What to do on the weekend?

Happy Easter Weekend everybody! Are you excited to have some time to explore and relax? I sure am. 🙂 There’s a few things you could do this weekend.

My first recommendation is going on a hike with INTERNeX! We are going to Quarry Rock in Deep Cove which is a great viewpoint to look over the water, forest and houses along the North Shore (awesome for social media pics). The trail is pretty easy without getting boring, so if you’re a beginner you can definitely do it, and if you’re advanced you’ll still enjoy the walk. It leads past multiple streams, provides ups and downs through the beautiful rainforest of BC with its calming green colour all around you. I think it’s an awesome little hike and an amazing way to spend the day.

If the hiking doesn’t intrigue you then I have another catch for you. At Deep Cove there’s one of Vancouver’s most famous Doughnut Shops with usually still warm, fluffy buns in different flavours such as coconut cinnamon, chocolate, or Canadian maple. They also serve coffee, so after your hike you could warm up and reward yourself. How does that sound to you? And don’t worry you won’t miss it, there’s only a few shops and cafes around and I guarantee you in front of this one you’ll see a line. 😉

I hope the weather doesn’t stop you from joining the trip, it can be very unpredictable, but if you wouldn’t explore just because of a little rain, then you’d live a boring life in Raincouver. I encourage you to go despite the weather like a real Canadian adventurer. Make sure you check the forecast and dress accordingly, it’s always good to bring a rain jacket, trust me, I’ve been there and I’ve learned.

Another thing you could do is watch a sports game, there’s Ice Hockey, Soccer and Baseball going on this weekend, all of which offer unique stadium experiences! Grab a footlong hotdog, peanuts and sushi at the Baseball Game with multiple game highlights. Watch one of the last Ice Hockey Games live in Vancouver for this season with lots of action on the ice and fun entertainment during the breaks, or cheer on a soccer team with fans around you chanting, drumming and passionately following their team through the 90 minutes of action. Each sports event has their similarities but in the end is quite unique and definitely worth checking out!

Since it’s the Easter weekend, how about a little bunny hunt? Not literally of course, I’m talking about just watching them hanging out by the beach, enjoying their company from a distance. You might wonder where to look for them, and I can tell you: Jericho Beach Park. There’s lots of wild bunnies hopping around the grass and sand. Seems like the perfect Easter spot! Count for me how many bunnies you see. 😉

BUT: Please respect their environment and do NOT touch or feed them. This is very important because it can cause possible health threats for the fluff balls and the public, plus it has negative knock on effects to the environment. If you touch them they are in distress and might bite or scratch you which can transmit deadly diseases to humans. Feeding the bunnies can end up in a $500 fine and it’s not only unhealthy for the rabbits, but they can also become more vulnerable to predators and spreading disease. The food can also attract other rodents which might lead to infestations and further opportunities for spreading disease.

Of course the beach offers not just the experience to watch cute animals, but it also shows off with nice views over the mountains and the city skyline. There’s trails in the park and you can go on a long beach walk basically all the way to UBC! If you’re looking for a nice Sunday walk, this is it. 🙂 Maybe you want to explore the Pacific Spirit Regional Park, or check out some local cafes close in the area as well?

Whatever you decide to do this weekend I hope you enjoy it!

We’ll see you again next Wednesday at Pub Night and then you can tell me all about it. 🙂

Cheers,

Laura

What to do on the weekend?

No question, you should celebrate St. Patricks Day! But before you immerse yourself into this experience, let me give you a little bit of background knowledge.

Saint Patrick lived during the fifth century and is the patron saint of Ireland. His death is believed to have been on March 17, 461 which is the day of the celebrations. The probably best-known legend of St. Patrick his explanation of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) by using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.

Fun Fact: The first St. Patrick’s Day parade didn’t take place in Ireland but in America in 1601.

1772 homesick Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in New York City to honour the Irish patron saint. From then on the enthusiasm for St. Patrick’s Day parades grew. Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, especially throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. Popular dishes include Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage and champ. In some places you find green beer, green rivers and of course people dressed in green black and gold.

If you’re really interested in the history, meaning and background there’s more stuff on the internet like articles, videos etc. 🙂

INTERNeX is obviously going to an Irish Pub here in Vancouver to get the full experience. 😉 Are you coming? Or do you have other plans to celebrate?

A good idea is to buy tickets on pre-sale or come early since it’s going to be super busy and it might be more expensive to get tickets at the door. But nevertheless there’s lots of things going on around the pubs as well. I recommend checking out the place in front of the art gallery or just wander across Granville street to take a peak of what St. Patricks Day might be like, but be aware there might be some intoxicated people along the way.

You don’t like partying? I’ve got another idea for you this weekend that involves cultural program. I heard a lot of you like dancing, so how about checking out the Vancouver International Dance Festival? There are performances this weekend in different locations and the tickets range from $20-35. If you want to find out more check out their website: https://www.vidf.ca/

Another good thing to do if you like to be more active outside and are into winter sports is spending the day at a local mountain like Seymour or Grouse for example. Enjoy the last days of the season before spring arrives and the slopes won’t be as good to ski or snowboard anymore! Right now mountains are easy accessible through a shuttle or public transit. A lot of gear can be rented on the mountain as well, so really there’s no excuse for you not to go. If you are lucky you even get an amazing view over Vancouver when you’re up there!

As always, I can’t wait to hear about your weekend at our next Pub Night!

See you then!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

What to do on the weekend?

This weekend INTERNeX is going on a bike ride along the sea wall around Stanley Park. Definitely a must do while you are here. The route offers beautiful views, close to the ocean and the parks forest, while technically being in the city. It’s a unique park with lots of different areas to explore. We could of course walk around as well, but that would take a long time and it’s not quite as fun as biking. Don’t worry you don’t need to have your own bike, we can just rent them right at Stanley Park. 🙂

Another great activity for weekends is hiking. Vancouver is perfect for a day in the nature since it’s so close and has so much to offer. There’s numerous trails around that you can choose from. I recommend getting the AllTrails app. It shows you maps, routes, difficulties of the trails, time, etc. There’s also comments and tips from others that have been hiking those trails which can be really useful. Make sure to check out our ‘Hiking Survival Guide’ as well before you head out to your adventure.

If you like Music Festivals at the beach this one’s for you. The Vancouver Folk Music Festival takes place at Jericho Beach this weekend. It’s a unique, community-based celebration of contemporary and traditional folk and roots music. There’ll be artists from Korea, Chile, Mexico, Taiwan, India, Finland, the USA, and Canada. A day pass is $68.60.

In case you want a cultural program, but are short on money, you can get a free guided tour through one of the most beautiful and historic concert halls in North America. Vancouver Civic Theatres offers a 90 minute walking tour, led by the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame at the Orpheum theatre, which was built in 1927 and is now a National Heritage site. Fun Fact: Frank Sinatra got kicked out of the theatre once, for breaking one of the dressing room lights while practicing his golf swing.

Looking for something to do in the evening? Good news, the Richmond Night Market is still going on till October! It is the largest Night Market in North America and attracts over 1 million visitors each year. There’s lots of booths and unique food, sometimes live music on the stage and other fun activities. General Admission is only $6, so I’d say if you have the chance you should definitely go and check it out. These are their hours of operation: Friday: 7PM-12AM; Saturday: 6PM-12AM; Sunday: 7PM-11PM

So, what are you going to this weekend? Are you team active or team culture? Or maybe both?

I look forward to hearing about your weekends next Wednesday at pub night. Hopefully I’ll see lots of you on our bike ride. 🙂

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

Candidate Exposé – Helena Lauterbach

Wouldn’t it be great to share stories of previous INTERNeXers and see what they have experienced so far? I definitely think it is. So i want to introduce you to a good friend of mine who had the unique opportunity to get to know beautiful Canada (with me) a couple of years back. This is Helena, 22 years old from a small town close to Bochum in Germany. She’s currently studying environmental engineering which she started after her stay in Canada. She definitely decided to come to Canada for multiple reasons. On the one hand she wasn’t sure what exactly to study , so she decided to go abroad for a gap year. Yes, she stayed in Canada for a whole years which i think is absolutely amazing. She also had the aim to improve her language skills and since people in Canada speak English and French it was a great way to learn both languages. Moreover, she also wanted to meet new people from many different cultures. Additionally, she had heard a lot about really friendly people and the gorgeous landscapes in Canada which made the decision for Vancouver much easier. Who would say no to live in a country that has so much to offer?

During her stay in Canada it was kind of a “half and half”. Initially she participated in the practicum program where she did an unpaid internship for 6 months. She stayed at a staffing company based in the middle of downtown Vancouver. Maybe you can spot the big “W” when being there. That’s the building she worked in. Her tasks were to support this company with employing people and organizing promotion events.
Since she wants to work in an international company and speak English more fluently, this practicum was really useful for her career goals. She also became more independent in handle new and sometimes even challenging situations with different kinds of people.
After her practicum, she participated in the work and travel program. During the winter months she worked as an lift operator in Mount Seymour which came with the free ski pass for the whole season and for other locations such as Cypress Mountain as well. This was a really great experience and is highly recommended by her.
She told me that she made countless beautiful memories in Canada, but the Rocky Mountains trip was definitely one of her highlights. In addition, the view from Mount Seymour over the whole city Vancouver while lateshift was pretty amazing.

Of course, she also joined a few of the INTERNeX organized events. At the beginning of her stay she participated in the most because through these she got the nice chance to get to know people more easily and to establish contacts with people from around the world. She would have liked to take part in more pubnights, but as an 18 years old it wasn’t always that easy.
Side fact: In Vancouver you’re an adult from the age of 19.

But she could enjoy a few and also many other activities such as the open air cinema, a biketour in Stanley Park – yes as you can see in the picture we had a lot of fun – and beautiful hiking trips. Of these she liked the Garibaldi lake, Squamish Chief and the Joffre Lakes Provincial Park the most. She also went skiing very often (because of her job 😉 ), had BBQ’s at lakes and visited Vancouvers beaches. On the weekends she exploited the opportunity to go to Vancouver island, including Victoria and Tofino to explore the beautiful area out there. This definitely sounds like a great time and an incredible stay in Canada. After these experiences Helena told me that she’s highly motivated to travel more. She also wants to say thank you to the INTERNeX team for the help in preparing her time abroad especially with the work permit but also for the great opportunity to meet amazing people and see new wonderful places.

Hope you enjoyed our first Candidate Exposé after such a long time.

Cheers 🙂

– Tatjana

INTERNeX International Exchange
2005-689 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 0J2
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

How was your Weekend?

The last full week before Christmas has started, so lets get it on. This is also the last official week, where Christmas music in the office is .. let’s say ,tolerated’. So go out and enjoy .. at last this is what will be doing!

The weekend has been very active. Saturday morning the INTERNeX crew gathered in downtown for a very adventurous trip to the mountains. And by ‘in the morning’ I basically mean in the middle of the night, as it was still dark outside and not even coffee was working effectively against the jawning. Besides that it must have been very entertaining for outsiders to see us struggling with the heavy equipment making our way through downtown. Eventually we actually made it to the bus and headed towards Grouse Mountain.  The gondola took us all the way up the mountain and the first snow was to be seen. Some of us, maybe especially the Australian, bursted out in excitement by seeing the beautiful white wonderland. Apparently snow isn’t so common in down under ;-). Some of us decided it would be a better idea to rent out the equipment up the mountain, therefore the first stop has been the rental store. Those who rented there stuff in downtown waited outside, and decided to prepare for a little snowball attack to give the other ones a warm welcome as soon as they’d leave the rental store. Yes we know, this is incredibly grown up … :-D. As the waiting time turned out to be a lot longer than we expected, we ended up firing all the ammunition on each other. Of course we had enough time to even prepare a second round for the ones inside, which they clearly
appreciated… not ;-D. 
Anyways we finally managed to get up the mountain, put on those skies and/or snowboards and more or less successfully went down the slopes. For lunch we treated ourselves with pizza and some other semi-healthy snacks and cool beer and ciders before we went back out in the snow. Also discovering the fact that snowboards are the perfect toboggans, was a lot of fun and apparently a pretty good way to get down a slope if you are struggling to do it the recommended way, with your feet on the board. We also discovered that exactly that is apparently undesirable … spoilsports!

After this very long and exhausting day we got into the shuttle back to downtown. What a fantastic day. I cannot wait to go again. 

Sunday I went on a little hike to the Quarry Rock and we actually enjoyed a stunning view from up there. As it was raining in North Vancouver and the sun shining in Vancouver, the sky looked breathtaking. So in case you haven’t been there – this is definelty a place to see!

So far so good. 

I hope you already bought your Secret Santa.
In case you don’t really know what a secret Santa is and it will be working, check out the blog tomorrow as an explanation will follow.

Have a fantastic start into the new week! 

Cheers,
Nadja x

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