It’s September once again, so let me take the time to say welcome back to SFU! I’m so pleased that you’ve picked up The Peak, and even more pleased that your eyes have alighted on this column.

A brief introduction is in order: I’m Natasha, and I’m working on my MA in French Literature here atop Burnaby Mountain. I’m an American, and have been in Vancouver since April of 2013, making me fairly new to beautiful BC. I have a taste for the undiscovered, for adventure and exploration, and I have a pesky penchant for word-smithery (yes, I did just make that up). And now, I would like to cordially invite all of you to walk with me this semester.

Not literally. I mean, we could meet over coffee or something else of your fancy if you’d like to actually walk with me, but I was speaking metaphorically. Throughout this semester, I am going to explore Vancouver looking for spots that speak to me in some way.

Not to get too la vie bohème on you, but I’m a lover of beauty. The record store wall covered in fraying posters, the warm scent of butter wafting up from a plate, the crooked smile of a bartender, the minute movements of a dancer — I can’t help but be intrigued. I’ll share my experiences of each of the places I uncover here, in this column, every other week. Get it now? The invitation to walk with me?

This column won’t simply be a review of a person, place, thing or event, because there are plenty of critics out there who have seen more than I, and who have legitimate credentials and expert opinions.

I will communicate a concept of space and how our surroundings are influenced by us.

What I will attempt to communicate is a concept of space and how our surroundings both influence and are influenced by us. I plan to write about really cool places within the context of the subtle — or not-so-subtle — neighbourhood nuances that make them interesting.

I’m hopeful that this column will provide all of you with a fresh perspective: that of a newcomer, of a non-Canadian, and of an outsider. I’m hopeful that you’ll be able to look at this great city through a shiny new lens and discover along with me what makes it diverse, welcoming, gritty, beautiful, and real. Like the wrinkles on a wizened face, I’m looking for the quirky and unique places that speak to Vancouver’s personality, for better or worse.

I hope you’ll join me.