New ‘Kids’ on the Blog

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 🙂

We hope to see you there! ☺️

Cheers,
Anna & Chiara 🙂

New ‘Kids’ on the Blog

I know you missed it last week, but this week won’t disappoint and introduce 3 new ‘kids’ on the blog!

Let’s start with Dalia (she/her) from Germany where she last lived in Leipzig to study. Her goal is to become a teacher for children with special needs and give them the best chances to find a job after finishing school. She’s very aware of the great responsibility that comes with her job and it shows. Here she’ll volunteer at a pre-school in order to get to know the Canadian school system better and learn from it. She told me that the Canadian school system and education was always given as a great example during her studies, so for her it was clear that she has to come and look for herself. Afterwards she’d also love to work in Ireland for a bit and get to know the school system there before going back to Germany. Her first impression of Vancouver was that it’s super multicultural with great food options! She loves to wander around foreign supermarkets and check out what exotic things she can find to try. 🙂 Another big thing she noticed was all the Indigenous art at the airport and around the city which she enjoyed and would like to explore more since it’s an important part of this country. She’s very interested in different cultures and learning about them. Another thing she wants to do while she’s here is going on hikes. No better place than BC to do so, am I right? 😉 Other hobbies include running and baking. Dalia used to be part of a running group at university and already ran a half marathon! Her regular route is 8-10km long, meanwhile I was on my 10km Sun Run and thought I wouldn’t make it. 😀 I guess the shortbread cookies she likes to bake give some sort of special energy boost, I’ve gotta try them! 😉

Meet Jannik (he/him) from Augsburg, Germany. He loves taking care and working with animals so he’ll be volunteering at an Animal Rescue Centre for 4 weeks. It’s more of a hobby though, back home he studied Education but realized he doesn’t quite see himself working in a classroom, so he’d rather study Art and History when he returns to Germany. Never too late for a career change (especially when you’re only 22). It’s most important that we like what we’re doing on an every day basis, wouldn’t you agree? 🙂 Jannik has pets on his own, two cats and a tortoise, so he comes into this with some experience. He also enjoys watching Ice Hockey a lot! It’s one of the reasons he picked Canada next to the weather and the nature that intrigued him to travel here. He’d love to watch an Ice Hockey game while in Canada. Unfortunately the Canucks are done playing for this season and only a few Canadian teams are left in the Stanley Cup! Since Jannik plans to travel to Toronto by train after his volunteering, he might be able to see a game. Let’s cross our fingers the Maple Leafs are going into the next round, so Jannik gets a chance. 😉 We’ll make sure to at least watch a game at a sports bar so we get the stadium like atmosphere! His first impression of Vancouver was that people are friendly and the city is very beautiful. In his free time he likes playing lots of sports like tennis, going to the gym, watching movies and rock out to Metal music. I’m sure he would’ve liked to join me to the Megadeath concert last Friday. 😀

Here we have Hannah (she/her) as well from Germany, close to Mainz. She’s been here for 4 weeks already attending a language school before volunteering in Marketing. Before her journey over here she graduated High School back in Germany. Her plan when she goes back is to study Business Chemistry which will give her many job options later on, e.g. working in a lab or an office. She wants the best of both worlds. 🙂 Her main goal is to improve her English which is why she wanted to come to an English speaking country. Originally she planned to go to the United States, but the people around her were not too impressed with that idea since they think it’s not very safe, so when she decided to pick Canada instead her family was very happy. 🙂 Her cousin was in Vancouver already and liked it a lot, so it seemed like a great option for Hannah as well. Her first impression was that Vancouver is very rainy (I’m not surprised, indeed people call it Raincouver) but thankfully summer is starting soon which means less rain and more sun. 🙂 She thought it’s very beautiful though and enjoyed a couple days at the beach when it was sunny, so now she’s looking forward to experience summer in this amazing city. On her bucket list are visiting Seattle, Vancouver Island and Whistler, as well as going for hikes. Good thing we’re planning a trip to Vancouver Island at the end of this month. 😉 In her free time she likes to go to the gym, play sports and meet friends. Let’s make sure she has lots of new friends to hang out with here!

I can’t wait for you to welcome our new ‘kids’ into the INTERNeX family at tonight’s Pub Night!

See you then,

Laura 🙂

New ‘kids’ on the Blog

This week we don’t have 1, not 2, but 3 new kids on the blog!

Our first new ‘kid’ is an absolute animal lover! Say Hi to Antonia (she/her) form Offenburg in Germany. 🙂 During her time here she would like to spend some quality time with furry friends which is why she decided to volunteer at a Cat Sanctuary for the next 7 weeks. Besides the cats Antonia is very eager to see Orcas in the Pacific Ocean which is also one of the reasons why she chose to come to Vancouver! After some research she read that Vancouver Island would be a great spot to see the lovely killer whales in action. Good thing we’re planning a trip to Vancouver Island next month. 😉 After her stay in Canada she goes on for another 7 weeks to South Africa. There, she will volunteer in Kruger National Park, again with animals of course. 🙂

After reading all this you must think she’d like to do something with animals in her future career but actually she’d like to work in an office for a large company. She’s already worked at that company back home, but in a different position that’s not necessarily for her. Before working she just finished High School and is now taking some well deserved time off for herself. Her first impression of Vancouver is that it’s very calm and nice with lots of nature close by. Other than seeing Orcas, not much is on her bucket list. She will go with the flow and if she does see one of those beautiful whales, she’d like to get a tattoo to remember that experience by. I’m optimistic that she won’t leave Canada without crossing that point off her list. Maybe you want to join her on a whale watching tour? 🙂 Or maybe you’d rather play a round of darts with Antonia? That’s her newly found hobby which was influenced by her father’s passion for the sport. I say we go to a bar and practice some throws. Maybe at Pub Night?

Next we have double trouble. 😉 Justine (she/her) and Marie (she/her) are both from a small town in the South-East of France. They met each other about a year ago in Business School where they attend their second year together right now. Both need to gain some hands-on experience in an English speaking country, so they decided to volunteer at a Fashion Organization here in Vancouver. They are interested in how it operates, how it got where it is today, and they’d like to discover many different areas like design, communication, or social media.

Justine picked Canada because she wanted to experience a different culture and get out of her comfort zone back home. Vancouver is far away and gives the perfect opportunity to explore new ways of life. Her first impression was that Vancouver is big and beautiful with lots of nice people around. On her bucket list is to see an Ice Hockey Game and in general to discover as much as possible in the next 4 months. 🙂 Her hobbies include fashion, Formula 1, and sports in general. She used to especially like Handball! Her favourite food is Italian, so take out your recommendation list and let us know where to get the best Italian food in town. 😉

Marie always wanted to visit Canada because she thinks it’s a beautiful country, isn’t she right? 😉 Her first impression of the city is that it’s big, diverse and has many dogs – which she likes, so it’s a good thing. 🙂 While she’s here she’d like to experience many local things and immerse herself in the authentic culture of this place. Her interests are fashion, music and asian cultures, especially Korean and Japanese. She really enjoys K-Pop and Anime. One of her favourite foods is Sushi. I’d say Vancouver is a great place to have some good Sushi, what do you all think? 🙂

I’d love for you to meet the three at tonight’s Pub Night! Make sure to come by!

Cheers,

Laura

What to do on the weekend?

This week is the Vancouver Fashion Week! It’s the second largest Fashion Week in North America and the fastest growing one, so you should not miss out on this amazing opportunity of seeing the show! There’s multiple countries represented so it will be interesting to learn about fashion in different cultures. Day tickets are $75. Now, imagine yourself sitting in one of the rows closer to the stage, feeling like a Fashion Critic, watching models catwalk, mingling and networking in-between or after the shows to create new connections. Going to the show is also a great reason to dress up and show your own sense of fashion! 😉 Get inspired and enjoy the atmosphere of this exclusive event, I’m sure you won’t regret it!

Another cool event is happening this weekend: The Vancouver Sun Run. It’s a 10km run which I’m sure you could still sign up for if you wanted, but it’s also cool just to watch and cheer on your fellow INTERNeXers who are up for the challenge, participating in the run! There’ll be entertainment along the way and I heard there’s also going to be an after party. A good way is to grab something to eat and watch the people run. 😀 I hope I’ll make it out of there in one piece! Afterwards we could all meet up to celebrate Selinas Birthday! She’s turning 21 and would love to go to a pub or something for a few drinks and celebrations. And if we’re honest, we all just want an excuse to go out, don’t we? So here it is, all we have to do is make it a great time! Who’s in? 🙂

Visit Cypress Mountain for UBC x Cypress Rail Jam on Saturday or for the Slush Cup on Sunday!
The Rail Jam is open to the public with prizes, music and and saying goodbye to the 2022/2023 season.
The Slush Cup is Cypress Mountains biggest event of the year. “Challenge yourself to make it across the ice-cold water dressed in your silliest costumes. Strap on your skis, board and helmet and show us your skills. Prizes to be won, Live DJ and snowboard legend Brett Tippie to MC!” Maybe you could also just watch the craziness from a safe distance. 😀
Here are some more information for you if you are interested:
https://cypressmountain.com/events

All these events are super fun and worth dropping by in my opinion! I hope you have a great eventful weekend and please report at the next Pub Night how it went. 😉

See you then,

Laura 🙂

New ‘Kid’ on the Blog

This week’s new kid is from Zurich in Switzerland. 🙂 Please welcome Selina to the crew! While with us she’s going to volunteer at an animal rescue centre and for afterwards she booked a grizzly tour through the Rocky Mountains, how exciting! But that’s not enough, she’s also going to rent a camper and explore BC for 2 more weeks before going back to Switzerland. She’d love to see Vancouver Island and parts of Northern BC, what an adventure!

Back home she works as a draughtsperson in architecture which is why she’d like to visit some cool buildings in the city. In her country there are not as many skyscrapers she explained. That’s one reason why her first impression of Vancouver was great, next to all the surrounding nature which she also loves. On her bucket list are not only buildings, but also lots of hikes and explorations in nature like Cypress Mountain, or Lighthouse Park. Her passion is city, landscape and wildlife photography, making Vancouver the the perfect place to be for her then, or what do you all think? 🙂

Next to photography Selina also loves fitness. She goes to the gym 5 times a week which is why even here she wants to find a good place to work out, any recommendations? The reason why she picked Canada is because between her options it was less expensive, plus her mom visited Canada about 20 years ago and thought her daughter might love it here as well. After some research Selina was convinced and we’re happy to have her with us for the next 2 months. 🙂 One more thing: This Sunday Selina turns 21, so I think we should throw her a party, or maybe hang out with her at a cool pub? Who’s in for some celebrations? 😉

We can discuss the details at Pub Night!

See you then,

Laura 🙂