I finally arrived in Vancouver! My first impression was that the city is very organized and clean, and the air quality is great. The weather was sunny, too. My ESL teacher sent me a warm welcome message on WhatsApp, and he said it had been rainy before I came. Lucky me!
Before the trip, I packed a lot of stuff in my suitcase, so it was overweight. At the airport, I had to pay about 165,000 won for the extra weight, and I even had to throw out my backpack. I didn't have enough energy to repack everything. But if money can solve a problem, it's not a big deal. In the end, it turned out to be a great choice, because many things here, especially beauty products, are pretty expensive. I brought all my basic skincare, so I don't need to buy it here.
When I arrived, I paid my rent and started my homestay life. I met my homestay mom, and she made me a delicious dinner. I'm very satisfied!
Then I walked around the neighborhood and took a walk along the river. It was very quiet, and the path was really clean. Lots of people were walking their dogs, and the dogs were big! In Korea, small dogs are more common, so it felt a little different and impressive.
I also went to a grocery store to check the prices. Cake is way cheaper than in Korea, but beauty items are expensive.
The pickup manager helped me get a Compass Card. The fare depends on the zone. I can use Zone 1, so it's not that expensive. Zones 2 and 3 cost more, but on weekends and holidays, they count as Zone 1.
There's also some big news here. One of the biggest language schools in Canada suddenly shut down, and all its students lost their school. I'm not sure if that's related, but the college I planned to attend needed more information from the government, so my start date kept getting delayed. In the end, I decided not to go. Still, I met my ESL teacher and classmates, so I think I'm lucky.
That night, I had terrible jet lag and didn't fall asleep until almost 5:30 a.m. But thanks to that, I unpacked everything!
한 줄 요약
밴쿠버 첫날! 맑은 날씨와 ESL 선생님의 환영 메시지로 시작. 홈스테이 입주, 강변 산책, 마트 물가 체크, 컴퍼스 카드 발급. 대학 입학은 포기했지만 좋은 ESL 반을 만났고, 시차 덕분에 새벽까지 짐 정리 완료.
Useful expressions
- I walked around the neighborhood. : 동네를 돌아다녔다
- take a walk along the river : 강을 따라 산책하다
- If money can solve it, it's not a big deal. : 돈으로 해결되면 별일 아니다
- It turned out to be a great choice. : 결과적으로 좋은 선택이었다
- The fare depends on the zone. : 요금은 구역에 따라 다르다
- I have jet lag. : 시차 적응 중이다
Feedback
- carrier → suitcase (carrier는 콩글리시)
- cheaper than Korean → cheaper than in Korea
- How relief it is! → What a relief!
- the price is depend on → the price depends on
- expansive → expensive (expansive는 '넓은'이라는 뜻)
- my time zone is upside down → I have jet lag / my sleep schedule is messed up
- he was very welcoming me → he welcomed me warmly
- shuttown → shut down
- I decided to not to go → I decided not to go