Saturday, June 5, 2010

May 29 2010 - ship's log 02: Arriving in Vancouver

Arriving on Toronto's Airport, I knew Ana, Juliana and Raíssa, who came to Vancouver too, Juliana and Raíssa will study at the same school that I will - ILAC. After the first check on passport, we were sended to immigration line, where the agents check what your intentions on visiting Canada. Then we have to get our baggage to do the connection to Vancouver. The 3 girls called to their families in Brazil. Raíssa and me took the same flight, more 4 hours sat. I slept 1 hour in this flight and watched (500)Days of Summer. I liked it because I could understand 70% of the dialogues.

The captain's airplane nice landed - without bumps ou jerks. I picked up my luggage and went to take the skytrain. At the same time I tested, my credit card, to buy the ticket, and the skytrain. To take the skytrain you don't have to pass by a turnstile, you just buy the ticket - I really didn't discovered yet how to validate the ticket. The skytrain is smaller than São Paulo's Metrô, they have only 2 waggons, without division, and don't have a driver.

Arriving at the Oakridge – 41st Avenue Station I started to look for a taxi, I was carring more than 50kg in baggage - 30kg in a bag, 13kg in another, 7 in my back, and my notebook on my shoulder, but I couldn't see one taxi at the street. So, I started to walk. Some streets have the East side and the West side, I supposed to wlak on the East side, like google maps indicated to me. So I walked to the number 120 and I didn't find it, I guess that I was lost, so I went to the corner to see the street's name and it marked 41th Ave W. I tought, that I was in the wrong way, in that time I saw a plumber leaving a house and going to his van, I stopped him and asked where I could get a bus, my arms was really exhausted. I show him the address, and he offered me a ride, I accpeted at the same time. The van was really messed with the equipments and tools, but the ride was what I really needed.

The plumber leaved me on front of the house. I rang the bell and Sasha immediatly show me my room, she asked me if I was hungry, I told her that I would have lunch later. So I started to unpack my baggage. A hour later I went to the upstaris to have lunch. At the kitchen Sasha show me where a took the flatware and the food. I started to hotting my dish, and the guys who living there showed up - Kyle, a 24 years old korean, Guillermo a 22 years old mexican.

We started to talk about where I am from, what my purpouses in Vancouver, all this first contact conversation. The food is not bad, the ingredients are not strange to me, rice - prepared in a rice cooker, salmon and kimchi. Mirrian and Sasha are korean, so that's why of this kind of food.

I came back to my room, Kyle show me his room, that he was leaving, he adviced me to took his room, because it is bigger than that I took, and gave me the wi-fi password. I talked with some friends at messengers, read my e-mail box, and got a break to rest on the bed. I started to read, but I was tired then I took a nap.

At 3:30pm Kyle knocked on my door to say good bye.
At 5:30pm Mirriam comes to me to call for the dinner. At the kitchen he explained me where I could find food, and introduced me the other guys: Karen, 20, from Mexico, Kaya 22 from Kazaquistan, and Cindy, korean girl.
We all ate together. After the dinner Mirriam asked me about the payment, but I answered that I've already paid to ILAC. She explained some more things about Vancouver: advicing me to not accept rides, because she accepted once a time, when she was just arrived in Vancouver; and to not walk at night, she showed me the free newspapers wich we can get every day: Metro and 24H; I started to read the newspaper 24H - here I guess it's better than Metro, and she told me that another guy was comming to the next day, so she suggested me to move to Kyle's room, and I accepted. She cleaned the room, and then I moved.

http://www.yvr.ca/en/Default.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_%28Vancouver%29
http://www.translink.ca/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakridge_%E2%80%93_41st_Avenue_Station

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