THE JOB HUNT

Oh Canada!

Day 10 - Monday - Job hunt without voiceMy cold gets worse, but I have to get a job. I only have a week for this, so let the hunt begin. With a bunch of resumes in my bag and my board under my feet I go from hotel to hotel , from shop to shop. I start to get used to the walk-in-and-apply method. But I feel pretty unconfident, because of my bad condition. Cracked voice and caughing and so on. And the weather changes like minimum four times a day. From super sunny to snow. That's not helpful.

Welcome to the kitchen

Day 11 - Tuesday - Finally a job

I'm still waiting for somebody to reply to my applications. Waiting sucks, seriously. But I start to feel better. Finally! At the hostel I met Julia, a girl from Germany as well, and we team up for the job hunt. A guy from the hostel gave us the tip to apply at Earl's Kitchen and Bar. So give it a try and got hired right away from the point! We can come back in the evening and start to work. We don't know what our jobs will be, but in the end we've got a job. Yeah! 

Back at Restaurant we get our uniform. It's cooking clothes. So now we know we're working in the kitchen. But witch position? After a tour through the whole environment we get books, filled with recipes. Mine are for the oven, Julias for the pans. Are we going to cook? We are both a little bit shocked. They hired us as Line Cooks without experience! That's crazy. Julia feels more and more uncompfortable, I'm pretty excited. I don't know if I'm able to do this, but I want to give it a try.

Rundle Mountain

Day 12 - Wednesday - Beeing a Line Cook

My day starts early. Julia decided not to do do the job, because she felt very uncompfortable. I understand her and so it's only me now. Good luck to her! Well back at the restaurant I got introduced to my future work place, the ovens. After I theoretically learnd all the recipes yesterday, I have to cook them all today. Over seven dishes and I have to try them all. But the kitchen guys helped me to eat them all, haha. I think I am not to bad at this job and it's fun. The ovens are hot, but that's worth it. And I feel cool in my kitchen outfit.

I am still living in the hostel in a 10 bed dorm. I've got a new roommate today. His name is Austen and he's from Edmonton. We get pretty good along with each other. And I am happy that I finally have somebody to talk with.

Sorry for this

Day 13 - Thursday - First real shift

Because work starts in the afternoon, Austen and me wandering around through Banff and seeking for a job for him. We really have a good conection to each other and I am glad that I can share my time with somebody. Walking around alone all the time is pretty boring.

At the late afternoon my shift starts with a training . I learn stuff about food, cleanliness and the concept of the restaurant. After that I can decide if I want to do my first real night shift at the Line or going home. I took the shift. The first time I am doing this all by myself. On my third day. I am aftraid and pumped about the upcoming hours. But I think I nailed it for a bloody beginner. And it's a lot of fun. Tired but happy about this opportunity I finish this day.

Day 14 - Friday - the 13th

Actually I'm not superstitious, but after this day I'm not so sure. Everything started with a text message I sent to my chef, about when my shift would start today, because we couldn't find the schedule yesterday night. So I recived a call in the early morning that I don't have to come. The restaurant is closed due to a fire in the night. I am shocked. I've got a job, finally, and then the restaurant burned down. F*ck!! Okay, now I have to clear my mind and start from zero again. I remember that I've got an invitation for an Interview a day ago. So I write them and settel up the interview for the afternoon. And they hired me! Starting on monday I am a housekeeper at a hotel. I also got the okay for the spot in Lucys appartment. So after the day started super bad it become super awesome in the end. Phew!

I also got a couple new people in my dorm and we talked a lot this evening and sang along to the guitar. It is interesting to listen to other people, coz everybody is from somewhere over the world. And I finally explored different kind of canadian beer. Sadly it's my last night at the hostel.

Bow River

Day 15 - Saturday - Moving again

Today I check out at the hostel and move in at the Apartment. Not as a couchsurfer again, this time as the new roommate. I liked the hostel because you meet a lot of people but you have zero privacy and that sucks after a while.

I also go to Canmore today and do a little thrift shopping. Finally I have sunglasses. And I restock my food. Holy it is so expensive. But necessary.

Bow Falls with little rainbow :3

Day 16 - Sunday - Bow River and Falls

Today is the last day before I start to work again. And the weather is so nice that I grab my board and drive to the Bow River and take a walk along through the Bow Falls. Actually they are not really falls, maybe little ones. Around the river are grasslands and a lot of trees, so it is easy to find a nice spot without tourists. I enjoyed most of the day walking and laying around, soaking up the air and the view.

WELCOME TO BANFF- and now?

Day 6 - Hello!

Deer roam through Banff

Well, after a long busride I finally arrived in Banff. It's a small town in the Province Alberta in the middle of the Rocky Mountains and Banff Nationalpark. You may think it's a cute small and quiet village in the middle of nowhere? Wrong. It is a very touristy party village in the middle of kinda nowhere. I would recognize that in the upcoming days. But for the moment I've been super excited to meet a very special person again. Lucy, my very best friend, who'd been in Canada since last year. I can sleep on her couch for some nights, till I decide how to move on.

Day 7 - Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake

Lucy showed me the 'Job Resource Centre' today. I want try to get a job in Banff so that I can stay for a while. We want to go on a roadtrip so saving money wouldn't be to bad. This Job Centre is super awesome. The people helped me a lot with my Résumé and explaind how the whole job search thing works. Seeking for a job in Canada is completely different than in Germany. But I'll do my best!!

Lake Minnewanka

Later that day Lucy took me to Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake. Those are two beautiful areas not far away from Banff. We took a little walk and talked a lot. I'm am so amazed by all the nature that surrounds me. Yes, we also have trees and mountains, but this amount is incredibble. And there is wildlife all around. Cute wildlife and dangerous one.

Ground Squirrel (cute wildlife)

Day 8 - Moving

Because I can't sleep forever on the couch I decided to move to the 'Banff International Hostel' for a whole week. This week is also my limit to find a job. If not I will go somwhere else. 

Hostel sign

Left's Lucy - Right's mine

It seems like everybody in Banff owns a Skate- or Longboard. It sucks to walk around the whole time and even if it is a small village, everything tooks forever. That's why I bought a cruiser. And I love it! I am super fast now and can explore Banff.

Day 9 - It`s sunday

And I am super sick. I catched a bad cold. I think because of the greyhound bus. It was super cold, like in a fridge. Nobody told me and that's why I froze for 13 1/2 hrs. I don't feel well and that's why I use the day to do some job reserch. I also buy food. Even on sunday, everything is open. That is crazy. Useful but crazy.

Daily view

Heading from Vancouver to Banff

After my days in Vancouver I took the Greyhound Bus to Banff.

The ride took 13 1/2 hrs. I started at 6:30 a.m. and arrived at 9:30 p.m.

Oh wait, this are 14 1/2 hrs? No cause Vancouver is in Britisch Columbia and Banff in Alberta.

Both provinces have different time zones. That's why ;)

Cause I had nothing to do I created a little video. Enjoy.

EXPLORING VANCOUVER DOWNTOWN

Hey there!

 My adventure finally started some days ago. After I arrived at the airport in Vancouver it took me one more hour till I was able to leave for the hostel. First I had  to pass the passport check, after that I had to find my luggage (they separated my ski bag as extra special and didn't tell me so that I searched over 20 minutes for it till I found it on the other side of the hall). After I got all my stuff together I headed to the immigration office to activate my working holiday visa. After that I only had to get through the toll (thanks nobody were interested in me). So finally I've got a taxi to the hostel. After check in I went straight to bed and slept till the next morning.

Day1
So this has been actually my first real day in Vancouver. After breakfast I organized and informed myself. The hostel is located in Vancouver Downtown. I decided to walk along Granville St till Canada place next to the Pier of Vancouver. Perfect view. Spontaneously I decided to take a Free Shuttle to Capilano Bridge. The entry is a little bit expensive and there are a lot of tourists, but I liked the view and how they created the park. After I headed back to Vancouver there were enough time to take a walk through Gastown, a very old and traditional part of Van. I visited the Steamclock and the Gassy Jack Statue. Both looks pretty awesome. I also wanted to go to China town, but I missed it and ended up in East Hastings. There were so many used and fucked up people that I felt very uncomfortable and tried to escape fast. Somebody told me later that East Hastings and even Chinatown is the most dangerous quarter in Vancouver! So never end up there!!


Day 2
On the next day I met up with Nadine. We connected each other over a Facebook group for Work and Traveller. She just arrived one week ago and will stay in Vancouver as an Au Pair. The day was very warm and sunny so we decided to visit the Stanley Park. We rent some bikes (pink cruiser bikes, haha) and cycled along the 'seawall'. It was a little bit difficult at the beginning because of a big marathon. But we managed it and, wow, Vancity has so many different faces. That's amazing. You have mountains, the ocean, a skyline full of huge buildings, village like parts, beach, harbour, ...
If you go to Vancouver, you have to visit Stanley Park. But be careful, the seawall is one way for bikes, blades, skates!! ;)







Day 3
First Information day at the Work 'n Holiday office. I met Josephine. A nice girl from Sweden. Because it was just the two of us we did everything together. It was time to get a bank account, a Canadian phone number and, most important, a social insurance number/SIN. This number allows us to work finally complete legal. After we finished everything we grabbed some food and chilled at a small park near the hostel. Vancouver is full of places where you can sit down and relax. In the evening Josephine introduced me to her roommate Inken. She is also german and stayed in Canada since three months as a tourist. Those were her last days in Canada. We went for dinner together.

Day 4
Josephine an I had our second info day at the agency. It was about how to get work, what is importend and how does application works. We also wrote our resumes. They're completely different compared to german ones. Josephine headed back to the hostel and Inken and I went to Granville Island. We wanted to do the brewery tour but it was to late. So we just looked around the Granville Island Market. Lots of art stuff and a huge and amazing food court. Back at the hostel I booked my Ticket for the Greyhound Bus. Then we got ready and went to 'The Cambie Bar'. Inken met a lot of friends over there and we needed social life. It was a great evening filled with good and funny talks.

Day 5

My last day in Van. Also for Inken. So today we did the brewery tour with tasting. It was a very interesting tour. The leader did a good job and we were just a group of four. So everything was fine. The tasting was a lot of fun. I don't know if my german taste will ever get along with raspberry beer. Haha. When we went back we looked up at a Thrift shop. It is kind of second hand shop. Back in the hostel I started to wash and pack up my stuff. I would've to leave very very early in the morning and I didn't want to disturb anybody. After everyone and everything were ready we went out for our last dinner together at our favourite place. After that it was time to say goodbye.
I wish you all the best!!

Now is Day 6 and I am sitting in the Bus to Banff. Since 6:30 a.m. It's a ride for over 13 hrs. Guess I will enjoy the landscape of the Rocky Mountains again. Stay tuned!

Cheers

The Beginning

Seems 2016 will be my year cause a dream comes true. After many years of thinking I gathered all my courage and finally decided to do a work and travel year. And the chosen country is - Canada!

Let's make plans

Going to Canada for a W&T is not that easy. At first I needed a Visa. In New Zealand or Australia it is quiet easy to get one. In Canada you have to go through a long application process plus they changed the whole system compared to the last years. It isn't anymore 'First come, first serve', no, now it is lottery! And there is a Visa-Limit. Great. So I had no chance to plan anything, except of creating a Plan B. I had a time limit, that was my problem.
Anyway I tried. And after a long process I've been one of the first lucky persons who got a W&T Visa for 2016/17. Yayy!!
Now time has passed and so I had only two and a half months for planing everything.

What to do before leaving?

Agency or not?

• I decided to go with one, cause I am alone and for me it is a better feeling to have somebody for the worst case.

Getting a flight.

• Booking a flight in the Off-Season is way cheaper. Plus for me. Acctually it tooks me two days to find a more or less cheap flight with a good airline.

Backpack or suitcase?

• Backpack! Forever Backpack. You have less space, but that's okay.

Appartment.

• I'm living alone in an appartment for over six years now. I don't want to move out nor I have the time, so I decided to sublet it. 

Papers.

• I took a lot of time to cancel contracts, make new ones, getting official documents, international driver license, insurance...

Hostel.

• For the beginning I booked some nights in a Hostel in Vancouver.

And so on, and so on... The to do list had been endless, but I was able to finish it (thank you mommy!). It was a race till the last minute ^^"

Completely stressed out and more than tired the day of leving had come. My family brought me to the airport. Saying goodbye is not so easy. I leave erverything behind me and try to survive one year on the other side of the world. But I hope it will be the best experience in my life. So after a long flight I finally arrived in Vancouver. To be honest I haven't seen a lot yet, coz when I checked in at the Hostel, it went straight to bed and slept fo over 10 hours.

So today is my first really day in Canda and I'll gonna explore Vancouver. 

Granville Street in Van

Cheers :)

From Dublin to Balcoo/Holywell

Dia dhuit!!

This means 'Hello' in Irish Gaelic :)
Today I'll try to write a long(er) entry.
Well, let's start after we left the ferry.

This was my first time while driving on the left side. I was really afraid and drove carefully as hell. But after an hour I start to get used to it. If u concentrate a little bit it's simple. And in Ireland u have a low speed limit on the streets. I think that's good (for persons like me). Haha.
Our first stop was Rush. A small village few kilometers behind Dublin. Irland don't have that much campsites. This sucks a little bit, cause we have to drive long distances to find one . There are just two around Dublin. So we choosed the one in Rush next to the sea. I liked it, cause the air was so fresh!!
On the next day we went to Dublin. I like this town. It's like day and night. Some new things and modern stuff, but it doesn't matter where you look, you allways find old stuff. At first we visited the Kilmainham Goal. We had a tour around the prison. It was so interessting. But it's to much to tell the whole story so just have a look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmainham_Gaol
After that we wanted to visit the Guines Brewery but the entry was so expensive that we decided not to go. So we splited up and walked around at the famous Temple Bar quater. And of course we had a drink at the Temple Bar itself. I love Irish Pubs cause the people are always nice and you have good music all the time.
I bought some shirts and music and a book with strumming patterns for traditional irish songs on guitar. I'll try it when I'm back home :)
We spend a second night at the campsite and got up early in the morning. We decided to drive to the campsite in Belcoo/Holywell in Northern Ireland. On the way we visited Melifont Abbey. Or rather just the ruins of the abbey. But if you have a little bit of phantasy the ruins can be a whole building again ;)
Our next stop was Kells. We needed gas and on the way we visited an old cementry and a chapel. The special thing about the chapel is that it owns the only copy of 'The Book of Kells'. The original is in a university in Dublin. After a snack we decided to drive to the campsite in Northern Ireland and 'chill' the rest of the day. In Northern Ireland you have to pay with pounds and in my opinion it doesn't look that irish anymore. Way to british. But the campsite is okay. It's next to a lake in the middle of a beautiful landscape. Well that's it for now. Here are a few pics for you.

Have a very nice day & Cheers :)

Ferry to Ireland

Hello Everyone :)

At the moment I'm on the Ferry to Ireland. They have free Wi-Fi so I'm able to write a short blog entry.

I'm sorry for not writing that much, because nothing special happens till now.
France is far behind us. And we are in the middle of the sea. It's a little scary beeing on a big ship  in the middle of nowehre. But it's the first time for me not beeing seasick!! I am really happy cause I am able to go to the upper deck and watch the horizont.
The sea is so wide and the air so salty :)

Well, I'm going to eat something now. Here are some picks from our way to the ferry and the ferry itself.

Enjoy your day :D

anywhere in france ^^"

he wants to travel with us

on the ship

On the ship 2

On the way to the coast & Paris

Hello my dear readers :)

Today is my second day on the way to the coast of France where we'll take our ferry. We started yesterday (saturday) early in the morning. There is nothing special to tell, cause we drove the whole day and slept at a gas station.

Today we arrived at Paris. We watched Notre Dame, the Black Tower and the Eifel Tower. We didn't have had that much time but it was okay.
BUT I NEVER EVER WILL GO TO PARIS BY CAR!! THE TRAFFIC IS H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E!!!gas

Now I am at a gas station again and I have free Internet. I will update later coz now I have to go back to my car. On my way to the coast.

Stay tuned & Cheers :)

P.S. I'll upload pics later ^-^

Getting ready for Ireland

Hello everyone!!

One year passed since my trip to Japan. Still wonderful memorys. But this summer I'll travel to one of my favourite countrys too. Yep, as the title says, its Ireland.

It's my second time there but I am really excited. My first trip there was five or six years ago. My family and some others and me traveld around southern Ireland for like six weeks by car. Now we do the same again but just my family, me and a real good friend of mine. And we'll travel around the northern part of Ireland.
I am really scared by driving a car over there, coz they drive on the left side of the street. In Germany you drive on the right. I hope not beeing so confused.

At the moment I pack my stuff and getting ready for a long road trip tomorrow.
I am not sure if I am able to contiune my blog coz we are allways on the road. But if I am able I will write something.

So now let's go back to work.
Maybe 'see you' on my next entry.
Till then, CHEERS :)

Last change

We changed to our last town Osaka. Nothing special to say. The main train staion is huge o_o
Got a bad sunburn. And I am really tired. Mata ne ~

[ah and we cancelled Koya-san. We are really sad about that but it doesn't work T^T]