Right now, I am sitting in our Poang by an ajar balcony door with my feet stewing in green tea, so I figured it’s as good a time as any to write a long over due post!
No, it’s not a new health fad (I’ve not become one of those Vancouverites). I have a blister on my foot and googled how to make blisters go away faster and this was the only method that didn’t sound gross. The only green tea we have is candy cane flavoured so I’m not actually sure it’s going to do any good. But, the worst outcome is my feet will smell of peppermint, so I’m not too worried about that!
I got the blister when I walked home from work one day last week. It’s a 7km walk (about 4.3miles) and the way I drive is pretty hilly, but I was confident I could find the route that was all downhill. I succeeded! I only walked uphill half a block and it was pretty gentle. However, I think the constant downhill is what produced the aforementioned blister. It had started to go away, but then yesterday we went to the aquarium, then after church walked down a big hill to get a car, and it got worse again.
I’m starting a new job tomorrow at Starbucks so I want to be able to stand comfortably!
In the summer my job at church reduces in hours, from three days a week down to two. Obviously this makes quite a big impact on pay, because you’re losing 1/3! I started looking for a second job and Starbucks got back to me whilst Tom’s parents were staying, and I had an interview within the week and was offered the job. I spent last week filling in and signing forms and spoke to my new manager this morning where she asked me to come in tomorrow.
I really enjoyed working in a cafe just before moving out here – I like engaging with people, and doing something with immediate results. I’ll be working there part time and at church part time, and hopefully be able to increase my hours over summer to accommodate the loss at church.
It’s been lovely seeing the city transform from winter to spring. Blossoms have popped up all over the place – bright pinks and whites peppering skylines wherever you look. The city is starting to look lucsious and green again – which has it’s upsides and down; with bare trees you catch more glimpses of the mountains, water and city through the gaps between buildings, but with the leaves filling the gaps the scenery is bright and cheerful. I consider it to be a win-win!
The longer we stay here the more in love with Vancouver we are falling. The views aside, mood and general atmosphere are so light, laidback and friendly. There’s so much to do right on our doorstep and getting on a bus opens up layer upon layer of entertainment, culture, great food and drink, nature, shopping and more…
I mean it’s not all butterflies and rainbows – the weather is very similar to England with the rain, it’s tax season and the government don’t do it for you here, everyone has to file their own taxes, and they never did catch the river otter that ate 11 koi in the Chinese gardens downtown (read more about that here)!
Tom’s parents and sister visited us in April, they were really unfortunate with the weather. I think we had four days in the two weeks they were here that it didn’t rain. We were on the Island for two of them which was well timed as we got to explore Victoria and drive up to Nanaimo, and then one day we drove up to Whistler and it was a lovely sunny day, and the other nice day they used to go in a sea plane, and then cycle the sea wall round Stanley Park. We managed to do all the things they wanted to do, despite the rain, and really enjoyed their visit.
Since then, Tom has been working in an office downtown. It’s the place he applied for a job at before we came out here, but had gone by the time we arrived. He’s there as a freelancer for a week, and has another project lined up with them too. It’s a blessing in disguise really that he didn’t get it when we first arrived – it would have been really hard to jump straight into work and have to find somewhere to live, furnish it, set up bank accounts and phone contracts and internet and all of that stuff at the same time. We enjoyed having a few weeks to settle in, get over jet lag and figure out how to get around the city. Tom has really enjoyed the freelancing he’s doing as well – it’s been varied and he’s got some really good clients too who seem to really like working with him.
My foot bath is now rather chilly so I am going to wrap this up (and my feet!).
I’ll keep you posted on any new developments, or things of interest! My instagram gets more updates than the blog, so if you want to see more of what’s going on, follow me here.
Ellen Wiggins 