When I came up with the idea of “Sing in Can”, I had a lot of topics that I wanted to cover. However, those were rather “heavy” topics that I could not finish any time soon. Instead, I thought I would start with reflections. I will write other detailed reflections when I finally settled down with my school work.
Speaking of school work, the first week of school flashed by like a gust of wind. I had only 2 days of classes, and I had grand plans for self study… Grand, but disappointing. I ended up hanging out with my new found kakis and barely did any revision.
Week 4
Lesson One: Organisation Behaviour
My very first in-class lesson was not one that I signed up for 😛 I had signed up for a pure online course, but I found out my new kaki RS was taking the same course, albeit the traditional one. Since I had already read the text for the first chapter, I thought I would crash the class so I could have an indirect revision by listening to the instructor.
The instructor, Mr Frank Dixon, was an experienced businessman. Every second of his lesson, wisdom was oozing from him. Just 20 minutes into the lesson, I was wondering if it was really an overkill for someone his stature to conduct a foundation course in Organisation Behaviour!
Of course, like many instructors with plenty of experience, he didn’t really keep to the textbook. Instead, he covered stuff like the structure of a company, especially an incorporated, public company. Having worked in a public company like Singapore Airlines, I was familiar with terms like “Board of Directors” and “Audit Committee”. It was only from Frank that I gained insights of their roles and purposes!
Lesson Two: Entrepreneurship
Right after our first lesson, RS and I popped by the cafeteria to have dinner. By the time we decided what we wanted to eat, we only had 20 minutes till our evening class, so we ended up having french fries…
Oh yes, we also took the same course, “Entrepreneurship”. The class was more crowded than OB’s and had more senior students.
The instructor was also someone from the industry, so he shared plenty of anecdotes from the industry. At the end of the lesson, RS and I formed a team with another girl from Taiwan.
One of the reasons why I wanted to take this course: It was less academic and more about doing. Our team is to come up with a viable business plan by the end of the term. In the interim, we have to create an elevator speech and go through the conventional mid-terms.
To be frank, the open-ended structure of the course was bit daunting for an ISTJ like me…
Lesson Three: Business Communications
I went for my last class of the week the following day: Business Communications. Thankfully, it is also a very hands on module!
My instructor, Ms Lori Walker, did an ice breaker, a la adult learning. The first person would stand up, introduce himself and reveal something about himself. Any person with a similar interest/characteristic/tidbit will volunteer to be next. The 2nd person will introduce the first person, and then share a tidbit about himself, so that a 3rd person can come up and introduce the first 2 persons, then himself.
The trick of the activity, as a participant, was to go up as early as we could. If not, you would have to recite the names of like 20 over people! It was interesting, in a sense, as it also motivated people to speak up fast, which was not what you get when a new team is forming.
Assignments wise, they were bite sized and varied. My first week’s submission required us to record a self-introduction video and an information sheet. Subsequently, we will need to review articles for proper use of language.
Quite straightforward to me 🙂
And The Rest of the Weekend
I went for a job interview on Friday morning. I’m not confident if I would get the job, so I will leave it as that. In the afternoon, my (very on) kakis jio-ed me out to explore Stanley Park.
When we realised that Stanley Park was like humongous, we decided to rent bikes to explore the park.
Even though Stanley Park is like New York City’s Central Park in terms of size and importance, the former was kept mainly in its pristine state. In other words, the trees were all preserved and untouched by human activities!
Exploring Stanley Park
We first rode on the parameter pathway; the rule was that all riders must ride in an anti-clockwise direction. When we realised we covered the whole 9km in 1 hour, we decided then to go onto the bike trails inside the park. The destination? Prospect Point.
Little did we realise we put ourselves in a grueling challenge!
First, it was 100m above sea level. i.e. we had to cycle up that height. Secondly, Google Maps weren’t really helpful when you are in a place with very few meaningful landmarks, so we ended up taking a lot of wrong paths.
Let’s just say we only reached Prospect Point 1.5 hours later…
However, the view was totally worth the thigh-crunching bike ride!
The beauty of Prospect Point was that it overlooked the Lion’s Gate Bridge, which was a suspension bridge over the Burrard Inlet separating Vancouver North Shore from Vancouver. Therefore, we also had a superb view of West Vancouver, against the setting sun.
Speaking about the setting sun, we were glad that it was a downhill ride, as we desperately wanted to get out before it got dark!
We popped by Beaver Lake (which I think looked like a swamp) before dashing out into the open at the Lost Lagoon and returning our bikes at Spokes Bicycle Rental. We ended our day trip roaming the streets of Downtown Vancouver – OK, we were looking for something to eat, but nobody knew that 3 men actually couldn’t make up their minds when it comes to food!
Week 3
Fall Orientation
Moving time back 1 week, it was when I got busy. There was an orientation for all students and one for international students, followed by an orientation for individual faculties. It was when I met my kakis WH and RS.
I actually feel bad to say that I can’t compare Capilano University’s orientation to NUS’ one, because I totally couldn’t care to join an orientation back then! However, it was still an eye-opener, as the opening ceremony celebrated the rich indigenous culture. From the procession full of First Nations elements to the introduction of the canoe that was carved for the university’s 50th anniversary last year, everything was a new experience!
Exploring Yaletown – Dog Festival
I started the week by popping by to Yaletown on Sunday, thanks to the fine weather that day!
Following reports that there would be a dog festival right at the exit of Yaletown-Roundhouse, I decided I would want to immerse myself in a doggy ambience!
I was not sure if there were many corgis, or it was because I could only see them in my eyes. Most of the pictures and videos I took were corgis! It was so difficult for me to find non-corgi pictures to show >.<
The festival only occupied a block and I do not have a dog myself. Therefore, unlike other dog owners who were also shopping for dog treats or taking part in the dog race, I was out of the street in half an hour.
From there, I took a stroll down the waterfront of Yaletown, all the way to Granville Bridge. The apartments along False Creek looked damn cool! They reminded me of Clarke Quay and Keppel Bay in Singapore, which meant the rent should be VERY EXPENSIVE!
I guess I can only stay there when I get a full time, good paying job.
Week 2
Much of my 2nd week in Canada was spent making my rented home feel more homely.
I grew more attached to Metropolis, a huge mall at Metrotown, which is a Skytrain station along the Millennium (Yellow) line. It didn’t matter that it was an hour’s bus ride from my home!
In Metropolis, one gets the traditional Walmart and All Canadian Superstore. There is also T&T – where I get all my fresh and dried food from (which is also cheaper as compared to the American supermarts). There’s also Uniqlo for clothes and Miniso for trinkets to fill the house.
I also explored Daiso in Richmond. In Canada, Daiso is called Oomomo (I kept pronouncing it as 吴嬷嬷! ), and the prices are not kept strictly to $2. However, it was where I could find home organisation stuff at a fraction of that in Walmart! E.g. the cheapest hand towel I could find at Walmart cost $7.99 for 2. In Oomomo, it was $2 for 2!
Week 1
My first week in Vancouver started on a bright note, but turned badly over the weekend.
After my 20-hour flight on the embattled Cathay Pacific (I shall elaborate in a later post), I moved into my Airbnb in Burnaby. I also met a fellow Singaporean who was introduced by one of the Fellows I worked with at SUTD.
I also did some sightseeing, both at Burnaby (that was when I found Metropolis) and at Vancouver Downtown.
On Sunday night, I developed a fever and by the morning, I was literally camping out at the toilet.
Despite my ordeal, I had many items to check off my to-do list:
- Apply for a BC ID
- Apply for Medical Services Plan
- Apply for Social Insurance Number
- Open a bank account
- Submit my original certificates to the university
- Pay the school fees
- Look for a permanent place to stay
Without going into much details, let’s just say I only recovered 1 week later, but I managed to settle all those by Thursday.
Yes, I found my home and signed the lease on Saturday!
I never felt more satisfied with myself as I sat down in my newly acquired home, reviewing all the things I did when I was so sick and surviving on barely 1 litre of water a day (because I could not keep any food down at all).
So yup, that was the laundry list of everything that happened to me in my first month at Vancouver, Canada. Not much “insight” of how a Singaporean survives in Canada, but quite close to it.
I shall really try to write posts that provides a better perspective of a Sing in Can 😛
Till then, sing while you can!
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