The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, March 19, 2010 · 16 Return home `bittersweet' Continued from page 15 Special March Break activities. Visit rbg.ca for details The Amazon electric eel can kill a human with one 600-volt charge. FACT OR MYTH? Learn the truth about the seven perils of the Amazon River. Check out cool interactive exhibits and games and see amazing live-animal displays -- cane toads, tegu lizards, river stingrays, plus the legendary piranha. Visit rbg.ca for full schedule of weekday and weekend events. "I had to drag the kids out! Awesome!" "Best exhibit to date!" "Great show, interesting for adults and kids alike" "My kids loved reaching into the tank of muck. Hands-on stuff is good" February 6 to April 11 Camilla and Peter Dalglish Atrium RBG Centre, 680 Plains Road West, Hamilton/Burlington 905-527-1158 DAILY ADMISSION -- Adult: $12.50; Senior/Student: $9.50; Child (age 3 to 12): $7.25; Family: $32.25; Child age 2 and under and RBG members: FREE e great Two exhibits for on to includes admission price: nana No End to the Ba AMAZON VOYAGE: VICIOUS FISHES AND OTHER RICHES, part of our programming for International Year of Biodiversity, was produced by the Miami Science Museum and made possible with support from the National Science Foundation. Artwork by Ray Troll. MEDIA SPONSORS: SPONSORS: W e s t m e d i a Metroland g r o u p While technically there to work, Quigley and Desjardins also got to enjoy a number of perks during their trip. They got to see the Canadian women's hockey team take on Slovakia and even though the game may have been a bit one-sided ­ Canada won, 18-0 ­ Desjardins said the crowd was truly amazing. "You have to get there two hours ahead of time just to even get into the arena," she said. Quigley said she got a taste of what the Canadian athletes must have felt to compete in an Olympic games on home soil. "You walk into the stadium and all you see is a sea of red and white," she said. "You're standing there and you're like, `I'm Canadian and I'm a part of this and this is awesome.' You got goosebumps and you would get up and cheer and roar and scream and you would look around and that's all there would be was just a sea of red and white. I felt honoured and proud to be a Canadian." Other perks included tickets to a figure skating gala featuring such stars as Canadian bronze medalist Joannie Rochette, tickets to medal ceremonies, ziplining on Grouse Mountain, a live musical performance by Nelly Furtado, amazing meals including dinner at the Vancouver Aquarium and more. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and so it was with the Olympics. "It was hard because you made a lot of good friends," said Quigley. "There was like six of us that hung out because we were all roommates and having to say goodbye was rough because they are from all over Canada. So it was bittersweet, but coming home was also very nice because you can't stay there forever." While Desjardins went home a few days earlier, Quigley was still in Vancouver on the last day of the Olympics and was preparing to board her flight home when the Canadian men's hockey team faced off against the Americans in the gold medal game. "We were watching the game and, of course, with 36 seconds left the States scored, sending the game into overtime," said Quigley. "Right then, the announcer came on saying our plane was ready for boarding and we were all like, `You're kidding me.'" The airline was able to get Quigley and the rest of the passengers on the plane by telling them there were televisions on board, however, they were not turned on quickly enough to capture the game's intense finale. "Within me being there five minutes, someone came in and said, `We just won the gold," said Quigley. "So I didn't get to see it, but at least I got to see it up to the last minute." To select members for the Olympic crew, McDonald's stores across Canada were tested for teamwork customer service. The 227 Cross Ave. store, where Desjardins works, was judged to be one of those exceptional stores, along with Quigley's Walmart McDonald's.