Thursday 30 August 2012

Exploring

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. On Sunday I went out with my friend Lisa (who I worked with in Perth). She is from Vancouver, so knows her way around. Lisa took me into Downtown via driving through the UBC (University of British Columbia) area and then through the beach side neighbourhood of Kitsilano. Kitsilano has a very 'cool' feel to it, and I hope to return to have a look around. We walked through Downtown, around Canada Place (which I think it their convention centre). It is very touristy around that area because it is where all the cruise ships dock, sometimes just for a day. Therefore lots of tourists were taking photos of the view over the water. We then walked around to an area called Coal Harbour, which is very nice (large grass area with people relaxing and walking their dogs) and had lunch at a cafe on the water. After lunch we made our way through historic Gastown (which I think was the first settlement in Vancouver). There was lots of walking involved!! But it was good, as I got to see quite a bit of the waterfront Downtown area.


On Tuesday I had my orientation at Kwantlen University. It was a long day (8.30-5) and was pretty exhausting! However I did learn some important things about studying there. One interesting thing I didn't know is the university sits on Native Land; and therefore the name Kwantlen is native for "tireless runner". I think this is quite a good motto for success in study, and is maybe something I will think about in the last few weeks of semester when the assignments are piling up, and exams are on the horizon!! I met with the other exchange students (there is about 20-25 in total). I am the only Australian, the others are from a variety of countries; China, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and lots of Europeans including students from Sweden, Germany, Finland, Britain and Austria (which they said people always mistake for Australia!!)

Not much else has happened this week, I am trying not to do much before uni starts next Tuesday as I am sure it will be pretty hectic start with. On Saturday I am moving into the student house in Mt Pleasant which is where I will stay for the rest of the semester, which is exciting!

Sunday 26 August 2012

Vancouver Aquarium


Yesterday I went to the Vancouver Aquarium. It took over an hour to get there via public transport; walk, then bus, sky train, then another bus. However despite the travel time , the system here is pretty easy to use. It also gave me a chance to travel on the Canada Line (skytrain) which I will be using daily for uni and I also saw a glimpse of Downtown. The Vancouver Aquarium is located in Stanley Park, a large parkland area just out of the Downtown city area. It was a sunny Saturday, so the park was full of life with families having picnics, cyclists and people walking their dogs.

The Beluga show
To be honest, I don't know how I feel about aquariums...I realise it is a great place for entertainment and education, however it seems cruel keeping the larger animals (Sea Lions and Belugas in captivity). In saying that, I did watch the Beluga show (if you don't know what a Beluga is, they are those pure white whales from the Arctic) and it was quite informative and entertaining. The basis of the commentary for the show was that these animals live in Artic environments and we therefore should be looking after our whole planet sustainably (reduce waste, use less water, electricity etc.), because although these animals are really cute to look at, the reality of our modern lifestyles is that we are slowing destroying their habitat and therefore killing them...Sorry that kind of turned grim haha. But the point is, the show was actually quite educational. I guess that is why they are in an aquarium as opposed to a sea park, where the animals are expected to 'perform tricks'.

The aquarium has an emphasis on conservation and research.
These are all the sea lions they have rescued!

 












Friday 24 August 2012

Straya Mate!

I had a pretty lazy day yesterday, slept in til midday then just hung around the house. I think I was still getting over the jetlag a bit! Last night was my first real experience of Vancouver. Siobhan (who I am staying with), took me out to this live music venue called the Backstage Lounge with a group of her friends. First one of Siobhan's friends came over for dinner, and it was then that my very Aussie accent became apparent. Up until this point, I didn't think I had that strong an accent, however apparently I do! This resulted in Siobhan having to translate sentences to her friend which I found quite amusing. Apart from the accent barrier, there were phrases and words which didn't make sense to them either; such as the word bogan. I then tried to explain what a bogan is....and it is actually a pretty hard thing to explain! After dinner and a few wines, we caught a taxi into Backstage Lounge which is located in Granville Island. This was the first time I had laid eyes on the city. It was around sunset (the sun sets late here because it is Summer) and the view of the golden reflected high rise buildings set against the mountain range was truly an amazing sight!! We reached Backstage Lounge which has a Thursday night special of $1.75 beer middies and live jazz music. The people I was with could not believe we pay up to, sometimes more than $11 for a pint in Perth. Being with a large group of Canadians, they were all very intrigued about my accent and culture, which I found bizaar. It's interesting the things that are universal world wide (or perhaps to Western cultures) and then things which are completely different. For example the term 'uni' is widely used in Aus as an abbreviation to university however none of them knew what I was talking about. Here they call it 'school', which to me sounds like you are a teenager again! It also became obvious that Australia has a very celebrity obsessed culture. We are very concerned with body image, fame and wealth. However when I brought up the names of two Australian women (who we may consider to be our most famous models); Miranda Kerr and Jennifer Hawkins, no one, not even one person, knew who I was talking about! So much for the media promoting them as having world wide fame!


The jazz band @ Backstage Lounge.
Source: http://www.thebackstagelounge.com/photos

The night turned out to be a good one, with lots of dancing and fun company...but I guess you can't really go wrong with $1.75 drinks and live music. I imagine their would have been a few sore heads this morning haha. Today we took it pretty easy, Siobhan showed me the train route down to where my uni is and then we went to the shops ( or Mall as it is called here) and I got my phone sorted out, so I now have a Canadian number which is a relief!  

Wednesday 22 August 2012

I have arrived!


Paul and I, before leaving Perth
 After leaving Perth last Sunday morning, I flew to Melbourne for two days and stayed with my friends Em and Mitch. It was very kind of them to let to stay, however the Melbourne weather was less welcoming with freezing temperatures (compared to Perth). But I suppose that is typical of Melbourne weather. On Tuesday morning Em dropped me at Melbourne International airport, where I began my 14 and a half hour flight!! Never having been on a long haul flight before, I was expecting the worst...and it lived up to every bit of my expectations. I suppose it could have been worse, I was flying with Qantas, so all food and entertainment was provided, and I was sitting next to two girls in their twenties from Melbourne who were nice. So after sitting on a plane for nearly 15 hours we arrived at Los Angeles airport ( LAX), where I had a six hour lay over before my flight to Vancouver. I was tired and hungry and ate something from the very limited food options then tried to get some sleep on the floor of the departure lounge. Finally it was time to board my flight to Vancouver which at 2 hrs and 30 minutes was a very short flight compared to the one I had just been on. At 5pm Vancouver time yesterday I arrived in Vancouver after over 23 hours of travelling. Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and relieved our family friend Siobhan picked me up and drove me to their house. After showering and eating some dinner, I tucked myself in for a good night's sleep. I was expecting to sleep for a while, but was surprised when I woke up 17 hrs later!! Woah! However I feel much better for it and am pretty much back to normal. I am currently sitting in our friend's backyard (which is beautiful, full of flowers, bees and birds) overlooking the golf course which is a couple of metres away. It is summer here, about 4pm and I am in t-shirt and shorts. It makes the horrendous 23 hrs of travel to get here worth it!!

The backyard of the house I am staying at.  Literally 2 metres to the right of this photo is the golf course.
Absolutely gorgeous!!


Sunday 12 August 2012

Six days to go!

The count down is on until I leave Perth! With less than a week to go, I am getting excited with still some last minute things to organise. My accommodation in Vancouver has finally been confirmed after weeks of trying to find somewhere. Kwantlen Polytechnic doesn't offer any on campus accommodation for international students which meant I was on my own finding a place to stay. I will be living in a student house run by a young Canadian couple which I am excited about. It will be close to the skytrain to get to uni and only 10-15 minutes to the downtown part of the city.

On Saturday night I had some farewell drinks and was given some cute going away presents including a luggage tag, recipe magazine (so I have something to cook when I first get there!), panda eye patch and wool Peter Alexander socks for the plane!! And a luxurious travel candle I can use if my room smells when I arrive haha.

The lovely presents; magazines, cute panda eye patch, passport wallet, candle, luggage tag,
wool bed socks. So spoilt!
 I am flying to Melbourne Sunday morning for a two day stop over and then Tuesday is my big travel day, flying Melbourne to LA then on to Vancouver! I don't know when I will next post, as I am pretty busy this week packing and organising last minute details. Ciao for now!

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Where in the world?

The first decision when deciding to go on exchange was where in the world to go?? After hours of research I completed my application in Febuarary, with my first preference being the University of Malta. Malta is a tiny, tiny country just south of Sicily (a total land area of just 316km², most of which is unpopulated!). My second preference was Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Vancouver, Canada. After being accepted into the ECU exchange program I waited and waited, and waited to hear back from Malta. Finally I received word that they may not be accepting International Exchange students for this semester, so I applied for my second preference, Kwantlen. The idea of going to Vancouver really started growing on me at this point, and decided although living in Malta would be an amazing and eye opening experience, perhaps it wasn't for me. So the decision was made, Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Vancouver was it!

The historic city of Valetta, the capital of Malta
  
Vancouver City