The other day it was particularly sunny, so I decided to visit Stanley Park. There really are a lot of squirrels, and that's not just in the park! It was mid-afternoon when I arrived, so I didn't have time to see everything I wanted, but that just means there'll be more to see the next time I go.
Below are some of the pictures I took, as well as a video.
And here's the video. As usual you can either:
Finally sorted out a new laptop, so here is my first blog post from Canada!
It has been a very hectic week, as you can imagine. The flight wasn't as gruelling as I originally thought it would be, and the other BUNAC travellers were very friendly, but the in-flight entertainment was a bit rubbish. The movies themselves weren't that bad (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Sneakers), but the problem was that the screens were shared, and I was quite far away from mine. Anyway, after 10 hours, and a few questionable airline meals later, we arrived in Vancouver.
From the airport we made our way to the hostel in Downtown Vancouver, and got settled. Seeing as it was only early afternoon a group of us went out into Vancouver and wandered down to the waterfront. All the way down the street, and then more clearly when we reached the end could be seen the mountains to the north. A very strange sight when you are used to the London backdrop. We stopped at a bar and had a drink (had to be done), where we came upon a very nice dog who just wanted to play frisbee, and it really didn't care who threw it, anybody who came near was fair game. That evening we all went out for a meal, but it took forever to find a place that everyone wanted to eat at (there were 11 of us).
Sleeping over the week has been a bit off, the jet lag has almost gone now, but I'm still finding that I'm waking up way too early. On the first night I woke up at 3 (understandable I guess seeing as we went to bed at a little after 8).
Day 2 was orientation, which involved going to a presentation at the SWAP offices (SWAP being Canada's equivalent to BUNAC). Here they told us about how things work in Canada (like their culture of tipping for everything), and applying for a social security number etc. After the presentation I tried to use their computers, but they are either ancient or dying, so I couldn't do much more than check for jobs and accommodation. A smaller group of us went out for steak meal that evening at a place called "The Keg". The service was excellent, and it's the first time I've had a steak where I didn't have to eat around huge amounts of fat and bone.
Since then it has been a lot of wandering around Vancouver, handing out my résumé to various places and sorting out somewhere to live. I could have stayed at the hostel for longer, but it wasn't fun sharing a room with 3 complete strangers, especially when one snored like a freight train, and threw up on my bag one night. So I was glad to move out, and into a shared rented house in West Vancouver. The place is in a particularly pleasant area, and for the price is very reasonable.
So far Vancouver has been great. The people are friendly and the views are amazing. Now back to sorting out some money to check out the rest of this beautiful country!
Tomorrow's the big day! Canada! Awesome! It doesn't really feel real yet, and I don't think it will until I get on the plane. I'm pretty much all packed, and all the loose ends have been tied up here in the UK. So, all that's left is to do is catch my sky chariot (aircanada airbus) to Vancouver.
I'm not sure when my next post will be, it depends on how busy I am, and when I get to a computer; possibly a few days. Also, there probably won't be another video for a few weeks, that'll have to wait until I get a laptop sorted out. However, I will be recording video during that time.
Now the adventure begins!
Just a quick update. It is now only a little under 11 days before I'll be in Canada. I have sorted out some Canadian cash, as well as traveller's cheques. It was funny when I collected them from the bank, as I had to sign and date each one before leaving; there were 34 of them! Not that I complained too much, as the woman serving me was rather attractive.
I've also applied for a job as a "Computer Rollout Technician" in Vancouver. Not sure if I'll get it, but it's worth a shot.
Now, not only will I be updating this blog while in Canada, I will also be keeping a vlog. For those who don't know what a vlog (or video blog) is, then you can find out by clicking here.
Basically I will be recording videos of my adventures and uploading them to the web, I'll then embed the videos in blog posts here.
At the moment I have decided to upload the videos to a site called Vimeo, as they tend to end up being of a higher quality than on some other sites, and I personally find it pleasant to use.
All my Canada vlog vids will be stored in a Vimeo album here. So you can just visit that page and view any of the videos I have uploaded up to that point. Furthermore, Vimeo lets you download the original video file to your computer (the download link is usually found in the bottom right hand corner of the video's page).
Anyway, the first video is an introduction about my year out in Canada. You can either view the video below, or click here to view the higher quaility version, or to download the original file. Enjoy!
Well, I've finally sorted out the flight to Canada, it's booked and confirmed! I will be leaving on Wednesday 8th October 2008, and will return a whole year later! I'll be flying with Air Canada from Heathrow to Vancouver, and will be travelling with other BUNAC participants. So, I'll be able to chat with people who are in the same boat as me (or plane in this case).
However, after looking at the flight times, and accounting for time differences, I'll be on that plane for 10 hours! The longest time I've spent on a plane (not including waiting for take-off) is about 45 minutes. They had better have good on-board entertainment!
Image owned by caribb.
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