Impulse thoughts during moments of snow fall…

The impulse to start writing our next blog entry just hit me as we came back inside at about 11:00pm after venturing downstairs to soak up the first real drop of snow since arriving in Whistler. Five of us either made snow angels, threw snow balls at each other or just touched the soft, fluffy, white bits of pure amazing-ness! But overall, we left our mark! THE BABY KICKERS! (No, we don’t really kick babies.. or enjoy kicking babies, in fact, none of us would ever think of kicking a baby. It’s an “in-joke” which I can explain at another time!)

I am also feeling a bit under pressure to write up an entry that comes even close to the standard of Gary’s amazing writing in the previous post! Let’s see if I can be as creative or humorous as Gazza can be! Highly doubt it!

So on Friday 1st November 2013, we made the bus trip up to Whistler Blackcomb from the city of Vancouver. Arriving here was exciting in some ways, yet we were all so exhausted. The thought of carrying our multiple bags – including carry ons, backpacks and a board bag – was sickening! Especially with Gary’s dodgy knee.

Although we loved Vancouver, we COULD NOT WAIT to unpack and settle into our new place. Despite feeling this way, there were some hilarious experiences in our tiny hostel room shared with Brad (Soccer Dad) and Sarah (Megabite), along with our two sets of bunk beds and creaky, wooden floor. Such a cramped, little area, anyone’s patience would be tested, no matter how patient you may be! But we managed to get through the hostel life for a whole five nights. We pulled through when it came to being quiet when others were asleep and showering in a shared bathroom facility (one for girls, one for guys). The disgusting floor of the showers and every other aspect of the unhygienic facilities may have broken me, but I managed to wear my thongs (flip-flops) and get on with it and the positive experiences definitely overtook the not-so-positive!

You know those experiences that are so funny at the time, but aren’t really that funny when you tell the story? We had a few of those in our hostel room. Like when Gaz and Soccer Dad Brad came home at 5:30am after carving a pumpkin and placing the scary thing on the end of my bed. Or how about two nights later, at 2:00am. Gary was in Judith’s bad books. The tension was severe, with Judith on her top bunk and Gary on the bottom. Megabite was awake and very discreet. Soccer Dad Brad quietly walked in after his night out, not expecting to find us all awake. He turned the light on. And shit hit the fan. EVERYTHING was funny. The slightest things would crack us up and we were so loud that we were certain we would be kicked out of the hostel. By 4:00am, Gaz and Mega went to get pizza and things escalated and became funnier. The “Gay Ball” got a run for its money (another story that needs to be explained) and yelling out “gayyyyyyy” in a particular voice was just hilarious.

I guess the point of me sharing this story (even if you didn’t find it funny) is that this is what travel is all about! The four of us knew each other before venturing to Canada however living in each other’s pockets for almost a week made us realise how good a friend we had become to each other. Judith even saved Mega from fainting in the showers on the first morning! Thank God for Gary’s lollies to help her sugar levels. But meeting people and making friends – who have already become like family – is so important to us and it’s already been an amazing experience.

I guess I should get back to our arrival in Whistler… Finding out that we had a one-bedroom apartment together was a huge relief! Never having lived together, let alone out of home, it was anticipated to be different, yet so exciting. We checked in, received our keys for our new place, and were given welcome bags and linen to start us off.

When we walked into our apartment, we were like little kids! A new place to call home, this was OUR OWN home for the next 6 months! Unpacking felt so good, and after just 3 nights, I still have a few bits and pieces that need to find their spot in the apartment. The views from our balcony are awesome!

Saturday saw us hiring two mini vans for fourteen of us, to trek down to Sqaumish – a town that has the famous WALMART! One big trolley filled with things from toilet rolls to canned veggies to coat hangers to fluffy slippers, we were set…. $520 later anyway. It was hilarious packing 7 of us and our items back into the van but we managed to get home in one piece. Soccer Dad and Mega went back to Walmart the next day to buy us and themselves a flat screen TV each. Now we are definitely set!

Whistler Life so far has been a blast. Lots of walking has been done (it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the Village from our staff housing) and being able to establish the apartment into OUR apartment, has probably been the best part. Having 3 other apartments filled with 10 of our closest friends here in Canada on the levels below us is too convenient because we can wear our slippers and drink our alcohol without having to make any impressions! Our great mate Ry even organised a sweep for the Melbourne Cup so we didn’t lose that Australian spirit on one of the nation’s biggest days, even if we are on the other side of the globe.

Tonight, going outside for the 10 minutes we did, just to enjoy the fall of snow, is something neither of us will be able to forget! I guess it’s exciting to think of the fun experiences to be had over the next 6 months.

Much love,
Judith xx