How was the weekend?

It was rainy and still kind of cold on the weekend which called for cozy nights and things to do inside. Let me tell you about my weekend Highlight.

After a change of plans INTERNeX met Friday night to watch a movie at VIFF and I gotta say, I haven’t been disappointed yet. The movies they show are not really comparable to all those Hollywood Blockbusters that you find in a classic cinema. “VIFF strives to engage and empower communities, encourage dialogue, educate, and champion local artists.” So it’s not just sheer entertainment, but whenever I attend a movie at VIFF I leave a little bit wiser. I learn about different cultures and the movie stays with me for a while after I leave the theatre, thinking about what I just saw and reflecting on it. I find it very special and love to support the artists of the film.

This time we watched a movie about a group of Arab and Jewish women attending a video workshop at a small town community centre run by a young filmmaker from Tel Aviv, who teaches them to document their lives. As each student shares footage from her home life with the others, their beliefs and preconceptions are challenged and barriers are broken down. It gets very emotional and gave us lots to talk about after we’ve seen it. It’s like looking into another world without leaving yours and in my opinion that’s what cinema is about. That and the fresh popcorn of course. 😉 Overall I really enjoyed the night and from what I’ve heard, so did the others. 🙂

Are you a movie lover? Would you be interested in watching a film like that, or do you prefer the classic Hollywood movies?

Let me know in the comments or at our next Pub Night! 🙂

See you soon,

Laura 🙂

How was the weekend?

As you might have noticed, there were a lot of people in costumes around Downtown this weekend and you wonder, why? Simple, the Canada Sevens (Rugby) took place in Vancouver this weekend. A game lasts two halves of 7 minutes and each team has 7 players on the field (hence the name). It’s very fast, intense and a lot of fun to watch with many entertainment sections in-between the games. INTERNeX went to check it out and although we weren’t experts in the sport we had a lot of fun. One reason might’ve been the drinks we had beforehand. 😀 Some of the girls also enjoyed watching the sidelines where the players warmed up more than the actual game, if you know what I’m talking about. 😉 I really liked dressing up, having the stadium experience and feel connected with the rest of the audience when we were cheering for the Canadians in the last game of the night. Have you ever been to a Rugby game? Would you go?

Saturday some of the girls met up for a movie night! Can you guess what movie? 😉 We went to see Magic Mike – The Last Dance and from what I could see we all enjoyed it. ;D Before the movie started we equipped ourselves with some fresh, warm, buttered popcorn and drinks from Starbucks. I was surprised to see one in the movie theatre but I gotta say I love it! Call me weird, but I think it’s a genius combination – having a hot coffee at the movies with your popcorn, especially because popcorn here is salty, so the sweet drink balances the flavours out perfectly. What do you think? Team sweet or salty popcorn? Coffee at the movies, hell yeah, or hell no? Let me know in the comments.

Another exciting event I attended this weekend was the BC Bike Show that – to my surprise – also had lots of booths about travel and adventure activities all over the globe, but mainly in BC, or the West of North America. It gave me some cool inspirations for some INTERNeX events in the future so stay tuned. 😉 Not only professionally, but also personally it was an awesome event with lots of discounts, for example for a diving course, and chances to win great prizes, big and small. My favourite was a bear bell that I won by spinning a wheel. It makes it safer to go on hikes in the summer warning bears that humans are around, so they keep their distance. 🙂 I also tried out sitting in a paraglider. They almost got me to attend a class even though I’m afraid of heights and you can only operate it by yourself, so you need a lot of trust. 😀 The thought of gliding in the air is very tempting though, plus it would be a great challenge to overcome a fear! How about you, would you do it?

I hope your weekend was eventful and fun! I want to hear all about it at Pub Night on Wednesday!

See you then!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

Canada facts – movietime

Where are all our movie lovers? People who’re always up to date with the newest movie and practice binge watching as a professional sport? This blogpost will definitely be something for you 😉

Is it New York or our beloved Vancouver? Maybe you’ve seen Vancouver in many movies you’ve watched in the last years 🙂 But did you recognize that it isn’t New York or Seattle but Vancouver? Might be difficult so let us have a closer look ;).
Firstly, I’d like to tell you a short story about something that happened to me during my time in Vancouver. Back in 2017 on my way to my daily language classes on W Hastings street, Vancouver Downtown I saw camera teams everywhere. The people weren’t allowed to cross the street – except us language school students. It felt like being a celebrity for like 5 minutes 😉 So I continued walking straight to the language school building to not disturb the shooting. Right before entering the building I turned around and saw Ryan Reynolds on his motorcycle ready to shoot the movie Deadpool 2. Pretty cool and exciting moment. Believe me – here’s the evidence photo.

So that’s it from my own experience; let’s continue with some popular films and series that take place in Vancouver.
How many movies were filmed in Vancouver? Do you know any of these movies? I’m pretty sure you will…
Beside Deadpool, there is one of the most successful movies you’ve probably seen or at least heard of. Getting a little naughty we can talk about 50 Shades of Grey. Have you noticed the huge building called ” Bentall 5 tower”? In the movie it’s transformed into “Grey Enterprises” where many scenes take place. Maybe you’ve had dinner at Peckingpah BBQ in Gastown (like I did) or visited the Fairmont Hotel. Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele have been there as well. 😉 It’s true; in the movie it seems like everything takes place in Seattle but as in mentioned before it’s often not like this; this movie is a good example for Vancouver which stands in for Seattle.

The famous action blockbuster I, Robot with Will Smith is also shot in Vancouver. You can spot filming locations of the futuristic city in the movie by the Marina City Towers, Wrigley Building and Pier 94.
There are famous movie locations at every corner. Even right on the arrival at Vancouver International Airport, you can spot a well known movie scene. This place was featured in the horror classic “Final Destination” as New Yorks JFK Airport.
Love is in the air – movies such as Always be my maybe or one of my favourite movies Love guaranteed are being filmed in Vancouver too. It’s pretty cool watching movies in which actors enjoy their time in Downtown or on a walk in Stanley Park. If you haven’t seen this movie it’s highly recommended by me.

Surely you know the Twilight Saga? Also this one was filmed at different locations in British Columbia especially Vancouver and Tofino – of course as it is typical for these movies, mostly in the forest.
Certainly, there are many more great movies but some series you might know are shot in Vancouver as well. The famous classic Suits as well as Arrow or Riverdale found their perfect filming location in this Canadian city.
Hope I could give you some “that’s amazing oh I didn’t know” moments 😉
Enjoy watching you favourite movies or series and if you already visited some of the filming locations – let me know!!!

We’d love to see you at tonight’s pubnight:) 6pm at The Beaver pub!
Cheers

– Tatjana

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

What to Do on the Weekend?

How fast the week has passed by and we are again facing a wonderful weekend ahead of us. And what great things are there to do this weekend – have a read below!

Vancouver as a very outdoorsy and sportive city of course celebrates its 10 Year Anniversary of the 2010 Winter Olympics. So for all sports enthusiasts, on Saturday,
February 22, from 11am to 6pm, a free fan festival will be held at Jack Poole Plaza, which is part of the Vancouver Convention Centre, which was the International Broadcast Centre during the Games. The festival offers athlete meet and greets, stage performances, sport demonstrations, lots of food and drinks, the relighting of the Olympic Cauldron, and other fun activities.

For those of you who would like to learn more about the local indigenous tribes and their traditional performances, you should consider attending the Talking Stick Festival. It is running from Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23 in various locations. This indigenous performing arts festival features artists and scholars, who come together to celebrate indigenous performing arts with the help of theatre, storytelling, writing, music, spoken word, dance, film and visual arts. Its 2020 theme is Chén̓chenstway, “upholding each other, lifting each other up”.

Being concerned with the indigenous culture, Stanley Park Ecology Society hosts a walk & workshop on indigenous plant use this weekend on Saturday. By walking through the park’s forest with an indigenous guide of Coast Salish descent, you will learn about edible, medicinal, and survival uses of plants, as well as the traditional and present-day indigenous use of and relationships with local plant and wildlife. You can register for this event online.

For everyone motivated in spending a part or even the whole weekend skiing or
snowboarding, Grouse Mountain is opening its doors for 24 consecutive hours of winter
fun! From February 22 until February 23, including sundown to sunrise, you can dance, ride or skate the night away under the night sky as DJs play cool tracks. Ski down Grouse’s beautiful slopes as long as you want to or simply dance the night away on Vancouver’s mountain roof top. Complimentary shuttles will run to make it easier to access this great event.

And then, not to forget, there is the movie night at Anniina’s place!! Her apartment building offers a really cool movie theatre that you guys should check out this weekend. Find more info and the link to an extra group in our Whatsapp group.

I hope this blog post gives you some inspiration for your weekend, enjoy every moment of it!! See you very soon! 😀

– Felicitas

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

What to do on the weekend?

The weekend is ahead of us and in case you don’t have any plans yet, here are some suggestions, as to what you can do.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast for tomorrow isn’t looking too good. Since you might not want to be outside, how about you go to the movie theater. The current movies being played, will take you back to your childhood. For example, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, where Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds lends his voice to Pikachu. Or the Disney classic Aladdin, where you will see Will Smith as the genie. If you have not seen it yet, you could check out the record breaking, star packed movie Avengers: Endgame.

On Sunday the weather is suppose to get better. Giving you the opportunity for example to go on a hike at Lighthouse Park or at any other of the many hiking trails in and around Vancouver. Another lovely way to enjoy sunny weather in Vancouver, is by relaxing on one of Vancouver’s beaches.

If you want a bit more action, there will be the Color Fest 2019 on Sunday. The fest will celebrate the South Asian spring festival Holi. The event will include music, dance and a community color “war”. It will be held in the Town Center Park Coquitlam from 1pm to 4pm. The admission is $10 and you can get the tickets online.

In case you want some cultural experience, you could visit the European Festival on Sunday. The festival will be held at the Vancouver Alpen Club at 2875 Victoria Drive. 15 different socities are participating in this festival to share their cultures. There will be concerts and performances, a marketplace, and food. Admission will be $5.

Our event this week is the hike at Joffre Lakes on Sunday. On the way there we will make a quick stop at Shannon Falls and our way back we will stop in beautiful Whistler for dinner. Thanks to everyone, who decided to join us and see you on Sunday!

Enjoy your weekend!

-Megan

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