Putting my buzzing ball of experience into words is a challenge. My time in Canada is best described as a symbol, but that symbol is so complex and wonderful it can’t be manifested and seen by the naked eye.

Canada and it’s Canadians really know how to show a kiwi a good time!! The bus pulled into Vancouver downtown and I bounced out onto the pavement in my vegged-tired state, slung on my pack and wondered where the heck the hostel was.

First impressions? Fantastic! Vancouver city has a real buzz to it, it felt safe and clean and was very scenic. I felt like I could approach almost anyone walking along the street, and I did – for directions.

All checked in at the Cambie – I went for a walk. The night before in Victoria had been a real winner but I wasn’t wanting to have another big night. Though that changed when I got back to the hostel and saw how packed the bar was underneath, oh…I’ll just go in for a beer…

I turned around from the bar with my handle of Canadian beer and looked for some people to sit with chime in on. I sat down with Kenan and Astarious (sp?), they were locals. TV’s were everywhere showing footage of past ice hockey games. Tonight at 7pm, the Vancouver Canucks were playing Dallas and it was a big game! and my first ice hockey experience

The wandering kiwi suddenly amoungst a bunch of die hard hockey fans! I pitched in on the beer and laughed and chatted with others who were sitting by our table.

  

Leigh was definitely a die hard Canucks fan. She makes arty Canucks pendants and is planning a large tattoo show her strong support of the team. I decided to interview her.  

Please note, this footage may disturb some viewers! View here

At some point in the evening I got chatting with Andrea and Jay. Andrea has just moved to Vancouver from Ontario and was in explore mode like me so we arranged to meet the next morning at the Aquarium and do some exploring.

   

The rest of the night at the Cambie was full of cheering, jumping up and down and beer being flung by one particular goober who Jay had booted out of the bar… This guy:

 

The game had four overtimes and wound up about 1am – this was certainly a good kick off to my Vancouver experience!

The next morning, racing the clock I caught two buses and met Andrea outside the Vancouver Aquarium. It’s home to some Beluga whales (the white whale) and let me tell you, they are the most beautiful and intelligent things I’ve seen in water. After a look around the complex we took seats to watch the Beluga show.

  

Now, I know how dolphin shows work from my time working at Marineland in Napier. But I was really curious to see what these Belugas could do. From the underwater viewing deck they look like giant floating marshmallow men (ghostbusters). I couldn’t see them jumping 3M+ above the pool surface to nose a ball, ha!

Brilliant show! They can make the most amazing sounds, one just like a little kid screaming which we all imitated (the audience). We were both sitting, watching in amazement. I was in a dreamland, and all of a sudden we were soaked by a giant beluga splash. A *seriously* big wall of water. “Get ready for round two” said one of the trainers. Hell no! we bolted for the side of the seating area…Actually I think I was still sitting there stunned and Andrea yelled to move.

I give the Vancouver Aquarium five stars out of five, what an experience. It’s better than any aquarium I’ve ever been too, not to expensive either.

Recovering from our whale splash we wandered around the Aquarium discussing subjects from Yoga to business plans and how to change the world…mutually beneficial chats. Andrea teaches yoga, and in my mind she has a ‘leg up’ on most people when it comes to thoughts on life.

“It’s not the place you’re in, it’s the people you meet”

What I found interesting about her was her positivity and clear outlook on life. She’s someone who still has her child sense of curiosity and she puts trust in people. That’s something a lot more of us need: to be curious, ask questions, take that leap.

She told me she doesn’t want to be the parent sitting on the park bench watching her kids play. She wants to be running and playing with them!

Conclusions from both of us:

• Yoga is not supposed to be painful
• Yoga’s great for living more in the moment
• To change the world you must first change your self and infect others with what’s good about things in life
• Create infectious energy, choose to be a positive person
• Business tips: ask questions and never be afraid to ask them, work with the people you want to work with – don’t waste your time on people you don’t gel with, ‘just do it!!!!’

We then set off on a walk through Stanley park. It’s huge! With forest, lake and stream and packed with scampering squirrels.

We talked about people and how they interact with others, living, death, good times, family, how we fit into the big picture, society, classes of people, America…

SO Follow your gut feelings, help those who can also help themselves, don’t get walked over, run and play with your children, go to the end of the earth and get a coconut massage on the beach at sunset…Find your place in the big picture and start changing the world by changing yourself Be infectious!

There are thousands of potentials presented to each and everyone of us everyday. What possibilities and potentials do you have? Be curious, you’ll be amazed what you’ll find. Follow the white rabbit!

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 15th, 2007 at 4:06 am While Dave was in Canada. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.