On Monday, I visited Downtown Vancouver after I was done with project work for the day at University of British Columbia. Although I was originally from Hong Kong (where there is loads of people walking on the streets every day), due to the Olympics, I witnessed something that doesn’t happen very often in small, quiet, peaceful Vancouver, British Columbia.
Robson Street full of people walking, checking the festivities
That’s right. Crowd of locals and tourists walking on the streets of Downtown Vancouver. A lot of them are holding Canadian flags and waving them. Unfortunately, I haven’t felt belonged enough to this community despite having lived here for 14 years since moving here with my family. Hence, I felt more like a tourist when I have discovered the scenes of the Winter Olympics for the first time. Oddly enough, I feel even more enthusiastic and motivated about planning for going the next Olympics in London, England (Summer 2012) or Sochi, Russia (Winter 2014) to enjoy myself rather than living the moment. Granted, I should try my best to balance the heavy workload I have from school, and my reluctance to take time out of blogging and online chatting/forum responses into face-to-face time with meeting tourists from other places. However, I have been a tourist in my residence city instead.
As I walked past the tourists, other than the manners, I did not speak to many people at all despite the crowd. However, I do wish that I can be back in a city where it’s like this virtually everyday in terms of excitement and livelihood. Here are some of the advertising and technology on the streets that I want to see every day to maintain my personal excitement:
Canadian flag on the building walls
Advertisment Styles that are usually employed in places like Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York, etc.
I've seen a lot of this in my original hometown; This is in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery
More of these types of monitors
There is still just less than 2 weeks of Olympics action to go. While I have been catching the action through the internet connection or television set, I have been contemplated about checking some of the concerts. None of the free concerts are interesting enough for me to attend, aside from meeting other tourists, which I have a hard time starting with in the first place. Here are more evidence of the crowd exploring the cultural offerings of this place:
Crowd watching a cultural show organized by the province
More glamorous use of taxpayers' money to maintain this ice surface
My questions to you readers are the following in terms of helping me deal with what has been troubling me this past few weeks with the Olympics as a trigger:
- My natural tendency of being a constant cynic: People who were born and raised in Vancouver are excited about hosting the Olympic Games, despite the costs involved in organizing them ($6 billion dollars Canadian and counting!). The organizing committee and politicians all use the excuse of the Olympic Games bringing lasting long-term economic benefits, which I think is bogus, supported by this article (there are loads of other articles available if you use Google or other betrusted search engine). I totally acknowledge about the pride involved during this Olympics, when tourists are stocking and waving Canadian flags. However, as I do not feel belonged to the community despite having been living here for 14 years, I felt like a tourist and hence more likely to view decision objectively. My objective views have been more focused on the negatives, hence I sound like a cynic for the most part. How would you recommend dealing with this cynic behavior to help bring a lasting positive impression with the tourists (not that I talk trash the place I live in either, or at least I try not to)?
- Strategies on meeting tourists: To prepare for my adventure as a frequent “tourist” by leisure and requirement of keeping myself open to opportunities, I would have to develop and improve my skills at least to meet new acquaintances quickly. To keep myself positive, this environment (including the Paralympics events) is perfect training ground for me to meet new people so that I am good to go when the real experience happens. What are your recommendations in terms of strategies to meet new people while having a good time?
Before I close off this post, I would like to show you a final photo when I’m on my way home and scenes turn back into reality rather than a facade of the overstatement of the city’s beauty. It feels more accurate as the days go on that my expiry date in this place is fast approaching.
Even the train and Greyhound station is celebrating the Olympics here
Please feel free to jot down your thoughts in the comments section!
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