Fear, Friendship, and Finding My First Job in Vancouver

So, it turned out, that moving into the Samesun hostel changed my life! During my first two nights there, I regretted all my choices, quitting my job, moving to Canada, and most of all, moving into the Samesun! But once I met Gia, my opinion changed! Even though she was 6 years younger than me, and this was also her first time living away from home, she seemed to be much more in control than me. 

In fairness, she had also been living in this dorm room since she moved to Vancouver from Northern England almost 10 weeks previously, so I guess she had more time to figure things out. When I realised she had been living there for so long, I got scared, I could not live like that for almost 3 months, I would not survive.

So after many attempts, my bank card was finally unlocked and I could afford to buy food again. At this stage, it was mid-March, the snow was beginning to disappear, and we reached St. Patrick's Day. If you are not aware, Vancouver has a huge young Irish community. If you want a home away from home as an Irish person, this is the place to go. But that is not what I was looking for. I didn't really want Irish friends, so for St. Patrick's Day, instead of going to one of the numerous Irish bars, I went with my new friends, Sam, Gia, and another friend of theirs who was living in the hostel, Bess, to get sushi. Being from the countryside in Ireland, this was my first experience of sushi....I liked it, but I didn't really understand it. But the whole experience was just so nice, I had a group of friends! 

Gia had found her job through a temping agency in the city, so she helped me get signed up with them, but unfortunately, they had very little work at that time. But it was a start. Gia had also found a room in a house and was moving out of the hostel the following week. This scared me, she was my lifeline at that moment. I was afraid that when she moved out, we would lose touch and I would be back to figuring things out myself........Luckily, she was a much better friend than I was. 

The day she moved to her new accommodation, I also moved to new accommodation, a different, quieter hostel in a quieter part of town! I had had enough of the party vibe, I needed some tranquillity!! I moved into a dorm with just one Italian girl, who was friendly but also liked her own space which was perfect for me. We got along well, but also kept to ourselves! 

After about 1 week in this hostel, Gia sent me a message saying the husband of a woman she was working with had a shop, and he was looking for a part-time worker. She recommended me and said I needed to go there that week for an interview. My stomach did a flip! I couldn't figure out if I was happy or sad. I desperately needed a job, but also, the thought of starting a job scared the life out of me. As I mentioned before, I had worked in a factory for over 9 years, and I didn't really know how to do anything else. I know what you're thinking, it's just a part-time job in a shop, but at the time, it seemed like the biggest deal! I was half tempted to not go to the interview, because of the fear. I'm not sure which fear was stronger, the fear of failing, or the fear of actually getting a job!!

Turns out I got the job. A nice little newsagent and coffee shop inside a 5-star hotel. Not too shabby at all!! I was still a nervous wreck, every time someone came in, I hoped they just wanted a bar of chocolate or a newspaper, but almost everyone ordered coffee, or wanted cigars from the humidor. I got the hang of things quickly enough I think, and started to settle in. I almost started enjoying it! I finally had a purpose in Vancouver!

The next task was to figure out how to stop living in a hostel, but just as my blog name suggests, I took it poco a poco!!!