by: Yena Kim

I spent most of this past weekend out and about in Vancouver. My sister was out

visiting for Thanksgiving and we decided to enjoy the sunshine and make the most

of her visit. By the time the weekend was over I felt more thankful than ever to be

able to live in such a beautiful city.

But then I asked myself: why don’t you push yourself to spend more time exploring

all that Vancouver has to offer? The obvious answers—wanting to sleep instead,

needing to study, being too cozy in bed and needing to study but watching Youtube

videos—suddenly sounded to me more like excuses than real answers. Yes, studying

and sleeping is important, but getting the most out of my experience here in

Vancouver is important too. Plus, studying is for rainy days, and there are more than

enough rainy days in a Vancouver school year.

So, whether you have lived your whole life in Vancouver or are only here for a

semester on exchange, I encourage you to toss off the cozy blankets and take

advantage of the fact that you get to call Vancouver your home.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas.

Spend a sunny afternoon lying on the beach. Be it Jericho, Kits, or English Bay, there

is nothing quite as lovely as watching happy dogs and dog-walkers go by as you

listen to ocean waves from your blanket on the sand.

Visit Granville Island. Get your friends and family members cool Christmas presents

from the market, go beer tasting at the Granville Island Brewery, and stick around

for an improv show! Oh, and make sure you go sit in a hammock chair from the

hammock store.

Go out to eat. I know—from unfortunate personal experience—that this can be hard

on your wallet. However, Vancouver has some truly delicious and unique places to

eat so if you can, try to budget in a few trips to Sophie’s Cosmic Café, The Naam, or

The Noodle Box. You won’t regret it.

Pay attention to posters! Vancouver has tons of festivals (Hot Chocolate Festival

anyone?), concerts, readings, dance-offs, and other fun happenings going on all the

time. Check out what’s going on, try something new, and make sure you don’t miss

out!