world hockey supremacy!

The Olympics served to unify Whistler in a way that we haven’t seen before. Everyone in town was brought together as one big mob of people, happy to cheer on athletes of every nation, no matter what their passport said. The Olympics were an excuse to have a big block party, and everyone was invited. Every day was busy, but never overwhelming. Friendships were made, good times were had, and memories forged. No matter where I find myself living in the future, I’ll never forget living and working in Whistler during these Olympics.