Antoine Family, Friends in South Korea
Antoine family and friends enjoy South Korea
and the opening ceremonies of Winter Olympics
Prairie du Chien’s Matt Antoine is in South Korea preparing for his second Winter Olympic games. Matt won the bronze medal in Sochi, Russia in men’s skeleton in 2014. Matt’s mother, Mary, along with nine other family members and friends, are in Gangneung, South Korea, to cheer Matt on. The following are Mary’s impressions so far.
By Mary Antoine
We, all 10 of us, made it to South Korea with no problems.
My sister and I are staying in a bed and breakfast operated by a very nice South Korean man. He is so helpful. He showed us where to shop for food, walked us around his neighborhood and pointed out the stop for the shuttle bus to ride to the venues.
The opening ceremony was beautiful, filled with Korean culture, and spectacular fireworks. It was a bit windy, but on every seat was a tote bag which contained a blanket, a hat, a wind poncho, hand warmers, a seat pad, a miniature torch and a sojo drum.
On Saturday, we enjoyed the hospitality of Canada House and their tasty poutine, which is a dish originating from the Canadian province of Quebec consisting of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy.
We then went to the beach. People create sculptures on the beach and then, over the course of days, each is set on fire.