Jacques and Josée’s Olympic TravelsHappy Thought School’s Progressive StoryFebruary 2014

“Start packing Josée!” yelled Jacques.“Why?” replied Josée.“We qualified for the Olympics and we are on our way to Sochi!” cried Jacques. Jacques and Josée are slope-style snowboarders from France and they found out that their scores were high enough to compete at the Olympics.“Wait a minute, where is Sochi?” questioned Jacques. (4-2)

“I think it is in Canada,” replied Josée. So they flew to Calgary Alberta, Canada. While they were there they saw a moose and a beaver. They tasted maple syrup on their pancakes. They used a loonie and a toonie to buy a Slurpee! But…they were in the wrong place!!!!!!

(1-1)

“Let’s try the United States,” yelled Jacques. So they went to Salt Lake City Utah, USA. There they got new Burton snowboards and slid down the mountain. They had fun but they still had to find Sochi!

(K-3)

Josée thought,”HMMMMMM…I think Sochi is in Italy.”“Let’s go to Italy,” agreed Jacques. They boarded a WestJet flight to Turin, Italy. They were extremely hungry so they ordered spaghetti with meatballs and pepperoni and cheese pizza. Then, they had some yummy gelati for dessert. They went to the mountain with their snowboards but there were no athletes…only tourists. “Oh no”, sighed Jacques.

(K-2)

“How about we take a trip to Austria?” suggested Josée.“Let’s go!” agreed Jacques. So they took a train to Innsbruck Austria. There they danced a waltz. They were tired so they went to look for the Olympic Village. It was NOT THERE!

(1-2)

‘Well,” Josée explained, “then let’s go to Sarajevo.” “Where is Sarajevo?” demanded Jacques.“It used to be in a country called Yugoslavia.”They found a stranger on the side of the road.“Where is Yugoslavia?”“Yugoslavia has been split into separate countries,” replied the stranger. “Now Sarajevo is in a country called Bosnia Herzegovina.” They go to Sarajevo and ride a gondola to the top of the mountain. As they come down on their boards, they go through a wavy, rainbow coloured hole…which magically transports them to …

(4-3)

Nagano, Japan! They had to wear Kimonos. They ate rice and sushi with chop sticks. They saw a red panda trying to catch a koi fish which got snapped up by a komodo dragon. They took a bullet train to Sapporo, Japan. (3-1)

Jacques and Josée sipped Miso soup and drank green tea. They learned how to say ‘thank you’ in Japanese: ‘origato’. They bought some helmets in Sapporo. They walked through the bamboo forest to look for a gigantic mountain. (K-1)

They still did not find Sochi. So they went to South Korea. They went to a city called Pyeong Chang. “Hey Jacques and Josée!!” said the Olympic Organizers. “You are four years too early! Come back in 2018!!!! You can try out to qualify then.” (2-3)

“Hey Jacques, let’s take Asian Airlines to Switzerland,” said Josée. So, they flew to St. Moritz, Switzerland. They grabbed their snowboards and headed for the Alps. After their runs they had cups of the best hot chocolate ever! They then went on a tour of a cheese factory and they sampled blue, marble, feta, mozzarella, cheddar and, of course, Swiss cheese. But they realized this is still not Sochi! (3-2)

Jacques and Josée rented a hybrid car, drove to Denmark, had some lunch and then boarded the ferry to Lillehammer, Norway. They took their snowboards to the mountains and found a half-pipe. They met some fantastic cross country skiers. Jacques asked, “Do you know where Sochi is?’“We don’t know where Sochi is, we are too busy training,” they replied. (2-1)

So they drove to Oslo, the capital city of Norway. They watched a ski jumping competition. They ate a delicious meal of herring and shrimp. They asked the owners of the restaurant if they are finally in Sochi “.No, it is not Sochi!” 1-3

So, they took a Norwegian jet to Germany, a place called Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Jacques and Josée went skating on a massive outdoor pond. Then they tried bobsledding and they had fun! They had a feast of bratwurst and sauerkraut and for dessert a multi-layered torte. They asked a taxi driver if they were in Sochi. “Nein,” said the driver. (3-3)

Jacques asked,” Josée, do you think we should go to a store here in Germany and buy a map of the world?” Josée agreed. But, when they got to the store the map was too expensive. “I have an idea,” shouted Josée, “let’s use a computer!” They went to an Internet Café. They typed in ‘Google’ “’where is Sochi?’ They figured out it was in RUSSIA. Jacques said,” Let’s take a jet to Russia!” (2-2)

Sochi, Russia

Jacques and Josée FINALLY arrive in Russia after a three hour flight. As they walked down the road with their snowboards they see the Fisht Stadium and the opening ceremonies were just starting. They get in just in time to walk in with France. They were happy to see their fellow athletes. They ask Josée and Jacques,” What took you guys so long?”“We didn’t know where Sochi was,” they said sheepishly. Before the ceremony started, a fellow athlete asked Jacques if he would like to be the flag bearer. He excitedly replied,”YES!” The next day at the slopestyle snowboard competition, Josée won a silver medal and Jacques won gold. After the 2014 Winter Olympics were done, Jacques asked Josée,”Now how do we get home….?” (4-1)