I’ve always been fascinated by travel, but, I’ve never been tempted to get to know my own country. I’ve always preferred visits abroad to domestic flights.
No one is a prophet in his or her own country. But here I am, bound to stay in Canada. I therefore chose to come to Vancouver, mainly for its geographic location since it’s the furthest city from my own: Quebec City.
It’s the oldest city in North America, its historical sites are breathtaking and people are nice and polite. On the other hand, winters are cold, not to say frigid, and it is not very multicultural. I needed a change and to see something different. Vancouver seemed the best solution to me. It’s the perfect contrast to my city, both in terms of climate and philosophy of life. Far from denigrating my dear city, I just wanted to experiment different facets of my own country.
A typical day in Vancouver. Photo by Ian Broyes, Flickr
I’d heard a lot about Vancouver’s life style which was apparently very different: “You’ll see that the landscapes are stunning, the city is gorgeous and cosmopolitan.” British Colombia is certainly a one-of-a-kind province. So I left, full of expectations, projects, dreams and an irrepressible desire to jump into the Pacific Ocean. I was heading west, and that was really something!
After a 7 hour flight without any border crossing, which was, for me, quite depressing, I landed in Vancouver on a cold and wet January day. Big grey clouds lit an even grayer architecture, the mountains were hidden by the fog and the colour of the Pacific Ocean was far from being the turquoise blue I had always pictured. Did I need a decoder to see the colours? It looked like a sad Monet painting. In short, needless to say, I was painfully disillusioned. I just hoped my university campus would prove brighter. I didn’t want to come back empty-handed.
I didn’t want to give up, so I forced myself to discover every corner of this town so as not to miss anything it had to offer. I even went as far as Whistler. Spring is on its way so. little by little,colorful or at least less grey, and I even find myself contemplating the Pacific Ocean from English Bay and jogging in Stanley Park despite of the rain and the fog. I also compensate for the lack of sunshine with daily vitamin D supplements. I’ve gone through the, mostly climatic, adaptation phase, and things are now starting to get a bit better. To stand amid Downtown’s skyscrapers, to see on one side the snow-covered mountains and on the other the ocean, is all worth it. The scenery alone is worth everything! I can finally breathe in the metropolis’ fresh air and enjoy its cultural diversity.
Translation Nathalie Tarkowska
