Thursday, December 17, 2009

Costa Rica?

Day 0
57 days until The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

It's almost eight weeks until Vancouver is flooded with people travelling from around the world. In four days, however, I'm booked to do a little travelling myself. In light of the current situation, I decided to check out what CTV says about Costa Rica and The Games.

"Vancouver 2010 will be Costa Rica's seventh Olympic Winter Games, having appeared in every Winter Games since Lake Placid 1980, except Lillehammer 1994 and Nagano 1998.
Costa Rica has yet to win an Olympic Winter Games medal and is not expected to win a medal during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games."

...Oh well. What they lack in elite winter-sport athletes they make up in gorgeous beaches, lush rainforests, and an abundance of monkeys.


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Day 0

58 days until The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

Just a quick post as I take a break from homework. Life seems to have become progressively more busy the past few days.

We had a webcast this morning featuring different schools from England and BC, who have agreed to partner together for olympic-related projects. The Sharing the Dream Team pulled off the hour long cast, despite a few hiccups along the way. We're all very excited to "meet" our English counterparts and begin our pen-pal friendships.

Unfortunately, between Students Live and Sharing the Dream, I've been missing a fair amount of school lately, and the subsequent homework has piled up. Time to return to my mountain of papers. I'll leave you with a couple of photos today.

The Students Live reporters learning about social media.
The Sharing the Dream team holding an official 2010
Olympic torch.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Who Am I?

Day 0

59 days until The 2010 Olympic Games.
I figured that if you're going to be following my journey to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, you'll probably want a little background information on who I am.

My name is Emily and I am a sixteen year old aspiring journalist. I was recently chosen to be a member of a program called Students Live, which will be taking 24 student reporters to The Olympic and Paralympic Games this year. I'm also a member of a the Sharing the Dream Team, which produces webcasts surrounding Global Citizenship and the spirit of The Games.

I like to think that I'm an ambitious and empathetic learner. I love meeting new people, taking on new challenges, and experiencing foreign and dynamic environments. Through Students Live, I am given the opportunity to do all these things.

I applied for Students Live via video (see below) but my true passion is for writing. Since I learned to speak, I've been infatuated with words, and I hope to continue this relationship into my future. I'm currently a writer for a youth magazine called Youthink, which is distributed in Western Canada, and I'm also a Junior Journalist for The Toronto Star and Free The Children. Nothing excites me more than learning about and exposing stories, and then sharing them with my world.

My second loves are global issues and social justice. I am part of the Global Issues Club at my school, as well as a Free The Children club called Rapid Change. As previously mentioned, I'm a Junior Journalist for Free The Children, so all of my articles for them revolve around humanitarian issues. I also am the co-founder and organizer of a local basketball tournament called REBOUND! which runs every year and donates proceeds to a local charity. Lastly, I volunteer at a cold/wet weather mat program in my community, which provides shelter and meals to the homeless during Vancouver winters.

My ultimate dream is to become a journalist and write about these global issues. I see the upcoming Olympic Games as an opportunity to experience a variety of cultures and take part in one of the few events that truly brings global unity. I'm more than excited to begin the experience.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Day 0

60 days until The Olympic Games.
As a Junior Journalist with Free The Children and The Toronto Star, I recently explored a darker side of The Olympic Games. The article was posted earlier today. Take a look:
http://www.thestar.com/news/globalvoices/juniorjournalists/article/738414--keeping-human-trafficking-from-the-games

Here We Go

Day 0

60 days to The Olympic Games.
Sitting in The BCELC meeting room and discussing The Games, youth, social media, and reporting.
Lots to learn.
I'm excited.