No Cuts, No Glory

Opened a new blog. Will post on school adventures. Queen of Scots for everything else :) Will have recipes at some point. Very fresh, still. Don't hesitate to leave comments!
http://nocutsnoglory.wordpress.com/

Hongcouver

Warning: the following contains stereotypes and generalisations. Please do not be offended. Remember: not all opinions are mine; I am a descriptive writer and an anthropologist. ;-)

"We want here a white man's community with civilized habits and religious aspirations, and not a community of 'Heathen Chinese' who can never assimilate with us, or do ought to elevate us, and who can be of no possible value to a state in any capacity other than that of drawers of water and hewers of wood."

- Benjamin Pearse, British Columbia's surveyor general from 1872 - 1872

So Vancouver is generally seen as a very multi-culturally-comfortable city. People from all across the world flock here to live in one of the most liveable cities on the planet. And in the broad scheme of things, everyone is welcome.

Immigrants are not a new phenomenon to this area. Let's not forget that George Vancouver arrived here on a boat himself. Strangely though, as with many areas in the world that were taken over by the White Man in or around the Golden Age, there are definitive boundaries to this broadly advertised xenotolerance, that have surprised me in the last couple of weeks.

Canadians are a friendly people. That is a massive cliché, only because it is true. There is an almost Asian tendency to apologise, an American sense of customer service and an unexpected (by a Dutchie) level of politeness and cheer in almost everyone here. Btw, I think staying here for a while is definitely making me a better person, if only for those three things, but more on that some other time.

Now to get to the crux of the matter: There are a LOT of Chinese people here. Not at all illogical, with the Great Communist State so close by on the other end of the pond, but still. It's striking. Vancouver is nicknamed Hongcouver for it. Some families have been here for generations, some have just arrived. Most of them well integrated and fluent in the language, some not so much. Many Chinese have a tendency to stick within their own communities while abroad. Hence, all the lovely China Towns in all metropolitains, but sticking to your own group can cause friction. Therein lies the problem. 'Canadians' can become vocal in their dislike of the Chinese, and consequentially all things Asian. (Gosh, where have I heard this before....)

The most heard complaint is that wealthy mainland Chinese are driving up the housing prices by buying million(s) dollar properties in cash, living there only for a short period of time before moving back to China, renting out the house for a high price or stationing their UBC-going kids in it, leaving them in charge of the Ferrari. Really; if you see an obscenely expensive car in this city, chances are pretty high a very young Asian boy is driving it.

Xenophobia is of all ages (see the 19th century quote at the top of this blog), and of all places, unfortunately. Still, naively, I had Vancouver pegged as a beacon of multi-culturalism (yeah...naive). Actually, I was quite shocked to hear some very obvious racial slurs on the streets of Van, directed at Chinese. From a cyclist, ignoring a stop sign, yelling "get out of the way you f-ing Chinese", to a man on the bus swearing under his breath about his two neighbors happily chatting away in Chinese, and another man explaining to my mother and me that the situation in which a woman stupidly left her car in the middle of an intersection after a hit and run was obviously due to an ESL-problem (English as a second language).

Anyway, a very positive thing about having East Asia this close is the abundance of good 'Asian' restaurants to balance out the North American establishments. Starting a night out with a smoked meat Poutine and ending it with high-end sushi is completely possible (and, evidently, delicious).

Click for further reading on Chinese immigrants in Vancouver

The 4 stages of living in a new country

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Moving abroad is an interesting experience. Euphoria, frustration, boredom, anxiety, elation, it’s all there and you will experience it again, and again, and again, if you’re insane enough to decide to move abroad multiple times.The only good thing about it is that after the second time, you know what’s coming.  Don't get me wrong, moving abroad is awesome, and I think everyone should do it at least once, if only for the interesting things you will learn about yourself. Don’t even get me started on the emotional roller-coaster that you’re going to have to sit through before you leave, so let me just focus on the first weeks of your stay in this Great New Place.

Stage 1: Getting organised

Right, you’ve totally figured out how to get from the border (airport, boat, bus, car, train) to wherever you’re staying and are braving your jetlag or general travel tiredness to get there. You feel greatly accomplished when you do. Yes! You did it! You’re here. You let out a sigh and fall asleep (or don’t. Darn jetlag).

And then the fun starts. You’re not here on holiday so a map, a hotel, and your credit card are not going to cut it. You need a home, a local cell phone, a bank account, insurance, student or employee identification (including the jetlagged picture that will haunt you for the rest of your time there), you need to report to the authorities and you desperately need a trip to IKEA. Alright. Breathe and power through it.

Stage 2: Shiny and new

Everything is awesome. Your house is awesome, your new friends are awesome, this is the coolest thing you have ever done. And the whole world seems to think so too; your school has an introduction week, your work organises socials for new employees, your roommate drags you to 3 birthday parties in one week, the local restaurant even has a special of your favourite food. These activities generally include making random new friends (everyone is awesome!) and drinking cheap or free booze. What’s not to like?

Stage 3: Confusion

Wait. What have I done? Did I actually just move here? In the name of all that is holy, why?! That’s crazy! How could I have been so stupid! I miss my dog/climate/mom/apartment/friends/job/that very specific pair of shoes that I forgot to pack!

Stage 4: Settling

Finally, generally after a couple of weeks, the ‘I live here’-vibe sinks in. You no longer feel the need to move around the place like a tourist. You no longer look intently out the window on a bus, you lose the map that was in your jacket pocket and find yourself behind your laptop (ie: Facebook) at 11am or binge watching a new series for three evenings in a row, instead of being outside for the sake of being outside. You are no longer on holiday. This is also the moment that might lead you to not do anything touristy anymore. You know: living in a city for three years and not even having visited that one famous museum, or climbed that one obvious hill. As long as you know this is a risk, and are willing to remind yourself of that sometimes, you’re fine. You have time. You’re at home here. 

Again, with the perfect sunsets.... *sigh*

Vancouver sunsets

Vancouver is a typical North American metropolis, with its high rise buildings, its shopping malls, its grid street plan (including numbered avenues), and its array of restaurants ranging from fast food chains to insanely expensive haute cuisine.

What's not so typical about Vancouver is that it's surrounded by the Canadian Rocky Mountains on one side and the Pacific ocean on the other. It sits in this comfortable little bowl that makes the climate comfortable (warm and wet, to Canadian standards) and the views magnificent. More specifically; from almost any major street in the city you'll be able to see the North Shore Mountains and/or the Strait of Georgia. The city has about ten beaches from which the sunset views are beautiful. One of which is three blocks from my house.

Now I wasn't  raised in a really mountainous area (yeah, Holland is pretty flat) so the mountains here keep taking my breath away, especially at sunset. The weather here has been holding up really well this last week so I've been lucky enough to have seen some pretty spectacular sunset views that combine the beautiful calm waters with some amazing green islands and mountains.

My roommate keeps telling me that it won't be too long until the clouds and the rain completely take over and we won't be able to see anything for a good five months. Ah well, better enjoy it while it lasts. Wait, why am I inside?

Settling in

So, on to more mundane things.

My jetlag has left me by now, but it's been replaced by a massive cold. Let's hope that's gone before I have to audition for any choirs...

I've been settling in quite well. Got myself a phone, a new gym, a favorite supermarket, an almost seamless accent, stuff like that (, eh). I've moved into my shared apartment, at a corner of Maple Street. Really, if you are to move to Canada, then you should be living on a street called Maple, I'd say.

Went to IKEA the day before yesterday, with my Dutch friend Annika, to buy a bed and all other sorts of stuff that one ends up buying at IKEA. Thank the universe for IKEA. Most North American furniture stores sell heavy, dark, and expensive (not to say plain ugly) things. At least at IKEA, I could walk straight up to the Poäng and move on.
IKEA workers have been striking here since May already, and the schoolyear is starting soon, so the place looked like a giant storm had gone through it taking everyting cheap with it. I was actually lucky to find a half decent mattress, but not much else.

The weather has been holding up well, it's supposed to be very nice this week as well. My classes don't start till the 23rd, so I still have some time to enjoy it.

Canada

At certain moments in life it's really worth trying to oversee one's experiences and be thankful that all of them, the good, sad, exciting, scary, boring, difficult, and really easy things, have happened to you, because otherwise you would not be where you are now and you would be an entirely different person.

Six days ago, I moved to Canada. Discovered I wasn't happy where I was, so made a plan, quit my job, booked a ticket. You could say that was a brave thing to do, that I'm doing something a lot of people think about but never do. You could say I was cowardly running from some things in my life, and that I'm stupid for throwing my savings at something like this. You could say it was inevitable for me to move abroad again at some point.

There's probably some truth in all of that. I try not to think about it too much and just go with it. I do know that there have been several moments in the last days; watching the sun sink into the pacific ocean, venturing out to make new friends, being overwhelmed by the sheer power of a glistening mountain view or a quiet night city skyline, playing pool with some awesome strangers in a gaybar in the middle of the night; that I know I'm in the right place.