Wow, it's hard to believe that it has come to this so fast. Feels like just yesterday I had arrived back in Canada to take a break from my New Zealand studies. But now the time has come, after many months, to return to Middle Earth to complete my Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching. The next four months are going to be hectic, rewarding, and memorable.
So much has happened since my last post in June 2009: the end of the 2000s decade; the release of James Cameron's Avatar (now the highest grossing film of all time); the devastating earthquakes in Haiti & Chile; and the Vancouver Olympic Games, just to name a few (Crosby! Crosby! Crosby!). To the examples I just mentioned, I'll just say: the first decade of the 21st century was interesting, I still need to go see Avatar, Haiti & Chile need aid and time to rebuild, and the Olympics were quite magical, despite several setbacks.
The Canadian Team did more than just go for the bronze. They also went for silver & gold, and managed to win the most gold medals by a single country in the history of the winter olympics! Canada certainly owned the golden podium.
I found myself paying a lot of attention to the Games, via TV, newspaper, magazine, and the Internet. And after all that, I still can't wrap my head around how scoring works in curling? The women's hockey team beat the living daylights out of every opponent, while for a time, it looked like the men's hockey team would be eliminated before making it to the final. Thankfully, the ymade it to the final match between Canada & USA. The game was intense and it almost ended at 3rd period if the Americans hadn't tied the score just seconds before the end of the 3rd period. I'm glad that Canada had Sidney Crosby to end the dispute in Overtime. And when he scored that golden goal, 34 million Canadians were on their feet chanting his name. From beginning to end, the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games brought Canadians & their patriotism together.
Anyway, after spending several days with family & friends, I woke up on the early morning of the 7th, had a quick breakfast, and checked my packed luggage. After 3 checks, I bid farewell to my mother, and was driven to the airport by my father. At the airport, my father wished me well just before I entered the terminal.
The first flight was a 4 hour hop to Calgary that passed by with relative boredom. The plane was packed but at least there were no crying babies. Once in Calgary, I walked around & sat for 4 hours, waiting to board my flight to Vancouver. I have to admit that if you don't have a book or laptop to keep you occupied, time will advance ever so slowly. Finally, the long wait was over & I was on my way to Vancouver. This time, the Air Canada plane was only half full, meaning a more quiet & relaxing flight. Too bad it only lasted an hour.
Vancouver was surrounded by fog & rain when the plane touched down on one of the runways. Once off the plane, I had no choice but to walk a long distance to get to the international section of the terminal. Thankfully, I didn't have to manually transfer my luggage to the Air New Zealand flight. During the 3 hour wait, I bought some Tim Horton's donuts & an Ice Capp and enjoyed the consumption. After that, I would have to survive without Timmy's for four months!
On a side note, I was surprised to see a bottle of French Champagne Cognac (aged a century) on sale at a Duty Free store for $34,000! I thought Duty Free was where you could buy cheap alcohol? I wondered what the price would be at an ordinary liquor store.
So much has happened since my last post in June 2009: the end of the 2000s decade; the release of James Cameron's Avatar (now the highest grossing film of all time); the devastating earthquakes in Haiti & Chile; and the Vancouver Olympic Games, just to name a few (Crosby! Crosby! Crosby!). To the examples I just mentioned, I'll just say: the first decade of the 21st century was interesting, I still need to go see Avatar, Haiti & Chile need aid and time to rebuild, and the Olympics were quite magical, despite several setbacks.
The Canadian Team did more than just go for the bronze. They also went for silver & gold, and managed to win the most gold medals by a single country in the history of the winter olympics! Canada certainly owned the golden podium.
I found myself paying a lot of attention to the Games, via TV, newspaper, magazine, and the Internet. And after all that, I still can't wrap my head around how scoring works in curling? The women's hockey team beat the living daylights out of every opponent, while for a time, it looked like the men's hockey team would be eliminated before making it to the final. Thankfully, the ymade it to the final match between Canada & USA. The game was intense and it almost ended at 3rd period if the Americans hadn't tied the score just seconds before the end of the 3rd period. I'm glad that Canada had Sidney Crosby to end the dispute in Overtime. And when he scored that golden goal, 34 million Canadians were on their feet chanting his name. From beginning to end, the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games brought Canadians & their patriotism together.
Anyway, after spending several days with family & friends, I woke up on the early morning of the 7th, had a quick breakfast, and checked my packed luggage. After 3 checks, I bid farewell to my mother, and was driven to the airport by my father. At the airport, my father wished me well just before I entered the terminal.
The first flight was a 4 hour hop to Calgary that passed by with relative boredom. The plane was packed but at least there were no crying babies. Once in Calgary, I walked around & sat for 4 hours, waiting to board my flight to Vancouver. I have to admit that if you don't have a book or laptop to keep you occupied, time will advance ever so slowly. Finally, the long wait was over & I was on my way to Vancouver. This time, the Air Canada plane was only half full, meaning a more quiet & relaxing flight. Too bad it only lasted an hour.
Vancouver was surrounded by fog & rain when the plane touched down on one of the runways. Once off the plane, I had no choice but to walk a long distance to get to the international section of the terminal. Thankfully, I didn't have to manually transfer my luggage to the Air New Zealand flight. During the 3 hour wait, I bought some Tim Horton's donuts & an Ice Capp and enjoyed the consumption. After that, I would have to survive without Timmy's for four months!
On a side note, I was surprised to see a bottle of French Champagne Cognac (aged a century) on sale at a Duty Free store for $34,000! I thought Duty Free was where you could buy cheap alcohol? I wondered what the price would be at an ordinary liquor store.
See you on the other side!
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