Now that I've had a few more days to fully settle in and recover from the flight, Vancouver seems to be growing on me. I have spent the past few days with the others from my BUNAC group. After setting up bank accounts and getting new mobile phone numbers, we've had a bit more spare time to explore Vancouver. The city itself is fairly laid back, with around 2.3 million residents, but you'd never think it because the pace of life here is so chilled. Vancouver has all the things you'd usually associate with a big city - high rise buildings, intricate transport system, diverse shops and shopping centres, but it just doesnt feel busy. You can comfortably walk around and shop in the Pacific Centre on a saturday and not get annoyed by other shoppers. ... read more

I have reached the 55-days-to-departure point and I have already started trying to get organised. There a few things I need to get sorted before heading off to Canada and the main one is definitely managing the logistics of moving my stuff from Germany back to the UK. Apart from sorting out flights, insurance, route planning, writing job applications and generally buffing up my knowledge on Canada, I still have to do the day-to-day activities in Germany too. Sorting out what to keep/throw/donate/sell is never easy and I have to be totally ruthless as my baggage allowance back to the UK will not cover even half the things I have. Furniture also needs to be photographed, dismantled and sold in between the shifts at my two different jobs. Thinking about things such as tax return forms, ... read more

I received an email from the Canadian Embassy in London last week stating that I had been conditionally accepted to the International Experience Canada (IEC) Programme for 2012. Conditionally. What a horrible word. My fees have been sent off and my application forwarded to the next round of assessment. Now all I have to do is wait and see if I am granted a place on the programme. I really hope that they make the decision as quickly as possible as I hate being stuck in the limbo place of 'not knowing' - it gets harder to make plans for the future when I'm not entirely sure which country or continent I'll be living on in six months from now! I'm still taking my 'conditional' offer with a pinch of salt and trying not to get ... read more

I have been checking the Canadian Embassy's website in like a crazy person - double checking how many work and travel visas they have left to issue for 2012. The count stands at 144. 144 from 5, 530. That's a really small chance that I'm going to be issued one. Still, I am keeping my fingers crossed and continuing to work, save and plan for my trip. I also received an email from the Emabassy last week, informing me that a decision will be made in the next two weeks. I have another ten days to wait. I really hate waiting for things!... read more