Fifth Week

Fifth Week 27^th October – 3^rd October

This was the most beautiful week I had so far in Vancouver! The sun was shining throughout the week and encouraged to do stuff other than university and sitting inside. And if I belive all the locals (which seems like a good thing to do) then there won't be many sunny days in the next months. The first lab reports I had to write were handed in on Tuesday so there was no particular work to do. So I spent my free time running through the woods and enjoying the sunset while having a bottle of wine. It was an amazing taste – a good Merlot from British Columbia after four weeks of watery Canadian beer. Awesome! Unfortunately I left my camera at the beach which filled the rest of my night, going back there, looking for it (without a flashlight ;) ), and finally finding the camera hours later with my landlord and a friend of him who had a car. And it was worth it, the pictures are amazing (although it is impossible to get the special glimpse of the moment…) 

On Wednesday I met a girl whose address I got through several connections from Germany. She’s been living here for more than four years now, settling down in Vancouver and it was incredible what her German sounded like! I did not assume that you would lose speaking your mother language that quickly… In the afternoon I had fun finding a bank which is open later than 4 pm (and opens earlier than 10pm), which actually was impossible. This in turn made it impossible for me to pay my rent in time. Which is even more fun ;)  I finally got the money – thanks to travelers cheques and me running into gas stations talking to the friendly Canadians. 

On Thursday I spent the afternoon in the botanical garden of the university, which was nice, but nothing tremendously special, mainly enjoying nature and being outside. Afterwards we went down to Wreck Beach – the FKK beach of the university and enjoyed swimming in the fresh ocean and the warm sun! And on Friday back into the ocean after sunset! :) 

 

  Hanging out at a coffee house in Kitsilano, which is the alternative area in Vancouver where the Americans settled down in the 60ies in order to escape fighting in Vietnam, I met a very funny man, who was running a hippietruck bringing people back into the sixties flair. Peace, light and eternal grooviness  - that’s what he sent me off with ;) 

After that I enjoyed the urban flair at a sunny day – wonderful! (good lesson for me, that a sunny day spent in the city is not completely a lost “leisure” day as you would have had it in the mountains) You come out of the skyscrapers and the lively streets, standing directly at the sandy beach. In the evening we had a slightly awkward house party. Well, my landlord is somehow special and quirky. Only very few people were there relatively to the big and wonderful house, which actually is a perfect location for parties, barbeques whatever.. This month the two Japanese girls are moving out and a girl from New Zealand and a German girl are moving in. They also came to the party and we had a lot of fun yesterday, so I think we will have a good time living here. 

Now that I am up to date with the blog, having spent the last hour in a coffee house with a delicious warm cinnamon roll and a good cup of coffee – I will go off for a run into the forest! :)