Snowboards and Chocolate

On the afternoon of June 10 2008, my first day in Canada; my flight-buddy Helen and I wandered lost around Downtown Vancouver. It was a grey and overcast day, we were both tired from a 10-hour flight, and neither of us really had an idea of where to go. Nevertheless we decided that random, improvised exploration was a good idea. After taking in the sights of Canada Place, staring at the under-construction Olympic Exhibition Centre (it’s still not finished – but it does have a grass-covered roof), and watching the float planes take off from Coal Harbour, we wandered back into the city. Looking back I have this vague recollection of turning to Helen at one point and saying “hey look - a chocolate café.” We went in, had a quick perusal of the wares on sale, and left with a mental note to be back again soon – to actually buy something.


Little did I know that Mink, the Chocolate Café we’d stumbled upon, would eventually become my primary hang out in Vancouver. Shortly after this chance encounter, I met Lynda and Andrew at the Jericho Beach Hostel, and became very close with them. Following Lynda’s own discovery of Mink, and eventual employment there, I would spend many an afternoon sitting at the Mink bar chatting to the guys working there when I had nothing better to do.

Now, nine months down the line, I find myself on the other side of the counter that I stood at back in June, helping sell the array of Chocolates and coffee-based drinks that Mink has to offer.


For the duration of November and December, I was employed at the reception desk of Ceridian Canada, a HR and payroll company, up on 73rd Avenue. My daily commute took an hour each way, but two months of solid work was great for my dwindling bank balance, but when my tenure at Ceridian came to an end at the start of January I was left unemployed once again. Day after day I would call around the job agencies I was had been working with, and went on board with a couple more, but to no avail. During this time I would spend a lot of time hanging around at Mink, sitting on my borrowed laptop, on the free wireless they had.

Three weeks of January came and went, and the only work I had was a few days working as a typist for a Business Writing firm. This was good, as I could work from home (or rather Mink) on my laptop, and it paid relatively well. Unfortunately, I was still getting nowhere with employment on a full-time basis, so one day I spoke to Marc, the owner of Mink, about a job there.

Thanks to all the time I’d spent there over the past few months, I was well-known to Marc already, and after an interview I started behind the counter. I’ve been there a few weeks now, and I love the job. It doesn’t exactly pay too well, but I enjoy talking to our customers, a lot of whom are regulars, and hanging around with a bunch of friends I already knew. Ultimately it’s a job I actually look forward to going to in the morning, rather than dreading it.


Having a regular, full-time income has allowed me to engage in some more recreational activity. I did come here to enjoy myself after all, and this being the Canadian winter, the natural thing to do would be winter sports. My sport of choice is snowboarding, so with all my ‘boarding gear purchased I just have to pay for lift passes when I want to go, which makes things much cheaper.

Thus far I’ve only managed a few days – I’ve been to Whistler Blackcomb, Mount Seymour, and Grouse Mountain. The runs on offer vary widely, from the world-class terrain of Whistler, to the short, sharp trails of Seymour, but the views from each are absolutely stunning. Last week I went up Grouse Mountain with my Belarusian buddies Alesia, and Dasha. They had never been on snowboards before so I helped them with a bit of tuition, before heading off when they went home, to ride alone for the rest of the afternoon, and into the evening.


The view of Metro Vancouver from the top of Grouse is truly beautiful. To the east you can see Vancouver stretch out into the distance, to Coquitlam, Port Moody, and onwards south-east towards Mount Baker, over the United States border. Look straight ahead of you and you can see Downtown Vancouver with its skyscrapers, Stanley Park stretching out to First Narrows, The Lions Gate Bridge, and the Peninsula that encompasses Kitsilano, Jericho and UBC. Look further to the west and the hills of Vancouver Island are clear to see on the horizon. All the cars in BC have “Beautiful British Columbia” slogans on the license plates. It truly is.

After a few runs down Grouse I got the lift back to the mountains peak, and sat for a while, to wait for the sunset. I was joined by a friendly bunch of fellow ex-pat photographers from Poland, who were also waiting for the sunset. We all sat around for an hour or so, and finally the sun began to fall behind Vancouver Island.


The view became even more beautiful at this point. As the suns rays dimmed, the lights of the city came on, as south-western BC was bathed in the final, golden shimmers of evening. Watching the flickering of the city lights from up in the clouds was a truly magical experience, and was awe-inspiring to be able to sit and take it all in with my own thoughts. British Columbia truly is a beautiful place. I don’t want to leave.