Thanksgiving Weekend on Vancouver Island

This post is LONG, but bear with me. This weekend marked my very first Canadian Thanksgiving!

Rather unsuccessfully, I manged to spend Thanksgiving without a single Canadian. This is becoming a common theme… Almost everyone in my accommodation is an exchange student. This means that despite living in Canada, I find myself spending most of my time with Europeans and Australians. (The irony of this is not lost on me – I am trying to restore the balance). This weekend was no exception, but on this occasion I think I am justified. Thanksgiving is traditionally a time to spend with your family and your loved ones, and when you have flown across the Atlantic and left your family 4600 miles behind, your exchange friends become your new family. <3

As the University was closed for the public holiday, my ‘family’ and I took the opportunity to spend the weekend on Vancouver Island! We hired cars and caught the Ferry across to where we stayed in Youbou on the edge of Lake Cowichan. Although not the most central location, Youbou was absolutely stunning. The Airbnb we were staying in had character to say the least – red walls and randomly placed Star Wars stickers -but it was perfect for our needs. Considering we were a group of 15 people, the house was incredibly comfortable, and with its beautiful location we had no reason to complain.

On Saturday after a cooked breakfast we drove the 90 minutes to Victoria (including a completely unnecessary stop for Tim Horton’s – hey, when in Canada). Despite being forecast rain, the sun was shining and Victoria looked beautiful! 

As the Capitol of BC, Victoria is home to BC’s Parliament which stands majestically next to the sea. Although the building is neither old nor European (it was built in 1898) it has a renaissance style which made me realise how much I had missed European architecture! As a capitol city, Victoria has an unusual feel. It is relatively small and the centre is not really residential, to the extent that when we asked where the local supermarket was we were told there was NOT one, and we would have to get a bus to Walmart. It almost feels as if the city exists purely for tourist and commercial reasons. Obviously, BC’s parliament is positioned in Victoria, and people live in the wider suburb’s, so this is not entirely true, but it gave the city a very different feel to other major capitols. But this is by no means a criticism. Victoria is beautiful! We wondered around the city exploring Canada’s oldest Chinatown and the randomly placed Orca statues, and grabbed fish and chips at Fisherman’s Wharf. This felt like a very British activity – again, perhaps not doing Thanksgiving weekend quite right… After having a drink with some of our other uni friends, we headed back to Youbou for dinner. 

The next day the weather was glorious so we decided to make the most of Youbou and spent an afternoon swimming and diving in Lake Cowichan. The water was incredibly fresh and clear and the lake is surrounded by hills, giving amazing views. Even after we had finished swimming it was enjoyable to sit in the sunshine and just enjoy the scenery, something that would never be possible in October in Britain. At the end of the day, a bit shivery and hungry, we returned home to prepare for our Thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving dinner was delivered almost single handily by Lottie. She cooked a whole Turkey, despite being vegetarian herself, as well as a Mushroom Pie for the 10 vegetarians in the group! What did we do to deserve her. <3 Sally and Jess also baked homemade Pumpkin Pie so that we could try and indulge in all elements of tradition. We managed to squeeze all 15 of us around the table and for the sake of tradition we talked about what we were thankful for. Unsurprisingly, for most people it was to be in Canada, and to have made such an excellent group of friends in such little time. I have only known these people for 5 weeks, but they really do feel like family, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to have spent my first thanksgiving with - even if I am going to have Celine Dion’s ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now’ stuck in my head for the rest of my life.

We journeyed home from the trip yesterday, and safe to say everyone had post-holiday-blues. Going away with 15 people for 3 nights is hectic and hilarious, and the contrast of uni mid-terms and early morning classes is painful. The post-holiday blues only reinforce what a great time we had, though, and I am so thankful that I got to spend my thanksgiving with beautiful people in a beautiful place. I hope this will be the first of many. <3