When In Canada!

Obviously it wouldn't be a trip to Canada if there wasn't some ice hockey involved. So one Friday (it may have been a Thursday) not to long ago we headed out to support York's varsity team in their game against Brock. It was a lot of fun. Obviously it wasn't as intense as a professional game would be but it was a lot of fun to watch. There were a couple of fights and one guy had to be escorted off the ice after he'd been slammed into.

The best bit though had to be the half time game. At York the half time game is always played by members of the audience and is a challenge of sorts. For the Ice Hockey game Lauren (my fellow exchange student from Keele) and I agreed to take part in the challenge. What we had to do was line up 10 pucks and see how many we could shoot into the goal, whoever got the most in won. Out of the first 10 both Lauren and I got three in to the goal so we went to sudden death and the first to get on in won. Sadly Lauren got one into the goal before me so she won. But it was ok because we both got a prize. Our prize was a pair of York Lion Boxers. We have both used them as pj bottoms. Overall the game was a lot of fun, and it was great to spend time with my friends who also went to watch, even if York did lose.

One Sunday afternoon of procrastination

A little while ago Jessie and Andrew went away for the weekend to Boston (mine an Monique's amazing stories made them jealous :P ). I had a friend coming for the night on Friday and Andrew kindly lent my his bedding  but in doing so left us with his key for the weekend. After having used the key to retrieve the bedding I gave the key to Monique (his neighbour) for her to look after until his return. I thought nothing more of it till Sunday morning when Monique  was telling me that she had decided late Saturday night that we couldn't let this opportunity escape us. I agreed (it was do something to Andrew's room or spend the day studying) so we got to brainstorming what to do. The plan we arrived at? We were going to cover his entire room in newspaper. And that is what we spent the next nine or so hours doing with lunch and dinner breaks. If I say so myself it turned out pretty amazing. In the surprised Andrew agreed it looked good and was a great idea.  Here are some of the pictures of what it ended up looking like after we were done.

Just another Sunday afternoon of procrastination when on exchange :)

An excuse to do fancy dress

I'm not a big one for halloween. We didn't celebrate it in anyway when I was a child and as I grew older I felt no need to dress up in various scary/ scant costumes and go party on a particular day of the year. In fact I am a huge fan of fancy dress just not so agreeable to the idea of Halloween. However this year I feel like I may have made up for a lifetimes worth of Halloween partying. Which is exactly what all my Aussie friends wanted (they don't do Halloween at all over there) so I guess we can say it was a success. How we made up lost time was by making the decision to attend three different Halloween parties over the course of 5 day's. Thursday we attended a local club which has a free shuttle to and from our uni. I was dressed as a bat:

We took Friday to recover and then Saturday night went out again. This time to an amazing pub in downtown Toronto which consists of 2 old house each four stories. Thus, this pub has many a room and many a bar. For this night I was a fairy:

After taking Sunday to rest up once more and after a day of classes on Monday we were once again ready to head out to party. This time it was actual Halloween and so we headed back into downtown Toronto to a club called Cobra. This time I was an Angel:

But the best costume of the night has to go to Jesse, guess how long that took to do?

Overall it was a fun time, I partied with friends and got to dress up. Oh, and the porters station and security guard for our building even had bowls of 'candy' for us as we went past so it was like mini trick or treating. 

I could have sworn my syllabus said travelling week!

So, in the middle of October York University gave all us students (and the professors to I suppose) a week off. Why you ask, well York officially  calls it co-curricular week where students are supposed to sign up to clubs, the professors call it reading week and they say we are supposed to get a head start on all our reading and assignments that will pile up from when we start classes again, and to exchange students it's considered a week to go travelling.

Thus since the beginning of term discussions had been taking place about where we were going to go and what we were going to do. After much discussion and an awful lot of internet searching Monique and I set our hearts on Philadelphia, Boston and Salem. Then the heard part started: booking it! When we had originally started our search we could get cheap hostel accommodation in both Philly and Boston (Salem is but a train away from Boston and we were planning a day trip). However, by the time we got around to actually booking the places this wasn't the case. In Philly we ended up in a cheap travel lodge which considering they gave us breakfast every morning was a great deal and in a hostel outside of the city in Boston. For awhile we thought we may be able to stay in Salem for a few days and travel to Boston from there if we couldn't find anything closer for a good price in Boston. Then the reality that it was only a couple of weeks before Halloween hit and thus Salem had absolutely no accommodation, anywhere, let alone cheap, it was just lucky that we found the hostel when we did, otherwise I fear Monique might have had a minor temper tantrum as she had definitely set her heart on seeing both Boston and Salem.

For travel we booked the good ole megabus from Toronto to Philadelphia, and Philadelphia to Boston. Sadly, although turns out not so (their wifi was much better!) we had to use the much more expensive greyhound buses to get us back from Boston to Toronto again. I would not recommend undertaking a 10+ hour bus trip without serious thought. If you are easily annoyed by other people, then don't do it! Or if faulty wifi grates on your nerves, it's probably not for you and if you find it difficult to sleep on a bus at the very least be prepared to be sleep deprived at new levels. Monique and I came extremely close  to thinking horrible thoughts about the adorable baby in front of us who wouldn't stop crying unless I was looking at it, which when trying to read my comparative foreign policy book was not what I needed.  Luckily we can both cope without wifi for small times when we have other things to amuse us, and we are both very adept at coping with little to no sleep (see previous posts :P ).

Philadelphia:

We had three days in Philadelphia.

Day one:

Saw us going backwards and forwards like mad women. First we went to the area where all the independence sites are located and booked our time slot for the independence hall tour. Then, we went to the other side of the city to visit the Eastern State penitentiary. It was a really interesting experience as we learnt all about how the prisoners were kept in isolation for their entire  sentence and the idea was that this would give them time to think on what they had done and repent of it to God. In there cells they even had a slit in the ceiling which allowed a slither of light into the room and was called the eye of God. Later this model of prison was dropped and replaced and then the prison became a much more diverse place. Other cool things from the prison where Al Capone's cell and (well I don't know if you can call this cool) death row. After the prison we went back to the independence area and had our tour of independence hall and learnt all about the signing of the declaration of independence and the swearing in of several presidents. We also went to visit the tomb of the unknown solider. After having a quick rest back at the travel lodge we had dinner in china town before heading back to the prison for the haunted house they put on around Halloween. It was student night so the queue was huge but we finally got in and it was scary! Both Monique and I screamed quite a lot. After this we headed back to the Travelodge to get some sleep  ready for the next day's adventures.

Day Two:

We set of for the west side of the city. We were heading towards the Rocky steps and a few other sites in that direct. On the way we passed some lovely architecture , and a fountain. We reached the Rocky steps and did the obligatory run, taking turns to video it for each other. Then we went behind the museum (for which the Rocky Steps exist) and there are the water works and a lot of statues and a garden area. Photos of which can all be seen in exhaustive detail on facebook. We then walked all the way back to the other side (East) of town and went to the graveyard where Benjamin Franklin is buried. We chilled in the park at the independence area for a bit before heading south to south street which is the really artsy area of the city.  This is where we found the diner we ended back at for dinner that evening. It was a really cool place, so much so that we ended the night dancing in the aisles.

Day Three:

For our final day in the city we started with a walk over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. We put the music from Monique's iPhone on and partied our way across with many stops for photos. We had planned to get off on the other side but after some friendly advice from a passer by and then having confirmed the safety of getting off with a policeman we decided not to and instead once we reached the end we just turned back and walked straight back the way we had came.  After this we went to check out the town hall, which due to the occupy protesters was incredibly busy. What was probably cooler that the town hall (which, and yes i know I'm a nerd, was pretty cool) was the court yard of an office just across from it.  Where a bunch of large sized games pieces had been set up. You could sit in the monopoly barrel, climb a top a rook from chess, lean against a giant domino. We got some pretty great pictures of these.  By now we had done most of the things on our list to do except two main things: eat philli in philli and get a philly cheese steak. So we headed to a store and bought some crackers and Philadelphia and then went to sit once more in the park and eat. We chilled for a bit longer then went to get our philli cheese steaks. I am sad to say both of us we a little ( a lot) disappointed. So as not to be rude let's just say they weren't are thing. After this we went back to the diner of the previous night where we met up with some other friends who had spent the day in Philly on there way between New York and Washington.  After some more dancing in the aisles  and making friends with our waiter and the boss we headed out once more this time to get our bags from the Travelodge and head to the bus station to get our bus to Boston.

Boston:

Day one:

We arrived early in the morning and got a train and then a bus towards the outskirts of the city where our hostel was. After checking in we quietly as possible  entered the shared dorm we were in and sorted out our stuff so as to have showers before setting out for the day. By the time we had done that the other girls in our room had awoken and we decided to all hang out together for the day. We got the free shuttle to the train station from there we headed to the Common.  After a quick breakfast stop we picked up the freedom trail heading towards Bunker Hill where there is a monument  similar to the one in Washington.  There we climbed the 294 steps to the top of the monument to get amazing views of the city.  Then we went to the museum that it was attached to and learnt all about the fight that had happened there during the revolution. After finishing up there we went and checked out an old navy ship, which was a lot of fun as we got to walk around on it while hearing all about its history. Then we went to Quincy market to grab some food before heading over to check out MIT and then Harvard. We finished our day with hot chocolate in the cutest chocolate shop in the city (you could smell the chocolate a mile away it was that rich).

Day Two:

We were still hanging out with one of our new friends (Sophie) from the hostel the other had had to leave for home. So, Monique, Sophie and I headed into the city to go to the Aquarium where we spent several hours stroking sting rays, watching penguins and trying to spot giant turtles amongst many other things. Next we headed over to the oldest baseball park in the US, Fenway. There we had a great tour of the stadium learning lots about the stadium and baseball. After we walked some more of the freedom trail before heading to little Italy for dinner.  After this we went to the gardens in the common where we walked around and talked for an hour or two.

Salem

On our third day in Boston we took a train out of the city and into Salem (yes the witch trials Salem). It was a great day to visit this creepy town as it was incredibly foggy. It was such a beautiful city we spent most of the day walking around the old streets and grave yards. We also went to the witch trial memorial. Other things we did include dressing up like seamen at a museum, walking out to a light house and having a brilliant meal at the red roof inn. The last thing we did in Salem was a night time ghost tour which was a laugh. Despite the fact that it had rained all afternoon and we had ruined our shoes both Monique and I had a great time.  After heading back to Boston we had one final night in the hostel before we headed back to Toronto the next morning.

Overall the travels were a lot of fun and worth every penny spent and every minute not studying.    

Tourist Time

This post picks up directly where the last left of. The morning of the 1st of October. Andrew, Lauren, Monique and I are queuing to get on buses to head off to Niagara after staying up all night watching the AFL grand final.

Sadly we were split up onto different buses, Andrew and I on our own and Lauren and Monique together. Now the bus would have been a great place to get a couple of hours rest and I believe my fellow sleepy friends did manage at least small naps. I on the other hand had been placed on what was obviously the not so sleepy bus. This meant that instead of pleasant dreams of various things I was subjected to the lovely (I'm being polite here as the people might read this, originally I was going to call it the dying cat bus :P ) singing of about 3 or 4 girls who seemed to be having a who can go higher and louder contest. Eventually, we arrived at the hotel in Niagara which was to be our home for the night. We were given our keys and went to drop our bags in the room.

Later we meet up with the rest of MAC as this was a MAC trip, in the lobby and walked together to the first view point of the falls. They were amazing. Here we did the shuffle, a popular dance move currently, for a segment in the lipdub that York is producing. After this everyone was allowed to do whatever they wanted until we had to be on the bus again at 7pm the next day. Me and my three fellow tourists decided to walk along the wall that surrounds the Canadian side of the falls so ass to get it from as many views as possible the further along you got the more amazing they became. There is many a picture on facebook for you to admire but here are one or two for now:

 This one is currently the back drop on my laptop.

After this, and this did take a while we headed back into Niagara town where there were various things we could amuse ourselves with. We had been give fun passes  as part of the MAC deal and we spent the next few hours or so doing things from this which included a Ferris wheel type thing with a great view of the falls, a couple of rides, a scary haunted house type thing and a wax museum which was just a little bit awful but this did just add to it in a way.

That night it had been arranged that those of us over 19 (the alcohol age in Ontario) would be able to get into a local club for just the small fee of $5. Thus, we got dressed up and started the party in the rooms. Not long before we were planning to head out Monique and I remembered that the falls get light up at night and thus took a trip back down to them to get some more pictures this time of the water gushing in various colours. Upon our return we headed to the club. A few hours or so we returned and took to rooms to sit and chat with other people on the trip. I made several new friends that night and had a great laugh with them all :D.  It did mean though that I didn't exactly get much sleep, a few hours, before I was up and ready for another day of being a tourist. Monique and I had heard of an Adventure Pass that got you into 4 major Niagara falls attractions for one fee which was better than paying for them all separately. We started our day with a voyage on the maid in the mist. A boat which takes you to the bottom of the falls. It was almost indescribable. Crazy and awesome and so beautiful and powerful. I can't remember what order we did the next two in but they were the Journey Behind the Falls where you can go and stand next to the falls and go in tunnels a little ways behind then and see the water gushing down. The second was Niagara's Fury, an educational, 4D (?) experience in which you learn all about the creation of the falls with a young beaver. It's a lot of fun as you stand on a platform with a screen all around you and they make it snow and rain and the earth move. Our final stop from the adventure pass was the white rapids walk. It is a walkway that follows along the rapids that run further down the river of the Niagara falls. It was a really pretty route and I got some pretty cool pictures which I am having fun editing and messing about with when I get the chance.

We still had a little time to kill after this so Monique and I headed to the arcade to use the free tokens we got with our fun passes. We used them to play ticket games. We our now both the proud owners of a juggling ball with the Canadian emblem (a maple leaf) on it, as well as a few other bits and bobs.  Sadly after this it was time to return to the hotel grab our bags and board the buses. Once again on the bus an exhausted Jo tried to sleep but not even a weekend in Niagara would wear my bus companions out and once again sleep alluded me. Finally we arrived back at Tatham hall about 9 and all collapsed in our beds, finally finished being tourists and ready for bed. 

An all nighter, and no it wasn't for studying!

On Friday the 30th of September it was the grand final of the AFL (Australian football league). Due to the fact that I have become friends with many an Aussie here in Canada I was dragged along to a sports bar in downtown Toronto to watch the game. Now normally this wouldn't be worth a blog by itself but as is evident from the title, the game was not being shown at a civil hour. Due to the time difference between Australia and Canada, a game that started at 2 in the afternoon in Australia didn't start till midnight here in Canada. Thus having  arrived at the bar at about 9pm, we needed good seats, the Aussies take their footy very seriously! We waited around for 3 hours for the game to start, killing the time with good conversations, arcade basketball games and of course a round or to of drinks. The game itself, considering I am not really a sports fan, was pretty interesting to watch. If I had to describe it I would say it is almost a cross between our football and rugby. We had a couple of major supporters of the teams actually in the final but mostly the Aussies picked a team which their own teams disliked the least and cheered  those on. I followed Monique's example, and supported Geelong in their fight against Collingwood. This turned out to be the right decision, not only because they won, but also because I later found out that when my grandparents and uncle lived in Australia they had supported the same team as Monique does now, the Hawks!

The game finished about 4 am and it took us until about half 5 to get back to residence at York having taken a while to exit the bar and get everyone into either a bus or taxi. At this point you are probably wondering why we didn't just collapse in our beds, yes not going have loads of sleep but we could avoid the dreaded all nighter. Well, that couldn't happen because at 9am we needed to be down in the lobby ready to get on buses to go to Niagara. Now you're thinking well you could still get about 3 hours sleep get up get ready and go. Well no you see none of us had packed and so sleepy and a few rounds later none of us were in a state to pack alone and not forget something. Thus Lauren, Monique and myself spent the next few hours helping each other to pack our stuff for Niagara and then we finally got ready and headed down stairs to grab coffee and join the cue for the buses. Creating an all nighter that shall not be forgotten any time soon.

Classes, reading and mid-terms: what are they?

I feel like apologising for the lateness of these posts will become a habit of mine. I do apologise for how long this has taken but I expect to be posting several in quick succession which will catch you all up on what I've been doing and maybe go a little ways as to explain what exactly I've been so busy doing that I haven't posted.

Classes:

Classes here are very different from those I experience last year at Keele. Here I am taking four classes (first difference, they call them classes not modules) and instead of being an hour lecture and an hour tutorial for each like I'm used to, instead I have a 3 hour seminar for each. Basically, a seminar is like a cross between a lecture and a tutorial. The professor, there's a another difference: they are all professors and TA's here, stands at the front and lectures but then every so often he'll stop and it will go into tutorial mode and we the students will be asked various questions linking to the readings and such. All my classes, despite the 3 hour mind bogalingness are incredibly interesting and challenging on different levels.

Readings:

I never knew books could cost so much money. I know appreciate Keele's use of many an online journal so much more than I did before. Here they still love their books and something called a course kit. A course kit is a bunch of articles from different source all put together for our reading pleasure. This would all be ok if it didn't cost so much more than it does in the UK. Also, the amount of reading they do here for most subjects is about double that of what I had last year, even for required readings. All I can say is it's a good thing I love to read!

Mid-terms:

These are things we have vaguely heard about in popular culture but had never had the joy of experience. I was lucky enough not to have any mid-terms just an essay due in but many of my friends have been hit with weeks of studying for exams based on a few weeks of material. It just seems incredibly odd to all of us to be tested on part of the course now and then the rest in a few more weeks. Good news though, most people are coming out of them happy and pleased with their performance. Now, everyone is waiting to get their marks back and just hoping that marking isn't incredibly harsh here. These will be everyone's first assessments so we just don't know what to expect.

As exchange students we have the very difficult job of fitting these things in around experiencing all that this other country and culture has to offer. So far so good, we have managed to attend class, read and sit exams/write papers while have a blast. Here's hoping we keep it up!