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Published: November 20th 2009
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So im making up for 6 weeks of no installments.................
We settled into the hostel nicely, our room mates Ben and Jarred were really sound guys, good job really as we were about to spend 2 weeks in a dorm with them. When you arrive for a ski season in a place like banff you are in the same boat as 90% of everybody in town is in. The word you will hear a lot is "JOB" that is everybodys sole ambition when they arrive. The town is geared around toursim so the seasons fluctuate along with the need for staff, so be prepared for a lengthy wait until you find full time work.
We got on the job trail staight away the morning after we arrived, we headed down to the job resource centre on martin street (a place that becomes a home away from home). This place has all the local job advertisments in it, as well the staff will help you re-write your resume in order to maximise your efforts and help you meet employers, they are really helpful and anyone looking for work should definately hit them up for advise, go see Tracey she is
wicked. Now we figured it may take a week or so to get jobs in town...................WOW how wrong can you be!!! be prepared to wait up to 8 weeks to find work, so if your comming over make sure you have savings to support your drinking habbit for a while.
The next day was Sunday and a bar crawl is arranged around town with the hostel, so it would be rude not to join in and meet some people. So we got on beer, we had a little celebration too as Katie had just scored a part - time job hostessing in an Irish pub called the gate. So we headed out with the whole hostel got very wasted, danced a lot and made some great mates. Was a very funny night.
So for the next week we concentrated all our efforts on securing a job, all i might add in vain! On one of the week nights we were advised to attend a Banff Life meeting. This is basically an introduction to life in banff and helps you secure what they call Locals status. they tell you facts about the town and fill you in on the
history, as you will be working there you will be a source of information for tourists. It also alows you to get $500 off your season pass which is the real reason we were all there. So after 2 weeks in the hostel we came to a decision that we didnt want to re-pay for another 2 weeks in the hostel as it was way more expensive then paying rent in a flat. So we decided to start looking for a place to stay, now we have heard non stop since we got here that its even more difficult to secure a place. It took us about 30 mins lol i made one phone call, 2 hrs later went to see a place wrestled her down on the price and roberts ya dads brother we had a place to stay.
So the next day we recruited the help of a few mates at the hostel and lugged all our gear down to what would be our home we hoped for the next 6 months! Its a great 3 bed place where 6 of us now live. katie and i have our own room and pay a real cheap price
for it. The land lady asked me to find some people to move in, so i suggested 2 mates from the hostel, Kiwi chris and ozzie nick, German nick was already in there, and the land lady put Ben in too, so that is our 119C Otter Street Family! lol
So we have now been in banff for just over 3 weeks and we are really getting desperate for a job as we are running low on the old travelling funds...........seriously low. To take our minds off it we all go up to the Sulpher Mountain gondola for the afternoon, we all recieved a free pass from our 3hr lecture on the Banff Life presentation so all good, problem was Katie didnt get one, so Jarred and i went in and pretended we didnt get one and blagged Katie a free pass. The view from the top was amazing it shows the whole Bow Valley as you can see from the pictures its something else.
If anybody has ever been to North America around the Halloween time you will realise that these guys do it BIG! they love it out here so we all got dressed up and
headed into town, Katie went as a cat and me, I went as R.I.P Steve Itwin, Jarred went as Marmite man which was pretty funny! just see the pics!
In the end we had to wait just over 5 weeks before we both secured work. I got a job as a night auditor in a hotel, so i work 11pm till 7 am which means i miss out on the night life but i get to snowboard anyday i want too. Katie finally got a position working for the mountain Sunshine Village as ski lesson sales rep, which was good as we were outta cash and she gets a free bus and lift pass sweet!
So we are now settled, got a place to live, both have jobs, so as much as you guys wanted us to come home im afraid it aint gonna happen people!!! we are staying until the end of the season.
We will keep you guys updated on the winter antics
Love and peace
Scott & Katie
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