Guess what? INTERNeX is going to Vancouver Island 🎉and we’re beyond excited! On our trip we’re visiting Tofino and Victoria. One thing’s for sure it’s not going to be boring. First we’re going to take the ferry over to Tofino – maybe we’re lucky enough to spot whales and dolphins. When we arrive in Tofino we’ll discover rainforests, waterfalls and giant trees. On the second day everyone can decide themselves if they want to join one of the tours (e.g. whale and bear watching, kayaking, surfing) or just enjoy the day in town, maybe check out some cute coffee or souvenir shops. If the weather allows it we’re going to have a beach campfire, of course with lots of marshmallows and a lot of stories from the recent days. On day three we’re heading to Victoria where we can enjoy the beautiful harbour by night. On our last day we’re going to stroll through the city and visit the most popular sights of Victoria. In the evening we’re going to take the ferry back to Vancouver. So stay tuned for our blog post on Monday to see how it went!
If you can’t join the trip to Vancouver Island there are still lots of things you can do, for example visit the Shipyards Night Market in North Vancouver. You can discover local treats and artisan businesses and maybe find something you never knew you needed. 😉 After your shopping tour on the market you can go through the variety of food offered there. While you’re eating you’ll be entertained with live music and you can even get some drinks in their beer garden. The Shipyards Night Market is right in front of the SeaBus station at Lonsdale Quay which – by the way – gives you an amazing view of the Vancouver skyline.
Our next recommendation is going mini golfing. You can practise this activity whether the weather is good or bad. There are outdoor Mini Golf yards e.g. at Hastings Street, Keefer Street or Seymour Boulevard. For the indoor Yards there is one in Elmbridge Way which is kind of cool because it’s black light Mini Golf. This activity starts at 6 CAD and you could combine it with some drinks or snacks as well. 🙂
We hope you’re enjoying your weekend as we’ll do 🙂
We’re so excited to welcome 6 new members to our ‘little’ INTERNeX family this week!
Here’s Nicolas (he/him) from Munich in Germany who’s going to volunteer in the field of Marketing for the next three months. He’s already been in Vancouver for a year of studies but couldn’t get enough which is why he’s back, very understandable if you ask me. He said he had the best time of his life here and a bunch of his friends are still around so he thought he’d come back before going to visit his family in Greece for a few months and starting to study Economics right after. We have a real Vancouver expert amongst us, so if you ever need recommendations you know who to ask. 😉 His favourite thing is hanging out at the beach, either English Bay, Kits, or Jericho. However, his first impression of Vancouver wasn’t really good. Upon arrival he had to go into quarantine for a few days and his luggage arrived delayed. The student accommodation was pretty bad he explains, but the people around him made his experience perfect in the end. I think that’s the key, it’s all about the people. This time only one thing is really on his bucket list: Clubbing. Last time he wasn’t old enough to enjoy Vancouver’s night life to the fullest, but that changed, so if you plan a night out, let him know. 😉 Aside from going out Nicolas likes to play soccer, travel and listen to music. Fun fact: His favourite memory from Vancouver was seeing skunks in the city. I admit they’re pretty cute, but I would keep my distance just in case. 😀
Alexa (she/her) from a place close to Hamburg in Germany will volunteer for three months in Marketing, mainly handling social media channels and planning events, how exciting! Before coming here she worked in an office and afterwards she plans on studying Business in Hamburg. Alexa has family in Canada, mainly in Alberta, but she’s never been there. On her bucket list she set it as a goal to maybe visit them, but she’s not sure how it will work out in the end. That’s one reason why she always wanted to come to Canada and I mean who wouldn’t? I’d love to have family here that I could visit anytime. 🙂 Her first impression of Vancouver is that people are very warm and friendly and that the city looks like in the movies. I’m not surprised considering a lot of series and movies were filmed here, even though they claim to take place in the United States. If you’re a movie lover I recommend looking into what movie scenes were filmed here in Vancouver. It’s super fun to find out and look for the places, plus you’ll get to know the city better through it as well. Her hobbies include playing the piano, cooking and baking traditional German dishes with her grandma and watching soccer. Her favourite team is Liverpool, and hereby the discussion is opened. 😉
Next up is Sophie (she/her) from Germany as well, but close to Frankfurt. She’s going to volunteer in HR for the next seven weeks. Back home she studies Business and plans on continuing once she’s back home. Contrary to Nicolas, Sophie has never been to Canada before but she heard so many good things about it that she wanted to come check it out, especially the nature.:) And so far Vancouver hasn’t disappointed, the people are friendly, the city is nice and the food is really good she says. She doesn’t have a bucket list for her short time here, she just wants to meet people, make new friends and see as much as possible from Vancouver and the surrounding nature. I believe that’s a good way of spending time here. Maybe you can tell her your favourite place to go to, or your must-do’s so she can get inspired. One thing’s for sure, it doesn’t get boring in BC! In her free time Sophie likes to ride horses and to go travel. 🙂
Let’s introduce you to Laura (she/her) from Germany, near Mainz. She’s going to volunteer at an organization that helps people who can’t afford lawyers to access one for little or no money. She’ll be taking calls and talk to customers, trying to find out if she really wants to study law once back in Germany. Right now she just graduated from High School and wants to use her free time to travel which is another reason why she’s here with us. At first she wanted to do an exchange High School year in the United States but Covid wiped out that opportunity for her. She’s been to the States before and thinks Canada is a bit similar but also has its differences which is why she picked it for her current journey and so far she has no regrets. When her plane landed she saw the mountains and it got her excited. She compared it to New York and says Vancouver is quite the opposite with all its nature around which makes it really beautiful. She wants to take everything as it comes and has no fixed plans on her bucket list, one thing she’ll explore this week is Vancouver Island and I’m really excited for her! It’s going to be an amazing trip! What a great way to start your adventure here. 🙂 In her free time Laura not only likes to travel, but she’s also a dancer (modern) and loves to bake. She has no favourite recipe but rather likes try out new things and challenge herself. 🙂
Another new ‘Kid’ is Ibrahim (he/him) also from Germany. He lives in Bremen but was born in Turkey. In Vancouver he is going to volunteer at a cat sanctuary. His children love cats and as soon as he is back home they want to get one. That’s the reason why he decided to volunteer in this field. Ibrahim wants to learn more about those cute animals so he’s prepared for their furry soon to be family member(s) 🐱. What a great way to approach this! He decided to go to Canada because he wants to gain international experience and improve his English skills which will help him find a well suited job in the future. Last time he spoke English was 6 years ago but I can tell he speaks really good English and doesn’t need to worry about it. 🙂 Another reason why he decided to go to Vancouver was because his brother is currently in Japan and so Ibrahim wanted to see the other side of the world. 😀 As soon as he’s home, he wants to work as a mechanical engineer. His first impression of the city was that the people are very nice and helpful. He will join us on the Vancouver Island trip which is definitely a great start to his journey here! We are looking forward to it! Besides that he wants to see the typical sights of Vancouver and discover beautiful known places. In his free time he likes to play soccer and volleyball which I can highly recommend doing at the beach! Anyone down for another match?
Please welcome Alina (she/her) from near Cologne in Germany to our INTERNeX fam. At home she loves to play with her dogs which is one of the reasons why she”ll be volunteering at an Animal Rescue Centre, she’s an absolute animal lover! She decided to come to Vancouver because she wants to work with animals, gain some international experience and because it was always a big dream of hers to go abroad to North America. We’re happy she made that dream come true. 🙂 She already received her High School diploma and did an internship at a hospital for her later studies. After her time in Vancouver she wants to study medicine – but not as might be expected for animals, she wants to study medicine for humans. Her first impression of Vancouver is that it’s amazing, overwhelming and beautiful all at once. Luckily she arrived here with stunning weather – we want that weather back! ☀️On her bucket list are many things, especially the sights of Vancouver including UBC, Granville Island Public Market, but also places further away like Vancouver Island (she’s attending our weekend trip, so the first point of her list is almost completed;)) and Seattle. Her hobbies include going to the gym, roller skating, reading, especially medical novels and of course playing with her dogs. 🙂
We’re excited to have so many new ‘kids’ with us for the summer and can’t wait for you to meet them at Pub Night! 🥳
What is better than two days of weekend? Right, three days of weekend! We definitely enjoyed the long weekend with lots of fun activities.
Friday evening some of us came together to start the weekend properly. We played some games and had some really good conversations. What did you do on Friday?
On Saturday there was the Holi festival🎉. Sadly none of us got a ticket for it but we still went to the Town Centre Park in Coquitlam. Have you ever been there? It’s definitely worth going, the park is beautiful! On that day there were three different food trucks. Some of us tried the food and had some drinks. Luckily we were able to see the people throwing colours in the air and the coordinators taught traditional Indian dance performances. After we enjoyed the beautiful weather and the festival we all became hungry and decided to grab some burgers. We found a good spot not far away from the park and stilled our hunger. We all learned something new as we wanted to pay cash: you can just leave the money on the table, instead of giving it to the waiter like in Germany. Fortunately the waiter clarified the misunderstanding.😉
After the actual weekend event with the sold out tickets for holi festival didn’t go as planned. We decided to do another weekend event on Sunday. We went to the largest night market in North America, the Richmond Night Market. The weather switched the whole day from sunny to cloudy. It seemed very dark but luckily there was no rain. After we entered the market we were surprised by the variety of the booths and the mass of people there. First we checked everything out to have an overview of the offered food🍱. As you might all know this was not an easy decision! Everybody grabbed their food and met at our table to eat together. After a little dessert we decided to go through the rest of the market and visited the gaming booths. At about 10pm we went to the train station together and went home. To sum that up we can definitely recommend visiting the Richmond Night Market with its interesting food and entertainment options
On our third day of the weekend some of us visited the Vancouver Lookout. After we bought the tickets we took the elevator all the way up. The elevator there is a special one because the front door consists of glass, so you can enjoy the view of the city the whole way up – not really suitable for people with fear of heights. The view on the top was amazing and the weather was great. After we walked around we headed back down. In our opinion Vancouver Lookout is also worth visiting, so go check it out when you have a chance. 🙂
We’re excited to hear more about your weekend at the upcoming Pub Night tomorrow!
Yippie, the long weekend is knocking on the door! 🎉 And there is so much to do in Vancouver!
Our first recommendation is going with other INTERNeXers to the Colour Fest which is part of the Holi Festival. You don’t know what Holi stands for? That’s no problem, we’ll explain it to you!
“Holi is a Hindu festival that has been celebrated since ancient times. The Holi Festival is celebrated as a way to welcome in spring, and also is seen as a new beginning where people can release all their inhibitions and start fresh.” You throw coloured powder in the air to represent the bright colours of spring and the bonfire from which Prahlad was saved.
The event will be on Saturday, May 20th in Town Centre Park, Coquitlam. There will be music, dance performances, a certain colour zone and multicultural food trucks (We’re sure there’s something for everyone). It starts at 5pm and ends at 8pm.
We’re also visiting the Richmond night market on Sunday. It’s the largest night market in North America and offers over 110 food baths from different countries! So there is a huge variety. 🌯🍱🍜
Another thing to do to take advantage of the great weather is kayaking☀️. There are a lot of good places where you can rent a kayak, for example at Deep Cove, Jericho Beach or the North shore. Renting a single kayak costs about 45 CAD for 2 hours, a double kayak about 69 CAD. Some of them also offer guided tours where you can enjoy the most beautiful spots around.
If you’re interested just go on their website, search for a free time lap and feel free to book it!
Last but not least our third recommendation for this weekend is going to the Aquarium🐠🦦. It is Canada’s largest aquarium and is located in the beautiful Stanley Park. Besides just watching animals there are different touch pools where you get the opportunity to get hands-on with giant sea cucumbers, green anemones and starfish. If you want to visit this beautiful place you have to reserve tickets online. The prize of the ticket depends on the day you want to go there. It costs between 39 CAD (during the week) to 48 CAD (on the weekend). If you’re a student with a valid proof you’re able to get a discount for about 5 CAD.
Hope to see you on the weekend! It’s going to be a great one. 😁
Today there are three new kids that we’d love to introduce to you.
Our first new ‘kid’ is Marcus (he/him) from Portsmouth, England. He is a fresh graduate in Geography and International Politics. He’ll be volunteering for 2 months at an Organization that is focused on Community Service including helping people who want to immigrate to Canada. One of his tasks could be helping people with their visa application which he’d love to do. He decided to go to Canada because of the stunning place and lovely people- as we all agree. Also there are some similarities to his home like the language. His first impression was that Vancouver is massive as well as multicultural. After volunteering he’ll try to find a job in the Rockies which is also one point on his bucket list. Other than that he wants to visit Toronto and some other cities/ places. He wants to take it as it comes. One thing we think he shouldn’t miss out on is Vancouver Island. Luckily we’re going on a trip there soon 😉 After his time abroad he wants to work in England which is also a reason why he wants to gain international work experience in Canada. In his free time he likes to play soccer and travel around the world. His goal for being abroad is getting new hobbies, especially outside. What are your favourite things to do outside in Vancouver? There’s so many to choose from, we’re sure he’ll find at least one. 🙂
The next candidate is Theodor (he/him) – but you can call him Theo – from Hamburg in Germany. He’s been in Banff for 5 months where he did housekeeping as part of his Work and Travel Program. Now he wants to do something different for the last 2 months of his stay in Canada and thought about coming to Vancouver. Before his journey over here he graduated High School in Germany. Once he’s back in Germany he wants to study Engineering. A reason why he picked Canada is that 2-3 years ago his family hosted an exchange student from this beautiful country and he had never been here by himself, so the exchange student who became a friend persuaded him to choose Canada for his time abroad. His first impression was that Canada is very cold (he arrived here in December). On his Bucket list is just Vancouver Island so far, since his mom has been here before and recommended him to go. Other than that he’d like to go with the flow and see what’s to explore. Good thing we’ll have lots of cool things going on with INTERNeX😎. He loves snowboarding & skiing (he was able to do this during last months in the Rockies). Further, he loves cycling and swimming – we recommend the parks and the beaches in Vancouver for that. What is your favourite park & beach here in Vancouver to swim?
Last but not least we’re introducing our new ‘kid’ on the blog David (he/him). He is 27 years old and comes from Würzburg, Germany. He worked as an engineer for 9 years in Germany and now wants a little change in his life including location and people. In Canada he’ll be doing Work and Travel for at least one year but he is ready to extend his journey if he likes it (we’re sure he will 🤩). He hopes to find jobs as an engineer but he is also open to other jobs. He is also really flexible with switching the location, e.g. if he finds an appropriate work in another city than Vancouver like Toronto or the Rockies, he might move there. David just wants to see how and where it goes. As soon as he arrived in Vancouver he was so impressed with how close the mountains are to the big city. This brings us to his hobbies. He definitely loves the mountains, especially hiking and skiing. Other than that he likes cycling and recently he tried out climbing which he would love to get more into. So if anyone wants to go climbing and needs some accompaniment, feel free to contact David 😉 His Canada trip starts with going to Vancouver Island, which is on his bucket list. He already booked the whole vacation including the accommodation. Fun fact: We are going to do a similar trip at the same time and we’re staying at the same hostel in Tofino, so we hope to see him there! 😉. So far David doesn’t have a plan about what he’ll do after his time abroad. He wants to enjoy his time here and learn more about people, culture and working in Canada.
We all know Pub Night is a great opportunity to get together and meet new people and cultures 🙂
INTERNeX Canada 