TOTAL RECALL 2022 – Part III

Here it is, the last week of 2022! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I’m always still in the holiday spirit a couple days after, so I’d love to tell you about our most recent Pre-Christmas events to let it last just a liiittle bit longer. 😉 If you haven’t read the first two parts of our year review here are the links for you:

Part I: https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2022/12/14/total-recall-2022-part-i/

Part II: https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2022/12/21/total-recall-2022-part-ii/

So, here we go:

The closer winter came the more our Halloween activities shifted into Christmas/Winter. 😉 Have you been on the Christmas Market, or to the VanDusen Botanical Gardens Festival of Light? I love these kind of activities to get me in the mood for Christmas, they light up this dark cold winter time and help me stay sane. 😀 Or have you been to a Canadian Ice Hockey game yet? I can highly recommend it, even if you’re not too familiar with the sport it’s a great experience and who knows, maybe you’ll walk out of the arena as a new Canucks fan. 😉

Our last bigger trip this year was to Whistler, but this time for ski season! We had a nice hotel with a jacuzzi in every room which was really nice at freezing outdoor temperatures of -14 degrees! The weather was cold, but beautifully sunny. The first day we went on a stunning snow walk around the golf course, it looked like a real winter wonder land. The main event was obviously the skiing on the following day and for real it looked amazing, plus Whistler is also known for its great Apres Ski parties which many of us enjoyed. 🙂

Now 2022 is coming to an end and to conclude, the year has definitely been challenging with all the changes the pandemic has brought with it, especially in the tourism industry, but we can proudly say we had a great year with lots of adventures, learning curves, and most importantly awesome people.

We are grateful to be back and we want to continue helping you grow through your experience here with INTERNeX in 2023. Off to a new chapter! We wish you all the best for the next year and all the years to follow!

Did you set yourself any challenges for the next year? How has this year been for you? What was your favourite event/trip this year? I recommend sitting down for a minute and really think about what you’ve achieved and how much you’ve grown, it makes you really excited to see what’s coming next, doesn’t it? 🙂

Lots of Love,

Laura 🙂

TOTAL RECALL 2022 – Part II

Welcome back to our flashback trilogy! Walk with me through late summer and fall of 2022.
If you haven’t checked out the first part yet here’s a link:
https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2022/12/14/total-recall-2022-part-i/

As the summer continued we had a rainy bike ride through Stanley Park which gave us ‘real Canadian’ vibes with the fog lifting above the water and the trees coming through the white walls of clouds, so even though it rained we enjoyed our little bike ride, and not sure if you know it yet, but rain is not very uncommon in Vancouver. 😉 The rest of the summer was quite sunny though, ideal for an outdoor movie night at Second Beach, a fireworks extravaganza, a hike through the beautiful nature of Lynn Canyon including some cliff jumping in ice cold water, a disc golf tournament and the Vancouver Pride Parade! Looking back I gotta say I miss summer!

In August another big challenge was awaiting me, I had to plan a program in Toronto for High School exchange students from Germany, so I was gone for quite some time while Ida arrived in Vancouver and took my place here. First thing she had to do is go on our summer Rockies trip, not too bad of a start I believe. 😉 Until now she said that it was her favourite trip in Canada, so I’m glad she managed to go all by herself getting used to her new role, she did amazing. 🙂 I’m kind of sad I couldn’t join, the photos looked amazing!!! See for yourself:

But there’s always a next time. 🙂

Shortly after Tino joined our team and made sure everyone had a great experience. He only stayed for two months, but let me tell you, he gave it all he got and we love that about him. 🙂

Another of our favourites this year was the Vancouver Island trip in September, where we explored BCs raw rain forests, long beaches and wildlife. In Tofino everyone had the chance to go surfing, and whale watching which was a magical experience for many. On top of that we ended our day with a bonfire at the beach and stargazing, nothing better than that. 🙂 The next day some of us went Bungee Jumping near Nanaimo, so brave! I heard they loved it and wanted to jump again 😉 Would you do it? The trip ended with a beautiful stay in Victoria. Luckily we got blessed with a rather warm and sunny early fall!

Perfect for more fun events like another hike up Grouse Mountain, a visit at the Richmond Night Market, a Canadian Country Night, a day trip to Whistler, and a hike at Joffre Lakes. INTERNeX was pretty active this summer, I can tell you! I would talk more about it but pictures speak louder than words or how was that again? 😉 So here’s a little slideshow with event highlights:

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And what would this year have been without ANOTHER trip to the Rockies? Yes, you see this one’s pretty popular and if you’ve missed out so far don’t worry there’ll be a couple of those next year also. In case you still don’t have enough (like me, I can never get enough Rockies content), you swell in memories, or you want to mentally prepare to see this beauty in real life, here are some impressions from Tino’s Rockies trip. 🙂

As fall settled in, it got a little more quiet (well at least compared to all the summer action) We visited a bunch of Halloween events to get into the spirit and we had our own Thanksgiving potluck at the beach with games and lots of food, it was delicious!

Speaking of delicious food, are you ready for Christmas this week? What are your plans so far? What do you normally eat on Christmas? Do you have any Holiday traditions? Whatever you end up doing I hope you have a wonderful time!

Merry Christmas,

Laura 🙂

TOTAL RECALL 2022 – Part I

Wow, what an eventful year! INTERNeX came back from the ashes like a Phoenix. Even though the company officially reopened for candidates in September 2021, the real deal started with the reopening of the office in early spring, 2022. A new office in the same building, a small team with lots to do! As this year is coming to an end we’d like to walk down memory lane with you and look back on some experiences we’ve had.

First of all thanks to everyone who chose to join our INTERNeX Family this year, you made it so special. More thanks go out to some of our older candidates who decided to come back and visit this beautiful city one more time, once with INTERNeX, always with INTERNeX, you’re welcome here any time. 🙂

For me as new PR and Program Coordinator here at INTERNeX it was a challenging but rewarding year and I won’t forget to mention all the amazing help I’ve received through Tatjana who was the PR coordinator before me and helped me figure out many things to make my start smoother, and of course my awesome Practicum Students Ida and Tino. Their positive attitude was contagious and made working with them so easy. I think I speak for everyone when I thank you all for the great events you organized, the crazy pub nights you made people feel welcome at, and the exciting trips you managed.

But let’s rewind and reflect on what actually happened this year. For me it all started with the first Rockies trip in April. Frozen lakes, snowy mountains, camp fires, hot tubs, slippery hikes, scenic Banff with lots of possibilities to explore the cold spring in Canada. If you ever get the chance to go, I recommend taking the Gondola up Sulphur Mountain, it gives you breathtaking views over mountain ranges and the valleys. Another nice activity was a hiking trail at Lake Louise which gives an amazing outlook on the lake and the Fairmont Chateau, reminding me a little bit of Hogwarts from above. 🙂 Please keep in mind to dress properly for this hike in winter since it’s really icy! Even though we had a lot of fun sliding down the mountain I believe the experience is better with proper shoes. 😉 Let me tell you, the Rockies are always a good idea no matter if winter or summer, and so was this one. See for yourself:

The next trip didn’t wait long. In May a small group of us went to Whistler which is only a two hour bus ride from Vancouver. We were relaxing in our condo with it’s own hot tub, played games by the fireplace, went out for lots of partying and even managed to go on a bike ride the next day to explore Whistlers beautiful nature. 😉 A lot of times Whistler is associated with skiing, but it’s also a great place to visit during summer time for hiking, biking, or simply escaping the big city life for a couple of days. 🙂

In June the first large group arrived and only had a limited time of 4 weeks to enjoy Vancouver so that meant events after events! We’ve climbed the challenging Grouse Grind (I dare you to do it), played a heated BubbleBall match (sooo much fun), celebrated Canada Day at the beach, saw an awesome performance at Theatre Under the Stars in Stanley Park, and got wet in a kayak at Deep Cove! On top of that INTERNeX went to Las Vegas for the 4th of July, yes I know it was such a crazy time, but I’m grateful for all the experiences that came with it and that no one actually got lost. 😀

Another of my favourite days was probably the day trip to Victoria with Moose Bus in July. We had amazing weather and our tour guide Mike was a real specialist in the area, so he made sure we get the best out of our short stay in the capital of British Columbia. We wandered through the Fisherman’s Wharf, enjoyed wide ocean views along a pier where we also saw some otters, and had free time to walk around the city, I personally really liked the little hidden alleys in China Town. I realize that BC just has so much to offer, it never gets boring!

What was your favourite summer event? Are you ready for next summer yet, or do you enjoy the colder winter weather?

Stay tuned to go with me through last fall in our next year review blog post.

Until then, have a great week!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

Year Review – Part 4

If you are reading this – congratulation you made it to the end :D! Joking, of course.
As wintertime comes closer, everyone is getting quieter and humans and nature tend to calm down a bit – well not us, that’s for sure. Indeed, the past months have been very exciting, especially the Wednesdays have been everything but “calming”. But let’s start at the very beginning.
Once again, the INTERNeX crew went to an Escape Room Game this time with a different team and different challenges, but with the same success? Well, all I can say is, that there are a few faces on that group picture I never got to meet… alright, I am just trying to be funny here okay, don’t be too hard on me 😉 (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/10/04/what-to-do-on-the-weekend-170/).
After a fantastic thanksgiving dinner and a fun time together at the office, a new face joined the group. And I am very glad to be part of this amazing group, thank you guys, ever since I arrived here I had a fantastic time (https://internexcanada.
wordpress.com/2019/10/17/newest-addition-to-the-pr-team/).

MY very first event to attend was the Haunted House, well I thought this was super exciting and I had a fantastic time. Turns out that I am a lot jumpier than I wanted to admit (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/10/28/how-was-your-weekend-113/).
And because it was that time of the year the upcoming weekend just happened to stay in the same theme, a little less scary this time. The INTERNeX Halloween Party took part at the Blarney Stone. Great costumes, music and of course some drinks made it a fantastic night once again (https://internexcanada.
wordpress.com/2019/10/28/how-was-your-weekend-113/).

The next trip happened to be very closed to the city and still it felt like taking a break from the busy life in downtown. We took the ferry to Granville Island and had some amazing food and some deep talk over a beautiful sunset watching Vancouver’s Skyline (https://internexcanada.
wordpress.com/2019/11/04/how-was-your-weekend-114/).
As the weather was surprisingly nice, we decided to go on a little hike once more before the cold and rainy winter days would finally hit us. And as Lynn Canyon Park combines so many highlights and natural beauties, this has been a very good choice.
Some of us (just one wild Swedish) decided to climb some rocks to conquer the wild and raging river. Well to be fair, this is a bit exaggerated, but it got quite challenging and everybody was happy to have him on the safe side of the river again … dry. Still you are a brave man, I am not going to take this from you :-D! (https://internexcanada.
wordpress.com
/2019/11/12/how-was-your-weekend-115/).

As the Christmas season had just began, we decided to go on a little – very European adventure. We went on the German Christmas Market here in Vancouver. And it was beautiful. But since the Glühwein just happened to be $9 each, we had to come up with a different plan eventually. Yes $9! And no, you did not get a whole bottle for it, just a single cup!  Long story short, we went to the Yale Saloon and changed from mulled wine back to our weekly classics (that sounds a lot worse than it actually is … I promise :D). It turned out to be a wild and interesting night after all (https://internexcanada.
wordpress.com/2019/11/25/how-was-your-weekend-117/).
As the December started, we got to do a “Canadian Classic”, as I like to call it. We got to see the hockey game of Canucks vs. Oilers. Independently from the final result, it has been a good game … as far as me as layperson could judge (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/12/02/how-was-your-weekend-118/).
And then we got to welcome another addition to the PR-Team. Therefore, thank you to our one and only Australian ;-). You did a great job and we miss you incredibly! (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/12/03/newest-addition-to-the-pr-team-2/).
The following weekend we went ice-skating, for the sake of the winter feeling. And we actually discovered big talents within the group. Guess what it wasn’t me… proof is to be found in our Instagram highlights (internexcanada) :D. Jenny and Sophie actually delivered quite a show and took their time to teach us some of the basics, like moving forward for example …. (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/12/09/how-was-your-weekend-119/).  And because snow isn’t really a thing in Australia (surprising I know, but I desperately needed an opening line here) we actually we actually someone’s dream come true to see snow again. Equipped with skies and snowboards we spent a beautiful time up on Grouse Mountain (https://internexcanada.
wordpress.com/2019/12/16/how-was-your-weekend-120/).

Some of us (another Swedish guy), were unstoppable and actually went skiing and snowboarding (even tho time wasn’t split equally 😀 >> sorry for those Inside jokes, but I had to mention this).
Finally, our Christmas Party was the perfect way of ending this incredible year. Thank you so much for being part of it.
I hope you enjoyed our little journey through time. You are also more than welcome to check out our Instagram page, where you will find all the pictures of this journey summarized in our highlight (internexcanada).

Anyways, I cannot wait to start 2020 together with you.

See you very soon!

–Nadja xx

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Year Review – Part 3

And here the story continous – let’s take a closer look to July, August and September 2019!

As July came around it was time to put our hiking shoes back on and make our way around Lynn Canyon, one of our favorite places to visit here at INTERNeX. Located in the district of North Vancouver we certainly let our watches behind as we missed the first bus (oops) but that just gave us more time to get to know each other 😉 when we finally arrived everyone was super excited to cross the famous Lynn Canyon Bridge, defiantly something to see while you are here in Vancouver. (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/07/08/how-was-your-weekend-106/)

 

Trading in our hiking shoes for our camping tent, we enjoyed the most beautiful weekend camping on Vargas Island. I never knew how much Tetris can help you in life until we had to pack all of our stuff into only 3 cars while still having to fit our bodies in there. It was going to be a challenge to get back into the cars on the way back as we enjoyed many tasty foods on the island such as burgers and s’mores (s’mores are a must when you are camping). Enjoying each other’s company with an island fire and a beach party was something you won’t forget. Unfortunately, every weekend has to come to an end, but the memories will stay with us forever (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/07/16/how-was-your-weekend-107/).

 

We always love getting our INTERNeX team together and what better way to do it than to enjoy a day at the Van Dusen Botanical Garden. The weather was on our side this day as the sun wash shining bright and the beautiful atmosphere of the botanic gardens filled our eyes with colour (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/07/22/how-was-your-weekend-108/).

 

INTERNeX has finally grown out of its teen years and we wish it a very happy 20TH ANNIVERSARY!!! A surprise party had been organized for Tim. We thank Tim for all of his hard work and everything that he has done for INTERNeX and everyone involved. We had organized many people from all over the world to come and experience this special moment with us and surprise Tim with some familiar faces. With both current and former INTERNeX people the night was then all about celebration (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/08/01/20th-anniversary/).

 

Moose bus adventures always have our back when it comes to our Rocky Mountain Trips. On Friday we started our very long bus trip but our spirits were always lifted by our driver, Mike. Here at INTERNeX we always love a good challenge, why not jump in every lake we find (I think we underestimated how many pretty lakes there were in Vancouver haha…) Everyone enjoyed the scenes even if they didn’t swim in every lake though. After the long exhausting trip on the bus we still felt the need to share a drink or two or three that night – this lead to the very quiet bus ride the next morning 😉 (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/rocky-mountains-trip/).

 

Sunny and warm days are for hiking and exploring. The INTERNeX team arrived at Deep Cove then hiked up to Quarry Rock to admire the view. Its always nice to reward ourselves with some delicious Honey Doughnuts and goodies. Although we still had a long bus ride ahead of us back to vancouver we had another amazing day with the INTERNeX team (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/08/26/how-was-your-weekend-109/).

 

Bike tours are a great way to see more of Vancouver. We met at the Waterfront Station where we started the tour and we thank Vancouver for holding the thunderstorms till later (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/09/09/how-was-your-weekend-111/).

 

 

 

A MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO >>LILLY (https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2019/07/09/the-pr-team-has-a-new-member/)

Lilly has spent many countless hours planning these events and writing Blogs to keep all of out INTERNeX team informed and entertained during their stay in Vancouver. She has done an incredible job and should be congratulated on her work. Thank-you Lilly from all of us here at INTERNeX.

 

 

 

– Sabrina

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com