Back in balance in Vancouver!

I was very happy to be in Vancouver again and at the Jericho Beach after I changed all my plans and left Vernon. I stayed for 5 days in Vancouver and everything felt great.
 
My Yoga teacher training in Nelson (BC) would start in mid October therefore I checked out what I could do until then. 

I had some ideas but I also check out what my agency SWAP based in Vancouver would recommend to me.

Coming back to Vancouver was just great. On the next morning after my arrival I had a nice breakfast and a very nice and cool guy Calgary joined me. 

I also had a reunion with an old friend and former colleague of mine from Muenster who was on vacation in Canada and he coincidentally spent his last day in Vancouver. Such a great evening!
 
In addition I had a short-term husband in my hostel, met the guy from Wales again and I met a nice young girl from Germany. And through a misunderstanding I got to know to a great Yoga teacher who was also a Yoga photographer. 
 
And when I was on my way to my Mexican friend's house where I spent my last evening I met a very kind and cool elder guy who was an actor. He invited me for a coffee and pie and gave me a lift to my friend's place.
 
Yes, I am back in balance :-).
 I am back in balance.  Even if I am looking a bit skeptical to the timer of my camera :-).
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Nice breakfast chat about Spain, surfing and freedom

All the way back from Vernon to Vancouver by bus. It took around 10 hours.
Because I couldn't buy anything the evening before I had my breakfast in the nice cafe beside the hostel.

The waiter still knew me and by the way he spoke German because his mother was from Germany.

Breakfast together taste better
Suddenly another guest came in. An Asian looking guy in t-shirt, surf shorts and a sun hat. He was in very good mood and we talked a bit. Then he asked if he could join me. Of course!

He introduced himself as Sorriso. I told him my story. Actually the whole one also why I am here in Vancouver now and that I feel pretty good now.

It turned out that he lived for a while in Spain and also in England. He did also Yoga and has two young children and he loves to surf.

When I told him that I consider to go to Mexico to learn Spanish he gave me some advice where I could go. He also offered me if I would be in Calgary I should let him know about it.

I said that I will let him know if I am in Mexico and maybe we could catch up there. The world is a village as I know now :-).

It was a very nice chat and even it was just a short one this chat is still in my mind. Some times you met people just shortly but they touched your heart in a positive way. He is one of them.
Hello again Vancouver! Good to see you :-).
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Muensteraner reunion in Vancouver

When I was in the bus back to Vancouver I remembered that an old friend and former colleague of mine from Germany wanted to visit it. I just wrote him on WhatsApp if he was still there.

He was! 

The next day would be actually his last day before he would travel to Vancouver Island and Seattle. So everything was great and suited perfect! We arranged to catch up on the next day.

Hugs and jumps!!!
When I met him on the next day at his hotel in downtown I was so excited and jumped to him and hugged him. Unfortunately he was injured at his knee from a hiking tour. 

We went to a pub close by and talked a lot and had some beer and food together.

Do what is the right fit for you and don't compare with others
He told me about his journey through Canada with his friends (they did some thing different at this evening). We talked also about life and his other journeys to South America and Iceland. 

He said more than once:"It is not that great what you did but..." I stopped him and said:"Don't say that! I had specific aims why I did that big step. What you are doing is great and is the right fit for you. I needed to go and find myself."

Well, I did a big step but it was necessary for me. I needed to get out the structure and face the fears I had. 

It was the right fit for me but that doesn't mean that everyone has to do the same. I needed to change something and for me was the best option to give my former life up because I was not me and I wanted to find out who I really am...

Nice chats with interested people
Funny was that I didn't know his friends but they knew me already through my interview I gave to Stadtgeflüster Münster

They worked for one of my former clients in Germany and my interview was kind of popular there. So nice! I was really touched to hear that. I am far away and I don't really know about the reactions about it.

They were very interested and asked me something like:"In your interview you said that... could you explain? What exactly...?" :-)

It was very nice that my story set some impulses on them and I loved to answer the questions they had. That is exactly what I want to do. Set impulses on people with my stories.

"I'll give you my last shirt"
After a while it was quite late and my friends had to wake up very early in the mornings. So my friend brought me down to the bus stop. 

Due to it was quite chilly he gave me one of his shirts. Such a gentleman!

On the whole I had a great evening and I was very happy to see my friend again. I am very curious where we will meet again. The world is a village and this meet up showed me that I did alright to come back to Vancouver.
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Enjoying Vancouver and what I will do until my Yoga teacher training will start

I arrived on a Friday evening in Vancouver and my agency was closed on the weekend. So I could enjoy Vancouver on the weekend and consider what I could do until my Yoga teacher training will start.
Sunset at the Jericho Beach.
Nice cake and coffee in Aphrodite's Pie in Vancouver close to Jericho Beach.
Beside me sat a elder woman and a had a small talk with her. It turned out that
she lived for a while in Nelson when she was young. She just stayed because
she fell down with her guitar on her back when she came out of the bus. Due to
this accident she had to go to the hospital and had to stay for 4 days. So she
just stayed for 10 years in Nelson. Nice story and I was even more excited to
go to Nelson.  
Let's go to the Wreck Beach
One of my roommates was a nice German girl. She was quite young but like I mentioned earlier: wisdom doesn't care about age. She was very mature for her age.

I took her one day with me to the Wreck Beach. That was the Hippie beach there where I have been during my last stay.

OK, I know what I will do
On Monday I went very early to my agency SWAP in downtown. At noon should also be my interview for a job where I applied for when I was in Vernon.

But to work just for a month at a place would be difficult. Either I had to say that or to lie and quit it after a month. Sounded not really like good options.

I also considered doing Wwoofing in Nelson until my Yoga teacher training would start. That is similar to what I did since January. But I wanted to know if my agency has another solution.

My nice consultant at SWAP told me exactly the same with either Wwoofing or temporary work was also an option. But actually I wanted to go to Nelson and Wwoofing is a great opportunity to learn new skills, get to know to people and the village.

Wwoofing in Nelson!
So I used one computers at my agency, open my account on the wwoofing site and wrote to some places in Nelson if I could come next Monday and stay until my yoga teacher training would start.

10 minutes later I got the first response from someone and 10 minutes further I phoned them. My consultant at SWAP was baffled that it worked out that fast. Well, I was just happy.

On the next day I had the confirmation for a Wwoofing place in Nelson. It was not the lady on the phone because she forgot that they had a family event but another nice lady.

Therefore I booked a bus ticket and a hostel in Nelson, so that I could discover the village the weekend before I would go to my Wwoofing place.

Well, everything showed me that it was right to go to Nelson and I was happy that I made the decision.

In addition I went to the interview in Vancouver but I couldn't tell them the truth that I changed my mind a few minutes ago and also that I looked for something for just one month... I know it was very coward. So I screwed it up with purpose. They never phoned me back.

Desperate money talk 
By the way: When I was at one of the computers at my agency I could follow a conversation between a young girl from Germany and a German guy about making money in Canada.

She told him that she needed to make lots of money and that some people said they would try it as actor or nude model and that she was considering to do that as well... OK actor is kind of harmless but the other thing went a step too far in my opinion and could easily go in the wrong direction...

Well, that quite shocked me that those talks with the wrong people about "making lots of money" could turn into this direction just to make lots of money. I experienced if I am just focused on making money, then I don't see the opportunities around me and also this chasing makes me not happy.

I hope that the young girl will be grant and let her strange friends do their thing. I had to think back about the young drug addicted dealer who I met in Kelowna and his story... How easily it can happen to take the wrong path...
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Short-term marriage

In my hostel where some people I already knew when I left it around 5 weeks ago. For example there was still the guy from Wales who I met again in Whistler with the French-Canadian and my tomboy partner. It was nice to meet him again and we had lots to talk about.

There was also a guy I knew already when I was there but we didn't talk that much before. It was almost that he didn't see me. Well, I am very convinced that if you feel great, then you shine like that. So I felt great again.

Anyway, he saw me now and asked me again for my name when we sat outside, enjoyed the sunset and he folded his washed and dried clothes together. Due to it was chilly he wrapped one of his hoddies around me which was still warm from the dryer. 

He just said:"You see. I take care of you darling."
Beautiful sunset in front of the hostel.
I enjoyed it with warm dried clothes wrapped around me.
He was very tall, had big blue eyes, was quite cheeky, very self-confident, but also sensible and straight forward. He claimed to be 39 years old... I wasn't sure about it... I actually guessed him older like mid 40.

He neither liked Vancouver nor Canada. But he was born there. He wanted to go back to England where he lived for a long time but due to visa regulations he had to wait at least one year until he could go back. Actually he had an English accent already and said after ending a sentence "isn't it?".

Great dinner
He was a great cook as well and very fussy with food. One evening he brought a fresh salmon with him and prepared it. I did the salad and we had dinner together. 

Unfortunately he didn't like my salad and said:"OK... you can start with your salad and I wait for the fish..."

Another evening he made tacos for me and him and I bought the wine. He said with a broad and cheeky smile to me:"Darling, you see. I take care of you. How many years are we married now? 20 years?" "Well, I guess 25...". 

He was really cute. He just cheekily claimed to someone in the kitchen:"That is my girlfriend" by pointing to me. Interesting... I didn't know that.
Nice tacos and white wine. Dinner in the hostel.
He got for a month his own place on the day I left. He just said:"You are welcome to my place. What a pity that you are leaving now. Who knows what could happen..."

Well, actually nothing happened between us and that was good like it was.

It was nice to flirt and he was very kind and cute. I enjoyed a lot to have someone who took care of me without much expectations. He was a very nice and cheeky guy and I had tons of laughter with him.
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Yoga at the beach

Every mornings I went to the beach and did some yoga and meditation there. 

Also on my last day in the hostel. Suddenly a guy came over with a yoga mat under his arm.

He thought I would give yoga classes because my short-term husband just said to him that I would. Well, not quite. I explained to the guy that I want to be a teacher and will do a teacher training in Nelson in October.

More tips for Mexico and yoga
It turned out that HE was a yoga teacher and also a yoga photographer. His name was James and he was very kind and open. So he gave a yoga class for me at the beach and gave me lots of tips around yoga and possibilities in Mexico. He also showed me how to do a proper handstand :-).

In addition he gave me a name of his friend in Nelson who I could add on Facebook and catch up with her.

Well, how great is that? What a great coincidence. Yes, everything showed me that I was back on the right path.
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If two people quarrel...

I packed all my stuff together, was ready to leave the hostel and to take the bus to my Mexican friend's house. 

I left my hostel at the same time like my short-term husband when suddenly an elder guy appeared in there.

He was around my size, wore a sun hat and had big purple earphones around his neck and went a bit bend. He had also some scratches on his forehead. 

My short-term husband cheeky like he was just said to him:"Hey your scratches are from 6 whiskeys downtown, aren't they?" Then he asked:"Hey man? Do you have a car?" "Yes I have one." "Great! Can you give me a lift man? And her as well (he pointed to me)? I have this stuff here and my bike..." "Oh no, I have just a small car." 

Then the guy saw me and asked me where I needed to go:"Well, I just need a ride to the bus stop but I can also walk it. I wanna go to a friends house downtown." 

So he took my luggage, put it in his car and my short-term husband had to call a taxi :-). 

The guy introduced himself as Jason and he offered me to bring me to my friends house. That was very kind! In the meantime I got a message from my friend that he needed an hour longer due to the traffic.

Coffee and pie on Granville Island
I said to Jason that he just could drop me out somewhere downtown and I would take a bus to my friend. But Jason was such a gentleman he asked me if I would know Granville Island. I didn't. 

So we drove to Granville Island. At that time there was the so-called Fringe Festival with lots of theater acts etc. Some guys came over to Jason and said that they played with him in a drama. 

So it turned out that Jason was an actor and one of his favorite roles was Bertold Brecht. 

Chat about Jim Morrison and San Francisco
We walked around and found a place where he invited me for a pie and coffee. He told me a lot about some actors he lived with in San Francisco in the 60ies. He also met Jim Morrison at that time. Very interesting. 

He had a great memory as well and knew lots of names and connections. By the way he said I would have resemblance withEmily Lloyd when she was young. He knew her from years ago.

After the pie and coffee he drove me to my friends house. Well, it was quite a journey because we had some misunderstandings but in the end we found it.

It was very interesting for me to chat with him and he was a real gentleman. 

So funny that I got to know to him through a very cheeky request :-).
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Last evening a la Mexican

Jason dropped me off in front of my friend's house. I met my friend in Whistler in the lodge where I worked for. He was quite cool and from Mexico. He said to me in Whistler that I could stay at his place if I would be in Vancouver.

So I thought it would be nice to come to his place on my last evening. 

It turned out that his apartment was just a 20 minutes' walk away from the bus station. How great! The hostel was pretty far away. My bus would leave very early in the mornings at 6.30 am. So again everything was just great!

Nice dinner and chat
My friend made nice tacos and I brought white wine with me. It was very interesting to talk to him and I found his story very impressive. Therefore that he is just 25 years old he accomplished a lot. Well, he worked hard for it and went through a lot of shit.

In Vancouver he built up his own business with some employees. It is a cleaning company. 

I told him that he should write his story down one day. He just smiled and said that he has too much to do for it.
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Do something good

On the next morning my friend was so kind and offered me to drop me off the bus station. It was very early in the mornings at 5.30am.

At the bus station I went to the check in gate. Sadly at the Vanvoucer Greyhound station the employees seem often very stressed out and react very unfriendly. Glad that I already knew the procedure. 

Suddenly a young guy came over and asked very nervous the young woman behind the desk how it worked because his bus will go in 10 min. She said very upset:"I am serving someone!" 

I just said to him:"It is very easy! You just put your luggage on the scale, show your reservation number, get your label and everything is fine!" The guy smiled at me and was pleased. The young girl gave me a confused smile. And the guy got his bus as well :-).

Connection of karma
If I had reacted like her, then probably the young guy would be also upset and I would feel bad as well because I would be upset about this guy etc. A kind of butterfly effect or rather the connection of karma(=action). Everything is connected like this very nice video shows.
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Going to Nelson

Finally I sat in the bus and was on my way to Nelson! With me in the bus was a guy from Chile and we had later a snack together and he showed me where my hostel was. Very kind! On the next day he showed me a nice cafe in Nelson.

Funny was that I found in my handbag the following flyer which I picked up in Kelowna in a cafe. 

I just took it because I found it interesting but at that time I was not aware that I will really go on this weekend to Nelson. I mean I made my decision in Vernon to go back to Vancouver and in Vancouver I decided to go to Nelson.

What comes next?
Read next time about my first weekend in Nelson where I discovered the village and the Hippie market before I went to my wwoofing place.

And met someone at the lake who made me mesmerized with his whole appearance and the way he talked and looked at me... I just thought how badly I would like to kiss him right now even we just spoke a few words. It was amazing. I would call it: pure sexual energy.

I mean it was a normal sunny day and I was actually on my way back to my hostel and not on a party with some beer where something like that would be more likely but that the sexual energy is probably vanished through beer...

Yes, Nelson was the right choice :-). 

Thank you very much for reading my story!

Write a comment

Comments: 6
  • #1

    f (Thursday, 06 November 2014 21:39)

    alain 7 September 2014 09:27
    love to read every time about your discovery . looking forward to the next episode

  • #2

    f (Thursday, 06 November 2014 21:40)

    Jeanine 8 September 2014 06:44
    That is so great to read! Thank you very much Alain. All the best for you :-)

  • #3

    f (Thursday, 06 November 2014 21:40)

    Ania Zielinska 7 September 2014 16:07
    Dear Jeanine, lots of people want to help and show the 'right' and 'verified' way to do things. Even though they undoubtedly have good intentions they project their vision of the world onto you ... and then it's easy to lose one's directions and feel bad.
    I hope you've achieved harmony between how you feel and what you do ... or soon will ;)
    Keep writing! Blonde Hugs!

    Was that little fella on the ground a bat???

  • #4

    f (Thursday, 06 November 2014 21:41)

    Jeanine 8 September 2014 06:50
    Dear lovely Ania! Thank you very much! I was really touched by your nice comment. Yes in between I feel back in balance :-). I think sometimes it's necessary to be down to step back and find out what is going on. Thanks again and I am very happy about your message qnd appreciate it.

    PS : yes the little fellow is a bat :-). It was actually tiny.

  • #5

    f (Thursday, 06 November 2014 21:44)

    Carsten Wendt 8 September 2014 21:36
    Hallo Jeanine, endlich sehe ich mir Deinen Blog an und was soll ich sagen, einfach toll!!! (ich will auch..) Sofort kann man Deine Entscheidung nachvollziehen und wäre gerne dabei. Ich wünsche Dir weiterhin viele
    interessante und intensive Erfahrungen und vor allem viel Spaß auf Deinem Ritt durch die ganz Welt. LG Carsten, einer der Nerds aus der FI :-)

  • #6

    f (Thursday, 06 November 2014 21:45)

    Jeanine 8 September 2014 23:09
    Hi Carsten!!!!
    Das ist ja schoen von dir zu hoeren! Ich habe mich total ueber deinen Kommentar gefreut. Ja das ware witzig wenn wir zusammen durch die Welt ziehen wuerden :-D. Ganz liebe und nerdige Gruesse nach Muenster ;-)