Welcome to BC
It’s Friday afternoon and I’m all packed with just one suitcase, a carry-on bag and my purse. I didn’t want to bring too much with me since my intention is to slowly build up my inventory of personal items once I started living in BC. So I just packed the essentials (3 power suits - black, pin striped black and white and grey, 2 penciled skirts, 7 different styles of blouses, 3 casual work sweaters, 3 jeans for casual wear, 4 shorts, 5 tshirts, 3 pjs, along with socks and under garments), a few framed pictures of my family and beauty supplies. That was enough to pack my luggage tight.
Saying good bye to my family was bitter sweet. I’m really tight with my family and being so far away from them really made me feel home sick (and I haven’t even left yet!). My family threw a farewell party for me a week ago inviting all my close family and relatives. All of them gave me “lucky money” in red envelopes as farewell gifts. It totaled over $2000! Definitely enough to kick start my living in a new city.
So I’m at the airport right now waiting to board my flight. A one way ticket - fully paid by XYZ Investment Firm. I received a call from Sharon the night before confirming all the details of my relocation. All expenses paid, my flight is first class, then when I arrive in BC I would be picked up by Tom from XYZ Investment Firm to take me to my bachelor apartment, I would then be greeted by the receptionist who will give me the keys and give me a tour of the hotel to show me all the amenities that are included. Sharon also gave emailed me a list of doctors, dentists, banks, grocery shops and etc. close by so that I could check them out and register during my free time.
I couldn’t sleep on the flight at all. I was in awe of being in first class. They really do treat their passengers very well. Felt like a celebrity or royalty. For the beverage and snacks they offered red and white wine - of course I didn’t decline on that offer and had myself a nice glass of red wine coupled with a bag of chips. I sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the flight. We then landed, and I went to get my luggage. It didn’t take long for me to find my suitcase, I then went out and found Tom holding a sign with my name. He took me to the hotel (the same hotel that I stayed at when I had my interview). I went to the reception area and was greeted by a young lady named Jennifer. She gave me my keys and a booklet of all the amenities and contact numbers, along with external services offered around the city too. She then took me around on a mini tour of the hotel, showing me the workout room, swimming pool area, laundry room, restaurants, and etc. She mentioned some of the perks with staying at their hotel, such as free continental breakfast every morning, access to free internet, if I had any guests visiting I could book a room for 50% discount, I could use their shuttle bus free of charge to get around the city based on their scheduled time and route, however if I wanted to use room service or their cleaning service there was an additional fee (I can clean up after myself, so I wouldn’t be using that anyways). After the tour Jennifer left and I went to my room. My room is located on the 25th floor, it’s a New York size bachelor apartment with huge windows overlooking the city (beautiful views), it also has a small cozy balcony (small enough to fit one chair for morning tea), the room has a double bed, a loveseat sofa with a small coffee table, a small kitchenette with a single sink, fridge, stove and microwave (no dishwasher unfortunately), a small closet (not walk-in) and dresser drawer with a 19 inch tv on top, a small desk and chair and a private bathroom. It’s clean and neat, not huge but not too small either. Just enough space for one person. I took off my shoes, turned on the tv and jumped onto the bed and just laid there staring at the ceiling. “WOW, this is for real! I’m finally here, I’m starting a new life and this is where it’s all going to begin.” First step, unpack my suitcase. I started putting things away, finding homes for all of my personal belongings. When I finished, I took a shower, changed my clothes and looked around the apartment and realized that I needed to add my personal touch to the place. I got a piece of paper and pen that was supplied by the hotel on the desk and starting writing out a list of things that I needed. The items ranged from cleaning supplies to food. I looked at the clock and it was close to midnight. I got two full days of getting myself settled in my apartment before I start my first day of work on Monday. So with that, I turned off the lights and feeling so exhausted from the whole day of events went straight to sleep.
Saying good bye to my family was bitter sweet. I’m really tight with my family and being so far away from them really made me feel home sick (and I haven’t even left yet!). My family threw a farewell party for me a week ago inviting all my close family and relatives. All of them gave me “lucky money” in red envelopes as farewell gifts. It totaled over $2000! Definitely enough to kick start my living in a new city.
So I’m at the airport right now waiting to board my flight. A one way ticket - fully paid by XYZ Investment Firm. I received a call from Sharon the night before confirming all the details of my relocation. All expenses paid, my flight is first class, then when I arrive in BC I would be picked up by Tom from XYZ Investment Firm to take me to my bachelor apartment, I would then be greeted by the receptionist who will give me the keys and give me a tour of the hotel to show me all the amenities that are included. Sharon also gave emailed me a list of doctors, dentists, banks, grocery shops and etc. close by so that I could check them out and register during my free time.
I couldn’t sleep on the flight at all. I was in awe of being in first class. They really do treat their passengers very well. Felt like a celebrity or royalty. For the beverage and snacks they offered red and white wine - of course I didn’t decline on that offer and had myself a nice glass of red wine coupled with a bag of chips. I sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the flight. We then landed, and I went to get my luggage. It didn’t take long for me to find my suitcase, I then went out and found Tom holding a sign with my name. He took me to the hotel (the same hotel that I stayed at when I had my interview). I went to the reception area and was greeted by a young lady named Jennifer. She gave me my keys and a booklet of all the amenities and contact numbers, along with external services offered around the city too. She then took me around on a mini tour of the hotel, showing me the workout room, swimming pool area, laundry room, restaurants, and etc. She mentioned some of the perks with staying at their hotel, such as free continental breakfast every morning, access to free internet, if I had any guests visiting I could book a room for 50% discount, I could use their shuttle bus free of charge to get around the city based on their scheduled time and route, however if I wanted to use room service or their cleaning service there was an additional fee (I can clean up after myself, so I wouldn’t be using that anyways). After the tour Jennifer left and I went to my room. My room is located on the 25th floor, it’s a New York size bachelor apartment with huge windows overlooking the city (beautiful views), it also has a small cozy balcony (small enough to fit one chair for morning tea), the room has a double bed, a loveseat sofa with a small coffee table, a small kitchenette with a single sink, fridge, stove and microwave (no dishwasher unfortunately), a small closet (not walk-in) and dresser drawer with a 19 inch tv on top, a small desk and chair and a private bathroom. It’s clean and neat, not huge but not too small either. Just enough space for one person. I took off my shoes, turned on the tv and jumped onto the bed and just laid there staring at the ceiling. “WOW, this is for real! I’m finally here, I’m starting a new life and this is where it’s all going to begin.” First step, unpack my suitcase. I started putting things away, finding homes for all of my personal belongings. When I finished, I took a shower, changed my clothes and looked around the apartment and realized that I needed to add my personal touch to the place. I got a piece of paper and pen that was supplied by the hotel on the desk and starting writing out a list of things that I needed. The items ranged from cleaning supplies to food. I looked at the clock and it was close to midnight. I got two full days of getting myself settled in my apartment before I start my first day of work on Monday. So with that, I turned off the lights and feeling so exhausted from the whole day of events went straight to sleep.