What a lovely week. Summer arrived in full strength (even got up to 30 Celsius a couple of days!!) and many days were spent either swimming in mountain rivers or at the beach. Rather wonderful, just how summer should be :-) 

Unfortunately it's back to low twenties and cloud this week :-(

Come back summer weather, come back!!

Had an odd dream just before I woke up... Somehow I was back in Australia, but I had a date with Keenan in Canada the next night, so I was trying to organise how to get back quickly and justify it to Mum and it was just a rather weird dream...

 I went for a hike, well long stroll really, with my housemate Xianny and some of her friends today to Pitts Meadow. Really nice. It wasn't very far away either. 

Anyway here are some pics. 



( Clicky here fore more prettiness.  )

WELCOME TO CANADA :-)

I have been here for one week and one day now. Feels longer.

MONDAY - Got into Vancouver International Airport in the afternoon - my flight was delayed by about an hour and a half. It's only about 2 hours from San Fran to Vancouver. Quick! I watched Whale Rider on the flight. I've really got to stop watching sad movies on planes... I always cry!
Got through immigration easily enough and got my work permit.
Collected my suitcase (it had an unfortunate shampoo explosion- at least it smells nice?) - it had been inspected in San Fran by the TSA.
Jumped on the Skytrain to Downtown Vancouver. I wish Melbourne had a train out to the airport!
Found my hostel easily enough - although I felt like a bit of a knob dragging my suitcase behind me. Missed my backpack! The hostel was alright. Not the best I've been to and kind of made me want to find a house straight away. It was full of Aussies. Couldn't believe it. Felt like I was back in Australia. Chatted to some people in the bar. They were nice, but I wasn't really inspired to see them again.

TUESDAY - Freezing day. Plan was to explore Downtown but I kept retreating into cafe's to escape the biting cold. I got a phone (Fido) and started looking seriously at places to live - emailed a few that looked alright and Mark got back to me pretty quickly so I went and inspected the room! I liked it! It's in Burnaby, takes about 20-30 minutes to get Downtown on the skytrain. The house is very close (2 streets away) from Holdom Station and is rather big - 2 kitchens, 6 or 7 bedrooms, 2 lounges - I think there are 9 housemates including me.
My room is huge. I need more furniture, it feels too empty! Anyway I like it. I know you're never meant to get the first house you look at, but this was exactly what I wanted so I took it. Only thing better would be if it was closer in, but being on the skytrain route makes it not a problem. It's pretty cheap - $550 a month with internet & utilities included. Sweet. If I lived in Yaletown or Gastown or Kitsilano or the West End, which would be way cooler, but twice as expensive.
Mark said I could move in straight away if I wanted, so I said I would move in the next day. Had already paid for the night at the hostel. Feeling rather happy and wondering if it could really be that easy (yes) I headed back to the hostel for my last night. Met my roommates Chris & Callum from Canberra. They invited me out for dinner with them and we had a really good night. Went down to Gastown for dinner and a few drinks at a place called Steamworks, then headed back Downtown to an Irish pub for a few more drinks. They met up with their mate Ross who is living here this year - he said he might be able to get me a job at his work. I'm not holding my breath, but it would be cool.

WEDNESDAY - I packed up(amazing how much mess I could make in two days) and moved to my new house! Easiest move ever. I just rocked up with my suitcase. Luckily the room is partly furnished - there is a double bed, cabinet and walk in robes already there. Signed the paperwork and settled in. Bought some new sheets, doona, pillows etc.
My housemates: everyone is in their mid-twenties or so.

• Mark - Canadian. Owns the house. Nice? 
• Jen - Canadian. Mark's girlfriend. Kind of looks like him.
• Hannah - British. Student. Lovely. Very nice.
• Luke - British. Hannah's boyfriend.
• Dan - Canadian. In the room next to me.
• Tracy - Canadian. Moving soon. Good.
• Jess -
• Alex - Haven't met her or Jess yet, just heard their names!

There are two women, I'm guessing Jess and Alex, who I haven't met properly and who don't seem all that interested in meeting me! But the rest are really friendly. Hannah and Luke invited me to go out with them tomorrow night and to Whistler on Saturday :-)

THURSDAY - Got my bank account sorted. Vancity.

FRIDAY - Hung out with Callum. We went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It was pretty cool, although at first my feet got soaked and freezing. Need new boots. The weather fined up in the afternoon though and we spent the afternoon wandering around Gastown and Yaletown before drinking at various pubs. Met up with Ross again. Good night. I think I need a break from alcohol. It's not affecting me anymore!

 I can't believe January is already over! Didn't it just start?? 

I leave in less than three weeks now. Before I know it I'll be on the plane! These 3 weeks will totally fly by, but I predict that the first month/two will totally drag when I am trying to find a job/house/friends etc.... I'm not really looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to 3-6 months plus down the track when I'm settled and whatnot. 

Anyway have a bit to do before I leave as well, I haven't really done anything yet. I am quite good(bad) at leaving everything to the last minute... 

So. 

Have already done the important stuff:
-Passport
-Canadian Working Permit
-American 5 Year Tourist Visa
-Plane ticket to LAX

Still need to:
-Travel Insurance
-Make some plans after first week
- Pack
- Sort out banking 
-Ummmm probably a lot of other stuff that I can't think of at the moment. 

Instead of writing tonight I have been looking at Canadian mobile/cell phone plans. Plans are usually 3 year commitments, no thanks. Besides you need credit checks and what not, so that is ruled out for me anyway even if I wanted a plan (which I don't, I hate them)

So. Prepaid in Canada is a load of crock. Such a rip off!!! It's even worse than it was here 7-8 years ago. Aussie prepaid deals are soooooo soo sooooooooooo much better than Canadian ones!!

Local and long distance calling on your cell? What now???

And the rates are shitty compared to what I'm used to here in Australia and from what I experience in the UK. Luckily I don't actually use my mobile much...

I feel sorry for Canadians. I wonder if they know how bad they have it...

So.... CANADA?!

Elisa and Ian are going to move to Canada next year for a year or two... the other day Elisa said something about me going as well, and now I keep thinking about it. Ian also kept saying I should come.

So I've been looking into it... 24 month working holiday visas for Aussies are really easy to come by, and pretty cheap (A$190), and I'd also have to get a B-2 American visa (US$131) so that I could visit there if I wanted, which I would want. Leeron would definitely kill me if I lived in Canada and didn't come and visit him!

I'm thinking British Columbia - that's where Elisa and Ian will be, and I have some friends in Seattle which is only about 2 hours away from Vancouver. And.... Portland's only 5 hours away. But that is not allowed to be an issue or deciding factor at all. I can't let myself think about that. Of course I do though... :-S *headdesk*

So yeah. That's my current thinking.... summer in Australia, then Canada for I don't know how long... see how I like it and whatnot. Plus will be a good opportunity to see more of North America and travel. And always a plus, put off making any career decisions for another year or two haha.

I have only been thinking about this for 2 days, so we'll see how long it lasts....