After a fire alarm... Coal Harbour!

ENGLISH

Too tired :D Yea..today has been one of those days! No way to do anything.. so after a fire alarm in our building (everyone went out on the street beside me and Adam.. we just didn’t give a damn about! Damn loud sound though) I just strolled around along Robson Street and Coal Harbour... day after day I love more this city.. it’s damn great stay here.. it's not fair that I've to go back!! I’ll try to go to see the Simon Fraser University or the UBC tomorrow.. you’ll see what I’ll do anyway on the next update! :-D LOL!

ITALIAN

Troppo stanco :D Si.. oggi é stato uno di quei giorni! Voglia di fare nulla.. così dopo un allarme antincendio nel nostro edificio (con tutti a parte me e Adam in strada.. ce ne siamo altamente fregati!) me ne sono giusto andato in giro per Robson Street e Coal Harbour.. giorno dopo giorno amo sempre di più questa città.. it's damn great stay here.. non è giusto che debba tornare indietro :( Proverò ad andare a vedere la Simon Fraser University o la UBC domani.. vedrete cmq cosa avrò fatto dal prossimo update! :-D LOL!

Lighthouse Park and Burnaby Mountain Park!

ENGLISH

Well… here we are… 1 week after pretty much, thanks to the good weather that is blessing us in these days (sometimes is damn hot though.. nothing like in Italy but still... I melt LOL), the Vancouver exploration started again and my list is shortening..

Yesterday and today I accomplished two other goals: Lighthouse Park and Burnaby Mountain Park.

Both really cool actually. Lighthouse Park is in West Vancouver...a long long way by bus (40 minutes) but it’s worth the time used to reach it: the view of Vancouver on the other side is really amazing.. an idyllic place. There wasn’t many people around and wander around the trails was really interesting.. listening the sound of the forest, so thick that doesn’t allow the light to pass through... It’s named Lighthouse Park cause there is actually a real lighthouse in; I didn’t reach it but I was able to see it from the view point :-)

Today instead, following a Zdenka’s advice (my Czech coworker) I went to visit Burnaby Mountain Park.. Even a longer way by bus!! I don’t know how long it was but seemed endless; it’s really quite far from downtown, just before the Simon Fraser University (one of the two universities here in Vancouver).

To reach it I had to pass through the Downtown Eastside.. I won’t talk long about this Vancouver district now but sooner or later I’ll post something about it. Every time I see the situation down there I’m really disconcerted.. How the hell is possible that something like that is going on everyday in one of the most liveable cities in the world? I saw some video posted on youtube.. videos of interviews to some drug addict that lives down there... heroin addicted for 12 years.. how the hell is possible? I hope they find a way to solve the problem!!

Anyway, Burnaby Mountain park is another spot in Vancouver that was used for a Stargate episode as you can see over here http://www.rdanderson.com/stargate/location/location2.htm

It’s home to a collection of Ainu totem poles... very impressive... they’re not carved like the ones in Vancouver..they are just plain..but they are really beautiful... the park was really relaxing.. silence everyhwhere.. a really nice visit with an amazing views of downtown and the Vancouver bay.

I didn’t go to the Simon Fraser University today, I’ll go maybe next week...

Now, another week at work waits me :-) It’s become busier now... nevertheless is almost the end of July!! There is a new girl working with us.. she is french and she got the Permanent Resident Card to live here forever.. talking with her let me realize that I'm truly not the only one to think like I always thought...that there is a world beyond the borders of a tiny country! And also that if you really desire something you can get it: The Brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all!!

I love Vancouver ! :-)

C ya

ITALIAN

Rieccoci nuovamente... dopo poco più di una settimana, grazie al bel tempo che sta benedicendo Vancouver in questi giorni (in certi giorni si muore di caldo.. nulla paragonabile alle temperature tropicali italiane ma non essendo più abituato...), la mia esplorazione è iniziata e la mia lista si sta accorciando. Ieri ed oggi ho portato a termine altri due obiettivi: Lighthouse Park and Burnaby Mountain Park.

Entrambi really cool. Lighthouse Park è in West Vancouver...un lungo tragitto by bus (40 minuti) ma ne valeva la pena: la vista di Vancouver dall’altro lato della baia è spettacolare.. un luogo quasi idilliaco si potrebbe dire.. Non c’era molta gente in giro e vagare per i vari sentieri era davvero interessante.. ascoltare i suoni della foresta, a volte così folta da impedire il passaggio dei raggi del sole.. Il nome Lighthouse Park deriva dal fatto che vi è un faro (Lighthouse in inglese) nelle giusto all’estermità della baia; non l’ho raggiunto ma l’ho potuto vedere dal punto di osservazione dal quale ho fatto le foto qui pubblicate!

Oggi invece, dietro consiglio della mia college ceca Zdenka, sono andato a vedere il Burnaby Mountain Park.. un tragitto via autobus ancora più lungo, quasi senza fine.. ; è veramente abbastanza lontano al centro, credo circa 15 km.. appena prima della Simon Fraser University (una delle due università di Vancouver).

Per raggiungerlo sono dovuto transitare per il Downtown Eastside.. Non parlerò oggi a lungo di questo quartiere (4 isolati) di Vancouver ma prima o poi posterò le mie impressioni su di esso. Ogni volta che ci transito sono davvero sconcertato.. com’è possibile che qualcosa del genere accada in una delle città più vivibili del mondo? Ho visto alcuni video di interviste a drogati che ci vivono.. senza parole.. c’è gente eroinomane da 12 anni!!How the hell is possible? Spero trovino una soluzione per questa piaga che affligge questa bellissima città!

Ad ogni modo, il Burnaby Mountain park è un’altro luogo di Vancouver usato come location di un episodio di Stargate SG1 come è possibile vedere qui: http://www.rdanderson.com/stargate/location/location2.htm

Ospita una collezione di Ainu totem poles...davvero impressionanti..non sono incisi come quelli che si possono vedere qui a Vancouver.. sono semplicemente al naturale..davvero belli.. il parco è davvero rilassante..silenzio ovunque.. una visita davvero carina con una spettacolare veduta di Vancouver e della baia..

Non sono andato alla Simon Fraser University, penso di andarci la prossima settimana :-)

Ora un'altra settimana di lavoro m’attende.. sta diventando più busy ultimamente.. d’altronde siamo quasi alla fine di Luglio! I love Vancouver ! :-) C'è una nuova ragazza a lavorare con noi, francese e con la residenza permanente in Canada.. parlarci insieme m ha ancora fatto più rendere conto che non sono davvero l'unico a pensarla come ho sempre pensato.. e cioè che c'è un mondo al di là di una piccola nazione.. non tutti sono "italiani medi" .. LOL..in questo caso "Europei medi" LOL! Un'altra cosa mi è risultata più chiara: se vuoi davvero qualcosa la puoi ottenere.. d'altronde: The Brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all..

C ya

A movie set and a creepy guy!

ENGLISH

(Italian is below)

Of course like pretty much always, when I don’t work the weather is a goddamn shit! And so, after 6 days in a row at work (damn, I was so tired man!) my 2 days off have been pretty relaxed. Nothing exceptional and so just around Yaletown (I love it!).. and while I was walking around this morning, I just spotted a movie set... ok it wasn’t a movie but just a commercial! Well, it’s pretty common down here in Vancouver like I already said sometimes ago but this is the real first time that I hear the director call : Action! Damn, when you see that they are shooting you really realize how fake it is that world! For a 30 seconds commercial I’ve no idea how many shots they did! I can’t imagine how is a movie set! A hell!

And today I also decided to take a deep look to what it happens just down my window everyday around 5.15 pm ! There is this crazy creepy weird guy, all dressed in black that just behind the library starts to dance! It’s not exactly dancing.. it’s more moving like a robot! It’s fucking hilarious and weird!!! There is even a crowd that stop by to watch him.. for me it’s just really bizarre!!

So tomorrow I go back to work for another shift, 6 days long also this time.. opening hours changed and sometimes I’ll work until 10 pm! I already know that in my next days off, the weather will be again a crap! LOL! Yesterday was 14°.. going around with a sweater! And it is the middle of july! LOL!

I wanted wish Good Luck to that bastard of Luighi! Tomorrow he’ll enter directly in the world of unemployment! Talking 10 minutes of your thesis man and than... UNEMPLOYED! Good luck motherfucker! I wait u here! Or I’ll kill you!

C ya

ITALIAN

Naturalmente quando non si lavora, il tempo fa davvero schifo! E così dopo 6 giorni di lavoro consecutivi (ero davvero stanco!) i miei 2 giorni liberi non hanno visto nulla di particolarmente eccezionale. Solamente qualche giro intorno Yaletown e mentre ero in giro stamattina mi sono imbattuto in un set cinematografico.. ok non era proprio un film bensì una pubblicità! E’ come già detto in precedenza, abbastanza comune qui a Vancouver ma questa è stata la prima volta che ho sentito il regista dire: Azione! Damn, quando si vede che stanno girando ci si rende conto di quanto sia falso quel mondo! Per 30 secondi di pubblicità non so quante volte abbiano girato! Non posso immaginare un set cinematografico! Deve essere un inferno!

E oggi ho deciso di dare un occhio a ciò che accade ogni giorno sotto la mia finestra alle 5.15 pm! C’è questo inquietante ballerino pazzo tutto vestito di nero che si mette a ballare! Non è esattamente ballare, è più muoversi come un robot! E’ così strano! C’è perfino una folla che si ferma per mettersi a vederlo!

Così domani si ritorna già al lavoro per un altro turno, anche stavolta lungo 6 giorni.. gli orari di apertura sono cambiati e perciò si starà aperti fino alle 10 pm! So già che anche la settimana prossima i miei giorni liberi saranno accompagnati da un tempo schifoso! Ieri, 13 luglio c’erano 14° e ci si deve mettere la felpa!! LOL!

My first 3 months in the Canadian land... my first balance!

So.. just yesterday has been 3 months.. well, yep, 3 months that I arrived here in Vancouver and it’s exactly half way.. 3 months here.. 3 months to go... but as I already explained my experience won’t end with my period over here in Canada but will go on with what I always wanted to do.. a coast to coast through the States! Yes, my 2 biggest desires since a long time ago have always been.. see as much as possible in the States and travel around Australia :) For the second one there’ll be time, for the first one time will come soon and the planning already started!

And, just in the middle of this experience I can try to draw a first balance of what I lived in these months: I’m pretty satisfied with everything..

The only moment when it was a little bit difficult over here was just the beginning but just in 2 weeks I got a house and in 3 weeks I started to work, I was pretty fast! It happened that I compared this experience over here in Vancouver with what I lived 2 years ago in Spain.. well, it’s a mistake that I’m not doing anymore. Two years ago everything was different, over there, in the ISLAND, was fun, know a lot of people, LUIGHI!!! hang around, lay under the sun and live an experience that changed me completely giving me a chance to know a lot of different Europeans.. neighbours but different! Here instead is another thing: my main goal when I arrived here and still now obviously was find a work and improve my English as much as I can to get a chance to find an international job that will allow me to escape the boring routine of an Italian life.. so what I'm living here isn't an holiday like someone else is doing.. is just work hard to get a brighter future :-)

And I’m really sure that my choices over here are making this possible!

For this, I think and I believe that an English school is completely useless and I wanna also explain why: the only reason why a school can be important is just to meet a bunch of different people, just that. For a 3 months course you can spend till 2000 € (3000 $) and that is completely senseless. If you enrol in a school here, nothing changes compared to a school back in Italy. The only difference will be your classmates: in Italy Italians, here Chinese, Brazilian, Swiss Germans and Japanese. The result will be just one: learn nothing. Why? Simply cause nothing is like to interact with a native speaker all the day long! That’s the point and the secret to get really an improvement! Where I work I’ve to deal every second with native speakers, co-workers and customers and that’s a free school! I don’t need a course to get a certificate! Back in December I got the TOEFL with 108 out of 120 without study nothing and I’ll get the TOEIC over here probably in August without study nothing either. Surely my friendship network isn’t so wide but I knew quite a few people just hanging around with colleagues and with Adam..so..

Second: I’m trying to not speak Italian as much as I can. I know a couple of Italian here and they’re cool but hang around with them is totally pointless. Can be nice talk in Italian for a while but I’ve been in Italy for pretty much 24.5 years of my life (that's already too much!) so stay with them here can’t help my improvements! It's the same choice we did in Las Palmas! I recall that with Luighi I talked in Italian very rarely just because we were always among other foreigners and so..English all the time!Or Spanish :-D

Third: I’m glad about my job. Sometimes can be hard wake up early in the morning or work 5 days in a row but is really something that is helping me professionally and personally and like I said is a free English school with real conversations, real dealings and not something artificial or built up like in an English lesson. The environment is cool, colleagues are cool too and it’s really not formal like back home. You can hang around in a bar with your manager, something that in Italy doesn’t happen too often! And is 1000 times better than work in a bar or in a kitchen! What English can u learn washing dishes?!?!

Fourth: the city. Yea, I like Vancouver. It’s really true that is one of the most liveable town in the world. Ok, the weather often sucks but it’s the only negative aspect! Can I compare it with an Italian city..? Well, of course no! It’s enough read the world rankings! Take a look of them... they speak for themselves! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Most_Livable_Cities

Fifth: my sightseeing... well, considering my free time I can tell that I saw quite a bit around here. I haven’t been outside Vancouver but there is still time. I already saw all the main spots downtown and in the suburbs. I still have some point in my list but sooner or later I will do them!

Sixth: my English. Well, I can really tell that improved a lot. To be sincere was fine also before, I was able already to handle conversations and to be understood but now it’s better. I can feel it when I listen around, when I listen some song that before was completely impossible to understand, I can watch movies without English subtitles and I can catch pretty much every accent. Well, ok, sometimes specially in the mornings if I’m little asleep is particularly hard and I still have to ask “Can you repeat that?” sometimes but I really understand around 95 % of words when someone is talking with me. English is really spoken differently! The accents are thousands: Scottish, British, Australian, Southern American.. and it’s not easy get all of them. But there are still a lot of months before my come back and I trust that for that time I won’t have problems anymore! I improved also my way to speak, I pay more attention when I open my mouth and I try to not make vocabulary mistakes anymore.. the only mystery are the Chinese: I don’t really understand them and they don’t understand me!

Seventh: Italy.. well just a sentence: Simply, of course I don’t wanna go back! Nothing else to say...

Well, that’s all! This is my half experience balance! :) 3 months from now will come the final Canadian balance!! LOL!

C ya