First Impressions

I arrived in Vancouver two nights ago. It's been incredibly busy, so much so that I haven't had much time to just sit and gather my thoughts. Finally, I have a fairly free evening when I don't feel dead tired.

The first night, we had an amazing thunderstorm. I woke up at about 3AM to loud rumbles and bright flashes and heavy rain. At first, when I was still half asleep, the thunder was an annoyance. Then, I woke up enough that I could rest my head on my pillow and look out the window, appreciating the storm with quiet excitement. I'm not sure how long the storm went on, since I was too sleepy to stay up and watch much.

Tonight, I had dinner with my parents, and had to let my mom go. We went out to a great restaurant on Granville Island, I had salmon and amazing white cheddar mashed potatoes. Afterward, we saw a heron try to steal his dinner from a man preparing his fish down at the marina, from a view outside the restaurant. It was sad to see my mom go. It probably hasn't hit me fully yet; there is too much excitement to feel as sad as I thought I would. Dad will stay a couple more days to help me settle in and tie up loose ends.

Between the first night and tonight, I've been busy doing GALA International Student orientation workshops and other events. I was put in a group with about 7 other Computer Science students, and it's been good to meet people that way. I hope to get a little more spare time to myself, because I haven't really unpacked yet!

Not many people have moved into my dorm yet, but tomorrow is the official move-in day. I hope to meet lots of cool people! Tonight I stepped into my hallway, hearing laughter and talking. I went to the room where it was coming from; the door was open, so I mustered up my courage and went to say hello. It was a group of four second-year students, who had apparently all been friends last year. They asked me a couple questions, for example where I was from, what faculty I was in, etc. Nice people, I hope I will see more of them!

Photo: View of downtown Vancouver tonight, from the parking lot on Granville Island. My cell phone camera isn't amazing in difficult lighting, but it captures enough of the beauty that you'll get the idea.