Disappointment found in the Olympics

As many of you probably have, we've been spending lots of time in front of the TV watching the latest Olympic events. One opportunity that we have that you probably don't have is to watch coverage from both Canada and the U.S. No, we don't watch all the events twice - we just get to watch them when we want to (more or less). We do, however, get to see the different opinions and ideas broadcasted to the two countries.

There have been a variety of complaints made about the Olympics by other countries so far. Those most often heard about are the Olympic Sliding Centre is too dangerous and non-Canadian athletes weren't given enough time to practice at the venues. Of course, there's also the criticism over the fifth part of the torch not rising out of the floor at the Opening Ceremonies. Maybe you haven't heard this one, though - British newspapers commented on how the totem poles at the Opening Ceremonies looked like penises.

It's been interesting to be here and to hear different negative comments. You've surely heard about the first one - all the attention and money the Olympics have received while the homeless have been overlooked. My upper level ESL Writing class actually studied this in one of our modules! Have you heard about all the controversy over the Olympic Village? The results are definitely not what was intended with regards to both who will be able to live there afterwards and where all the money came from. Or what about all the transportation problems for commuters before February 12th? While there is still anger and some protests about all of these issues, the most hotly debated issue now is the Opening Ceremony and its contents.

We personally enjoyed the Opening Ceremony. John loved the part with the boy going from plain to plain. The fiddling music took us back to our honeymoon in Nova Scotia, where we attended a ceilidh. The mountain they made at the end seemed so familiar - that's what we see when we drive anywhere on a clear day. Plus, watching it with Canadian friends added to the fun!

I did wonder, however, how much it actually represented British Columbia and Vancouver. There was emphasis placed on the First Nations, but what about the huge Asian population that resides on the West Coast? You may not know this, but Vancouver actually is the most Asian city in North America. They are often referred to as the "visible minorities" in Canada - Asians, blacks, and other non-whites - but they weren't visible in the Opening Ceremonies.

There have been requests from those groups to make them visible in the Closing Ceremonies, but they've been told there's not enough time to change. There is one thing, though, that might change: the amount of French you hear that night.

Despite all the French you heard, including the Games being opened first in French and then English, the Heritage Minister and others are displeased with the lack of French. Canada has two official languages - English and French - and those that speak French believe there should have been more. They believe it so strongly that there is an "investigation" going on. I asked my colleagues what would happen if they found there wasn't enough, wondering if VANOC was going to get some strange fine, but the only obvious thing that may change is more French in the Olympics, especially the Closing Ceremony.

Now I don't mean to simply pass over any of these complaints, especially the first few that relate to people's health and safety, but this situation just shows that no matter what, people will never be satisfied. Uhh, what a sad reality.

To sign off, I must include a criticism of my own. Now I try to keep my blog very neutral about Canada & the U.S., but I feel like I can point out one negative thing about one Canadian today because I constantly hear about the negative aspects about the U.S. and Americans. Okay, here goes:

Tonight John and I were watching Canada's broadcast of the men's figure skating event. The news anchor Lloyd Robertson interrupted the broadcast and said, "We're going to switch now to the Victory Ceremony to see Canadian speed skater Christine Nisbitt receive her gold medal. We'll come back to figure skating later. Don't worry, you won't miss any skaters of significance."