Next came the waiting room which was actually quite unbearable. I don’t know if I was just super paranoid or if somehow there was some kind of weird paranoia evil curse shit going on. First off, I was patiently seated casually watching the TVs and then a ‘breaking news’ report came on explaining that there had been a sudden crash with an Egyptian plane in the Mediterranean Sea. At that moment I was shocked because I was soon to take flight. In time, another ‘breaking news’ story came on the TV about a school bus that had crashed somewhere. Once again, how comforting. So I thought to myself, maybe I should stop watching the news and focus on other things. I pulled out my book (Gone Girl) and began to read. As I was reading there was some sort of construction noises from outside. My brain immediately jumped to the most obvious question, ‘are they fixing the goddamn plane’? Anyway that panic switch suddenly snapped off because I was distracted by a small bird hitting the airport window. Lovely… The bird caught the eye of many people who sat alongside me and we all watched as this poor bird closed its eyes and drifted off to bird heaven. A few moments passed, and then out of nowhere this bird fricken popped up onto its feet and flew away. What an eventful morning!
Eventually it was time to board the first plane departing to Calgary, AB. I found my seat and immediately flipped to the emergency pamphlet (of course). There was a cute travel magazine in the seat pocket in front of me which I began to use as a fan. In the few moments before the plane took flight, the attendants did their ‘fasten your seatbelt speech’ and then the captain spoke on the intercom and made a joke that wasn’t actually funny, but ended up being funny because it was so lame. Soon the engine roared and the plane started to drive down the runway. Its speed picked up and there I was staring out the window with my hands gripped tightly to the arm rests. Within the next moment there were plenty of oohs and ahhs as the passengers aboard the plane watched the plane lift off of the ground. As we descended into the sky I knew this may very well be the next longest 2 hours of my life.
About halfway through the flight I felt it… The sudden urge to pee. There was no way my nervous self could hold a full bladder for the remaining time. The only bathroom was situated at the front of the plane and once again, there I was seated at the back. Thankfully my buddy beside me volunteered to walk up the aisle and wait for me to finish my business. Now as for the airplane bathroom, how the heck is anyone supposed to fit inside? Literally, god forbid if you had a bigger build because it was such a struggle to a) actually pee while in a moving plane and b) get in and out of the bathroom. Then I had to figure out how to flush the toilet, and when I did the water was blue!! Successfully I made it back to my seat without tripping, however I was given many odd stares. Weirdos.
Finally, we arrived in Calgary and were given the chance to eat and have a quick bathroom break before boarding our next flight. I ventured off to the nearest Tim Hortons (very Canadian) for a croissant. When it was time to board the 2nd flight I wasn’t as nervous, but then again this was a new plane that was much bigger in size. The taking off and landing part of the flight is always the worse, luckily this flight went much smoother than the first and I knew what to expect. The view from the window was also ten times better considering Brandon to Calgary is all farmer’s fields and then Calgary to Vancouver is mostly filled with mountains and hills. Seeing the clouds and eating the small pretzels/cookies were my favourite part of flying today.
Soon we arrived in Vancouver and headed straight for Granville Island to eat supper and explore. By this time I was already suffering from a mad headache. I tried to make the best of my night even though my headache would not go away. I figured I was experiencing altitude sickness which was super unfortunate.
On the way to Granville Island the scenery was absolutely astonishing! I couldn’t believe how green everything was and how neat the entire city was. People looked after their property so immensely and the city itself was trimmed to perfection. The vegetation in Vancouver also caught my eye because it is so different from where I live. There were windmill palm trees and rose bushes everywhere.
Granville Island was also so beautiful and completely blew my mind away. The harbour alone, was bewildering. The smell of fish and the sound of constant chatter along with the fluttering of birds (which eventually became extremely annoying) was so unique to me. I went inside the Granville Island Public Market and grabbed myself a bite to eat and then began exploring with my friends. I ended up purchasing a dream catcher (always wanted one) and a Vancouver hoodie (tourist cliché).
Interesting story of the night:
I was walking along the harbour and a young, very attractive man with some sort of accent (maybe Australian) called me over to ask a favour. Keep in mind this man was perched on the lower dock where all of the boats were and I was on a higher level than him meaning that he would have to walk quite a way to his car. Anyways he asked me to take his car keys and go retrieve his sunglasses. Hmm did I do it? The answer is yes. What could possibly go wrong when some random handsome man asks you to go to his car and grab his glasses? Don’t stress it was fine!
I like to think of myself as a kind-hearted lady so I ended up bringing his sunglasses to him and then locking his car all-the-while he and my friends were watching from afar. Probably to make sure I didn’t steal it/ get kidnapped. This situation was quite a surprise to me because this was my first real interaction with a B.C local. Partly I am surprised at how trusting this man was. It is not very often someone hands a stranger their car keys so they can retrieve an item for them.
Overall my first day in Vancouver was pretty awesome and I was super stoked for the days ahead!
Written by Tessa R. Adamski
Life in Colour 
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