I wasn’t entirely sure what to title this post. “5 Things That International Students May Find Shocking… Number 4 will Amaze You!” didn’t seem right, not just because of its rather click-baity nature, or because I don’t really have 5 items to talk about, but also because I don’t know if it’s something international students might find SHOCKING. In fact, as an international student myself, these things did not necessarily SHOCK me and AMAZE me either. However, the points I will be raising below were definitely things I experienced during my first few months in Vancouver (and that was two years ago! Can you believe it?). Depending on where you’re from, dear reader, you might not identify with any of these at all (once again, explaining my dilemma over the title of this blog post).
1. GST/PST and non tax inclusive prices
When I first left Malaysia, we had no GST (it has since been implemented earlier this year). If I went grocery shopping and decided to buy a bottle of juice priced at a dollar, I would have been able to assume that I’d only have to pay a dollar, and nothing else. I’d obviously done a lot of research before I left for Vancouver, so I knew the gloom and doom and boom that awaited me. However, it was still a nasty surprise when the cashier announced a price that did not add up with the numbers in my head.
I felt the same shock again after I got back from my Europe trip. Prices in London reflected the value-added tax (VAT), so something priced at 50p was still 50p at the till. When I was in Paris and Amsterdam, restaurant prices also included service charges and taxes. It was all fun and games and I had a blast paying what I knew I had to pay (I mean, as much fun as you can have when you have to pay money). I got so used to the tax-inclusive prices that coming back to Vancouver was a big slap to my face. Man, what a way to greet a girl back.
2. The sheer size of Canada
Canada is one big country. It’s the second largest country in the entire world. I know that. Yes. I can intellectually process this, and I have seen Canada on a map many, many times.
I still had a hard time getting this information through my thick skull. Ontario is not a simple hop away. Kelowna is already about an hour’s flight away. I suppose Canadians might be used to this, but as a simple girl (but a very charming simple girl) from a country that is about THIRTY times smaller than Canada, it was a little…. difficult to digest. That knowledge must have been full of fiber. British Columbia is already larger than my entire country. From where I lived in Malaysia, it would take maybe 4 – 5 hours by car to get to the northern tip of the country. Here, it takes about 5 hours to get to Kelowna by car.
My flight to London took about 10 hours, and 5 or 6 of those hours were spent flying over Canadian airspace. Man.
3. DIS DAMN RAIN
As a simple girl (but remember, a charming one) from a tropical country that is constantly plagued by monsoons, I thought the rain would be no problem. I even looked up precipitation rates in both Vancouver and the town I was originally from, and my town beat Vancouver by more than 1000mm. It rains LESS in Vancouver. Noobs, I thought. I assumed that the rain would be no problem.
And it wasn’t. Not for a while. What I didn’t take into account, however, was the type of rain. In Malaysia, when it rains, it usually pours, especially during monsoon season. The rain gets very heavy, heavy enough that sewers flood and life essentially stops because no one can be bothered to get stuff done in that kind of weather. Laundry hung out to dry (we don’t usually use dryers) outside will NEVER get dry, not just because of the rain, but also because of the resulting humidity.
The rain in Vancouver, on the other hand, is tedious. As a general rule, it’s never really heavy (I’ve seen what some Vancouverites call “heavy” rain……), but it lasts alllllllllllllll day. The skies stay clouded for 99999 years and the rain is always falling. Always. Always looking for a party to poop on. Looking for a parade to rain on. Maybe this is how Chinese water torture works? But I digress. At one point, I felt like I could understand what Seasonal Affective Disorder was all about (aptly known as S.A.D.), because I was growing increasingly frustrating at the never-ending rain, and the absence of the sun, which was obviously taking some kind of vacation. I wanted to punch something. Punch the rain. Punch the sky. Punch the weather.
In short: The city is nicknamed “Raincouver” for a reason.
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Otherwise, I actually adapted to life in Vancouver almost seamlessly. I didn’t even have to learn a new language! This is a list based on my first (and a little bit of second) year in Vancouver, so other individuals will probably have different perspectives. [I also don’t know why I feel the need to keep adding these disclaimers]. What was your experience like?
Also, to all incoming first years:
Sup.