First weekend :: February 6-8, 2009

My Mom and I arrived in Vancouver Friday evening. Fortunately I had my place lined up in advance thanks to my friend Chris, so we got to stay in my new home on our very first night in the city! My apartment is a small one bedroom place for one. I have a small kitchen, living/dining area, small balcony, and bathroom. It's small, but everything needed for just one. See pic of me standing on my balcony :) I'm living in an area called the West End, which is nestled between the more major downtown area, where my office is located (just about a 5 minute walk!), and beautiful Stanley Park. On either side is water--English Bay and Coal Harbor. Yes, I'm on a penninsula here, and no, I will not spell harbor with a "u" harbour.

While I am in a different country here in Canada, it doesn't feel all that different much of the time. They speak the same language, albeit with a few more "eh's" thrown in the mix and words like aboot, project (pronounced "pro (long OH) ject"), process (pronouned similarly), and schedule (pronounced "sedge-rool"). Apparently they love hockey too, but I've yet to attend a game. All in due time.

Back to my first weekend affairs. Friday we arrived late and didn't do much besides see my new place, eat dinner nearby, and crash. Saturday was a busy day--unpacking of all my belongings in about 2 hrs, seeing my office, opening a bank account, and a first grocery shopping trip. Who would've thought opening a bank account would be such trouble? Somehow my Mom and I were there for two hours!? And the grocery store experience too. There's a low-priced store near by called No Frills and the no-name/store brand there is literally called "no name." I got a laugh out of that :) Thank you again Mom for all your help getting me setup here.

We managed to cover lots of business-y things on Saturday, so that Sunday could be a fun day. We took advantage of having the rental car and drove up north across Lions Gate Bridge to N. Vancouver. We drove to Horseshoe Bay, and then hit Cypress Mountain for my first (and my Mom's second?) attempt at snow-shoe'ing. We had a blast and enjoyed some fantastic views too. Snow-shoe'ing is tough though--lots of uphill! I hope to partake in some downhill mountain activities soon. First attempt at snowboarding is tentatively planned for this weekend!