New “Kids” on the Blog – Krystelle & Gianmarco

Two new INTERNeX crew members just arrived! Please welcome Krystelle from Australia and Gianmarco from Italy! 🙂 I’ve had the pleasure to meet them already and now it’s your time to get to know them better.

First, I will introduce you to Krystelle. Some of you already know her from our Whistler trip last weekend. She’s from Brisbane and has a really cool job as a criminal lawyer. Here she’ll be gathering experience at a legal non-profit organization for the next three months. Ideally she’d like to go to the United States, since she’s been travelling there a lot already, including Hawaii, Florida and Nevada. So far California has been her favourite destination, but she also has an ambitious bucket list for the next few months with States like Texas, North Carolina and Virginia. Seems like she loves the sunny states. 🙂

When she’s not working you can find her outside, maybe on a small hike. She told me it’s probably more like a walk compared to a Canadian mountain hike. Nevertheless she wants to take on a challenge and do the Grouse Grind! INTERNeX is actually planning on doing the Grind on Saturday June 18th. We’re stronger as a group, so feel free to join this adventure! 😀 After the workout we deserve a big Burger, or Lasagna, Krystelle’s favourite food. One thing she noticed in Canada – I’m sure, a lot of people will be surprised about – is that the alcohol here is only half as expensive as it is in Australia. Crazy, right? And I thought everything in Vancouver is expensive… She has a whole list of things she wants to do while she’s here, so it definitely doesn’t get boring with her. I like that she’s done her homework 😉 and I’m sure at the end we can cross a bunch of things off that list together.

Gianmarco will be volunteering at the same organization as Krystelle. He’s working on his law degree in Italy which keeps him pretty occupied with studying most of the time. Now it’s time for him to gain some practical experience. Why not in Italy, you might ask? Gianmarco would like to refine his English skills and since he’s been to other English speaking countries like the UK and the USA many times before, he wanted to try something new. Canada was still on his bucket list and right away he noticed its peacefulness and its friendly people. What a great first impression. And he hasn’t even met anyone of our INTERNeX crew yet! 😉

When he’s not occupied with studying, he likes to meet his friends which he’s had since his childhood, play football (yes, I mean soccer), or go mountain biking. What he really wants to do while he’s in Vancouver is going up to Whistler to spend the day on a bike speeding down the mountain. I told him that it’s still super muddy, but apparently that’s the best part of it. I am not confident enough to ride my bike down a hill (haha), but maybe some of you would like to join him. I know we have some extreme sport enthusiasts in our crew that would love to go. Sounds like another Whistler trip to me. 😉

I’m really excited for you to meet both of them at tonights pub night.
Don’t forget to come and say Hi, 7pm at Earl’s on Robson Street. See you there!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

New `Kids` on the Blog

Hello and welcome to our New Kids on the blog – and above all a really warm welcome to Sophie, our new candidate. Actually she’s already in Vancouver for two weeks but since she’s such a friendly and open-minded person I would not like to withhold her from you.

So let’s talk about Sophie. First of all we’re really happy that she found her way to beautiful Canada spending her time with us. 🙂
Sophie is 20 years old and originally from a small village close to Hannover in Germany. She’s staying in Vancouver for 2 months where she’s doing her best work while helping out in an animal shelter in Richmond. There are mostly little baby cats; doesn’t that sound cute???
In any case, she really enjoys her time over there. So Sophie is taking part in our volunteer program. Since she will be placed in a host family in Richmond she’s also really excited for all the upcoming adventures and to spend her time in places like Vancouver Downtown, Gastown or at the beaches such as Kitsilano or Sunset beach. Her bucket list also includes a bike ride with her host family through Stanley Park as well as a trip to Whistler.
As many of us did she already graduated from highschool and decided to do a Gap Year before continuing with university.
She always wanted to come to Vancouver to meet new people and learn more about the Canadian culture and way of life. As far as i can say Sophie has a really interesting point of view since she told me that with this stay abroad she aims to get a new perspective on things and new ideas; especially regarding her study plans.

Get out of your own comfort zone; she said to me and i think this is a very good starting point for a successful stay abroad. I really hope she’s enjoying her time and can pursue all her goals!!
She actually came to Canada without any specific expectation; and here’s the next inspiring opinion; without any expectation you will not be disappointed. She’s only hoping for a great time with many new experiences and opportunities and a great hostfamily. And the last point already came true.

Let’s meet at today’s pubnight 🙂 6pm at Tap&Barell Olympic Village!

Have a nice day 🙂

– Tatjana

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

New ‘Kids’ on the Blog

And that’s definitely great news.
Welcome to a new blogpost and a really warm welcome to our three new candidates, from Germany, the Netherlands and from Wales. It’s really great to have you here with us!! 🙂

Ladies first, so let’s start with Lena. I just had an amazing long talk with her today where she told me many interesting things about herself. Lena is 23 years old from a small town close to Hamburg. She already finished her apprenticeship in trade forwarding a few years ago and was able to gain work experiences in this field of work. Since she quit her last job and has some free time until she will start her new job at the end of October she seized the opportunity to spend her time in beautiful Canada. The moment Canada opened the border she decided to travel as soon as possible – and that’s what she did 🙂
With INTERNeX she’s participating in the volunteering program in the area of ecological conservation for 2 weeks. After doing some great work for the Canadian natural environment she’s planning a trip to Vancouver Island. She already rented a car for this week – bold AND independent 😉 She wanted to see Vancouver Island especially Victoria and Tofino since school but what’s travelling without saving money first?
For this time in Canada she worked four years and is now finally able to travel on her own independently while gaining some experience and improving her language skills abroad. She always wanted to get to know the Canadian lifestyle, the culture as well as the experience travelling alone and doing things she never ever did before. Sounds like a plan!!!

The next newcomer is Nico, 22 years old from the Netherlands; or actually also Germany but since he’s studying at Fontys, Venlo and lives in the Netherlands we’ll leave it at that. As a marketing management student he’s excited to gain experiences while doing a placement in his field of study. This placement is part of his studies which I think is a great opportunity to live abroad while studying. He came to Canada on a friends recommendation – and he actually has the advantage of having friends from Germany here in Vancouver. Besides that, he also made the decision for Canada because he wanted to explore the mentality, the nature and the Canadian culture. Since he already fell in love with this city, after his 4 months long placement he’s planning to stay longer to explore the country. Isn’t that great?
With this experience he aims to develop personally and professionally which might be important for his future. And there are definitely some more places on his bucket list – how could it be otherwise; the Rocky Mountains as well as Vancouver Island. As you can see these places are very popular and definitely worth a visit 😉

To complete these three; Welcome Tom from Wales.

He’s 21 years old and just finished his bachelors in media and communication at Cardiff university. Which means the second marketing specialist in our round 😉 He’s doing his placement in the same organization as Nico which I think is pretty cool since these guys can work together. Originally his plan was to stay abroad last year but because of the pandemic he also had to postpone. He chose Canada for multiple reasons; firstly the fact that most of Canada is English speaking made the communication for him as a native speaker so much easier. He’s also really excited to finally be in the country he wanted to travel to for such a long time and getting a first insight into Canadian daily life. For him it’s definitely a great chance to add some new experiences to his CV while learning so much from the people he’s working with. Additionally, Tom told me that his goal is to improve his confidence as well as living independently. But Vancouver isn’t the only place he’s going to visit. He’s planning on going to Banff, Whistler and if he get the chance to do a Rocky Mountains trip. There’s more… his bucket list also says; Toronto after his time in Vancouver. Sounds like a perfect trip.

I hope all of you guys have an amazing time in Vancouver 🙂

Enjoy!!!

– Tatjana

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

Canada facts: Packing list

Who doesn’t know this situation? Packing your bag and what happens: 10% useful stuff and 90% “you never know”
So, let me try to help fix this problem 😉
Let’s start with the basics

• your favourite clothes; of course for the girls including your favourite dress. Also keep in mind if your host organization requires any formal or business clothes.
• sweater, for cosy summer nights at the bonfire, or for those chilly fall nights.
  …and do not forget to bring rain clothes. They might not be fancy but as I can assure, very helpful at nearly any time of the year.
  Since I think the basic items are known to everyone, I would like to give you a few more tips for a successful trip without missing something important.

1. Take care while using or buying a sim card. Sometimes it can be really expensive to buy one in Canada (especially data). Inform yourself about the conditions of your phone provider in your hometown. It depends but maybe it’s easier and cheaper to buy one before starting your trip.
Map.me: In order to save mobile data or to avoid costs, it is useful to use offline maps such as maps.me. Simply download in advance. Maybe you don’t need mobile data at all; Vancouver offers a lot of free wifi networks.

2. Don’t forget your laptop/computer. Check with your host organization whether they provide you with a laptop. Maybe you’d rather work with your own laptop? Sometime a tablet is not quite enough….

3. The most important thing to charge all your electronic devices? The adapter. Pay attention that you need different adapters in different countries; Canada and the US use the same adapter and have the same voltage. In addition, it may be useful to have a multiple usb charger if only one plug is available (like in some Homestays or older hostels).

4. From my own experience I can recommend buying body care products like shampoo or shower gel in your hometown. It might be twice as expensive in Canada.

5. Your medication. It may be difficult to get your needed medication in another country without a local prescription.

6. Perfume or cologne: this may sound a bit weird at first, but in Canada some companies do not allow strong smelling perfumes or colognes. So better use a neutral one.

7. Everyone likes to get a souvenir. And so does your future hostfamily. Think about something that is typically for your home country. I’m sure they will like it.

8. Needle and thread: Maybe a button will come off of your favourite dress or shirt. It may be helpful to have needle and thread at hand.

9. Necessary documents: Make sure you have ALL your necessary documentation including immigration documents, letters of offer, homestay info and all health documents such as vaccine certificates and PCR test results either digitally or in paper form or both. Also download any required apps (such as ArriveCAN)

10. And last but not least another reminder to not forget to take enough face masks with you especially on your flight. There are multiple places to buy one in Vancouver but it can be helpful taking a additional one with you. Also don’t forget checking the current pandemic restrictions including all the necessary documents.

Do not pack:
There are also a few things you should avoid packing:

• do not take too much alcohol with you; it might be cheaper in your home country but paying all the extra fees is not worth it
• this is also the case with tobacco: only 10 packs are allowed
• some things you cannot bring at all such as some meat or vegetable products.
  For further information have a look at the Canadian government website:
  https://travel.gc.ca/returning/customs/what-you-can-bring-home-to-canada#alcohol

Have a great weekend 🙂

– Tatjana

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

Candidate Exposé – Tatjana Schmitt

Today I would like to share my own experiences and give you an insight into all the special moments I had when I visited Canada back in 2017.
Firstly, I have to say that Canada especially Vancouver, even 4 years later, is the best place I’ve ever been to.
My name is Tatjana, I am 23 years old from a small town close to beautiful Heidelberg in Germany. I already finished my bachelors degree this year and for now I’m very excited what to expect with my Master’s degree at the University of Tubingen.

After my graduation I primarily decided to go abroad to improve my language skills. While looking for the perfect place to stay my parents gave me the decisive hint. Since they had been to Vancouver before and highly recommended this city to me my decision was made. I chose the volunteer program because I wanted to explore Canadian nature and learn more about Canadian wildlife. The combination of 4 weeks language school and 3 more months of volunteer work was the perfect opportunity for me to reach my goals. I really enjoyed working at the Wildlife Rescue Association helping injured animals which were found e.g. on the street and brought to us. During my time there I learned before all that it can be fun working outside even if the weather is bad (yes, my time fell in October/ November – which means rainy season in Vancouver 😀 ) Anyway, I was able to acquire communication skills, learned interesting facts about Canadian wildlife and learned to handle new situations much better. It really was a successful stay.

For me, definitely the best memory was the Rocky Mountains trip right at the beginning of my stay. I was completely overwhelmed by the Canadian nature – it looks like it’s photoshoped but it’s real! I have to admit; I took like a thousand photos 🙂 Another memorable thing was spending many evenings at Sunset Beach or watching an open air movie at Canada Place. In view of my activities I have to say that I fell in love with hiking. My hiking adventure already started on day one with a hiking trip with my host family to Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. Not a bad start for a stay abroad at all 😉 I also enjoyed all the INTERNeX pubnights as well as the bike tour or inline skating in Stanley Park.

Furthermore, I want to say thank you to all the amazing people who made my stay this wonderful and also a huge thank you to INTERNeX who offered me the possibility for my current internship as an PR- Coordinator 🙂 If I had to describe my stay in 4 words I would say happiness, overwhelming, wonderful and a great chance to broaden my point of view.
Vancouver is a really interesting place where you can learn so much about Canadian culture and nature and much much more. And of course have a lot of fun with people from all over the world 🙂

Cheers,

– Tatjana

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