July 14, 2015

Hinge Park


     I'm currently volunteering at a summer school and today we went on a fieldtrip to Hinge Park! The program this week is currently focusing on creative arts & writing so the main activity of this trip was to walk around the scenic areas and draw what they saw. Their sketchbooks had prompts of what to draw, such as something tall or something interesting.


The first place we went to was Athletic Way, where there are these two huge bird statues. The first prompt was to draw an animal. Most of the children drew these, real life birds, or dogs being walked by their owners. 


One of the last prompts was to draw something colourful. Obviously, the teachers intended for the students to draw this piece of art but a lot of them sped through the assignment and by the time we arrived here, they were already done LOL so they all just ended up playing inbetween the tiny spaces. Vancouver definitely has a lot of interesting art.

A brand new seven-metre-tall outdoor sculpture has been installed on the edge of Olympic Village at Hinge Park.  Called Human Structures, the sculpture consists of 64 brightly coloured metal cutouts in the shape of human figures, stacked one on top of the other. The meaning is hard to miss.  In the sculptor’s own words, the artwork represents “humanity connecting to humanity,” across all racial and ethnic lines and other divisions. The figures are designed to look slightly “pixelated” (with rough, square edges), which adds to the symbolism.  We all share photos with one another on computers and these photos – wherever in the world they come from – are all composed of the same underlying unit, the pixel.  - Inside Vancouver


We then visited a community garden where tons of vegetable plants were growing. Though most of the other plants were dried out, this bright sunflower stood out to me the most. We used to have a huge sunflower growing in front of our house. My mother's friend even picked the seeds in an attempt to grow her own.


During free time after lunch, the kids got to play with bubble blowers and my sister pointed out one that was just laying on the grass. I admired it for a while, took a bunch of pics, and showed it to a girl in my group who then stomped on the bubble with her foot HAHA. In the end, all of the students became fascinated with this man-made river think. They tried to build a dam out of rocks which did hold the water back but then it overflowed. People even had their dogs standing in it!

Overall, it was a super fun day and less tiring than expected haha. Being around false creek and seeing the breathtaking landscape really made me appreciate the beauty of Vancouver. It also made me feel like a tourist in my own city, which my dad says we need to do more often and I totally agree.

What are your favourite spots in Vancouver/your city? 
XX, Melissa
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July 12, 2015

Where to Find Vanilla Coke in Vancouver

photo creds
My cousins, dad, and I love Vanilla Coca-Cola, especially in a glass of ice. It really brings out the fizziness. However, it can be pretty tricky to find them in Vancouver. Most people just make the drive down to Bellingham to pick up a couple cases from Wal-Mart or somewhere but for those who would rather just stay here, I've compiled a list of where you can find these hidden gems in the Lower Mainland area.  

CONFIRMED BY OTHERS (may be outdated)
  • Donald's Market (Vancouver) 2279 Commercial Dr. (604 255 1440)
  • Fleet Street Convenience Store (Vancouver) 375 Water St. (604 685 8831)
  • Gamedeals Video Games (New West) 407 Columbia St. (604 540 0582)
  • Golden Apple (Richmond) 3891 Chatham St. #5 (604 288 2388) 
  • Hasty Market (Vancouver) 3150 Main St. (604 874 9309)
  • Main Convenience Store (Vancouver) 4195 Main St. (604 876 7667)
  • Pick N Pay (Burnaby) 9640 Cameron St. (604 421 6419)
  • The Sandwich Shop (Vancouver) #102 Lonsdale Quay Market (604 980 0429)
  • Shery Convenience Store (Vancouver) 145 E Broadway St. (604 874 7243)
  • Solo Market (Vancouver) 2621 Commercial Dr. (604 876 0950)
  • Sticky's Candy (New West) 618 6th St. (604 544 8090)
  • Stong's (Vancouver) 4560 Dunbar St. (604 266 1401)
  • Student Lucky Market (UBC/Vancouver) 5728 University Blvd (604 224 5131)
Is there a place in Vancouver missing from this list? Have you ever tried vanilla coke? Let me know in the comment section below! 
XX, Melissa
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