Illegal hiking, disappointing Tulips, and my last day before going home.

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I came down with a flu when I got back to Vancouver after my USA road trip. I was surprised that I got sick. I thought you only get sick when visiting third world countries with unclean surroundings. Then again, the apartment of my AirBnB host in Seattle was far from clean so I blame him. I was down for four days. I spent those days studying for my IELTS exam. It’s an English proficiency test required for applying for jobs or immigration in English speaking countries. I’ve decided to try my luck and apply for immigration in New Zealand, Canada, and Australia; in that order. I was so sick the day of the test I thought I’d faint and not make it to the venue. The proctors recommended that we leave our jackets in one room because once we get to the test rooms we won’t be allowed to take our jackets off; and she added that it gets quite warm. I believed her and left my jacket only to shiver in the exam room for the entire duration of the 3 hour exam. One should not trust what Canadian's say is "warm". Majority of the examinees were Asians. With a handful of white and black people. The last part of the exam was the speaking test. The topic given to me was my favourite sports heroes. I kind of panicked because I’m not into sports. I asked if we could change topics but the examiner said it’s not allowed. Of course he asked me about Manny Pacquiao. Who I know very little about since I don’t watch television (I don’t have one) and neither do I read the sports page of the newspaper. So I ended up giving a speech about a story I’ve read about a Filipino runner in the Olympics that was held in the States decades ago. He was the last one to finish but he got a standing ovation from the crowd because he was obviously still giving his best despite the race having ended several minutes before. I thought that was inspiring so I ended up giving a homily about it. The perfect score for all 4 modules of IELTS is 9. But as far as Canadian immigration is concerned you only need to get the following scores to get a perfect score in English proficiency for Canada immigration; Speaking 7.5, Writing 7.5, Reading 8, and Listening 8.5. I achieved those scores except for Writing where I got a 6.5 so I had to retake it when I got back to Manila. I’ve read that very few people can get past 7 so I thought I wasted $200 for retaking the test, but it paid off! I got it up to 7.5 and my Speaking score went up from 8 to 8.5. Now I can start submitting applications to the three countries I’m targeting.

Annie and I went hiking in Grouse Mountain. It is said to be the toughest hike in Vancouver. After getting lost a few times and driving around in circles, we arrived in Grouse only to be told that it wouldn’t open until the next month. We were of course disappointed and looked it so the lady pointed us to another trail that we can take. While walking down that trail we came across two Russian hikers. They were on their way back because the other trail was almost 90 degrees. Luckily we saw an old man and we asked if there was another way to Grouse. Apparently there was and he gave us directions. Me being the only man among us four hikers had to lead the way. It was easy enough as there were Orange markers to follow. When we got to the main trail going up we saw other hikers. We must have come across at least twenty other hikers who were hiking illegally. It was a very difficult hike. But some old people would go past us and made us feel out of shape although we were gym buffs and much younger. I imagine I would not have been able to do it if it was in the Philippines where it was hot and humid. It was cold but I was drenched in sweat so I removed my sweater. There was snow when we got to the top and I was surprised that I didn’t feel cold although I was only wearing a T-shirt. My hands felt cold though. There was a building with stores and restaurants at the top. The restaurants were open despite the mountain being closed for the season. High school kids were there dressed like it was their prom. Maybe it was. Why else would they be wearing gowns on top of a mountain. No, they did not hike to go up there. There was a cable car. Hiking down the mountain is not allowed, and even if it were, we were not willing.



There was a tulip festival in Agassiz, about an hour away from Vancouver. I didn’t get to see the tulip festival in Skagit, Washington State because I couldn’t figure out a way to get there so I was ecstatic upon learning that they also had a tulip festival in Canada. I was able to convince Annie to go with me then her entire family decided to come too. When we got there, there were hundreds of cars parked beside the road, and there was a cop with a sign saying closed! They said there was an accident but I thought they were just saying that because it was already overcrowded and they didn’t want more people in. Annie and I were heartbroken. If it had just been the two of us we would have risked it as a lot of other people were obviously doing. But her parents and uncle were there so we drove back to Vancouver. It was raining but it was my last night before I had to go back to Manila the next day. So she drove me around and went to parks although it was already dark and raining and cold. The previous year, on my last night, I was depressed. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to live there. But this time, I was okay with it. I think it’s because I’ve already taken the steps towards applying for immigration. And even if that doesn’t happen, I know now how lucky I am. Annie pointed that out. When she went back to the Philippines last year to visit after 7 years of being away, she realized how fortunate she was that she now lives in Canada. It would take too much time for me to tell you how difficult it is to get out of poverty in my country. I may not be as fortunate as she is but I am lucky that I can afford to travel. So I am satisfied.

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Comments

[bertN]

English Proficiency Test
Since when did they require this test for prospective immigrants?

[Josevich]

ielts
i am not sure when but for canada i believe its relatively new. perhaps less than 10 years

[Dancing Dave]

My last day before going home
I am surprised you failed the English Writing Proficiency Test in Canada as your blog writing is clear and full of interesting thoughts, observations and best of all expresses so well how you feel. What a wonderful adventure you have had in North America. Best wishes for the next stage of your life.

[Josevich]

English Writing
Thanks! But apparently they needed more than my simple sentence structures. When I took it the second time I had to use complex sentence structures that included semi colons, parenthesis, etc, and write in third person to appear more academic. That's according to the reviewer that I read and it proved to be true when I got the result. Cheers!

[Ake Och Emma]

Interesting
That was interesting. I would like to see that too one day /Ake

[Josevich]

Bears
I would have loved to see them in person (from afar) but they were still hybernating as it was early spring. I don't think there's any place with more bears than Canada