Two Stoney Creek residents will enjoy an opportunity to reconnect with their homeland while helping out at the Winter Olympics next month.
Stoney Creek resident Cam Galindo, 23, is going to PyeongChang, South Korea to volunteer as a national Olympic committee assistant. This time he’ll be travelling with his brother, Daniel, who will also volunteer in ticketing at the village plaza in the Athletes’ Village. Daniel will be 20 by the time the Olympics begin.
Cam volunteered in a similar role during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Galindo brothers applied to volunteer shortly after their return from Rio. They found out they were accepted to serve in PyeongChang at the end of October.
Cam will have an opportunity to work with the Olympic delegation from Colombia, providing linguistic, logistic and operational support. Cam and Daniel originally came to Canada 16 years ago as Colombian refugees.
“Most of my family is in Colombia, so when they heard I was working with the Colombian delegation at the Winter Olympics, they all got excited,” said Cam.
The Galindo brothers are backpacking across cities in eastern Asia prior to their arrival in PyeongChang. Cam and Daniel plan to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, eventually reaching Taipei and Japan before finally landing in PyeongChang.
Not known for its participation in the Winter Olympics, the Colombian delegation is sending two athletes; one in skating and another in alpine skiing. The 2018 games will mark Colombia’s second appearance at the Winter Olympics and its first since 2010.
“I’ll have a lot of fun working with them,” said Cam, who’s fluent in Spanish as well as English. “I’ll probably struggle with them trying to translate into Korean, because I don’t speak Korean. But it will be nice working with them.”
While tensions are rising in the Korean Peninsula — especially during an ongoing war of words between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump — Cam isn’t worried.
“With any Olympic Games, there’s always negative media attention at the beginning,” he said. “Like anything, the experience is always different from what I expect it to be and I’m really looking forward to it.”
In fact, Cam plans to visit the demilitarized zone near the border between North and South Korea, “just for fun.”
South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (as it’s officially known) are still technically at war. Although an armistice was enacted in 1953, a formal peace treaty was never signed.
Cam said the North has boasted about its nuclear weapons capabilities for years and he isn’t worried about recent developments.
“The rhetoric that we hear out of North Korea is something that we hear all the time,” he said.
He points out North Korea sent a delegation to the last Summer Games in Rio and the country is also expected to send athletes to PyeongChang.
Cam was initially inspired to get involved following the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto and Hamilton. Cam will take a leave of absence from his job with the City of Hamilton’s economic development department. He completed an undergraduate degree in political science last fall at McMaster University.
Daniel, a second-year student studying actuarial and financial mathematics at McMaster, is putting his studies on hold for one semester.
While the brothers will cover all of their own costs backpacking across Asia, once they arrive in South Korea, the Olympic committee will take care of their accommodations, local transportation and meals.
“They’re going to treat us nicely,” said Cam. “At the end of the day it’s all about giving back to the community. We have this unique opportunity, my brother and I, to engage with a lot of people from around the world, learn about their culture, their norms, their language, their history. And the exciting thing is sharing it with folks back home.”
The 2018 Winter Olympics run Feb. 9-23.
Two Stoney Creek residents will enjoy an opportunity to reconnect with their homeland while helping out at the Winter Olympics next month.
Stoney Creek resident Cam Galindo, 23, is going to PyeongChang, South Korea to volunteer as a national Olympic committee assistant. This time he’ll be travelling with his brother, Daniel, who will also volunteer in ticketing at the village plaza in the Athletes’ Village. Daniel will be 20 by the time the Olympics begin.
Cam volunteered in a similar role during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Galindo brothers applied to volunteer shortly after their return from Rio. They found out they were accepted to serve in PyeongChang at the end of October.
Cam will have an opportunity to work with the Olympic delegation from Colombia, providing linguistic, logistic and operational support. Cam and Daniel originally came to Canada 16 years ago as Colombian refugees.
“Most of my family is in Colombia, so when they heard I was working with the Colombian delegation at the Winter Olympics, they all got excited,” said Cam.
The Galindo brothers are backpacking across cities in eastern Asia prior to their arrival in PyeongChang. Cam and Daniel plan to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, eventually reaching Taipei and Japan before finally landing in PyeongChang.
Not known for its participation in the Winter Olympics, the Colombian delegation is sending two athletes; one in skating and another in alpine skiing. The 2018 games will mark Colombia’s second appearance at the Winter Olympics and its first since 2010.
“I’ll have a lot of fun working with them,” said Cam, who’s fluent in Spanish as well as English. “I’ll probably struggle with them trying to translate into Korean, because I don’t speak Korean. But it will be nice working with them.”
While tensions are rising in the Korean Peninsula — especially during an ongoing war of words between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump — Cam isn’t worried.
“With any Olympic Games, there’s always negative media attention at the beginning,” he said. “Like anything, the experience is always different from what I expect it to be and I’m really looking forward to it.”
In fact, Cam plans to visit the demilitarized zone near the border between North and South Korea, “just for fun.”
South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (as it’s officially known) are still technically at war. Although an armistice was enacted in 1953, a formal peace treaty was never signed.
Cam said the North has boasted about its nuclear weapons capabilities for years and he isn’t worried about recent developments.
“The rhetoric that we hear out of North Korea is something that we hear all the time,” he said.
He points out North Korea sent a delegation to the last Summer Games in Rio and the country is also expected to send athletes to PyeongChang.
Cam was initially inspired to get involved following the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto and Hamilton. Cam will take a leave of absence from his job with the City of Hamilton’s economic development department. He completed an undergraduate degree in political science last fall at McMaster University.
Daniel, a second-year student studying actuarial and financial mathematics at McMaster, is putting his studies on hold for one semester.
While the brothers will cover all of their own costs backpacking across Asia, once they arrive in South Korea, the Olympic committee will take care of their accommodations, local transportation and meals.
“They’re going to treat us nicely,” said Cam. “At the end of the day it’s all about giving back to the community. We have this unique opportunity, my brother and I, to engage with a lot of people from around the world, learn about their culture, their norms, their language, their history. And the exciting thing is sharing it with folks back home.”
The 2018 Winter Olympics run Feb. 9-23.
Two Stoney Creek residents will enjoy an opportunity to reconnect with their homeland while helping out at the Winter Olympics next month.
Stoney Creek resident Cam Galindo, 23, is going to PyeongChang, South Korea to volunteer as a national Olympic committee assistant. This time he’ll be travelling with his brother, Daniel, who will also volunteer in ticketing at the village plaza in the Athletes’ Village. Daniel will be 20 by the time the Olympics begin.
Cam volunteered in a similar role during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Galindo brothers applied to volunteer shortly after their return from Rio. They found out they were accepted to serve in PyeongChang at the end of October.
Cam will have an opportunity to work with the Olympic delegation from Colombia, providing linguistic, logistic and operational support. Cam and Daniel originally came to Canada 16 years ago as Colombian refugees.
“Most of my family is in Colombia, so when they heard I was working with the Colombian delegation at the Winter Olympics, they all got excited,” said Cam.
The Galindo brothers are backpacking across cities in eastern Asia prior to their arrival in PyeongChang. Cam and Daniel plan to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, eventually reaching Taipei and Japan before finally landing in PyeongChang.
Not known for its participation in the Winter Olympics, the Colombian delegation is sending two athletes; one in skating and another in alpine skiing. The 2018 games will mark Colombia’s second appearance at the Winter Olympics and its first since 2010.
“I’ll have a lot of fun working with them,” said Cam, who’s fluent in Spanish as well as English. “I’ll probably struggle with them trying to translate into Korean, because I don’t speak Korean. But it will be nice working with them.”
While tensions are rising in the Korean Peninsula — especially during an ongoing war of words between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump — Cam isn’t worried.
“With any Olympic Games, there’s always negative media attention at the beginning,” he said. “Like anything, the experience is always different from what I expect it to be and I’m really looking forward to it.”
In fact, Cam plans to visit the demilitarized zone near the border between North and South Korea, “just for fun.”
South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (as it’s officially known) are still technically at war. Although an armistice was enacted in 1953, a formal peace treaty was never signed.
Cam said the North has boasted about its nuclear weapons capabilities for years and he isn’t worried about recent developments.
“The rhetoric that we hear out of North Korea is something that we hear all the time,” he said.
He points out North Korea sent a delegation to the last Summer Games in Rio and the country is also expected to send athletes to PyeongChang.
Cam was initially inspired to get involved following the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto and Hamilton. Cam will take a leave of absence from his job with the City of Hamilton’s economic development department. He completed an undergraduate degree in political science last fall at McMaster University.
Daniel, a second-year student studying actuarial and financial mathematics at McMaster, is putting his studies on hold for one semester.
While the brothers will cover all of their own costs backpacking across Asia, once they arrive in South Korea, the Olympic committee will take care of their accommodations, local transportation and meals.
“They’re going to treat us nicely,” said Cam. “At the end of the day it’s all about giving back to the community. We have this unique opportunity, my brother and I, to engage with a lot of people from around the world, learn about their culture, their norms, their language, their history. And the exciting thing is sharing it with folks back home.”
The 2018 Winter Olympics run Feb. 9-23.