The Big OE

On a whim one day I visited a Tarot card reader on Granville Island in Vancouver, and she took one look at me and told me I wasn't 'anchored', and my brain was spinning around like a whirling dervish, full with too much thinking. I was drifting along, and because I didn't have my roots firmly attached to anything all my energy was being drained. I needed to get out of the city as fast as possible, and be close to the mountains or be surrounded by trees. I needed to regain my strength and clear my lungs of the toxic city air and chaos, and then I was free to be centered. Not one to believe in all that jazz usually, I didn’t think it sounded like too bad advice, and so that’s exactly what I did. As soon as I'd finished up with TUTS I was on a ferry to Vancouver Island, to the small costal town of Tofino.

I had been lucky enough to get the last bed in one of the hostels, and jumped on a bus for the 7 hour trip from Downtown Vancouver. The scenery flashing past my window on the bus, brought back memories from New Zealand, and if it wasn't for all the firs and cedars, it would be hard to tell the difference between the two. I arrived in Tofino, to pretty crappy weather, which seems to be my luck whenever I get time off but the peace, quiet and sheer beauty of the small town more than made up for it.

I spent the first day taking my time exploring the little shops, galleries, cafes and docks all along the water front. I sat in the 'Sea Shanty' restaurant watching all the seaplanes land and take off and slurped down delicious Clam Chowder, smug in the knowledge that I was finally on the real west coast. I decided this trip was about relaxing, and not worrying about stuff back in the city, which had really began to take its toll on me. I treated myself to a whale watching tour and the next morning I headed out into the fog and mist and was lucky enough to encounter a Gray Whale, a Humpback and a 'gang' of Orcas, including a Cow and her Calf.

The boat ride was extremely tedious, bumpy and nauseating. Luckily I'd opted for the popular Hot Springs Cove option and was dropped at the stunning Maquinna Marine Park. After a short walk through the rainforest, I quickly got changed and soaked in the natural hot springs, that were in a succession of pools, and worked its way down to the ocean. When the pools got too hot/crowded, I climbed over the rocks and perched myself on a flat rock to soak up the sun and was lucky enough to see a Humpback whale breach directly in front of me in the bay. Of course I didn't have my camera with me, and so it was just one of those moments that you just had to enjoy and reflect on just how lucky you were sometimes.

Following the "treating myself" theme, I went one step further and opted to be flown back to Tofino in a Seaplane and skip the boat ride home completely. The flight was over far to quickly, but was well worth it for a) the scenery but also b) to get off that damn boat. When I made it back to land I managed to find the only sushi restaurant in all of Tofino and sat on the back deck which had the most breathtaking views, and was a highlight of the trip - I would strongly recommend to all.

The next day I hired a bike and ventured out of town with Zuzz an Australian girl staying at the hostel, who worked at one of the offshore Salmon farms. We headed to the botanical gardens, where I had read a popular local spot for good food was based in a caravan there. After lunch we carried on biking, and headed to one of the beaches and took a few photos, before I had to head back to town where I'd booked myself an afternoon of kayaking around some islands. I got stuck in a double kayak with an elderly woman you hadn't a clue what to do, so I got drenched in the process, and worked twice as hard to keep us up with the rest of the group - but as it wasn't a race I just relaxed and went with it. We stopped often to look at some of the sea life, and were watched several times by bald eagles in their nests. It was a fantastic afternoon, and it had been something I'd wanted to do for a while.

Sad to leave my new sanctuary, I had to head back to Vancouver the next morning - ready to start my new job the following day. And after such a relaxing week and the long bus ride to Nanaimo, my brain had slowed right down and I was so engrossed in my book I missed my connecting bus to the Ferry terminal, and would have missed the ferry completely if I hadn't found a random taxi that was lurking around. As soon as I got back to Vancouver, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, it was straight back into life in the big city. I met up with Nic, and convinced him to see the 'Nanny Diaries' with me, afterwards we headed to the night market in Chinatown, and then strolled around downtown Vancouver for a few hours, taking in the lovely city views of the homeless, high class 'escorts', the all time Canadian favourite coffee shop 'Tim Hortons' and we got to fulfil my secret dream of getting a giant slushie from a 7/11 convenience store.

The cheese shot

So this past week I started my new job with the Catering company, which I'll fill you in on soon. For now look after yourselves, and don't stress the small stuff.

When I was originally looking for somewhere to live in Vancouver back in May, someone gave me the advice not to live on Main Street, because it was “a ghetto”, but after finding a great deal on a sublet for 4 months, I threw caution to the wind and ignored the well intended advice. Just as well I did, because I’ve been more than happy in my temporary home. The rents super cheap, I have a fully furnished room, its in a nice, clean, safe neighbourhood complete with community gardens on the street corners, and regular buses going by just a blocks walk away - I am one block off Main Street, and everything I need is under 2 minutes walk away. I am living in the suburb of Mt. Pleasant on a stretch known as lower SoMa or ‘South Main’ to the uninitiated, and its then further divided into a section known as Antique Row, where there is a cluster of little clothing boutiques, galleries, organic vendors, comic stores and trinket type shops. There is several coffee shops, countless restaurants and an amazing bagel shop, with famous cinnamon swirl buns. In my local Asian veggie store/superette, I have all that I need; everything from my staples of mushrooms and pasta to Milo (chocolate milk mix from down under), Spekulatius (German Christmas Cinnamon, Almond & Ginger Butter Cookies) and dried Spätzle (German noodle).

A few clicks away (Canadian slang for kilometres) is Little India, an area full of great curries and sari shops. In the other direction at the opposite end of Main Street, is Chinatown. Still thriving, even with the migration of most Chinese Immigrants to the nearby city of Richmond. There are claims you can buy buckets of live frogs, but I’m yet to see any. I’ve seen dried sea slugs, and all sorts of odd things from the bottom of the ocean floor, but they look more like something you’d leave at the bottom of a toilet than actually put in your mouth, still someone must be buying them.

Similar to other cities, Greater Vancouver has a large population of Immigrants, particularly Chinese and East Indians (they say East Indians to differentiate from Native Indians - me being as special as I am, asked “how on earth can you tell they came from the East of India??” But then again I’ve never had to refer to indigenous people as Indians before, Indians come from India - so there!). The Native Indians are known throughout Canada as 'First Nations' and aren't exactly well treated, but that’s a whole other issue I'll touch on one of these days.

It seems everyone’s from somewhere else here, and I'm yet to actually meet someone born and bred right here in Vancouver. There is still a lot of prejudice towards the Asian immigrants, and to a degree I can sympathize with their situation, I too moved to a foreign country with every intent of learning the language and integrating into the culture (ie. Germany) but when your only support network in your new country speaks your native language and you can’t easily communicate with the locals, you will most likely turn to what is familiar and easier. And its not like the Canadians have got wide open welcoming arms helping them integrate and teach them how to be Canadian. There’s no think, act, dress, eat like a Canadian classes.

At the end of Chinatown, where Main and Hastings streets meet is where Main street gets its bad reputation from. Its not a secret but Vancouver has the largest problem with homelessness, than the rest of the entire continent of North America. So Downtown Eastside is not somewhere you really want to frequent. Of course curiosity and my fascination with the downfall of society has gotten the best of me several times, and I have been down to the infamous stretch of western humanity in its lowest forms and wandered through the strung out addicts, prostitutes, drug dealers and the homeless. I’m sure my Grandmother would be horrified to discover I willingly put myself in that situation and not just once, but you know what (and perhaps I was just lucky) not one person ever bothered me, harassed me for money or gave me any grief. The experience left me extremely depressed and confused, how did the situation get so bad? Am I supposed to give that guy my loose change to buy food, or is it just going to go on crack? Can I live with myself when I constantly ignore these lost souls who desperately need help? The homeless people are everywhere, and they’re pretty hard to avoid; down alley ways, on the sidewalk, in closed shop doorways, under bridges and at bus stops. Vancouver has a milder climate so they all flock to the city and have more chance of surviving the harsh winters. The funding for many mental care facilities was cut back, so people who were in obvious need of psychiatric help were tossed out on to the street, and have no where to go or the ability to properly look after themselves. Recycling centres are hives of activities where people can get money for cans, cigarette butts and pieces of metal. I did hear a rumour the Olympics organisers are planning to ship a lot of them over to Vancouver Island before 2010 in a bid to tidy the city up, but we shall just have to wait and see.

Vancouver itself is a beautiful city, but its actually quite small. The greater Vancouver area has been split up into several cities and things can get a little confusing for example there is a West Vancouver, a Westend and a Westside. Downtown Vancouver is pretty compact and easy to get around, well serviced by public transport, with buses, ferries, seabuses and the skytrain running regularly. I don’t think Vancouver will ever be known for its pumping nightlife or great shopping, but its bursting at the seams with great funky restaurants, galleries and boutiques, its pretty and close to all the outdoor activities you can dream of. There’s beaches, parks, ski fields, forests, islands and mountains to explore within minutes of the city. Its pretty difficult not to get swept up in the energy of it all. Vancouverites are a pretty active, healthy, green conscious lot and I don't mind sticking around to explore some more of this impressive city.

So after last weeks utter confusion over what to do, and after much agonizing and discussion, I have made the decision to stick with the catering company I am currently working for. Having the option of two fantastic company’s wanting you to work for them in equally great jobs, is a fantastic situation to be in - but it’s a nightmare to choose which is the right choice. Thankfully the other company, although disappointed I haven’t gone with them, have left their offer open if things don’t work out - so things couldn’t have gone any better in my favor.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working flat out and haven’t been getting out as much as I’d like to. Well considering I’ve had two days off in the past 18, and those two days were filled with heavy rain, no wonder I haven’t had much time to explore. Because of the heavy rain last week, several shows were cancelled (I’m working at ‘Theatre under the Stars’ in downtown Vancouver) but I still had to come in, because they don’t make the cancellation call until just prior to the show starting. Several times they’ve continued on, in what I would have called ‘a heavy downpour’, but these Vancouverites are used to the rain, and just get on with it. We also had major problems with the food tents, and water pooling and threatening to burst the seams of the tent roofs. So up on a ladder in the pouring rain, trying to suck the water through a hose, and syphon the water out is not my ideal job - but someone’s got to do it. There’s been a few niggling staffing issues, that came to ahead last night with interesting outcomes, but for the most part I have a really excellent team and we get on really well. We’re an International lot, with a couple of Australians, a Czech, Brazilian, Korean, several Canadians (from the West, Middle and the East) and me a Kiwi. They’re all pretty used to my ‘kiwi’isms now and I no longer have to explain what I want them to do when I ask them to “Get the Chilly Bin”, “Pass me the pen” and “Put this in the bin”.

Look at me I'm Sandra Dee - Grease

Some of the random observations I’ve made about Canadians so far, is that when they order they always use the brands name, instead of its generic name. Its always “Snapple” instead of just Ice Tea, “Bargs” instead of Root Beer, “Miss Vickys” instead of Chips. When they discuss money they refer to their $1 and $2 coins as loonies and toonies, and I’ve never seen a 50 cent coin even though they exist, they somehow prefer quarters. They’re generally a pretty happy lot of customers, very serious about their recycling and the biggest surprise to me was how dedicated some of the theatre goers were, in that when the heavens opened and rain bucketed down on them, only a few left, with the rest remaining in white ku klux klan like rain ponchos.

My new French roommate Ayline and I get on really well, and have a similar sense of humour. She is the stereotypical French artist, complete with two lovers (I kid you not). She has dark raven hair, a wicked creativity streak, an exotic imagination and her days are filled with coffee, the occasional cigarette, trips to her temporary art studio and the beach. She is only spending a few months in Vancouver, and then will return to France in the fall where she has several exhibitions on the go.

Nicole, Heather, Joerg and Dan

One of the nights the show got cancelled my mate Jessica and I headed out for an impromptu dinner in Richmond, another city in the Greater Vancouver area. Was good to have some silly girly talk catch up time. I’ve also managed to met up with Heike (a friend from couchsurfing) several times, in the last week or so. She’s German, but has lived in NZ before (and I swear she has more of a Kiwi accent than I do) and now obviously living in Vancouver - so we have a lot in common. On Tuesday night, I left work early, and took the seabus across the bay to North Vancouver, where a group of around 25 other local couchsurfers met up at a Schnitzel Haus. As there are so many Germans and an Austrian in the group, it was only a matter of time till our need for Schnitzel and Spätzle got the better of us. Although it wasn’t the best German fare I’ve ever had, I wasn’t complaining. It was good to get out and catch up with everyone again, and listen to people speaking German again. I kind of missed piecing together what I thought people were saying, with the random German words I knew.

Hmm so yeah, that’s my current update. Everything is going well, the suns out and Vancouver’s looking mighty impressive. I’ve been trying to get to work earlier, as its in a massive park at the end of Downtown, and I like to walk around for a while, or just lie under a tree as its just stunning at the moment.

After three weeks of sitting around, twiddling my thumbs it was only a matter of time before things started to happen. It all started on a relatively normal Wednesday morning. I got up bright and early, and headed down to Granville Island, an arts/food hub on a small peninsula underneath one of the big bridges heading into downtown Vancouver. I was early for a job interview, so I sat on the jetty looking at the sun rising up above the city, morning kayakers enjoying their morning routine on False creek and listened to the boathouses creaking and groaning under the warmth of the morning sun. Since it was such a beautiful day, we had my interview (to be an Assistant for the Fringe Festival) outside under a tree. As soon as it was over, I was off across the city to another interview, this time with a Catering company. By the end of our chat (I don’t think you could really call it an interview) I was offered the role of managing the Catering staff at “Theatre under the stars” for six weeks.

That night to celebrate the good news, and the return of the Summer weather Jessica and I went out to dinner on Commercial Drive. The next day, aware my luxurious free time was fast running out, I met up again with Boswell the Ukulelist, and he kindly showed me around the historic Gastown, and we took a seabus over to Lonsdale Quay, in North Vancouver to explore the markets. Friday I started my new job, and got a few of the logistics organised. On Saturday I was supposed to babysit, but after being there 15 minutes, the boy took off across the road to a friends house, decided he was going to stay there and I went home, rejected for a 6 year old - I’m sure I’ll live. On Sunday, I joined some fellow couchsurfers and endeavored to loosen up a few Vancouverians and offered ‘Free Hugs’ to complete strangers. I’d never done anything like that before, but the expressions on some peoples faces (both looks of awe and disgust) were priceless. We didn’t hug anyone who didn’t want to be hugged, but the range of reactions was incredible. A few wanted to know which religious institute we were from understandably, we were annoyingly happy a lot of the time, a lot ignored us completely and walked past with grim determination. Others would come leaping and bounding from miles away and then come back for another round when they left. You could hear a few of the old ladies, chuckling to themselves as they walked away, and a few sly looks around for our careers as if we’d just been let out for a special treat.

Monday I started my new job properly, and its been all go ever since. "Theatre under the stars" is in this huge park in downtown Vancouver for the next month or so. Two plays are on; Grease and Oklahoma, and they rotate around each night. I've been employed to manage the food tent, which can cater for up to 1200 people a night. I have a really good crew working with me, and things seem to be going pretty well. The first few days were really tough, training all the staff, and coming up with efficient systems, the hours I was putting in were crazy. I guess having such a cruizy job in Germany before and then 3 weeks off, my body went into shock. But now the staff know what to do, we have systems in place, and at least I'm the boss, so I can delegate and get people to do all the jobs I don’t want to do.

Just yesterday I was offered a full time Event Coordinating position, with a pretty cool company (one with a lot of possibility and potential), that I went for two interviews with a few weeks ago, and since finding that out I've been offered a full time position with the Catering company I'm working for at the moment (and who have treated me amazingly well). I didn't get the Fringe Festival job, I think they were worried I didn't know the area well enough, to get around with ease. But thats ok, because two weeks ago I had no real work prospects, and now I have to choose between two fantastic company's, similar job just in different fields, similar pay, very different locations (but I have to move in a few months anyway) and no ones here to help me choose. When it rains it pours, as they say.

The random things in life, both events and people always seems to appeal to me more - when something unexpected happens (the good kind I mean), you get a spring in your step, and a smile that can't be wiped off. I was told and have read numerous times that Vancouver is not a friendly city, but I just don't think those people must've approached it right. It seems everywhere I turn people are saying hello, opening doors and apologizing! Oh its good to be back in the English speaking world again. Yes I admit I'm in the first flushes of love with this city, and perhaps a little biased because I'm going to be living here - so I have to look for the positive things right?

I noticed it first, one day on the bus, a man was waiting by the door to get off and for the bus to come to a stop, the bus braked suddenly and lurched forward sending the guy stumbling back into me. Not only did the guy apologize profusely, but the other guy next to me who we'd sat in polite silence before then became concerned and asked "Are you ok?". Basic normal human behavior right? I'd be lucky if my presence was even acknowledged if it had happened in Germany, apart from being obligatorily stared at. Most normal people wouldn't even think twice about the small apologies you get on a daily basis, the woman with the basket in the supermarket who innocently knocks you, the man swiping you with his newspaper on the train... but when you haven't had them for a year, and people don't just shove you out of the way without a second glance - its quite refreshing.

Of course I haven't just been getting whacked around on the public transport lately, no sirree I've been getting out and about meeting people. My roommate Susannah invited me out to dinner with her, and a few of her friends to a nice laidback restaurant on West Broadway. After a few drinks we went on to a birthday party held at the Afghan Horsemen on Granville Island (which isn't an island at all, just a peninsula). It was a fantastic place, where you took your shoes off and sat on giant cushions, and talked nonsense. After a stroll around the harbour, and we'd soaked in some of the skyline of Downtown Vancouver at night, we jumped in a taxi and were off to another party, but this time it was held in a swanky brand new apartment, complete with a doorman and lobby, with a healthy $5,000 a month rent tag attached. Cramped, but pristine and perfect, hard lines with somewhat impressive views, white bare walls and the whitest of white carpets - it was all a little sterile to be honest, and I was feeling a little out of my depth. Give me cushions and sitting on the floor any day.

A few days later I ventured off on my own to China town, and marveled at all the random sights and smells. I found a random little tiki shop, and brought a few art prints, to brighten up my room. I snuck into Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese gardens, and sat by a large lilly pond soaking it all in, watching the Carp, Frogs and Turtles. A fascinating Ukuleleist called Boswell, who is also a clown part-time came and sat near me, and we began to chat away. We sat there for a while discussing the world at large, and promised to catch up again, he has offered to show me around Gastown - not as weird/dodgy as it sounds, I promise. Then on Wednesday night I joined a few of the couchsurfers (an Austrian, a German and a Canadian) I'd met the previous week at a Belgium Beer Cafe on Commercial Drive, and reminisced together about Europe.

I've also made friends with Jessica, a local who's also 22, and has only just returned to the city. We plan to do a lot of exploring around Vancouver together, and have started already by hitting Metrotown, a massive mall that seems to go on forever, and is in fact three malls attached by walkways. We get along really well, and we caught up again last night and went out to Dinner and cocktails on West Broadway. I recently did a gig babysitting a six year old boy called Ullie, as a favour to my roommate Maggie, who couldn't do it. He was crazily smart, and would say things like "thats a rhetorical question, you're not supposed to answer it". Although I'm not keen on doing much more childcare, every little bit of money helps I guess, especially when you have no idea when your next pay check is coming. His mother is a bee keeper, and his dad is an artist - so I've been invited to check out his latest installation, something about robotic insects (sounds interesting).

My roommate Maggie, has now left for her summer trip across random parts of North America. Even though I haven't known her long shes been fascinating to live with, pulling me out into the front yard to play with giant hula hoops and I'll miss her random stories. Shes one of the healthiest eaters I've ever seen, and when shes not hula hooping she does everything from puppetry and making puppets, playing the violin, is a clown on occasion with the pseudonym 'The Pocket Lady' and teaches drama to kids. Her sub letter, a French girl arrives in the next few hours and we shall have to wait and see what randomness, if any, she will bring.

A baby Hawk, that lives in a nest in the tree in front of my place. He must've fallen out.

I've been eating really healthily lately, and its almost impossible not to get exercise living here. Went for a walk out on this Dyke at Iona Beach, and didn't realise till I got back it was 8 kms long and I'd gotten sun burnt. Plus I live by this huge park, that overlooks the whole city, so I'll have to get up there one of these nights and take some sunset pictures for you. Boswell wants me to buy a bike to go on a big tour with him around the city, and after my quite enjoyable stint around Stanley park a couple of weeks ago, I'm thinking I just might. Haha Niki owning a bike again, can you imagine! There must be something in the water here. Still no major news on the job front I'm afraid, I have two interviews tomorrow, and a random 4 day promotional gig for a cereal company in a week or so, plus random one off Event work in the pipeline. So not ready to start begging just yet.

Well kiddies in the next blog I plan to write all about the area I live in, and paint a better picture for you of what the Canadians on the West coast are like - stay tuned.