Attending the Olympics has always been a dream of mine. As a young Canadian, it is nearly a religion to watch our incredible athletes tackle both the Summer and the Winter games, but even more of a thrill to see Canada do so well amidst the ice and snow.
The Olympics, however, has always been something experienced on TV. Going was never really feasible, not even when they were held in 2010 in Vancouver, a good five-hour flight from Montreal.
When I decided to come teach English in Korea last year, the Olympics were always at the back of my mind. I'd be in Seoul, I told myself; it would be so easy to just head on over.
And easy it was. All you needed were tickets to see any event, and you can even take advantage of a free, round-trip, shuttle bus to Pyeongchang or Gangneung (where the skating events are held). The process actually seemed quite a bit more difficult at the beginning, but once we figured everything out, it turned out to be quite simple.
Seeing as my friends and I bought the tickets a few days in advance, we opted for the cheapest tickets possible: cross-country skiing. It was, however, a good opportunity to hopefully witness Canada's Alex Harvey win a medal, as he was favoured to do so. We made our way to the Alpensia ski resort and got a chance to really visit the venue.
The ski hills were impressive, and it makes you really appreciate the skill level require to compete on these difficult circuits. I was even able to catch a glimpse, from a distance, of some skiers completing some jumps.
We actually got there quite early, so we decided to wait around in the "spectator shelter" for a while and hang out, mostly to escape the bitter cold.
Once the race was getting started, we settled down in our seats and got ready to enjoy.
We were watching the "skiathlon." Essentially, the skiers needed to complete eight laps of a 3.75km circuit for a grant total of 30km. Considering it was -16 outside, the resilience and bitter determination of these athletes is something to admire. It was so cold that we even had to escape to the shelter for a while to re-energize. The skiers were going around the circuit, which featured many slopes and challenging uphill climbs, for almost an hour and a half. Alex Harvey was in third place going into the final lap, but he ran out of steam at the end, and he finished in eighth place. It was a great day for Norway, however, as the Norwegians won the gold, silver, and bronze. We even got to witness the medal ceremony later that evening.
It really was quite special to witness these athletes receive their medals. Most have been training their entire lives just for a chance to make it to the Olympics, and to be able to win a medal, for them, is extremely special. It's a really nice moment for them, the fans, and just the spectators in general, to appreciate this incredible effort.
One of the highlights of the day, aside from attending the event, was to really visit the venue. Here we were able to see the flags, the Olympic Stadium and even the illuminated Olympic Torch. It was all really cool.
It was also quite interesting to note that most of the announcers for the events are probably Montrealers. Due to French being the official language of the Olympics (due to the founder of the Olympics, Mr. Pierre de Coubertain, being from France and desiring French to be the official language of the games), all announcers must be perfectly bilingual in both English and French. Of course, the largest pool of English-French bilinguals in the world is in Montreal, and so Montreal is largely represented at the Olympics by its announcers.
Yes, it was freezing in Pyeongchang. Yes, the tickers were kind of expensive. And yes, we spent nearly five hours on a bus getting to and from the venue from Seoul. But, at the end of the day, the experience was absolutely incredible. Attending the Olympics is something was definitely a privilege, and an unforgettable experience, one I would recommend to just about anyone.
-Daniele
