First Winter in Vancouver 2021
Before coming to Vancouver, we were told that winter in Vancouver is very mild compared to other parts of Canada. As a person coming from a tropical country, that was a blessing. Back in Jakarta where I lived most of my life, 25 degree Celsius was a sweater weather. We were used to the hot and humid climate, so, a lot of adjustments were needed to survive in Canada. And even though my husband and I lived in Washington, DC, before coming to Vancouver, we still find winters to be a challenge. But that does not mean that we hate winters. In fact, we love it for two reasons: snow and the festivities. In this blog, I will share my experience from last winter in Vancouver, specifically the winter of 2021–2022.
In the winter of 2021, the government of Canada started to relax some of the Covid-19 restrictions, so winter festivals were finally allowed to take place. Last year, my friends and I went to the Vancouver Christmas Market, which is one of the biggest winter festivals in Vancouver. They had booths selling arts, Christmas knick-knacks, and most importantly, tasty foods. They also decorated the venue with lights and Christmas tree, which lifted my spirit instantly. I probably spent too much money there, but I didn’t mind because we didn’t have this kind of Christmas market back home. It was a nice sensation to eat warm food and drink hot chocolate when you’re freezing on the outside. I’ll definitely be coming back there this year to celebrate the end of 2022.
Another fun thing that happened last winter was the fact that we had a white Christmas. The snow kept falling since the week before Christmas, and it continued to fall days after. According to my local friends, it was unusual to have that much snow in Vancouver, but I didn’t mind. In fact, I every time the snow started falling, I would grab my coat and run outside just to enjoy the view. It’s not something that I see everyday, and for that I was so grateful.
I hope this year’s winter will be as fun as the last. There’s no more Covid-19 restriction in place anymore, so people might go big this year. And I will definitely be there, in the snow, sipping hot chocolate in front of a lit up tree. I’ll see you there!
