A Student's initial days and first impressions of Vancouver, Canada.

As I sit here in my Hostel room, writing this, its snowing outside. From my 9th floor window I can see everything is covered by a layer of white. The cars parked on the nearby roads are indistinguishable from each other, covered as they are by snow. The roads themselves are enveloped with white snow except for two parallel lines of tire marks. Far Away the university clock tower glows as it shines amidst the falling snow. Now and then a person shuffles along the empty roads. Everything looks so beautiful. Its not the first time I am seeing snow but its such a rare sight for me that it fills me with joy. The day is dark and dull but as I sit inside the warm room I look back at how it all came down to this. Its been already 3 months since I moved to Vancouver and I simply love this city.

Flight Experience

My journey started from Hyderabad where I took an Indigo flight to Mumbai. One of my acquaintances from my company was also joining the same university and was joining me on this journey. I met Mounica and her husband in the waiting area before we boarded the flight. Two more people were joining us from Mumbai. We reached Mumbai around 8 30 pm where we met Ram and Thivya. The actual pain of International flights started from here. After some laborious immigration procedures and security checks, we finally reached the boarding point after 4 hours. We only had 30 mins to grab something for dinner which we had at around 1 30 am. Then we boarded our Air China flight to Beijing. This was my first time in an International flight and I was excited enough to not get bored for the next 6 hours till we reached Beijing. I played around with the In-flight entertainment, watched a movie, looked out the windows and for most of the time, followed the flight path on the screen. Soon it was time for my In-flight meal which consisted of the following.I had requested a Halal meal package and the air hostess specifically asked about it and delivered it to be separately.

Soon we reached Beijing. It was a bright morning in Beijing when we exited the plane and made our way to the waiting hall. Contrary to all my apprehensions we had a smooth transition and we were in the waiting hall for the next flight in an hour. The airport was large and roomy and I saw lots of people wearing the long, below knee level coats. This reminded me of old Chinese movies. After 4 hours here we boarded our next flight to Vancouver. We were into our 3rd and final part of the Journey now. The excitement wore off and I slept for most of the time of this 10 hour flight.

Vancouver

Weary and tired we reached Vancouver around 10 am of a Wednesday. As soon as the flight landed we let out a sigh of relief. Our 24 hour journey was finally coming to an end. We made our way out towards the exit where we found out, to our dismay that one more final hurdle remained between us and a good sleep. This was where we were to be handed out our Study Permits. This process took around 3 hours to complete. The only thing that kept our senses intact was the good humored banter of the immigration officer who kept cracking jokes now and then. Finally with our study permits in hand we  made our way out to the exit. Here Mounica informed that one of our mutual acquaintances,Lakhsman, was coming to pick her up and Thivya. So ram and myself decided to wait till Lakhsman came so that we could meet him before leaving for the Airbnb we had booked. As we were waiting in the lounge I looked around the place. Right on the opposite of the exit doors were two figures made of what I assumed to be wood with their hands outstretched. I could quickly surmise them to be related to the First nations of the country. Before leaving for Canada I had read a book on the history of Canada and I had a bit of an idea about its history including those of the original inhabitants of the country now called the First nations.

Vancouver Airport Website mentions this about these figures ''Carved by Joe David in the Clayquot tradition of the Nuu-chah-nulth people, these welcome figures are based on those that would be placed on the beach in front of a village or a big house. to greet guests.The male figure wears the traditional knobbed hat of a high-ranking person such as a whaling chief, the female figure wears the more common domed hat. The figures are carved from cedar logs David salvaged from West Coast beaches and stand with open arms to greet international visitors as they arrive to Canada.''

Soon Lakhsman came and after a brief conversation we parted ways. Lakshman,Mounica and Thivya
 went on their way and Ram and Myself walked out of the airport. One of the main things I was worried about was the temperature. On that day it was around 3 deg. Not too cold. We  hailed a taxi and were soon on our way to our Airbnb. Our Taxi driver was an Indian and soon engaged us in conversation.Knowing that this was our first time in Canada he started offering us tips and advice. In between nodding and replying to his questions I kept looking out the window. The landscape looked like all those Hollywood movies I grew up watching. We sped past huge warehouses, neat and clean streets, pretty houses and modern fancy looking buildings. Suddenly a police car raced along with sirens blaring. By far it was the coolest police car I had ever seen. It reminded me of the Need for Speed games. We soon reached our destination. The driver could locate the house just by the street and house number which was quite fascinating to be honest. The neighborhood looked quiet and nice. Looking at it, the first thought that came to my mind was the movie Halloween, specifically the first scene where Micheal Myers makes his appearance near the Hedge. With these thoughts running in my mind, I took our bags inside our Airbnb. It was a decent place. Our room was on the ground floor. Two of our friends from India had already arrived and were staying in the same Airbnb but they were not at home that time. So with nothing much to do Ram and myself soon went off to sleep.

By the time I woke up it was dark outside. The house was quiet and still. I dragged myself off the bed groggily and  walked over to the nearest window. I drew the curtains aside and looked out the window.A row of beautiful houses ran along the street . They were enveloped in the yellow glow of street lights. But not a sight of a human being. My reverie was interrupted by the rumblings of my stomach.  I was mighty hungry. I had to eat something. I was thinking what to do when I heard some laughter from upstairs. I figured the other guys were home so I walked up and there I met Namendra and Pavan for the first time. After a brief chat I went downstairs. Ram was still sleeping and I didn't want to wake him so I just carefully walked out of the room to go to the nearby hub of shops and eateries.

This was going to be my first walk in Canada and I would be lying if I said I was not apprehensive. I walked out of the house dressed in multiple layers of clothing, woolen socks, gloves and a beanie. All ready to brave the Canadian winter. Guided by the directions given by Namendra I began my walk. Our street was lined with beautiful houses on either side. All made of wood and with pretty little gardens around. A neat pavement ran along both sides for the pedestrians. I walked on this as I looked around the houses. Now and then I had to cross a street and a few cars which were on the roads stopped to let me cross the road. I last experienced this kind of stuff when I was in Bhutan. I soon reached the main street of Kerrisdale. But all this while I didn't meet even one person. Not a soul. I was so used to the mass of people back home that this was a bit unnerving. Anyway I looked around for something to eat but found that most of the eateries had closed for the day. The only thing open was the familiar McDonald's. And since I knew that the meat wouldn't be halal I just bought some Egg Muffins to go with and trudged back home. As I walked back on the empty and desolate streets I couldn't help but wonder at the solitude of the whole area. I could see the houses and the lights inside but everything was so quiet. As soon as I reached the Bnb stay I had one muffin and I Jumped right back into the bed. Thus ended my first day in Canada. In summary it was just a tangled mass of tiredness, confusion and uneasy sleep.

University of British Columbia

I woke up the next day, my brain still disoriented and muddled. We were to go to our University today to complete a few formalities. Though I did not feel like going, I did not want to miss out, so reluctantly I joined the others. After some much needed breakfast we started our walk to Kerrisdale. The morning air was cold and fresh. I could see the pretty houses much better now and the whole locality looked immensely beautiful. We were to take the public transit bus to UBC from Kerrisdale. This was again a first for me. Thankfully I had the company of Namendra and Pavan to guide me about the process of using the buses. I liked two things about the system immediately. One was the use of cards to pay the fare. One has to simply tap a card at a screen at the front of the bus and its done. Second thing was the way everyone greeted the driver while getting on the bus and saying 'Thank you' while getting off.

I sat near the window and took in the views as the bus went on its way. Soon we entered a forested area. I could gather from the google maps which I had opened in my phone that we had just entered the University Area. Soon we reached the last stop, the UBC Bus exchange.We, like everyone else, conveyed our thanks to the driver and got off. From here we parted ways with Namendra and Pavan who were going for some other work. Ram and myself strolled around a bit. We walked around the aquatic center, the Life Building, the Nest building and the UBC Bookstore. From what little we saw we found it beautiful. But before we could explore further we had work to do. We headed over to UBC Book store to apply for our UBC Id cards. As soon as I entered the bookstore I recalled the words of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir when he visited Kashmir for the first time. He said ''Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hami ast" which translates to ''If there is paradise on earth it is here, it is here, it is here. I could alter it a bit and say 'gar firdaus, ruhe UBC ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin as" The collection of books was excellent and they had a huge stock of UBC merchandise. Hoodies, Sweatshirts, sweatpants, caps, t shirts, mugs etc. We completed our work and left the store soon. We then had to visit a bank and then we were done for the day. By 3 pm we were back in our room. As it was winter, it was dark by almost 4 pm. Thus ended the first day of our UBC experience.

Christmas Eve and Downtown.

Days passed with us going out to complete all our formalities regarding our stay in Canada.Meanwhile three more friends joined us, Sunil, Rehan and Suyog. That made us 7 in all. Till now the only exploring I did was go around the locality I was staying in and that one day stroll around the campus. Soon it was Christmas time and we thought going to downtown was the  best way to take in the festive spirit. So off we went to downtown. We called up other people of our batch and we all met near Canada Place. A building designed in the way of a yacht with sails on top of it, it is the main cruise ship terminal for the region. We wandered here the whole evening till it was dark. From here we moved on to the streets of downtown, moving around casually with no set destination in mind. The streets were a sight to behold. The shops were adorned with lights and wreaths bringing out the quaintness in them. The street lamps were lined with strings of lights. There were a number of Christmas trees here and we soon found the biggest and the best one near a street corner. A band was playing music nearby. The whole scene looked so surreal and beautiful. I spotted a shawarma food truck nearby. Namendra and myself got one soon and settled down on the steps of a nearby building. We ate the shawarmas and took in the whole atmosphere. It was a memorable evening.

Kitsilano Beach

One other outing we had was when we visited the Kitsilano Beach. Eager to go to a beach we visited the nearest one. The place where I used to work before I came to Canada was near the sea. The last time I visited the beach there I touched the water and made a mental note to myself that the next time I will be touching the water of a beach it will be the Pacific Ocean thousands of kilometers away. So the one first thing I did as soon as I reached the Kitsilano Beach is touch the water there. The beach itself is quite picturesque with nice chairs to sit on and take in the views. And plenty of area to take walks. 

New Year

Finally New year rolled along and we headed to Canada Place for watching the fireworks display. We had planned to watch the 9 pm "kids" display. Arriving 2 hours early we jostled among the crowds for a while before we zeroed in on a vantage point. We were not sure from which part the fireworks will be launched so we chose a spot in the middle and waited there for 9 pm. Finally the countdown started and at exactly 9 pm the fireworks began. To be honest they were a bit underwhelming. Maybe the 0000 hrs fireworks were to be much grander but we had no intention of watching those and we headed back home.

And thus ended the first 15 days of my new experience in Canada. One of the biggest concern I had before coming here was the weather. I had heard too many stories about the extreme temperatures of Canada but Vancouver had none of those. The temperature ranged between 0 to 4 Degs for the most of the days and that wasn't much of a problem to me.

Classes were to start from the next day and I slept with high anticipation of me going back to college life after a gap of 5 years.

5 things that I immediately liked about Vancouver
1. The public transport
2. The multiculturalism
3. The sidewalks and road crossing
4. The Police cars
5. The Waste disposal system.