This morning, I first called up close family members to let them know that I've arrived safely. But let's get out there now and get serious. Did I say serious? Right, we're opening a bank account! So wear a shirt and a nice pullover and put on a smile. (Ok, that wasn't too hard.) Equipped with my briefcase, looking all serious / happy / businessy, I took a stroll into Richmond's center. First impression: shopping malls all over the place. There's probably nothing you couldn't find.
Gimme, gimme, gimme a number ...
First stop was the Richmond Centre Mall. I had already decided to get me a pay-as-you-go cell phone plan from Rogers, for the time being. (Rogers, to those who don't know, is what T-Mobile is for Germany. Huge brand, good coverage.) Surely not the cheapest way to make calls, but then again I don't know anyone yet, right? Who would I call?
It all went smoothly, I got a number that's easy to memorize and my Nokia works perfectly with Rogers. Glad I bought it from Mr. G – thanks again! :-) Since it was already past noon I had some Thai rice meal at the food court. That's an interesting thing about malls: there's always a central place where all the fast food chains, restaurants and cafés gather around a large patio. Easy to find, you just need to follow the smells.
Mister T does Big Banking Business
Next stop was the Scotiabank. It's interesting to note that everybody in this branch seems to speak Chinese – Richmond is a large Little China, my friends! There are some malls where you won't find a single English word on the signs, and if, it's just in small letters, being the translation of the Chinese sign. So much for English as the official language! ;-) Unfortunately, you need an appointment and there was no one available until January 4th. But Margaret was very kind and helpful, made an appointment with a representative and supplied me with some brochures on the different types of accounts at Scotiabank.
Why did I choose Scotiabank, you might ask? Very simple: it's the partner bank of Germany's Deutsche Bank. They allow me to withdraw money from my checkings account in Germany without charging any extra fees. And I figured the easiest, most cost-effective, and most secure way to transfer money to my new account would be to withdraw cash and deposit at immediately via a teller.
One thing to note: you are required to present a lease form and the contact details of your landlord in order to open an account. Therefore it wasn't too bad after all that I couldn't open the account immediately. Wouldn't have worked out anyways. :)
MacBook? MacBook Pro!
An IT man needs a computer. And since I sold everything in Germany, I needed something new. And shiny. And mobile, being the mobile nomad that I am. I had all my data on backup discs. Two identical HDDs, one in my carry-on, the other in my checked luggage. Just to make sure I don't suffer any data loss. Also, I had copied the most important documents onto encrypted drives on three USB sticks: one in my checked luggage (the one without the HDD), one in my rucksack, one in my briefcase. Paranoid? Nah, not me. :-)
Now a few things on buying an expensive piece of hardware upon arrival: you don't want to use your credit card, because they'll charge you an additional 3% fee for international use. You can't use your German EC card because they won't accept it. How about cash then? Nice idea, but you can only withdraw a limited amount per day and week. And you'll need some cash as well to ... well, eat, drink, get around.
The planning committee therefore decided that it was the best idea to get the money on two seperate days. With a $1000 in my pocket I left the bank, thinking "Act normal, act normal, ACT NORMAL!" It all went well, I returned to my hotel room and deposited the money in my room's safe. Tomorrow the same thing again, and you can go shopping, young man.
Vancouver, here I come
Now it was time to finally see Vancouver. I had been in Richmond all day long, but that was about to change now. Luckily, the newest SkyTrain line "Canada Line" was recently completed, connecting Richmond, YVR and Downtown Vancouver. If that hadn't been the case, I would have been forced to take three buses and spend one and a half hour commuting. Perfect timing then, eh? :-)
So off we go! The SkyTrain is driverless, which means you can sit in the front row and enjoy the show. And that's what I did, being all touristy. ;-)
... and into the underground ...
... and you arrive at Waterfront Station, step out and ... it's just ... like ... whoah.
I'm used to flat cities like Paris or Amsterdam and have never been to New York, so this basically blew my mind. Vancouver is a city of contrasts, with every neighbourhood having a style of it's own. Just a few hundred metres away lies the Burrard Inlet, dividing Vancouver and North Vancouver.
I consulted my Lonely Planet city guide and decided to take the suggested route through Downtown. It's recommended for a reason, and who am I to question the resident author? (I did wander off here and there, but it turns out to be really easy to find your way around.) So many people – and boy, they seem all so happy! That's one thing which struck me the most: people are very forthcoming and polite, quite the opposite to Germany! (No, I'm not trying to ride sterotypes here. But it's so in-your-face, you just can't ignore it!)
From time to time I could see and hear seagulls – reminding me that I finally live at a seaside town! If you're going to change your life, why not do it right? I wanted to live by the sea, and here I am. :-)
While I was strolling through Pacific Centre, Downtown Vancouver's biggest mall, I paid a visit to the local Apple Store to make sure that cash payment will be accepted. "No problem, just let us know and we'll have you pay back there. Ah, and be careful!" Thanks, will do my best!
WYSINWYP – What You See Is Not What You Pay
You should know that, in Canada, whenever you see a price on a display, it's normally without sales taxes. That's was very surprising to me, and I must say it sucks, because it always leaves you calculating. If you go to McDonald's and the price tag says $1.99 – be sure to have more money on you because that's not the price you're gonna pay! What gets added is a Goods And Services Tax (GST) and a Provincial Sales Tax (PST), the first being 5%, the latter 7%, totalling 12%. Boom!
I couldn't really find a grocery store downtown, so I hit a small 7-11 at a corner. Ex-pen-sive! Even without the taxes! So what does someone like me need on his first day in the New World? Apparently it's this: baby oil, Q-tips, shaving cream, water, apples, bananas and beef jerky. (One of my weaknesses ... it's bad stuff, I know.) But there's got to be a better way to get your hands on fruits and veggies, right?
Day 1 – Bar 1
Now what? Such a fabulous day calls for a beer! There are quite a few micro-breweries in Vancouver – no time to lose! I'm German and know a good deal about good beer – let's see what Vancouverites come up with! My city guide suggests I drop by the Railway Club: live music in the evenings, and a british-style pub (i.e. you order and pay directly at the bar). It's a cosy place I picked; I threw my stuff into a corner and got me my first beer. They only serve local beer, and I'm starting off with Red Racer – nice. Not overwhelming, but good. While I'm writing these notes I move on to the next beer: Spring – not bad, but not my favorite: it tastes a little stronger, but lingers on your tongue like a scruffy dog. Still, I felt very relaxed and decided to head back to the hotel. What a day.
Back to Richmond
And that's the end of Day One. On my way to the SkyTrain I picked up the current issue of the Georgia Straight, out of one of those ubiquitious newspaper boxes you can find everywhere. (Again, it feels like a movie.) The SkyTrain was filled with Asians. It's interesting to note that every region in this world seems to have its "typical" immigrants. In Germany we have mainly Turks and Italians. The southern states of the U.S. have Mexicans, and Vancouver has Chinese, or Asian, for that matter. Joined by yours truly, that bald-headed EMEAn: a European-Middle-Eastern-African.
Day One, and I'm ready to wrap Vancouver around me ...
No comments:
Post a Comment