A year in Vancouver!

Whatever you want to teach, be brief…

My plan for trying something new every weekend has had to out on hold this weekend due to the arrival of a migraine on Friday which has meant I have spent nearly all weekend asleep. Why do these things always happen at the weekend? It didn’t stop me getting an amazing view of the storm that was brewing late Saturday afternoon and bubbling all through the night. The thunder and lightning were impressive- even by Texas standards, causing the ground the shake. (At least I don’t think it was me shaking). And as the sun started to set the sky was a flaming orange, very dramatic with the mountains in the background! Perched on the window sill feeling safe and secure is definitely the place to watch them from.

I suppose my new adventure for the week is the arrival of my very own, first Canadian pay check. This week I have been tutoring English and Math to a boy who has just finished Grade Seven. After careful consideration I’m definitely enjoying the experience of an older student, and I’m not feeling out of my comfort zone. I wouldn’t like to say I’d take a whole class of them on just yet, but this is certainly fun. Then again he is very well behaved and enthusiastic about what we are doing, and about soccer and Harry Potter, all of which have made an appearance in my carefully selected English texts… I knew there was a reason I spent so many years learning how to teach!

The rest of my time this week has been spent in the never ending frustrations of trying to import a car and change a driving license over, both tasks which should be relatively easy, but as ever, are proving more of a challenge than originally anticipated! I’m sure it must be me being naively and strangely optimistic about these things, but they never seem as smooth as I’m told they are going to be! Maybe by now I should have leaned my lesson and stopped believing the first thing I’m told by government agencies.

Next week, back to the exploring and investigation…

A year in Vancouver!

Having seen all a man could who didn’t dare get out of his ship…
First tourist trip- a guided tour around Vancouver. The plan is to generate a list of things to do each week, to make sure I see and do all the main areas.

I started out with the Sky Train to downtown, which I feel is slightly more local than tourist, but appearances can be deceptive and it wasn’t too long before the camera came out and I was clicking and snapping (with the camera) at anything that moved and most things that didn’t. I have photographs of churches, fountains, trees and beaches and a long list of ideas, places to visit and things to see. I was going to start ticking noteworthy items off my list this afternoon and headed from the bus toward the Marine Building having been informed that it was worth checking out the architecture. However, that plan was soon thwarted as I the building was covered over cordoned off and actors were milling around in front of it. “One of 200 movie or TV shows filmed in Vancouver each year” or so I’m informed by a bus tour system J

With that plan on the back burner for a week or so I headed over to Canada place to marvel at the size of the cruise ships in the docks. It really amazes me how anything that size can be conceived, and what a huge undertaking each one is. With the sun bright, the sky blue, the shore glittering across the bay, the sea planes taking off and the cruise ships in the harbour I really was finding Vancouver an incredibly pleasant place to be.

Lunch was a laid back affair at the Cactus Club Café, another of my plans being finding different places to eat on a weekly basis, although I do tend to get drawn back to old favorites, so I’m not sure how long that one will last. And if you ever find yourself in their I can highly recommend the salmon.

My local adventure for the week was to join the library, which has to be the least touristy thing possible. Entering and joining the library was surprisingly straight forward, it was leaving that caused me some issues. I have obviously spent far too long in my car recently as I approached the barrier with caution, stopped and waited. It didn’t automatically lift, so I took a few steps back and tried a bit more slowly. Again it didn’t lift. I stood and waited a few minutes, then realized that people were starting to look at me in a slightly odd way. I tentatively reached out an arm, and no, still the barrier wouldn’t lift, it was about this time that I realized it was a push barrier and not automatic. Possibly not smarter than a fifth grader then!

So, with a map in my head (don’t laugh), or the very least the Sat. Nav. and a library book I’ve some highlighted spots (no I haven’t written in the book) to visit, I’m going to mix the tourist with the local, and see where I end up next week… I may even master opening doors.

A year in Vancouver!

It is better to trust in courage than luck…

Documenting the drive up here proved more enjoyable and popular than I had anticipated. So, I thought I’d continue in the same vein and post a new note each week on new experiences, at the very least it will keep my parents happy and save the frantic phone calls when I realize that I haven’t been that great at keeping in touch.

Having finally navigated US customs and managed to get my car back, I’m now facing the next challenge- registering it in Canada. In theory this should be easy, but as with most things I’m discovering what a reliance I had on the internet. Usually I would Google search the forms, the places I need to be, and the whole process, if not smooth, would at least have a certain procedure to it. Without the internet I’m kind of at loss of where to start. Luckily, I will be reconnected to both the internet and the phone network tomorrow! Having survived nine whole days without either I’m looking forward to interacting with the cyber community again! Although, I have started to wonder how people functioned without either, or how much extra work we create for ourselves by being so available!

So, the apartment is starting to resemble something vaguely habitable, I have gotten creative and started sewing cushion covers to match new cupboard doors. Never a good thing! When I get creative small children run for cover….

And life generally seems to be returning to a routine and pattern. I have found the gym, although the altitude is higher than I’m used to, and I’m still not sure about running up hills- I’d forgotten all about the delights of hills in Houston. I’ve found a park, and for now the sun is shining and all on the horizon looks exciting and busy.

I’m now off to buy a phone so the man from Shaw can install it for me (apparently not just plugging it into the wall) and I will be back in the world of technology!