INTERNeX News – Remembrance Day

Travelling is not only about taking pretty pictures and meeting exciting new people, of course we all also want to learn something about the country and culture we stay in.

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Therefore Public Holidays are just the perfect opportunity to widen our horizon and learn about what people are actually celebrating or thinking of.

As you might know and surely must have noticed when walking through town, next Monday is Remembrance Day. This is not only a topic we should gather some information about, because we are currently staying in Canada, but also because this is a topic each and everyone should keep in mind and think about from time to time. Therefore here some helpful information about what this day is all about.

Starting from scratch, the Remembrance day, or earlier known as the Armistice Day marks the end of hostilities during First World war. It is a day remembering all the fallen soldiers, not the victory or any political and/or military events.
Nowadays it’s not only supposed to remind on First World War, but all Wars!
Because it is and always will be very important to remember all the horror and grief wars drag along. Nobody should ever forget, how hard times like these effected each and everyones life. Even though the first world is long gone, we should think about it from time to time and never get lazy speaking about it.

Most ceremonies in Canada include certain things, like two minutes of silence, the playing of the ‘Last Post’, the recitation of ‘In Flanders Fields’, and the wearing of Poppies. ‘In Flanders Fields’ is a poem written by a Canadian soldier and became one of the most famous symbols of First World War. The poem embodies the sadness, the loss of loved ones, the worries, but also the faith that needs to be kept up. Within the poem John McCrae mentioned the Poppies, which were found on most of the western front. Throughout the bombed and destroyed landscape the poppies were the only thing giving colour to this tragic scenery. Later on the blood-red poppies overgrew many mass graves and therefore they became more and more symbolic for the fallen soldiers and tragedy of First World War. 

Almost in every part of Vancouver you will find different ceremonies, concerning this very important day. In downtown you’ll get one at the Cenotaph Victory Square (located on the corner of West Hastings Street and Cambie), starting about 9:45 am. Afterwards there will be a big parade.
Another big ceremony will take place in Stanley Park at the Japanese Canadian War Memorial, starting at 10:40 am.  

As this is a public holiday, I hope you’ll have a great day off and spent your free-time wisely, thinking about this very serious and important topic. 

Cheers, 

— Nadja

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

 

 

INTERNeX Canada: Exposé of the week with Maria

Today our person of the week is Maria. She is from Germany and came to Canada to attend language school and do an internship in order to gain some international experience. Her trip to Canada, which has lasted for two month, is coming to an end this week. Half of her time in Vancouver she spent as an intern right at INTERNeX being part of the PR Team!

Why did you choose Canada?
With INTERNeX I found the only organization that offered such short internships. Since I have a job at home I could go abroad for 2 month only. So I had the choice between Canada and New Zealand. I picked Canada because everybody goes to New Zealand and I wanted to do something different. That’s why I am in Canada!

What do you like most about Canada and Vancouver?
I love that Canadians are so friendly! They help you with whatever you need, for example, ask you if you need help when you are just looking on your map in the city. I think Vancouver is good place to live. I liked the mix of mountains and ocean, the nightlife was great, there are a lot of different cultures.

What trips did you do in your free time? Did you join INTERNeX trips?
Oh my god, there were so many activities. We saw the Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, biked around Stanley Park, had a tour through Rogers Centre. I went shopping in Seattle and watch the “Dragon Ball” canoe race in Deep Cove. With INTERNeX we went to the Rockies during the Easter holidays and I joined INTERNeX ice skating and go-karting. Pub Nights were also fun, it was a different event every Wednesday. One time it is a pool game, another time you do karaoke or watch a hockey game.

What is the most memorable thing you did in Canada?
For me it was the trip to the Rocky Mountains! The whole tour was fun: the nature was impressive, my roommates were awesome on this trip and we are really close friends now, even the bus ride was a lot of fun.

Is your internship useful for your education or career at home?
Definitely. First, I improved my English, which is always useful. Especially business English is necessary for my career in Germany. Second, the work I did during the internship is beneficial for my job at home. I work in the communication sector, so PR experience is very helpful.

What kind of tasks are you responsible for on daily basis?
I helped with everything t in the INTERNeX PR department. For example, I participated in promotion and organization of events as well as in cooperation with our partners. The biggest part of the job was social media, so I wrote blogs and newsletters. I also did welcome orientations for new candidates and even designed a new presentation for specific locations in the Rocky Mountains.

What was the best think about your internship?
The best thing is that I got to go on trips that I organized. The best one was our INTERNeX Zipcar trip where we had the chance to explore Vancouver by car. We saw many interesting places – we had lunch on Granville Island and coffee and ice-cream in Ikea, Richmond, we stopped at Queen Elizabeth Park and on the beach! It was basically a day off.

Why did you choose INTERNeX International Exchange?
They work together with a German company where I booked my trip. So INTERNeX provided me with a package of language school and internship in Canada. The best thing is that they have good ideas for internships and can organize everything from job to homestay!

Would you recommend INTERNeX International Exchange?
Yes I would, everything was fun with them. I didn’t have to think about accommodation or finding a work placement on my own. You can always ask somebody if you have problems. With their help I had more time to relax and explore Vancouver.

Thanks a lot, Maria, for the interview and for being part of our INTERNeX PR Team!  It was amazing to work with you!

Xenia

INTERNeX International Exchange
Suite 200 – 211 Columbia Street
Vancouver BC -V6A 2R5-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Phone: +1 (604) 662 8149
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

INTERNeX Candidate Newsletter

Check your email for the last INTERNeX candidate newsletter of this year! To be honest there’s a mistake in it, so I really want to make it right here. The picture of Mika was selected for the picture of the week. Unfortunately something went wrong and in the newsletter you see the picture from last week from Angelica. Sorry girls! The right picture that has to be in the newsletter is:

Cheers,

Elvera

Great Day at the Barbecue Kick-Off!

Wow! It was great to see so many people come out for the barbecue on Saturday! I loved seeing new faces and hope everyone had a great time. Congratulations to Kim, who won two tickets to the Vancouver International Film Centre!

I also wanted to say thanks to Johan, who helped cook all the burgers, sausages and hot dogs for everyone! They were absolutely delicious! It was too bad the weather wasn’t nice, but I think everyone had fun playing poker and card games inside! The glow sticks in the dance room were a cool effect and fun to look at!

If you didn’t get the chance to make it out, there will be plenty more events and trips coming up, so keep an eye out for those. The next INTERNeX PuB NiGHT will be June 10, at the Blarney Stone in Gastown. More information about that can be found here.

If you would like to see pictures from the barbecue, visit our Flickr account! You’re probably in some shots!

If you have any questions, or would like to be signed up for our newsletter, send your name and e-mail address to laura@internexcanada.com. We always love to hear your comments and ideas for future events, so write us on facebook!

Hope to see you out with us soon!

Cheers,

Laura

INTERNeX International Exchange
Suite 200 – 211 Columbia Street
Vancouver BC -V6A 2R5-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Phone: +1 (604) 662 8149