KIWIS IN GLASGOW 2014: Jo Powell

Name:  Joanne Powell

Role for Glasgow 2014:  T2 Driver, which translated means I will be responsible for transporting officials such as referees, timekeepers, judges, members of the Press for example,  between the venues.

My Kiwi hometown is Tauranga (in the beautiful BoP - had to add that!)

What has been my journey leading up to Glasgow?  It began when I applied to be a volunteer 18 months ago.  From that point I was offered an interview in Glasgow which I attended in August 2013.  By October I had been offered the position of  volunteer driver.

In March I flew to Glasgow from Gloucestershire, which is where I live at the moment, for an orientation morning.  I have now attended two driver training days in Glasgow where I had a go at driving the different Games' cars on the Games' routes so am ready to start my first shift, 5pm on July 23rd.

What am I most looking forward to?  I'm excited about many things. Being in a Commonwealth Games city for the weeks that Glasgow are hosting will be very special.  Glasgow hasn't tagged them as being the 'Friendly Games' for nothing - they are taking their promise of a happy atmosphere seriously.  I've met some great volunteers already and look forward to meeting many more.  Looking forward to putting on my Clydesider uniform too and doing my best to be one of the 13,000 faces of the Games.  Finally I have tickets to the Rugby 7s and netball so naturally cannot wait to cheer on the Kiwis.

The best thing about being a Kiwi in Glasgow is that every time I open my mouth and the Scottish hear my accent they instantly tell me about their love and appreciation for NZ.  So many tell me they have visited, and/or have family there.  I feel I'm in my second home.  That's what I love most about Scotland - oh and the bagpipes of course so I'm hoping there are plenty of them being played.

What will I miss most about home? I'm camping in Glasgow in a ground set up by an independent organisation to give good value accommodation for volunteers.  Think I'll miss my comfortable bed, but that's a small price to pay for the thrill of being involved in Glasgow 2014.