Top 10 things I'm going to miss about Vancouver

As I come closer to leaving Vancouver for a year I can't help thinking about everything I will leave behind (as excited as I am for new adventures and a new place) and so I thought I would do a short post on the top 10 things I will most miss about Vancouver, since you know, it's not the worst place to live ;) Now the question is...should I do a "Top 10 things I'm NOT going to miss about Vancouver list?" ;)

1. Seeing the snow capped mountains everywhere I go on a perfect, clear sunny day.

2. The smell of the ocean as I bike along the beach at Jericho.

3. Tasty, fresh and cheap sushi.

My Italian cousin, Nicola and I sampling some of the best sushi and yes, I am wearing my "You have died of dysentery t-shirt".

4. That perfect clean, crisp BC air. (Not really sure how you portray air in a photo...)
5. Hiking the mountains and the grouse grind (yes I actually will miss the grouse grind!)

The Chief

View from Grouse Mountain

6. Being able to choose from pretty much any ethnic food group when I go out for dinner. (here I am drinking Guaraná at the Brazilian Festival this summer...okay, so it's not food...but hey, it was ethnic and yummy)

7. Watching people love/hate the Canucks/Luongo on a daily basis (including myself).

I hate Luongo.

I love Luongo!

8. Knowing the arts & culture scene like the back of my hand.

9. The cherry blossoms.

10. Being somewhere where everybody knows my name and they're always glad I came, in other words - ALL my peeps in Van and on Van Island. Especially these two girls in particular.

Me and adorable little girl I will miss #1.

Me and adorable little girl I will miss #2.

My 101 List comes to an end

A few years back I took up the challenge of creating a list of 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days. It was very fun and exciting at the start, but as I progressed through it I realized that perhaps some of the goals were A)Not fun enough and B) Too ambitious. It was a great motivator to do things that I'd been putting off for a while, but if I were to do it again I would add more wacky and weird things like Dean did (I will never forget his "Make a pie out of whatever ingredients I can find" goal....that was just plain disgusting)! I am brainstorming a new type of fun list of goals for when I'm in Europe which I can blog about. Anyone have any ideas?

My final total of completed goals was 51/101. At least I passed....just barely. ;)

Why travel?

"Glorious it is when wandering time has come." -Eskimo song

There's been a question a lot of people have been asking me lately and something I've been thinking about as well and it's this: "Why do you want to leave your job, family, friends and life here and live abroad for a year?" I realize that there are some people who have no desire to travel or live in a foreign place, we all have different paths and desires after all, but that has never been me ;). From as early as I can remember I have wanted to explore. I have had that call to distant lands, that urge to jump out of my comfort zone and be transported to another world. You don't always have to go far to experience this. Just driving across Canada was an eye opening experience for me (and yes, Canada is huge so it is far I realize ;). I've lived abroad twice now, both times in the UK and both were very unique and life changing experiences. This time I wanted to live somewhere where I had to learn a new language. My passions in life are music, culture and languages and I have always wanted to live somewhere where I would be forced to learn a new language.

So what is it about travel, about living in a foreign culture that calls to me so much? My mom gave me a wonderful book a few years back by Phil Cousineau called "The Art of Pilgrimage" and its beautiful words tap deep into the traveler's psyche. As he says, "A pilgrimage is an opportunity to reconnect with your soul" (p. 87). Maybe living for a year in another country is not exactly a pilgrimage, but I'd like to think it is a type of soul journey for me (and sure I could even throw some soul music in for good measure.)

There is something so raw about being thrown away from all you are used to, forced to make a life for yourself somewhere new where, in general, nobody knows you and every day there is a good chance you'll feel awkward and uncomfortable or say something embarrassing (well, I do this at home all the time anyway so that's not too new for me ;). You could say that about living just about anywhere else, but throw in a new culture and country and it brings the challenges and joys to a new height. My friend Janet told me a while back that the thing about living abroad is is that your highs are higher and your lows are lower, but I haven't met a single person who has ever regretted the experience.

It's not an easy thing to leave your loving family (particularly your ridiculously cute nieces) and amazing friends back home, but there is also nothing like the thrill you get from connecting to a foreign land and people. Also, lucky for me I have some wonderful friends and family already in Europe. I will never forget standing on the edge of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland and feeling the pull of that stunning scenery or even just walking to and from work when I lived in Winchester, England and being steeped in history. Maybe it has something to do with my European mixed breeding, but I often feel a pull to all my countries of origin - Italy, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, England etc. There is something about being in the place where your ancestors came from that makes you feel even more like you.

I think we've all felt different calls in our life, whether it is for a certain career, education, activity, person...and of course location. It's usually only after we've been there for a while, or even come back home that we truly know why we went. So pretty soon I'll be off and if nothing else, I'll have some good stories to tell. ;)

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber

The German consulate - efficiency and an ocean view

Germany for the win! I have a work visa!

As you may have read in my last blog post on bureaucracy I was about ready to cry after my experience at the Italian consulate. I decided to take a look at what other countries had to offer and since my cousin Greg had been touting all of Germany's many wonderful benefits I decided to look into it. For any Canadians out there from 18-35 years old Germany and Canada now have an agreement called the "Youth Mobility Agreement" which encourages young Canadians to have a cultural work experience in Germany. There are a few different types and the website states that:

Under the YMA, the German Foreign Missions may issue a visa to the following individuals:

-young Canadians interested in work and travel during their stay in Germany
-young Canadians who wish to do an internship
-Canadian post-secondary students
-young professionals

It's free of charge to apply for it and lasts for an entire year. The major requirements other than age are that you have to have full travel and health insurance paid for before you even apply for the visa for an entire year and a one way ticket booked (although they didn't even check for this at the consulate.)

So I really had no idea what to expect when I made my appointment for the consulate. I went it with a binder full of paper work...proof of everything under the sun including a three times revised letter of invitation from my cousin. I was ready for anything.

My appointment at the beautiful German consulate in downtown Vancouver was scheduled for 11:00am. I arrived exactly on time and was out of there in eight minutes flat. The visa officer was warm and friendly, even commenting on my German middle name (my mom's maiden name). She took my application, looked at my health insurance, quickly peeked at my passport and then said, "You can pick up your visa tomorrow morning." I just looked at her for a moment dumbfounded and replied, "I'm sorry? What? That's it? Tomorrow?" She smiled and nodded and said, "Yes, it's our easiest visa." She didn't even look at the flights I had painstakingly booked, my letter of invite, my financial records...nope. I was in. Apparently Germans love Canadians. So far so good anyway. I glanced around the immaculate, peaceful consulate which has stunning views of the mountains and ocean and almost laughed. What a difference from the Italian consulate. Now if I could only import Italian food and language into Germany...hmmm.

About a week later (since I couldn't come in any earlier) I went to the consulate to pick up my passport and visa and once again was out of there in eight minutes flat. Since eight has always been my lucky number (with my birth date of eights) I figure this is a good sign.

So, with passport and visa in hand I can now work legally in Germany as of March 12th, 2012 in any job I can get (which may be slightly limited due to my current lack of German skills...hey at least I can say "I don't understand" and "I bring you new sacrifices" in German...) other than au-pair work (they apparently don't want us English speakers coming in and corrupting German kids with our North American English) and starting my own business.

Anyways, visa and paperwork may not be the most scintillating of topics, but I tell ya, when your life plans are in the hands of some bureaucrat in an office, you suddenly care...a lot.

Eruope....here I come! Are you ready for me? :)

Bureaucracy - as complicated as its spelling.

Is it just a coincidence that the word "Bureaucracy" kind of translates roughly as "Office-crazy" as in "Office" in French and almost the word "Crazy" in English? I think that about sums it up. As of February 16th, 2012 I will be on a one year leave of absence from my job at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC and will be jetting off to live and work in Europe - mainly Germany and possibly a bit of a stint in Italy as well. My initial dream was of Italy....but then I experienced the world of Italian bureaucracy first hand and finally started to understand why Italians are famous for it.

I wanted to apply for the working holiday visa for 18-35 year old Canadians to work and travel in Italy (I highly recommend it if you are only going for a max. of 6 months). When I realized I would be going for a year I thought there may be a way around this. I decided to take a day off work to go to the Italian consulate since they didn't respond to any of my questions via email and didn't pick up their phones. When I arrived downtown Vancouver at the Italian consulate there were no signs directing you anywhere so I asked a random man where to go and he told me visas were the 7th floor but that I needed an appointment. I just smiled and nodded. Turns out he was working the reception desk there and had the strangest Italian accent I've ever heard. So I ask the woman at the reception desk if I can talk to the visa officer and once again she tells me I need an appointment to which I tell her that it doesn't say that anywhere on the website and no one responded to my inquiries. Finally she sighs and tells me to wait until after these other women are served and then she'll allow me to talk to the visa officer. I could tell she was less than impressed with me so far. After an hour of helping one person I finally get to talk to the visa guy. He told me he remembered getting my email but that the email didn't work when he replied. I just laughed to myself because my whole email address is in Italian...it would be pretty hard for him to mess it up. Anyways, he told me that the visa is only for 6 months for all of Europe and that I'd have to leave Europe immediately after 6 months and have all my return flights booked in advance. Then he proceeded to tell me that the only way to stay longer would be to have an Italian employer offer me work, then I would have to return to Canada, apply for an Italian work permit and only then could I go back. Also upon arriving in Italy I would need to register with a city within the first 8 days and I still haven't been able to figure out if you have to stay in that city or if you are allowed to live elsewhere. The website says a different thing than he did, naturally. I have to say it was quite fascinating watching the various characters come into the consulate and chat about their personal lives in front of everyone (divorces, home ownership in Italy, and lots more). I could understand bits and pieces of it anyway.

Needless to say I realized that this was not a very likely scenario (getting a job offer and returning to Canada to apply for a permit, that is). Senore visa officer (who was actually very nice but not very informative) vaguely answered a few other questions which contradicted most of the information I got from the website again and then I sadly kind of gave up on the Italian visa idea. I still hope to possibly study Italian or work some English immersion summer camps in Italy (which don't require a visa), but we shall see. If nothing else, I will visit and eat good food and see my relatives and hopefully bask for a little while under the lovely Tuscan sun, see the magnificent David again in Firenze and of course enjoy the world's most beautiful language (in my humble opinion :).

The other factor in my decision of course is the state of the Italian economy right now...I think I'm starting to understand why it is the way it is. I decided to look into a visa for Germany (since my wonderful cousin Greg loves it there so much!)....and that will be my next blog post.

6. Go back to Hawaii or somewhere tropical or "Top 10 reason I love Hawaii"

Aloha! Well, as my 101 list comes to an end this month I thought I should catch up with a few things that I actually did manage to do recently. One of which was to go back to Hawaii this past winter with my friend Michelle! I know that everyone who has been to Hawaii says they love Hawaii and it seems like such a typical tropical destination but here's the secret - it really is the most amazingly awesome place. I have only been to the island of Oahu, but I do plan on visiting other islands next time, but still I feel like I can speak for the general qualities that make this one of my favourite places.

Here is my top 10 list of reason I love this place -

1. People actually greet each other with Aloha and mean it.
2. People will give you the hang loose sign and mean it.
3. Despite the constant inundation of tourists year long locals remain friendly and welcoming to tourists (well at least all the ones that I encountered.)
4. The temperature fluctuates between perfectly warm and slightly warmer all year round.
5. The water is amazing and you can stay in it for hours.
6. There is a constant smell of flowers and other lush things in the air.
7. There are so many types of tropical fruit fresh and ready to be eaten all year round.
8. You can't help but be laid back, relaxed and just completely chill when you're there. It's practically the law.
9. You can wear whatever you want and no one will blink an eye (for example men actually wear Hawaiin shirts there as office clothing.)
10. You are guaranteed to always get "leid". (couldn't help myself ;)

Next stop....Maui! :)

Shooting with my new Canon Powershot G12

After a few years of being frustrated with the slow shutter speed of my camera I finally got a new one and I'm loving it so far! It's the Canon Powershot G12 with 10 Megapixel resolution, a 5 x zoom and all sorts of cool gadgets including high definition video shooting. I've been having tons of fun with it lately and here are some of the shots I've taken so far. I think my buried photography passion is rising to the surface again! :)