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September 16th 2007

Published: September 17th 2007

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Chemgal

My apartment building

It's strange how quickly you get use to living in a new country. I have been putting off writing this latest entry as it seems that nothing very exciting has happened as I haven't travelled outside Vancouver. But then I stop and think that some big things have changed.
I've spend the last six weeks living and working in Vancouver. I'm living in a 2 bedroom apartment in North Vancouver with a roommate, Adrienne, who is a NZer who has been living in Canada for a while and two gorgeous cats. It's a small apartment in a large complex on the edge of the woods. There's even an black mean looking squirrel living in the trees that likes to stalk the cats. North Vancouver is across the Burrard Inlet from downtown Vancouver. It has about an hour to get to work but it's an interesting commute as I take a bus then a ferry and finally a train. Apart from a short walk to the bus stop from home, it's all under cover which is helpful in the Vancouver rain.
I've had two jobs which I was lucky enough to get within 3 hours of starting to look for work. The

View of downtown Vancouver

Taken from the Seabus (ferry) on the way to work.

first one wasn't so interesting, I was working with the machines that stuff bank statements into envelopes but that was only for two days. Then I started a longer job working for a law firm as a data stewart. It's not a terribly exciting job but it pays the bills and it's been interesting working for a large company.
During the weekends I've been able to see and experience more of Vancouver with a Australian friend. We visited the Pacific National Exhibit which is a bit like an A&P show but with lots more rides and less animals. I did get to see a huge bull which was at least 2 metres high and 3 metres long and a great llama.
We took a pilgramage to Walmart to see if it was really everything we had heard. It just seemed like the Warehouse to me but there is a MacDonalds in the store.
We took a day trip to Squamish which is about an hour and a half from Vancouver and is where Men in Trees is filmed. Unfortunately they weren't filming when we were there but it was very beautiful. One of the interesting parts was the river where

Katie

Roommate

logs are still floated down to be milled. In early forestry days, there were no roads to get big trucks into the forests so the loggers floated the logs down the rivers to the mills and this still continues in parts of British Columbia.
Yesterday we hired bikes and spend the day exploring Stanley Park which is a wilderness area in downtown Vancouver. It's a very popular wedding event and on one day I saw at least 5 weddings but yesterday we only saw two. It was a nice way to see the park and get out of the maze of high rises.
And today I felt in the need of some culture so I attended Eucharist at Christ Church Cathedral in central Vancouver. It's a beautiful stone and wood cathedral with great stained glass windows. Then I went to the art gallery to see an exhibition showing paintings from 1864 to 1954. Unfortunately it was the last day of the exhibitions and family day so the gallery was absolutely packed but I still got to see some good art works.
I've just got a new job in Canmore, Alberta as a travel agent so I will be moving there