05 June 2025

By Helena Fischer

At the beginning of 2024, I promised myself that this would be the year I would be living
abroad. After some soul searching, I decided that if I was going to live in another country, I
might as well take the chance and move to a whole different continent.
As soon as I arrived in Vancouver, I started looking for jobs. I couldn't believe my luck when
I saw that Canada's largest bookstore chain, Indigo, was looking for seasonal employees.
After a short interview process, I was hired, and as a huge book nerd, there was no job that
could have been more perfect for me. I was given the opportunity to speak freely and for
extended periods of time. Whether it was recommending one of my favourite books to a
customer, making small talk with a repairman or chatting with my colleagues during our
breaks. One of my favourite co-workers taught me how locals pronounce certain words, but
to be honest, she mostly corrected my pronunciation of hockey players' surnames and place
names. Working at Indigo was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I will be forever
grateful for the confidence it instilled in me, both in terms of my language skills and my
overall personal confidence.
Living in Vancouver has allowed me to experience so many new things. From the beginning,
one of my favourite things about Canada was the kindness I received from strangers, sweet
women complimenting my eyes or my name. I never thought I would miss talking to
strangers and making small talk, but I definitely do. Another aspect of living in Vancouver
that I unexpectedly loved, although this is true for most of British Columbia, was nature.
Being surrounded by both big mountains and the open sea felt like a dream. In November, I
was living in Kitsilano and being able to go to the beach after work or on my days off was a
privilege I will miss forever.
The most unexpected highlight of my time abroad was probably finding a new interest. It all
started with my dad telling me that I had to go to a hockey game while I was in Canada. So it
was that on Monday the 28th of October, I watched my first ever hockey game: Vancouver
Canucks vs. Carolina Hurricanes. I even spent my very last night at the Rogers Arena
watching my team win, which was the perfect way to spend my last few hours in Canada.
The three months I spent in Canada will forever be a time I cherish in my memories. I took
tons of photos and wrote in my journal every day, hoping to remember all the things I was
lucky enough to experience and be a part of. I grew into a more confident version of myself,
made a lot of new friends and saw a new part of the world.