Alex Theesen - Photo courtesy of Ryan Roukema

Last February I moved to Surrey immediately after graduating from the University of Victoria in order to start up a new business – Class Act Painters. I had a hell of a time, for two reasons. One, because starting a new business is a lot of work, and two, because living in Surrey is … well, it’s living in Surrey. I find Surrey to be much like a larger version of Prince George, where I grew up, except it’s easier to leave.

While living in Surrey, it wasn’t long until I found myself making frequent escapes to Vancouver to have experiences I just could not find in Surrey. This year, I finally made the move to Commercial Drive and I’m excited to start painting movie sets in the IATSE union local 891.

I spent much of my university days travelling, studying and working in Latin America and Europe, so one of the things I enjoy the most about Vancouver is that it is so multi-cultural. This allows me to keep in touch with the left ventricle of my heart, which is dedicated to all things associated with Latin America. Whether it be striking up a conversation in Spanish on the Skytrain or going to events held by the Spanish speaking community, it is enough to keep that part of me satisfied and prevent me from fleeing the reality of everyday working life by flying to Spanish-Land.

There are two great contrasts that come to mind between Canada and the other places I’ve lived in and travelled to:

#1) Everything is streamlined. As Canadians we often take for granted the extended store hours and the convenience of goods and services. Transportation is reliable — yes, even Translink — and grocery stores are open every day for the entire day. We also aren’t subject to the power outages and slow Internet connections of the third world or the magnitude of strikes found in a place like France. The exception to all of this is, of course, liquor and tobacco. Liquor is bought at restricted hours in fewer locations and is illegal to consume on the street, while smoking can only be done on the street, is expensive and far less cool than smoking in a place like France or Cuba. Maybe all of this is for the best, but I have serious trouble giving up my personal freedoms for the good of society. It’s a personal problem.

#2) It’s live to work, not work to live. In my opinion, Canadians live to work rather than the other way around, at least when you contrast our lifestyles with other cultures. This has its pros and cons, especially when you look at how the economic pie is being divided. We may not like to admit it, but materialism is big here. When I’m confronted with issues, like the Occupy Movement, I find myself conflicted as a Vancouverite. Sure, the elite are taking more than their fair share, but at the same time there’s a reason that everybody is knocking at our door for visas. We may live in one of the best places to work in the world right now, so when it comes to closing down ports, let’s save it for places where the message really needs to be driven home, i.e. the United States of America. On the other hand, I worry about what kind of image Occupy Vancouver has left in people’s minds, because the movement as a whole is something I hope most people will seriously consider rather than toss away as a bunch of hippy banter and homeless squatters.

Perhaps the greatest difference of all is our similarity to everywhere else — we are lucky to co-exist in this cultural mosaic of a city framed by a vast ocean and snowcapped mountains. We might as well take advantage of it.

For those of you who have similar cultural interests, I definitely recommend checking out Meetup.com where you can join a group dedicated to practicing your second language or even just connecting with cultural activities of your choice. Another way I found to meet people is Plenty of Fish. Even though they say the dating scene is changing, I am still ashamed when I tell people I have an account. But I shouldn’t be! From the few times that I actually get a response and meet somebody, it’s been a good way to meet new people.

As Christopher McCandles said, “the core of mans’ spirit comes from new experiences.”