Puh!
Wow!
I know! It’s been a while. Haha!
Believe it or not, a lot happened in these two months since I returned from the Rockies. I really hope I can recount everything I have done, everything I have seen and experienced – at least the most important happenings.
Where to start?!
I decided not to write in a chronological order this time but to let you know the important details in several groups: Where I stayed. Job, money and the material world. Fun and activities.
Where I stayed
I can keep this part pretty simple. Why? Because I only stayed with two couchsurfers, one of which is Maai (read my previous post) and the other one is Carli.
This girl is such a cool cat, always fun and refreshingly forthright, too (to be honest, Carli taught me that word). ;)
On October 17, I finally moved into my own room. The time of constant traveling like a nomad is over for now and I cannot describe how glad I was to take all my belongings out of my backpack and put them into cupboards, drawers and closets. A great feeling of relief came with this settling down in a room that entirely is mine, in a town that, besides being so expensive, has a great number of things to offer.
The funny thing about all this is: I moved into Rob’s place, the guy who hosted me during summer and the “manager” of this hostel-like house with so many couchsurfers around.
Now writing this I am still part of the awesome Commercial Drive neighborhood of Vancouver, BC and enjoy my comfortable life with a kitchen, an own bathroom, my own bed and all the other luxury that comes with that.
Job, money and the material world
Yep, a job…my primary mission for Vancouver! As you might know, I already started looking for jobs in summer when I came to Vancouver and in fall when I was in Edmonton. Both of the times, I stopped my effort due to several reasons.
Anyway, in comparison to my previous attempts, I was well prepared this time: my resume was ready, I had some specimens for a cover letter and I knew pretty well where to apply for a job first.
Still focusing on outdoor equipment, I marched into the same stores on Broadway that I visited in summer. Two of them were pretty interested and told me that they were looking for staff for the upcoming winter season: MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op, similar to the German Globetrotter) and Hillsound.
Both stores asked me to wait for their decision.
Motivated by this I looked up more job offers online and came across a post of an art gallery in Vancouver Downtown that drew my attention: they offered a position as salesperson for native artwork.
I send them a message with my resume but decided to go there in person and try to talk to the manager. Danny didn’t seem to be very interested in me, asked me some questions about my work experience and told me he would call me after consideration of all candidates. I thought: “Yeah, yeah, sure! Translated: NOT interested!”
Surprisingly, three hours after my visit he called me and asked to come back the next day to have a more detailed conversation. Why the heck has he not done that a few hours before?! Danny, if you read this, I still would like an answer to that question! ;)
Nevertheless, I went there again and by the time I walked out half an hour after that, I had a full-time job with a good wage and additional commission in a great art gallery called hill’s native art with the biggest collection of north west coast art in North America including totem poles, masks, wooden plaques, talking sticks, jewelry, knits, stone carvings, books, etc.
My job basically involves selling artwork to the customers (most of them tourists from around the world), cleaning the gallery, refilling shelves and showcases and learning everything about native history, art and mythology.
The highlight: I recently sold a totem pole to a German in Berlin, cost: 5,400$!
We will see what else this job has to offer… .
Fun and activities
When I arrived in Vancouver at the end of September the weather was just great! Sunshine, clear sky and temperatures still warm enough to enjoy the great outdoors. So Maai and I decided to on a kayak tour along False Creek and the beaches of Kitsilano. With two single boats we drove out into open water where we faced some problems in maneuvering the kayaks. Anyway, we made it home safely and had a snack on Granville Island.
We had a great amount of fun together, cooked, baked and met up with Rob and some other friends and couchsurfers.
The highlight of these days has definitely been the karaoke party - a get-together of Vancouver couchsurfers with drinks/cheap beer and of course a lot of awesome songs that were murdered by our terrible singing voices, although I have to admit that a lot of the others did a pretty good job.
Spending time with Carli was fun, too! For her I have been the first couchsurfer and it was funny to see how she always tried to make everything perfect for me! She even took me to a comedy show of Darryl Lenox at the Vogue Theatre (http://www.voguetheatre.com/detail.php?id=85), a comedian who hilariously spoke about the Canadian-American relationship without taking sides with one of both (his roots lie in both countries).
This relationship is similar to the one between Köln and Düsseldorf or Germany and Austria, marked by deep friendship and a common cultural background but still with the urge to feel oneself as something special and somewhat outmatched.
By the time I settled down in my new room, Sebastian - my good friend from Germany - arrived in Vancouver, together with a working holiday visa in his pocket. I showed him around the city a little bit, we went to the cinema and met friends of mine:
Adel - her best friend from Russia who is here to gain new experiences and meet new people
Carmen - one of the previous couchsurfers and meanwhile my new roommate
Tom - an English couchsurfer who recently moved in to an own apartment
Ian and Noel - two good friends of Rob
Sebastian, due to the fact that her couldn't find a job immediately, decided to travel to Banff National Park and is in Calgary right now.
Basically, the months of October and November have been marked by establishing deep friendships, regular dinner parties and meet-ups.
Since I'll probably stay in Vancouver until February/March next year, I thought that the time is ready for a little bit of training and physical exercise. As a consequence, I joined the ShouYu-Liang Institute, a school that teaches several kinds of martial arts (e.g. wushu/kung fu, taiji, bagua, Qigong, etc.).
I attended the wushu/kung fu classes and currently learn the basic forms, stands as well as kicks and punches and train the application of these in one-on-one combat. The training is incredibly awesome!
The instructors or sifus are really competent and even though we are quite a large group of students they find the time to help each and everyone individually. Grandmaster Liang who founded the school is always present, watches the students carefully and gives instructions but never did the teaching personally so far. At first I found this to be really frustrating; on the other hand, all sifus, his daughter Helen amongst them, were trained by him. I guess that makes it up for it. ;)
Although I kind of settled down a bit, I haven't missed traveling the country. It started with a trip at the beginning of November. Rob has been invited by one of his clients to stay at his summer house for a couple nights. He even allowed him to invite friends. Of course, he didn't hesitate to do so! ;)
While Rob, Lina, Carmen and Ryan (another friend of Rob) made their way to the house, I followed one day later due to my work schedule.
Situated in Gisbons at the Sunshine Coast, it is only accessible by ferry.
After I arrived, we had a relaxing evening in this luxurious house with beer, card games and a movie.
A sunny day awaited us the next morning and we went for a hike to a water fall that is supposed to be a very nice spot. Unfortunately, we got lost on the way, thanks to a confusing description that we received from the local tourist information.
We had a nice walk anyway, bought food for dinner, including a fresh salmon fillet from the dock and enjoyed it with pasta in cheese-cream-sauce and vegetables alla italiana!
After an amazing bath in the hot tub that is integrated in the house, I got off home. The others stayed for a additional night.
The Sunshine Coast is just incredible and must be even more amazing in summer...definitely worth a visit at any season.
Although I kind of settled down a bit, I haven't missed traveling the country. It started with a trip at the beginning of November. Rob has been invited by one of his clients to stay at his summer house for a couple nights. He even allowed him to invite friends. Of course, he didn't hesitate to do so! ;)
While Rob, Lina, Carmen and Ryan (another friend of Rob) made their way to the house, I followed one day later due to my work schedule.
Situated in Gisbons at the Sunshine Coast, it is only accessible by ferry.
After I arrived, we had a relaxing evening in this luxurious house with beer, card games and a movie.
A sunny day awaited us the next morning and we went for a hike to a water fall that is supposed to be a very nice spot. Unfortunately, we got lost on the way, thanks to a confusing description that we received from the local tourist information.
We had a nice walk anyway, bought food for dinner, including a fresh salmon fillet from the dock and enjoyed it with pasta in cheese-cream-sauce and vegetables alla italiana!
After an amazing bath in the hot tub that is integrated in the house, I got off home. The others stayed for a additional night.
The Sunshine Coast is just incredible and must be even more amazing in summer...definitely worth a visit at any season.
My latest adventure has been a trip on Vancouver Island to the capital of the province British Columbia: Victoria.Lina wanted to visit the city, as well. She arrived on Vancouver Island two days earlier and found a place for us to stay with a couchsurfer who she knew from Paris (small, small world!).
So, I took two days off from work and left Vancouver on a Monday evening to catch the ferry in Tsawwassen and meet up with her.
It was a strange feeling to sit in a bus on the same road to Tsawwassen ferry that we took on the first of our road trip in summer when our adventure along the west coast began.
I thought of all the crew members and the fun we had within that month. All this intensified the good mood I was already in and made me pretty excited about that short trip.
After a 1.5-h ferry ride to Swartz Bay, Lina and Eddy (our host) were waiting for me to pick me up and get back to where he lives.
Since it was late by the time we hit his home, we just talked for a bit and made plans for the next day: kayaking or hiking along the south west coast of Vancouver Island were the options. We put sightseeing in Victoria on our to-do-list for the day after that.
In the morning we woke up on a beautiful day full of sunshine but with temperatures around -10°C. Our decision to go hiking was made within seconds.
Eddy drove us to Sooke Provincial Park and we hiked along the coast line, permanently accompanied by the ocean and the mountains of Washington State at the horizon.. We even came by petroglyphs, stone carvings made by the natives. Finally, we returned through a forest of cedar trees.
So, I took two days off from work and left Vancouver on a Monday evening to catch the ferry in Tsawwassen and meet up with her.
It was a strange feeling to sit in a bus on the same road to Tsawwassen ferry that we took on the first of our road trip in summer when our adventure along the west coast began.
I thought of all the crew members and the fun we had within that month. All this intensified the good mood I was already in and made me pretty excited about that short trip.
After a 1.5-h ferry ride to Swartz Bay, Lina and Eddy (our host) were waiting for me to pick me up and get back to where he lives.
Since it was late by the time we hit his home, we just talked for a bit and made plans for the next day: kayaking or hiking along the south west coast of Vancouver Island were the options. We put sightseeing in Victoria on our to-do-list for the day after that.
In the morning we woke up on a beautiful day full of sunshine but with temperatures around -10°C. Our decision to go hiking was made within seconds.
Eddy drove us to Sooke Provincial Park and we hiked along the coast line, permanently accompanied by the ocean and the mountains of Washington State at the horizon.. We even came by petroglyphs, stone carvings made by the natives. Finally, we returned through a forest of cedar trees.
In the evening we went to a concert of a Canadian singer called Vince Vaccaro who played really great music.
We got up pretty late the next day, drove to Victoria to so the sightseeing, including a walk around the parliament building of British Columbia, a visit at the Victoria store of our gallery and a sushi lunch in downtown.
We ended the trip with a walk along the dock before Lina and I took the ferry back to Vancouver.
Another good thing about this trip - besides being with great people - was that we planned a hike along the famous West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island in May next year.
This 75-km hike will probably be the last thing I do in Canada before leaving back to Germany. I'll talk about the details of this hike as soon as we start with the preparation.
Okay, so much for keeping you updated about my life.
What's next?! Christmas, of course!!!
Carmen, Rob and I have some plans for this time of the year but I leave that for my next update at the end of December.
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