Be A Tourist—Even In Your Own City
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!