To: Cammy
You'll pass the Swiss pavilion and a few feet later be surrounded by crazy Icelanders in goofy hats, or Norwegians in Viking caps. There's lots of Canada gear, of course, but it feels more international [than Vancouver]; with athletes in their national duds sprinkled heavily among the guys who've attached Canadian flags to hockey sticks. -- Jim Byers' Travel Blog
His name is Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, but to the international media and Canadians, he is called the Snow Leopard.
It was another long and tiring day of volunteering up at Whistler Olympic Park when myself, Arlene and her roomate and friend Kathleen decided to bunker down at a local restaurant for dinner together for a bit. Originally, the plan was to head to Earls - a beautifully furbished, but fairly expensive restaurant and bar in the heart of the Village. However, what we had failed to take into consideration was that tonight was the night of the big Canada-Russia men's ice hockey quarterfinal game.
It wasn't that we were unaware of the game. In fact, I had been bouncing off the walls in WOP for the entire day waiting for it, mainly because I got a good omen from my MP3 player that morning when it played the original "Hockey Night in Canada" theme song as well as "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" for me when I was on the bus.
What we failed to take into consideration really was that I wasn't the only one going crazy waiting for this game.
Arlene and Kathleen, for their part, are both Americans who understand the game and respects it, but as far as interest goes, has certainly not swallowed the sheer insanity that possesses most, if not all Canadians when their "hockey pride" is on the line.
We arrived at Earls to see a mostly empty restaurant, but a pretty big line. "Uh oh," said Kathleen with a frown. Lines anywhere is usually a bad omen, but especially when it involves a restaurant with television screens installed during these Winter Olympics. But we decided to ask the hostess anyway to see if there was any hope for us getting seated.
The hostess dropped on us that, in fact, the entire place was reserved out. She also told us with an apologetic smile that most of them were for the hockey game and would likely not get cleared out for the next three hours.
And that was where we got to meet to Ghana Ski Team.
I didn't even notice them at first, so absorbed with the start of my beloved hockey game with my beloved home team. It actually took Arlene and Kathleen dragging me out of my obsession-induced stupour to notice the small group of similarly dressed people hanging flags from the patio of Ingrid's. "I wonder what they're doing?" muttered Kathleen loudly as we watched.
"Who are those guys?" I asked, mystified.
"They're the Ghana Ski Team," answered one of the cashiers. "They just came in and asked us if they could use our patio to try and sell some of their team merchandise," she answered with a smile. "We've kind of adopted them as our host nation. We're the Ghana House now."
"They're selling stuff outside?" said Arlene. "I wonder for how much?"
I turned back to the cashier, gesturing to the Ghana Ski Team hat that she was wearing. "Do you know how much is the stuff they're selling?" I asked.
"Nope," she answered with a shrug. "They gave the hats to us when we agreed to let them use our patio. I haven't a clue what their stuff actually cost though."
"Why not go outside and ask them?" Arlene suggested to me as she chewed her food thoughtfully. "I wouldn't mind finding out for myself anyway."
My curiosity was peaked, mostly because of the novelty of their involvement in the Winter Olympics. African countries are rare in Winter Games, mostly because of a severe lack in training facilities not to mention funding for these Games. So to have anyone come out of those countries is usually accompanied by a fantastic story of the human spirit. The fact that his team was selling merchandise outside simply increased my curiosity, as it meant that the majority of his journey to the Games was largely self-funded and self-raised, and that his monetary support was fairly precarious at best.
As the Jamaican Bobsled Team of Cool Runnings fame showed to us, it is often those of greatest adversary that gives us one of the most memorable memories of events such as these.
I recalled the day I went to the dress rehersal for the Opening Ceremonies when they announced Ghana as an official participant in the March of Nations. From my vantage point above, I wondered about who and how many people they had representing this African country and their chances at being successful.
As it turned out, only one person represented this country, and as luck would have it for me, he's an alpine skiier, which meant that he was stationed out in Whistler. I looked out at the small group of people, a girl and two guys standing under the umbrellas and beside the Ghana flag. They weren't busy and I had the sudden urge to buy something off of them. Canada gear will always be here when I wanted them, but how often can you say you bought official team gear from the Ghana Winter Olympic Team? Even if it was only being representing one guy.
And as cruel as this may sound, who's to say anyone would ever have that chance again?
I marched out purposefully, purse in hand and stopped at the table. Everyone there turned to look at me. I flashed a smile and said, "Hi, I was wondering how much you're selling your stuff for."
Smiles lifted all their faces as they welcomed me openly. Their t-shirts were 20 dollars, and their hats were 15 dollars. They were unfortunately out of small sized t-shirts but the shirt sizes are actually quite small anyway and within reason you could get away with a medium sized t-shirt. I hem and hawed over the size as they assured me that there should be no problem. When I finally decided that I can deal with the size, I grinned and handed them a 20 dollar bill for the t-shirt, thanking them for the fabulous souvenir. However, they seemed more thankful to me for allowing myself to purchase their merchandise.
The purchase gave me the chance to speak with the Team Leader/Press Attache/Manager of Kwame's, Richard Harpham, an energetic gentleman who is also an enthusiastic kayaker as far as I can tell. I told him that I wanted to make the purchase because having an athlete represent Ghana at the Winter Olympics was truly a unique event and I wished to be able to commemorate it myself. He smiled and told me that this was the first time Ghana had ever qualified for the Winter Olympics and that Kwame was truly a special person to have made it this far.
I asked Harpham what my purchase was going to go towards with the ski team. He said it was to help fund his trip here as well as future projects after the Olympics. I asked if he had trouble funding the trip to Vancouver, hence this selling of t-shirts. He explained that Kwame was fortunate enough to have many kind and generous supporters and sponsors that helped him make this trip to Vancouver possible. Two homes for Kwame and his team was donated to him, and everyone that works for him were volunteers, people who gave up their day jobs to help him achieve his dream of representing Ghana at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
However, as with all things, there is never quite enough money to do and get all that you want to get. And with very little (supposedly none) support from the Ghana Sports Committee themselves, he did have some difficulties. But in the end, the important thing is that he made it to Vancouver and he hopes to give Ghana something to look forward to and strive towards.
As we spoke about their team's goals for these Olympics, while not lofty, but still full of hope, and the journey that got Kwame to the pinnacle of international competition, I got the sense of a man who is living for the moment, but is doing his upmost to share the experience as well. He is a man that is here to leave a legacy, epitomized by the words that Kwame told his team before marching in front of over 1 billion people during the Opening Ceremonies - a team that has sacrificed so much to help him reach his dreams.
"Spartans, are you ready? This is OUR time!"
"Honestly, it wasn't until I was halfway around the stadium did it really hit me that I just walked out in front 1.3 billion people," said Harpham with a huge grin as he recalled the memory. "Unfortunately, I had my camera up and filming for most of it so I decided that come the Closing Ceremonies, I'd enjoy myself a little more."
But regardless of that, he has already beaten one odd, and that was to reach the Vancouver Olympic Games.
Arlene would end up buying a Ghana Ski Team pin while Kathleen would also buy a t-shirt. The hockey game was already underway by then, and the square roared three times as Canada scored three quick ones in the game. Harphem would roar along with me in support of Canada, a happy expression on his face as he took in the Canadian obsession. As we parted ways, he told me that he loved Canada and their kindness and spirit. He said the land was unlike any other in its beauty and the people are among the most generous he has had the pleasure of meeting.
I shook his hand as I left to a hearty cheer by a small group of Russians as Russia scored their first on Roberto Luongo. I wished him and Kwame the best of luck in their event. And I thanked him for the unforgettable stories.
As much as the Games are about the competitions, it is also about the unfailing example given to us by those athletes who gave everything they got to be able to open new possibilities for others to follow. The true example of the human spirit has and will always be one of the most fulfilling experiences of my Winter Olympic experience.
Cheers!
Grace
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