Science World After Dark!

Too busy being a grown-up during the day to come play at Science World? In between work and internships it can be hard to find something fun to do! Well not this Friday! Head over to Science world for their spectacular after dark event!
This month they’re going old-school to bring you some favourite retro activities.

• Show off your retro-videogaming skills in the Science Theatre. Choose games from N64 and Dream Cast or the ever popular Pac-Man.
• Velcro suit up and fling yourself against a giant Velcro wall.
• Challenge other guests to Extreme Twister – the game floor will be literally twisting on the spinning platform in the Eureka! Gallery.

Between games, adventure through our galleries, all of which will be open for the evening!

Prizes will be awarded to guests dressed in the best retro costumes circa 1970s’ and 80s’ in both individual and team categories. So strap on your bellbottoms and get ready to play! Beer and wine will be sold.

Where: TELUS World of Science (all galleries will be open)
When: July 16
Time: 7-10 pm
Cost: $19.75

Advance tickets now available! Tickets can also be purchased at the door.

Olympic Medals at GM Place

So, today is “Candidate Expose” Thursday, which means I am suppose to blog about a new face, employee or employer. You’ll have to forgive me, but having been here for just only a couple days, I am still trying to get accustomed to how the whole PR ordeal works.  I was thinking, maybe I’ll just write about myself, then again, I already did that and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hear me launch into a ten page spiel.  No, we’ll save that for when we meet. Yikes!

I’ll write an ‘expose’ anyhow, but on an inanimate object.  Today, it’s going to be about one of the most sought after object by all mankind- the Olympic hockey GOLD MEDAL. That’s right. Every four years, athletes from all around the world would gather to compete in their most talented sport, as witnessed in Vancouver this winter season.  One of most exhilarating events of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, which had everyone sitting on the edge of their seats, was the Canada vs. USA Men’s Final Gold Medal Olympic Hockey Game.  The duel between the two teams was phenomenal, with Canada taking its well-deserved place at the podium.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering why a gold medal deserves to be mentioned. The fact of the matter is, if you are in Vancouver, here’s your opportunity to feast your eyes and come into close proximity with the three medals – Robert Luongo’s gold, Ryan Kesler’s silver and Sami Salo’s bronze. These three medals will be displayed inside the concourse level of GM Place during the Canucks’ home games on weekends. Now, how awesome is that?

Of course, there’s also a very famous saying, “nothing comes without a price”. And the price of seeing these medals?

The cost of a hockey game ticket!

Shinya a.k.a MAX

So last week when I was trying to figure out our next potential candidate for the “expose” post, I was wracking my brain trying to find someone that could truly give us a glimpse into the “INTERNeX experience”. Little did I know but I had this person right in the office with me sitting across the room. Can you guess who it is? It’s Shinya! This once shy Japanese boy came to Canada and managed to see more places and do more things in one year then I’ve done in the past nine years that I’ve lived here. So yeah since he did just about everything that was possible and participated in every one of our programs he is the perfect candidate!

What is your name?
My name is Shinya but my “Canadian” name is Max

Where are you originally from?
Kobe, Japan

Why did you choose Canada as the location of your placement?
Well I’d been to Australia and New Zealand so Canada just seemed like the next stop for me

How did you find about INTERNeX International Exchange?
I found about it through the Japanese Embassy

Which program(s) did you participate in throughout your stay in Canada?
Well I actually participated in all three of the programs offered by INTERNeX

haha O.k. well let’s take this one program at a time then…What was the first program that you enrolled in?
Initially I started off with the hospitality program because I thought that this would be the best opportunity to improve my English skills and truly immerse myself into the Canadian culture. I was placed in Lake Louise, Alberta and for the first month I was a Dishwasher then when the second month came around I continued to do Dishwashing but in addition to this I was both a server and a clerk in the resort gift shop. After a total of 3 1/2 months working at the resort I moved back to Vancouver and applied for the PR/Communications internship offered by INTERNeX at their Vancouver office. The reason why I chose to taken on this position was because I thought that this would be able to take my experience to the next level and be that final step towards breaking me out of my shell. I was an intern at the office for 5 months but due to the fact that the internship was unpaid I had to find another means of gaining an income so I could continue to stay in Canada. Thankfully INTERNeX was gracious enough to set me up with a coffee shop located just a few blocks away from the office in Gastown. It was at this location that I worked as a Barista for 4 months. Then during the 2009 Christmas Break I decided since I’d already done the other two programs why not do it all…so i enrolled in the Ranchstay program. For two weeks I was placed on a mixed farm in Montana where I had many “firsts”. For the first time in my life I rode horses, fed cows, herded buffalo and took care of numerous farm animals. This was definitely something that will stay with me forever. And last but not least, most of you know that Vancouver was the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics so before I returned home I thought what better way to end my trip then to try and get a job in the Olympics…so that’s what I did. I hired on as a member of the event service staff who were responsible for assisting media personnel and essentially acting as security by ensuring that everyone had the correct accreditation in order to gain entrance into the media tent. Throughout the few weeks that I worked there I met a considerable amount of athletes/celebrities. Some of the most memorable ones are Aiko Uemura, the Japanese Mogul Skier, Russian Figure Skating silver medalist, Evgeni Plushenko, Gold Figure Skating Couple, Tesse Virtue & Scott Moir, and last but not least BC Premier, Gordon Campbell

What was one of your most memorable moments of your entire stay?
I would have to say it was throughout my entire hospitality placement. It was such an entirely new and scary experience for me. For the first time in my life I was living all by myself in a foreign country where I knew no one. At first it was really hard but the staff that I worked with soon enough became my family and all my previous fears were completely gone!

If you to choose one program that you would recommend, which one would it be and why?
The internship program because it really helped me to grow on both a personal and professional level. Even though it is not a paid position the benefits that you reap are invaluable and it truly helped me to make lifelong connections with people from all over the world. Every day I was exposed to something new and I cannot even begin to explain how this has made me who I am today

What are some of the skills that you gained from your internship placement?
Good customer service skills, communication skills both intra and inter personal, building trust and numerous web site building skills

What one place/event/festival would you encourage people to check out?
Definitely Stanley Park. This amazing park, less than a mile from downtown Vancouver, is one of the city’s main tourist attractions and offers over 1,000 acres of an evergreen oasis. The park is full of wildlife and sometimes there is just nothing better then just to relax and take in the natural surroundings…it truly made me forget at times that i was still in the city

So what are you planning on doing once you return home to Kobe?
First i am planning on going back to University and to continue on with my environmental studies and I am also working on maintaining my connection with INTERNeX by recruiting Japanese University Students for the Ranchstay program. So it’s not really over yet…

If you have any more questions or queries about our programs please do not hesitate to contact us at the office:

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

Farewell World

After seventeen glorious days of top athletic competition, Canada says congratulations and goodbye to the world’s top winter athletes and what better way then through a light-hearted Closing Ceremony that poked fun at all of the Canadian stereotypes. The spectacular ceremony full of pomp and circumstance and a tongue-in-cheek homage to Canadiana featured giant inflatable moose, dancing maple leafs and countless other amusing content.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, which featured more then 2,600 Olympians was filled with thrilling athletic achievements and rousing displays of patriotism never seen before in such huge masses. The Canadian ‘own the podium’ program has been rightly justified as the country ended with the most gold medals EVER WON at an Olympic Winter Games. With an astonishing total of 14 GOLD MEDALS, ranking us as 3rd in the total medal count. There is no denying that Canadian athletes have achieved an entirely new level of excellence so we will now take the time to honor all those that made it to the podium…

1) GOLD to the Canadian men’s ice hockey team… Way to go Crosby!
2) GOLD to the men’s curling team
3) GOLD for Jay Anderson in the men’s parallel giant slalom
4) GOLD for the men’s team speed skating pursuit
5) GOLD to the men’s short track 500m speed skate relay
6) GOLD for Charles Hamelin in his 500m short track speed skating race
7) GOLD to the women’s ice hockey team
8 ) GOLD to the women’s pair bobsleigh team
9) GOLD for Ashleigh McIVOR in the ladies freestyle skiing event
10) Solid GOLD for the ice dance couple, Scott Moir & Tessa Virtue, for their majestic figure skating performance
11) GOLD for the men’s skeleton champ, John Montgomery and his infamous pitcher of beer…you deserve it buddy!
12) GOLD for Christine Nesbitt who dominated the ladies’ 1000m speed skating event beating her Annette from the Netherlands by just 200hundredths of a second!
13) GOLD for Ricker Maelle in the ladies’ snowboard cross
14) and last but not least GOLD for Alexandre Bilodeau in the men’s moguls…way to go for winning us our first gold medal…you set the tone for the rest of the games!

15) SILVER for the women’s curling team!
16) SILVER to the women’s bobsleigh pair
17) SILVER to Kristina Groves in the ladies’ 1500m speed skating event
18) SILVER for the ladies’ 30o0m short track speed skating relay team
19) SILVER for Marianne St. Gelais in the ladies’ 500m short track speed skating event
20) SILVER for Jennifer Heil in the ladies’ moguls!
21) SILVER for Mike Robertson in the nail biting men’s snowboard cross event

22) BRONZE for the four man bobsleigh team
23) another medal (BRONZE) for Kristina Groves in the ladies’ 3000m speed skating
24) BRONZE for Francois-Louis Tremblay in the men’s 500m short track speed skating event
25) BRONZE for Olympic champion, Clara Hughes. After winning her sixth Olympic medal Hughes says goodbye from the podium and she will be missed!
26) And last but not least one of the most memorable moments out of the 2010 Winter Games is the BRONZE medal for Joannie Rochette who managed to pull through one of the most devastating losses and still stand strong on the podium at the end…Congratulations!

Now even though these winter games featured an unimaginable tragedy on the first day and some bumps along the way, it was the wonderful moments such as those mentioned above that shined above the rest.

Do you believe? Hell yeah CANADA, you made a believer out of us!

Women’s Gold Medal Game

Canada captured a third consecutive Olympic women’s ice hockey title on Thursday, defeating arch-rival United States 2-0 in an emotional championship match on home ice. Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice in the first period and goaltender Shannon Szabados made 28 saves to bring Canada the victory and bragging rights in a border war arch-rivalry between the sport’s only two women’s powers. The Americans, two-time reigning world champions, settled for a silver medal while Finland took bronze with an earlier 3-2 overtime triumph over Sweden.

“We have no excuses. They played well,” US coach Mark Johnson said. “Their young goaltender played well. She didn’t give us many second opportunities. She came in with the pressure of a nation on her and she never cracked. Szabados surrendered only one goal while making 50 saves in Canada’s undefeated run to gold. “She was awesome,” Canada’s Gillian Apps said. “She was amazing – no other words to describe it.”

The Americans had hoped to spoil Canada’s party on home ice as the Canadians had done to them in Salt Lake City in 2002, but now they must wait until Sochi for another chance at Olympic revenge. Better luck next time US!