It is where just a little sunshine will make you forget everything that could ever cause misery.

It is where the mountains tower above and the ocean gushes below.

It is where there is no end to the rain, but always a silver lining in the clouds.

It is where I fell in love with the everythings in life – work, family, friendships and even myself.

The beauty that this place holds within itself doesn’t just emanate from the gorgeous geography that surrounds it, but it’s very spirit – freedom! You can be anything, become anyone and do what you truly want.

I can hear the drum circle of the summers near the beach thrumming in my ears as I write this. I can see the pride parade happening, painting the city streets in the hue of the rainbow. I can feel the snow falling on my windowsill. I remember the UBC President crushing it in a foosball match and celebrating it with the excitement of a teenager.

I admit I had to wait for the summer to truly love the place, I arrived a day after a bad thunderstorm and all I saw through jetlagged eyes was grey and rain and cold. Also, the realization that this time I was away from home, for a good long period had hit hard. What saw me through the dreary first day was the many pairs of hand to help me drag my luggage to my room, several welcome notes and an immediate emergence of the people who would eventually become my support systems here. When I had a full conversation in Hindi (or as my friend called it Urdu) the first night in Vancouver, the turbulence in my mind was lulled. Or maybe it was pure exhaustion (after a 20 plus hour flight you’re not sure anymore!)

This was the first time I was doing graduate school, in an education system vastly different from India. I didn’t know what to expect. I had interned in Canada before, but Vancouver and UBC were very different from Windsor. There, I chose to spend my summer within walking range of the lab, here I had to set up my life for a two-year period so I had to get around. And around in a much bigger place. This brings me to the transit system – it IS the best in North America, well probably after NYC. Also, a blessing to people like me who don’t drive, anytime spent away from Vancouver in North America was a big hassle in terms of getting around and I remember cursing myself for procrastinating learning to drive (which I still haven’t done, note to myself!)

UBC had never been my first preference for graduate school, and yet it turned out to be the decision that was in most sync with previous ones in my life – rebellious, troublesome and difficult. Looking back, I should’ve understood that I would feel right at home there! My supervisor team grew from one to two in a year and this collaboration, as contentious it might be, was the best thing that could’ve happened academically to me. I got the best of both fundamental and applied aspects of my research. The hair wrangling 4 am lab work seemed trivial in the light of exciting new discoveries. I learnt the most important thing about being an independent researcher – starting with the right questions. The time spent on researching literature to make sound testing hypotheses is perhaps the biggest thing that can make or break your project. As my lab manager used to joke about the white hairs on his head (the ones he had left anyways!), was that each of them was earned through a lesson learnt from a mistake in research. His advice was to avoid the mistakes that you could, read - even though it was boring and it’s hard resisting the call of the eppendorfs and delay the white hairs for as long as you could. The latter aspect attracted me the most and so I stuck with it.

The day I left my work station was when the tears broke out (I had been avoiding the farewell feeling all together bravely my last week there). I accepted I was a nerd through and through. A nerd who loved what she was doing. A nerd who would not trade her research for all the wishes in the world (at least in that moment!). I consider myself fortunate for having experienced this feeling, it is a love so fierce, so moving, so possessive – I wasn’t even ready to share it with my friend who offered to hug me in the bus on my way back. I said no and kept staring out the window, I wanted to be alone with it. Neither my thesis defense, nor my graduation (both happy and satisfying in their own places) had given me the happiness that comes with realizing your calling in life. This moment had.

Vancouver and the people that became a part of my life from this journey taught me many things. The campus and the city is one of the most diverse, inclusive and culturally appropriate atmospheres I’ve ever encountered. It was the first place where the friends I made didn’t care about where I was coming from, but what I brought to their lives. I learnt to overcome my “mental compartmentalization reflex” of categorizing and judging everything. I started thinking about everything that I encountered and every person I met as the first page of a story that I had yet to discover. My world was no longer limited to people from my country or engineering. It had become much bigger and diverse. Being able to communicate effectively had barriers far beyond language, culture or intellect. It required awareness, patience and inquisitiveness. It was a steep curve to climb and I did stumble on the way to be politically correct, even though I meant no harm to people I might have unknowingly offended.  It was also frustrating to dispel myths about India (or what was supposed to be “Indian”), but when I found myself holding many stereotypes, many times it just became lack of knowledge. I used these opportunities to learn and to educate someone on my take on “being Indian”. I developed a real appreciation for the enormity of India’s diversity in culture, languages, traditions, festivals when someone asked me,

“Well, what is representative of India then?” and I didn’t have a good answer. (I guess I will never, but might probably address this in a future blog article)

You can catch a beautiful sunset in Vancouver. You can celebrate without feeling overwhelmed. You can eat the best cheesecake in the world and listen to jazz at the same time (I can vouch for that!). It’s a necessity to have a passion for the outdoors and be good on your foot (it’s worth it every hike, every trek and every run you make!). Also, don’t forget the umbrella and rain gear.

There is something magical about the place that you can’t deny. Maybe I felt it because there were times I was at peace with myself, my identity, my positives and negatives. I don’t know if it was Kung Fu panda-level inner peace, but it meant a lot to me. In one of my best friend’s word, I felt “wholesome”

Usage: Adjective

Uplifting to the point of filling one with warmth - Jewel Joy Ocampo

धन्यवाद. Thank you. Спасибо. Salamat. متشکرم. Merci beacoup. Gracias. شکریہ. cảm ơn bạn. 谢谢. 

Everyone who made this journey possible and what it had been. Words would never be enough to sum up what Vancouver and the people I met there are to me. (hopefully I will have my planned sitcom released in this lifetime!) And to everyone who is hesitating whether to say yes to an adventure or not – well carpe diem folks!