Prefacing this by saying, I should have started this at the start of the year because who knew 2020 would bring me this much joy already. I’ve always wanted to be able to share my thoughts and experiences on some sort of platform but just never got around to it. When traveling there’s a lot of down time in between trips so I’m going to use that time to share with you all what I’m doing; starting with my 13 hour flight to Taipei which I am about to board. I’ll try to keep this going throughout the year and hopefully you all find it interesting enough to follow along. It’ll be a learning process and I’m looking forward to it all!

Jan 5-10

Breaking from the Script but this ain’t an act..

After a memorable last night in my hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado surrounded by family and friends, my journey across the world got off to a rough start. January 6th I left on an adventure of a life time. I got incredibly sick on my flight from Denver to Vancouver and after some medical complications, I wasn’t able to secure a flight to Taipei until the 10th. Being stuck four days with no agenda was not ideal, especially without a budget or any planning in a foreign country. It was also a blessing in disguise. My first test was right in front of me and I don’t even know where to begin sharing how amazing this time was for me. My first day in Vancouver was pretty miserable. It was raining none stop and I was stuck in my hotel, with Tim Horton’s being the only thing I can manage to walk to without getting drenched. I made an effort to understand how all the public transportation works here in order to efficiently get to the sights I wanted to see, knowing I’d be walking the rest of the way. (America if you’re reading this please fix your public transportation infrastructure because driving everywhere is overrated, especially in cities.)

On Wednesday the 8th, I walked 20 minutes to Bridgeport Skytrain Station and took it downtown. From there I walked down the length of Granville Street all the way to Granville Island. It was great to see how the city operated during a work day and I was impressed with the layout. I stopped and had lunch at Granville Island’s public market. Met a Japanese man over some Canadian Salmon Corn chowder, and we ended up wandering West Vancouver together, taking the bus all the way to University of British Columbia which he had recently applied to. Before we went our separate ways I selfishly invited him to a Taiwanese eatery which I had scouted on my walk earlier and it was great being able to share my culture with him.

Thursday was much the same, but a completely different adventure. Took the train downtown again, and spent a total of 5 hours walking to and around historic Stanley Park. My legs were sore but the scenery was well worth it. As I got back into town, some street skaters were filming and sending some gnarly kick flips off of platforms and onto the busy main street. I stood there in awe, watching them do crazy tricks but genuinely concerned with their safety. It was then I noticed a girl right next to me looking at the same thing. Her name was Nora and she was a German girl who had been an exchange student in Bellingham, Washington. It was her final 3 days in North America before returning to Germany, and her only day in Vancouver. We both were wanderers and although her English was good, she needed some help getting around as she had no service. It was cool for me because I had recently messed around with learning German so I was practicing and saying random things to her which she thought was hilarious. We decided to wander the East side of Vancouver together, stopping by Chinatown, Rogers Center and eventually to Pacific Central Station where she was supposed to take a train back to Washington. I guess we lost track of time, she missed her train and was stuck in Vancouver, just like me. It was something out of a movie where someone has so much fun that they came running back before they had to leave, but mostly because she needed me for my cell phone service lol. I ended up accompanying her until her host mom was able to to drive a couple hours up from Washington to pick her up. I treated her to her first Tim Horton’s as if I was some local.

After I said my goodbyes and she was on her way, I met a BC local named Vivian. I am blown away by how nice people in Canada generally were, she offered to take me, a complete stranger, around in her car and show me the local places that tourists couldn’t get to. I got to see the surrounding towns such as Burnaby and Coquitlam, the suburbs, her “secondary school” (highschool), and she even drove me to the top of Burnaby Mountain Park to show me the night view of this amazing city. She mentioned that it doesn’t snow much in Vancouver and hasn’t snowed since last year same time. Looks like the Colorado in me brought the winter, it started snowing and the view was impeccable. We went and ate at a ramen restaurant and she dropped me off at a skytrain station far from the line I needed to take, but I was able to finesse it and rode back to my hotel like a seasoned veteran.

I thought about how along the way, I met so many amazing people. I just kept thinking to myself that it’s pretty crazy I was only supposed to be here for a two hour layover. I was so grateful just knowing I had this opportunity. A Japanese, a German, and countless Canadians; it was incredible to hear the stories they had to share. They told me how great it was to hear how I got to this point and that mutual appreciation felt pure and genuine. Often times we all get too comfortable at home hanging out with the same group of people. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing because keeping a tight circle is important; but it was great to be reminded that there are so many stories and cool people surrounding all of us and the key to unlocking most of them is a simple “hello”. With that being said, I wrang this towel dry in the short and unexpected time I got to spend here in beautiful British Columbia and I have no regrets, I may even come back here later on. I cannot wait to see what the future holds. Good news, there’s a whole lot more for me waiting on the other side...

#ripmac

Jan 12-22

Routines and cheap food