Vancouver Day 1: An Introduction to Vancouver / Symposium Setup

Today, (25/7/2016), we met in the lobby of our hotel at 11:00 to talk about breakfasts and lunches. Then, we walked down to Robson St. to look at the many lunch options. A bunch of us went to H-Mart to eat lunch. We walked around a bit and found a candy store where some of us got candy. We hung out and played cards and watched Aki play Undertale for a while before meeting in the hotel lobby to walk to the convention center and register for the actual symposium. 

We set up our bells and rehearsed our solo song, Magnificent Seven, and some of us realized we needed a few more rehearsals to get the sound right in this new space... After this, we are going to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory here.     

-Kazuhiko

First of all: what a day!

Out first day in Vancouver certainly was busy. After some well needed sleep, we woke up at 9:30 to start the day. A quick shower ensued and we finally got out into the city. Our first stop was good old Starbucks for some caffeine and food, where we were greeted by the ever-friendly people of Canada. After refueling, we made the 20 minute journey on foot to the local Whole Foods to gather supplies for breakfast tomorrow. On the way, we saw several amazing sights, like statues and beautiful buildings (as seen in the pictures below) that give you an idea of how beautiful the city of Vancouver really is. The next few hours were spent at leisure, with activities like browsing the local stores and swimming in the hotel pool. 

At 4pm, the whole choir took out bells and cases down to the waterfront where we were treated to a gorgeous view of the waterfront framed by the distant Canadian Rockies. The sky was clear, the sea was shining, and the sunlight danced off the waves, making the whole scene seem like a paradise on Earth. 

We made our way into the Vancouver Convention Center and set up all our bells at our assigned tables. After a quick tuning and a run through of The Magnificent Seven, we all headed out to have a group dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory to round out the day.

Honestly, I could not ask for a more perfect day. The sun shone, the weather was warm, and I could not ask for a more perfect day to report on. So until next time, this is ringer Jake White signing off!   

-Jake

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