Fun Fact Friday

This weekend, the world celebrates Earth Day. As you surely have noticed already, Vancouver is full of nature too. So, let me tell you some fun facts about the green areas in this beautiful city.

Have you ever heard about the Dude Chilling Park? That is the actual name of a park located in the Mount Pleasant area. It all started off as a prank when in 2012 the local artist Viktor Briestensky created a sign with this name on it. The Vancouver Park Board staff removed it, but an online petition with 1,800 signatures saved the sign eventually. Since 2014, it is back as a celebration of the unique community in the neighbourhood. This park is definitely worth a trip to take a cool picture in front of the sign.

There are many parks spread over the entire city. The most famous one is also the biggest one. Exactly, Stanley Park. It is even bigger than Central Park in New York and offers beautiful sceneries. When walking around, you might see some of the many animals that are living in Stanley Park. All grey squirrels actually have American roots. In 1909, New York City gave eight pairs of grey squirrels to Vancouver, so all of the grey squirrels in Stanley Park today are descended from these American pairs.

Another natural highlight in and especially around Vancouver is of course the ocean and its coastline. Wherever you plan a trip, you can choose diverse great spots near water. The total length of the coastline including the islands in British Columbia is 27,200 kilometres. Is that much? As a comparison, the length of the Earth at the equator is 40,075 kilometres, so not even twice that long. Pretty amazing!

Enjoy your weekend!

– Kerstin

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

INTERNeX Canada: From Sea to Sea

Did you know the Canadian motto is “From Sea to Sea”? I think that is so perfect because Canada is surrounded by three oceans. The Pacific Ocean is right next to us on the west coast, the Atlantic Ocean is on the opposite end on the east coast and the Arctic Ocean is in the north surrounding the North West Territories and Nunavut.

We have the world’s longest coastline at 202 080 km and at 9 984 670 sq km, Canada is pretty darn big! The beautiful and diverse landscape includes mountains, lakes, glaciers and vast prairie lands allow the opportunities to experience many different outdoor activities and wildlife that cannot be found anywhere else.

More than just geography, it is really the people that make Canada as special as it is. Our Canadian identity has been shaped by the British, French and the First Nations people. More and more, our pop culture is heavily influenced by the Americans.

Canada is known for their multiculturalism, especially in the metropolitan cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Where else can you find people from all over the world with different backgrounds and stories to tell?

This video inspired my passion for Canada, once again. Watch it!

Cheers,

Queenie

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 Canada: Exposé of the Week

Our star of the exposé of the week today is Melanie. She is from Germany and currently enjoys a very exciting 9-months trip in North America. She started off with a two-month internship in Vancouver in January and continued to Hawaii to take business English in a language school. Now she travels around BC and will start volunteering at a husky farm in July. Read what her experiences were in Vancouver and Canada!

Why did you choose to go to Canada?
I wanted to go abroad and have new experiences. I did not think about Canada specifically but it is an English speaking country and I have never been here before, so I decided to go.

What kind of internship did you do and what where your daily tasks?
I interned at a recruiting company that sends English language teachers abroad. My tasks were mainly administrative work and communication with our candidates. I welcomed new teachers who wanted to go abroad and helped them to prepare their documents for the program. I also worked with private language schools, particularly in South Korea.

Is your internship a part of your university program and is it useful for your career goals?
The internship was just for my own experience, it is not required for university. I think, it will be very useful for my resume. It is always good to have work practice and experience abroad.

What was the best think about your internship?
The best thing was that I improved my English and got used to communication in a foreign language. For example, making telephone calls in English is a challenging thing at first. My colleagues were also very friendly and helpful; it was fun working with them.

What do you like most about Canada and Vancouver?
The best thing for me about Canada is the beautiful nature. Vancouver is so nice because it is close to both mountains and the ocean. And I like all the beautiful parks here in the city!

What trips did you do in your free time, were some organized by INTERNeX?
I have been to Seattle and Whistler and did many small trips such as Capilano Suspension Bridge or Stanley and Lighthouse Park. With INTERNeX I went to the Rockies, which was a very memorable trip! We had so much fun and I got to know a lot of nice people. I especially enjoyed the campfire we had, the Banff gondola and the Columbia Icefields! The nature is just stunning.

How did INTERNeX International Exchange help you organize your trip?
INTERNeX is a partner of the German organization I used to come to Canada. They helped me to find the internship and prepared me for interviews. My homestay was also organized by INTERNeX and I had a good time with the family. The help was is very useful in the first weeks abroad.

Would you recommend INTERNeX International Exchange?
Yes, I would. It is so much easier to adopt and find your way in a new country if you have help. I found it was very useful to have INTERNeX because it’s very difficult to find an internship on your own in a country you don’t know. INTERNeX also offers good possibilities to get to know people.

Thank you, Melanie, for sharing your international experience with us.

Cheers,

Xenia

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

INTERNeX Explorer: Survival of Vargas Island

Find out why INTERNeX EXPLORER is a particularly appropriate name for this video. Last weekend we explored the untouched Canadian wilderness of Vargas Island! Watch how we managed to survive on this deserted piece of land surrounded by the ocean and wolf howls! How we built our shelters; how we cooked our food on a plain fire…

 

Cheers,

PR Team

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

Next Sunday Is Beachday!

Summer has arrived in Vancouver, and the beach is just waiting for you! So strip down to bikinis or shorts and join INTERNeX for a great day at the beach. We will be bringing kits, balls, frisbee and of course equipment for building sandcastles!  You will be playing fun games all day in the sun, getting a tan, while enjoying the ocean at Kitsilano and reloading for the upcoming week of work,  sitting in an office from 9-5! We meet up at 12pm on Kitsilano Beach this Sunday, July 25th, INTERNeX will  bring some afternoon snacks, so you only have to bring lunch, a towel and sunscreen, but feel free to bring what ever fun beach stuff you have that we can play with!

We meet up at Watermark restaurant 12pm on Arbutus street. Send us an email on pr@internexcanada.com to sign up so we know who to wait for, and make sure to be on time. You will surely get lost in all the tanned bodies trying to find us at the beach on  your own! Last day to sign up is Saturday 24th of July!

– Mette

Upcoming events:

Pubnight at Cambie July 21th.

come bowl a strike August 3rd.