There is always a first time

I'm one week away from flying to Vancouver, again.  It will be my 3rd time! Third time! 3! Oui, oui, trois fois! They say third time's a charm! Does it mean that the first 2 times weren't successful? No, not at all. Maybe the 1st time wasn't that successful.  Maybe not. Let's say it was a life experience. A time to discover and learn. 


The 1st time I moved to Vancouver was after my 1st job at Hybride Technologies. After 5 years at Hybride, I had the California dream. I wanted to work at some of the big visual effects houses, like ILM, Sony Imageworks, PDI  (who's now Dreamworks) or Pixar.  I saw Vancouver as a stepping stone to my California dream.  Getting away from home, what I know, improving my English and having more experience by working on more projects and connecting with more people.  I started working at Mainframe Entertainment (who's now Rainmaker Entertainment) in January 2000. I worked there for 18 months.


During those 18 months, I met some of the people that 12 years later are still some of my best friends.  I've met colleagues where over the years, we worked together more than once and always enjoyed and trusted each other.  We were all in our late 20s or early 30s, single or in couple, with no kids. We had good time at work, a few great parties, but it was not that easy to connect outside of work.


I have to say that when you are a newcomer, it is hard to make friends in Vancouver.  It is not an easy city to truly connect with people. You meet a lot of people, but there is a barrier that is hard to cross.  Going from a person they know or play volleyball with, to a person they invite or share something with, a meal, a hike, share a personal story; it takes time and it is a slow process. Where compare to Quebecer this barrier is easy or most often there is no barrier.  It seems like for Quebecer, 'friends of my friends, are my friends', but for an anglophone, 'friends of my friends are strangers'. So to go from the 'stranger' to the 'friend' it takes time. It seems like you have to earn their trust over time. Slowly a little bit at a time. But when you cross this barrier, when you become friend, they are your friends for a long long time. 


In Vancouver the first time, the first connection come easily. But the real connection, to the people, to the city, it takes time. Once you made the real connection it stays forever. And like friends, when you see each other after a long separation, it seems like it was yesterday.


2 pictures from 2000