Canada: Victoria & Vancouver

My apologies for the long lag-time between the two posts. I started work and now whenever I get home I'm usually busy getting dinner ready and then just wanting to relax. With the time lapse, I may also have forgotten some fun details.

Victoria

Our cruise dropped us off at Victoria. The cruise was actually going to continue its trip down south to Seattle, but we disembarked early to stay with my aunt Heidi and her three children. She had found a great discounted deal at one of the hotels in Victoria, so instead of going straigh to Vancouver, we stayed the night. This was the first time I got to meet my three cousins, which was fun--they're crazy.

When I visited their room in the hotel for the first time, Heidi told her son MacKenzie, "You see him? That's what you're going to look like when you grow up!" Apparently, he bears an uncanny resemblance to me when I was younger and he also has an aversion to eating, as I did at his age (hard to believe now). The next day was packed: visit Salaam, tour the parliament building, check out the British Columbia museum, and catch a ferry to Vancouver.

It was a wonderful treat to be able to meet Salaam. Salaam is the daughter of Umm (Mother) and Abu (Father) Salaam who were my host parents in Jordan. She works at the Empress Hotel, a very famous Victorian institution that's been around almost as long as the parliament building has been, in the private lounge area. She was kind enough to serve us some sweets and pastries along with coffee and tea. We had a good solid 30 minutes together, reminiscing about her mother's cooking. Turns out that I was staying in her sister Tamara's room, whereas Alex stayed in her room. It was lovely meeting her and I've sent a photo that we took together to Tamara to bring with her to her parents in Amman at the end of the month.

The parliament building was interesting because everything seemed very majestic with stained glass and different crests and shields hanging on the walls and embedded in the windows. The opposite of what I think of when I imagine Canada! We learned about the formal etiquette--to be expected of the British--and how to Queen goes through the formalities when visiting parliament in session. The British Columbia museum, which was right next door, was actually quite good. There were staff stationed at different exhibits who would explain things to you and let you handle things like tortoise shells and whale baleen. We also watched an imax film about chimps and elephants "displaced" by deforestation or poaching being adopted by rehabilitation organizations. Narrated by Morgan Freeman--go figure.

The ferry ride was almost 45 minutes...more time on the water...gotta love it. Upon arrival we went straight to dinner and I was VERY happy with the food. I hadn't had authentic asian food in a long time. We had great Cantonese dishes that tasted just like home!

Vancouver

The next day we had dimsum for breakfast--oh yeah! We dropped by the fisherman's warf and bought some seafood and also went to the cannery museum. The museum was all about the fish canning industry with a great guided tour. I sense a trend here. Canada is good at museums. We learned about the poor working conditions, racism against Asians, and the horrible sanitation in relation to the whole enterprise. Next, we took a trip to the public market, basically ten times better than Eastern Market. It was on the waterfront with great street musicians and anything from boutique chocolates to butchers. For dinner, one of my mom's cousins, Ryan, who I've known for quite a while, and his new wife and stepson were able to visit. It was great seeing him and catching up--he became a Christian a few years ago and it was refreshing seeing his passion for Jesus.

Our last day in Vancouver, we visited my mom's old university Simon-Fraser! That was cool, although my mom had no idea where anything was anymore because the campus had changed so drastically since the last time she visited. We got to visit a re-enactment town of how Canadians lived back in the day. Surprisingly, they lived like everyone else! I got a $8 haircut--got to take advantage of cheap haircuts when you can! In the evening, a number of my mom's cousins from her dad's side came and visited for dinner. My mom hadn't seen these cousins for decades! So it was cool meeting that side of the family as we tend to see my grandmother's side more often since they're all still in the Philippines.

Wrap-Up

I've started work now at ISOA as a communications associate. This job is temporary, but full-time; keeping me busy until I find a permanent position somewhere that will fulfill my Boren requirements. My birthday is today...And yes, I'm getting notifications every few minutes of people posting on my Facebook wall. I'll be having a small little birthday get-together tonight, just AJ, Sammy, and I--some steak and (blueberry) wine. Yes, blueberry wine. Who's ever heard of that? My mom got it while she was in Canada and had it shipped to me for my birthday. Thanks mom! We'll be opening a bottle and trying some over dinner.

My next scheduled time of travel won't be until August, for the Goggin wedding. Although there is a slight possibility I may go with some CHBC folk to go canoeing/kayaking at Harper's Ferry in Virginia!