Cold!

It's cold, cold, cold tonight, and we're only late August (so what's Winter going to be like?!). First thing I do when I get home: check if brought my warm red fleece from Belgium. Bummer! Someone's going to be buying warm clothes really soon!

Forest fire smog

No news from the job hunting, but you should see this:

There's a dense fog in Calgary and it has a burnt smell. It's smoke from the forest fires in Britisch Columbia, 1000km away. Yes, it's the worst fire season in a decade, there. A few pictures from the Calgary Herald (one picture of BC, two of Calgary):

A few weeks ago I informed about fire fighting in BC this Summer (unique, exciting job!) but it turns out you have to apply a year in advance and go through serious training. For next Summer I already have other plans. So no fire fighting for me - I guess my parents won't mind, though! ;-)

Ha Ling Peak

Today Benjamin and I drove to Canmore, just an hour away, for a hike in the Rockies. Ha Ling Peak, 2407m high, but 'only' 819m on foot. It was a good hike, a very good one! My legs were sore for days after, and Benjamin... I could tell a really juicy story here, but then I probably won't get to join him on another hiking trip again ;-) let's just say he was in heaven when he reached the parking lot ... or rather, that he reached the parking lot!  

The previous picture is (small) me on my way up. The rest of the pictures were shot from the top. Yes, the view was hazy (mistig):

The last picture was shot while driving back into the valley. 

Someone's going to sleep really well tonight!

Mountain Bike

I bought myself a bike, to get around faster in Calgary. Second hand - that way I can just sell it instead of having to take it with me if I move to a different city. Some of the bike-for-sale advertisements were quite funny: "tires require air, but in very nice condition." I guess not everyone here has been introduced yet to the magic of the pump.

After picking up the bike, I biked from downtown to home. 10 km, half an hour, right? Took me an hour and twenty minutes, thanks to the many traffic lights and steeply aborted sidewalks (that could give you a bump in your rim). That's if you follow the route cars would take. Fortunately there are some great, dedicated bike paths, shortcuts. The problem is staying on track when they seem to disappear (and continue somewhere out of sight, like on the other side of a wide road. So I've found myself guessing and erring. Next time I'll plan my route better.

Blueberry season

Every time I go to the store, these are laughing to me, so I finally succumbed! They come from British Columbia (province next door) and now's the season. Don't they look mouth-watering? Believe me, they are! They taste like, err, in Dutch, ergens tussen de smaak van rijpe braambessen en niet-zure stekelbessen ...als ge u daar iets bij kunt voorstellen! ;-)

North American portion, as you see, but I'm not complaining ;-)

Last week I had cherries, also a seasonal fruit from BC, and equally tasty.

My dear Canadians, why go to the fastfood drive-in if you can have these?

Speaking of drive-ins... some banks have drive-ins here. It looks like a fastfood drive-in but instead of McDonald's it says "Bank of Montreal" Apparently that's how you gain customers here! :D

This place is HUGE

I can tell you, in this country you've got some breathing room. Imagine, you're in Ghent and you see Brussels on the horizon! 

(click on the picture to enlarge)

First job interview

I had applied for a position that was actually internally advertized in the company, but they were willing to see me anyway. So I sat at a table in front of three guys (operational people, not HR), and it was fun, laid-back, informal. The interview itself went almost too easy. Imagine: no tough questions whatsoever??!! Pretty much giving away a salary range?! I've had tougher interviews than this one. Granted, they weren't professional recruiters, but still, how often does it happen that you feel more seasoned than the interviewer? 

That doesn't mean I nailed it, though. Apart from the fact there are internal candidates, they need someone who will stay for a long time, and frankly, how stable is an adventurous kid who just landed here on a 1-year visa, with several job changes behind him. They know that too.

The position I was interviewing for: instrument technician in a lab at an Oil & Gas company. I have some of the skills they need and it would get me in the industry.

Flemish Picnic

Once a month, the Flemings in this city get together for an activity. This month: a picnic in Stanley Park (what an 'activity', eh?). 30 Degrees, blue sky. All of a sudden I had a nice sun tan (bordering on sun burn). 

We were about 20 people in total (there are more Flemings here but not everyone could come). Among those present where the BBQ'ers from last week, some other folks, some kids (some of whom would rather speak English than Flemish) and a family on vacation/prospection (dilemma: do I sell my business and home in Belgium or not?).

Quite a few of these people compromised their 

Note to Koen and Allison: the girl in the chair in the first picture is Koen's age and doing her PhD in veterinary medicine at the university here.

Elbow Falls

This is not like the Ardennes in Belgium. Wilderness as far as you can see. Ain't that right, wolves?

Hey, I can't risk to have a whole blog about me without a single picture of me! Also, this for those who asked if I'm enjoying myself here. I am! See, I (am trying to) smile! 

 The pictures show a white sky, but in reality it's getting dark, and the sky is turning a little purple. Beautiful.

Pow Wow

After 2 weeks of radio silence (the time of this writing is August 2), it's time for a big update. a Pow Wow, an outdoor trip, a Flemish picnic, and my first job interview - spread over several blog posts.


The Bragg Creek / Tsuu T'ina Nation Pow Wow is one of several that are held during Summer in Alberta. In Summer the natives/aboriginals come together from all over this huge province to celebrate their culture with traditional dances (and rodeo, fair... say, a mini stampede). Historically (and maybe still?) this allowed boys and girls from different places to meet each other. For the natives, Summer is spent partying from one Pow Wow to another. 

I went to the Pow Wow with the Flemish BBQ'ers (I got a ride from Benjamin, whose Canadian girlfriend joined us, plus Erwin & Nadine). Here we go:

All while the "orchestra" was screaming like there's no tomorrow - so loud my camera could hardly record the sound:
 

All the while dancers kept pouring in from an endless queue outside...

On my way back home, on the C-train, I was looking at Pow Wow pictures on my camera. A guy next to me said, "Is that a tipi? Can I have a look?" Turns out he's a native from the tribe we saw today. "And he too, and he too, and he too, and he too", he says, pointing at five buddies who were standing nearby. We get into a chat and I learn that they call themselves "aboriginals", that aboriginals live in cities like Calgary and have normal jobs like construction worker, and that I "should definitely try Indian taco" (i.e. aboriginal taco) but "I have to go to a Pow Wow to get it." Anyway, meeting these guys was quite a surprise!

Stampede visit

Today I bought a ticket for the Stampede (last day, the finals): first the rodeo, then the chuckwagon (huifkar) races. It was a unique experience! Here's a video from TV:

The rodeo was spectacular and seemed like a fun thing to try out one day, until you see the cowboy fall off the bull and its madly kicking paws (legs) barely miss the guy's skull... time after time. Then you realize this is dangerous and nothing you want to try after all! I heard broken bones are all too common here - they're actually proud of them!

Below is my own video. Image quality sucks, but oh boy, that atmosphere!!!

On the c-train home, I had a breathtaking view on Calgary and the Rockies:

As a comparison:

Flemish BBQ

Some of you have been asking for an update, so here's a quick one about the weekend:

Barely had I joined the Facebook group "Vlamingen in Calgary" or Erwin & Nadine contacted me and graciously invited me to a barbecue they were having that day with another Fleming, Benjamin. They live at the other end of the city, in the South West (I'm in the North East) and I got there in an hour and a half or so, which is quite fast (it would probably take an hour by car - this place is huge!). Erwin & Nadine have lived here since 2004. They just decided to immigrate one day with their then teenage kids - how's that in your late forties! (hopefully I'm not too far off! ;-). Benjamin (31) has been here for a year, also immigrated. They had lots of stories to tell (and tips to give). I'll see them back next weekend for a picnic for the entire Facebook group, and maybe a "pow pow" (native ceremony).

Stampede Week has begun!

The first day of the Calgary Stampede. One of these days I plan to go see one of the rodeos or the chuckwagon (huifkar) races. Yesterday night I saw the visitors start to pour in from the c-train, wearing cowboy hats. There will be a lot more of them soon (1 million). Adrian explains: "In every bar there will be fights, you know" - "You slept with my sister!" - "BOOM!" (pretends to punch with his fist). I'm looking forward to that, haha! :-)

Allison (who has a Canadian friend) says Alberta is like Texas: the land of oil and beef (and cowboys?)

The week starts with a parade through downtown. I was sleeping late this morning when I realized the noise outside had to be the parade passing by! So I ran outside to take some pictures:

Yep, the Chinese part of town has sent its delegation too! There was also a Japanese and Vietnamese and Native American (Indianen) delegation. 

In the afternoon I moved my suitcases and damn suit (a pain in the ass to drag around, but I'll probably need it) to my new place. After that I got back to the hostel to play some Australian football with a rugby ball. Never done this before and the other guys had to explain to me how to hold and throw the ball. But soon I was throwing hard "bullets" and they were looking like they didn't believe their eyes!

It was a fun night and now I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep in a proper bed!

Hostel life

Tonight will be my last night in the hostel. After that I'm moving to - no, not under a bridge - to a rented room in someone's house. It's in Calgary but outside downtown. From a nearby park you have a great view on downtown, and the Rockies in the distance: 

That photo was taken yesterday and the weather was actually quite hot. Today it's even better: blue sky, 30 degrees. The hostel organizes a barbecue (beer, burgers, corn... the cowboy hats are for tomorrow's Stampede - more on that later).

The good thing about hostel life is that you meet lots of people, and make friends with workers that stay here long-term, like Adrian, the Irish guy (left in picture above), and Marco, the German guy.

Sleep could be better though. Nothing worse than a loudly snoring roommate, right? Well, what about one who drops in in the middle of the night, wrestles and moans in his sleep with loud screams every half an hour? In the morning Marco enters the room (back from from his night shift) and I hear him say to the other guy: "Hey buddy, what are you doing in my bed; would you please move?" "What?! You peed in my bed?! On my wallet?!" 

Unbelievable.

Oh no!

Good heavens! Is this what Summer is like here? Nooooooo... 

Downtown

Morning chat with the hostel manager. He complains about the high taxes in Canada. I think that's pretty amusing, because taxes here are neglegible compared to those in Belgium. Whatever money I'll earn this year here will hardly be taxed. You Belgians, imagine that!

Alright, time to get my social insurance number, a bank account, cell phone minutes, visit employment agencies to discuss my options in Oil & Gas... Oh wait, today is Saturday! Great, that means everything is closed! So I decide to explore downtown on foot, in sunny nice weather (though not as hot as currently in Belgium). 

Amazing how many Asians you see here (and other races). I even hear some Chinese. Imagine an American melting pot, replace the blacks with Asians and that's what it looks like down here. And even the whites look very different from your average Belgian guy. Making friends here will be a challenge! 

I also see a lot of homeless people. Most of them have a shopping cart with a garbage bag in it (containing their belongings). I walk past two of them and then past some bushes that grow against a building. All of a sudden, a third guy steps from between the bushes. I realize I just got an inside peek in the bathroom of the homeless!

When I first told my mother about my Canada plans, she was concerned I might end up under a bridge. Mom (mama), you mean like this guy?

In the hostel I meet Bjorn, a young Belgian guy about my age. Turns out he wants to go work in Oil & Gas too, and I can tell he has good sources, so I flood him with questions. He wants to get $30-50,000 together as a "roughneck" (labourer) to start his own hostel in Brazil. Saving that kind of money takes a while in Belgium, but here things can go fast, if you're prepared to work hard.  I'm interested because a job like this may improve my chances of being hired as an engineer - which will be difficult, given my lack of experience.

Hi Calgary!

It's Friday night, getting dark, and here I am, standing at the train stop with my suitcase in hand, looking at the skyscrapers of downtown Calgary. It's beginning to dawn on me that I'm at the other side of the globe, in a country I've never been to, isolated from my family for a year. Yet first and foremost I feel... excited! Why? This place reminds me of Nashville, where Koen studied and had a good time! Or US cities in general. Koen, this is my "Nashville", man! 

I take a picture and start dragging my suitcase to where tonight's hostel has to be. Exciting times ahead!

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