Hi, my name is Carly Biega, I guess I’m a senior now (yikes). I’m a fourth-year architecture major about to go on my third and final co-op in Vancouver, BC. And no, you can not drive to visit I’m above Washington, people! After co-oping with two architecture firms and experiencing 3 years of school, I’m not completely confident I want a future in architecture. I’ve put that concern as the goal of my final co-op so I will be temporarily ditching architecture and testing out a career in Event Planning/Production. I will be working for The Social Concierge, an event branding and marketing agency specializing in unique experiences. I will keep you updated on that goal throughout the next 12 weeks but for now, let’s talk about getting here.
My journey to Vancouver was interesting to say the least. I left Cincinnati at the end of the semester to travel to Greece with 43 other UC Greek Life students. We left for 12 days and traveled from Athens, to Crete, to Santorini, and Ios, ending our trip back in Athens for departure. Since I was not returning to Cincinnati like the rest of my group, I had to book separate round – trip flights, meaning that my 12 + hours of traveling both ways were done alone. The time change was also an interesting addition, with Athens being 10 hours ahead of Vancouver. When I finally landed in Vancouver and made it to my new house, I was so exhausted. My friends woke me up when they got back and I remember asking them if it was still Sunday, the longest 30-hour Sunday of my life for sure. Lucky for me, my company was finishing a job in another part of Canada, so they pushed my start date back a week. This let me relax and explore a little with my friends who were visiting my roommate Anna already when I arrived. Anna is also a fourth year; she’s majoring in Real Estate with a minor in International Business and a green roofs certificate. Anna is co-oping at a company called LifeSpace Gardens. They make specialty raised garden beds in North Vancouver, about an hour commute away from our house in Kitsilano. Kitsilano is a great location for us! Since we don’t have cars here, Anna and I rely on the buses to get everywhere in Vancouver. The street we live on is less than a 5-minute walk from any bus line with one just a block away that only goes up and down the street we live on. I can’t wait to be able to explore a little more once I get comfortable with the buses, Anna and I use an app called MoovIt that helps us know which lines to take and when the buses come. There hasn’t been a lot of culture shock since there’s no main language barrier and the culture is pretty similar to that of the US. Vancouver is like the California of Canada, the lingo, the relaxed atmosphere, and oh ya the beach is down the street too. Overall, I think I’m going to like it here and I think this could be a great summer. I can’t wait to start working and making this place my home. Hopefully by the next time I check in I’ll be over my jet lag and I’ll have stopped accidentally getting on the wrong buses. Cheers, CB
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