August 21st started out BRIGHT and EARLY with a drive out to Summerside and my post at the Canada Games. Tim Horton's coffee, a bagel, and a muffin in hand, I made my way to the Credit Union Place and their VIP room.
The volunteer work itself was fun-- I was able to meet a lot of interesting people from all over PEI and Canada, watch some great basketball (semi finals and medal rounds of both men's and women's), and got a chance to see places in PEI that I wouldn't have visited if not for the games. I'd certainly do it again without second thought!
This day, the 21st, went only up to the bronze medal games... so the VIP room was fairly quiet until evening... then, there were a few times when all three of us pitched in to keep the bar running, the coffee flowing, and the place clean. In general, though, it was a nice, light job and there was plenty of time for me to ask questions ("Uhm, I know the first seven words of your national anthem, but is is always in English and in French?" Answer: "No, only in certain provinces and in national situations like this one. Here on PEI, it's usually only in English.")
I didn't get to meet the other Americans volunteering (I was told that there was a married couple from NY in Accreditation... it may have been just us from US!) but there were more than just me. I also did get a lot of questions about how I was able to take care of the security check (I had to send them a criminal background check from the state of NJ,) and why I signed up (because I'm mildly crazy and like working on my vacations? I'm kidding-- I knew that it was going to be a great experience and it was!)
That night, satisfied that I hadn't eaten toooooooo much.... I made my way to Cows Ice Cream in Cavendish (apparently, named the "Best Ice Cream in the World" about a year(?) ago by an American travel company. They were not wrong!) I happily munched away on a fresh sprinkle cone with a scoop of "Don Cherry"-- creamy, yummy cherry ice cream with chunks of chocolate and bits of maraschino cherry.
I wasn't the only Canada Games Volunteer/participant/spectator in that parlor, either :-P
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