Vancouver! Here I am
Dec12

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Vancouver! Here I am

Posted by on Dec 12, 2011 in Life at VFS | 10 comments

Hello everyone, what’s up? A few weeks later and here I am again, but now FINALLY in Vancouver, this Cold Heaven. I’ve been here 6 days now, loving the city and everything that I’ve seen so far. For Video Games addicts, here we can find all kind of Game Collector’s Edition and everything else not available in Brazil. I’m going crazy here and controlling myself so that I don’t spend so much money on Games and Electronics!

Anyway, this post is mostly to explain what my first steps were here in Vancouver, my first impressions, and of course, how it was when I left the airplane and I was invited to the immigration process. So take a seat, a piece of paper and take notes about that.

To get to my destination I ended up opting for a flight leaving out from Brazil, in Guarulhos, and made a connection in Chicago, United States, to finally arrive in Vancouver. So, because I ended up passing by the U.S., I was granted my Visas and my main documents two times altogether. In U.S. I felt that the treatment was somewhat more raw and direct, but there is no reason to worry, since at the time that I showed my Study Permit from Canada, and the Visa, they realized that my intentions were not to move to their country. I then picked up the luggage and took it back to the next flight, which was another 5 hour trip to Vancouver. Altogether it took about 24 hours – counting the waiting time in each city and connection – to finally arrive at my destination.

Upon landing in Canada I felt a totally different treatment compared to the previous one. Although the the processes were the same as in the U.S., Canadians seemed to be more polite and patient. When getting off the plane and collecting my luggage, I had a fantastic first impression. It is impossible not to feel dazzled by the beauty of the Vancouver International Airport and all the creativity and decoration of the place that does everything to really expose you to the culture of the city. Corridors are decorated with environments and artificial nature, animal sounds and waterfalls, to the famous city of totems and symbols. It’s amazing!

After getting my luggages again, I was directed to the Immigration Area. There were queues with different functions, while the Study Permit and Work Permit were the same queue. Luckily there weren’t many people waiting at the moment, so this whole process took about 10 minutes. The Immigration Officer checked my documents, asked for my Canadian Student Visa, Letter of my Study Permit – perhaps the most important document to be accepted in the Country, so DON’T MISS IT – my acceptance letter of Game Design Program at Vancouver Film School and, finally, an address where I would be living here in Vancouver. Luckily I had an address and this greatly expedited the process, despite the Official asking me how I had an address to live and whether it was the first time I was entering in Canada. I explained about the Housing Service that VFS offers to students and that is how I got the lease for the apartment.

After reviewing all the documents, the Immigration Officer changes your Letter of Permission to Study for another document that is actually the original Study Permit. Remember that it is good to check it out to ensure all of your data is included in the document, since this is one of the most important documents for you during this time of stay in Canada. Finally, all my documents were returned to me and I could finally leave the airport and go to my apartment in Downtown.

Speaking of it, I feel more in love every day I go out and I get back to my apartment. I was amazed at how much I loved the location and the apartment itself. Everything is beautiful, organized and modern inside. The VFS Housing Service and Blair Robertson himself are to be congratulated. The location is very favourable, considering that I live just four blocks from the Game Design Campus.

During the other days of my first week I completed some other tasks such as opening a bank account here in Canada, signing a mobile plan – and, consequently, earning a super discount on my new iPhone 4S – signing an Internet and television plan for the apartment, buying my monthly public transportation card so I could move through Vancouver etc. All of the main telephone companies, Internet companies and even how it works and what the rates of public transportation are here, I’ll mention in future posts. Remember that Canadian students have great discounts on most things. An example of this was that I got a super discount on a Macbook Pro at the Apple Store, as well as on a monthly public transport card. So it’s worth keeping an eye, or read here on my site that I’ll be citing all this soon.

Last Friday night, December 9th, was the Student Winter Party by VFS. All students could participate and the party had a theme of fictional characters from books, movies and games.  Students from all programs were in attendance. The school closed a night club called Venue Post Modern in Gastown, and decorated the place, offered food, raffled prizes etc. Although I was a little lost at the party, it was fun to see the animation of the crowd as there were students from all around the World.

Well, that’s it for now folks! I am enjoying everything I’ve been experiencing here in Vancouver. I like the weather, people, city, education, clothes, shopping, electronics, nature. I really can’t remember anything to complain about for now, not even the fact that at 4PM the sky is dark and the feeling is already of 10PM. Vancouver is awesome! And I hope everyone feels the same sense of anticipation fulfilled when they move out here too.

Stay tuned on the site as my next post will be providing some recommendations that the Vancouver Film School gives to Students of Game Design Program. I will present the recommended books and websites, among other tips. Thank you for visiting and feel free to comment or ask questions. Thanks!

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