Some of you may remember my post at the end last year where I talked about applying to do a year abroad. Well, just over a week ago I had my interview and then on Tuesday, on my way to a Taylor Swift concert, I got the email I'd been waiting for; I'd been accepted and I was going abroad. Only, I wasn't going quite where I was expecting. I'd originally applied to do a year in America with Oregon being my top preference so it was a bit of a shock to find that I would instead be going to Canada, Dalhousie University to be exact.
At the time, I didn't exactly jump for joy, it was all a bit of a shock and somewhat confusing and add in the factor that I'd forgotten my tickets for the aforementioned Taylor Swift concert, my emotions were all a bit up in the air. But the next day, once I'd had a chance to check out the Uni's website and actually have a think about it all, my excitement grew pretty quickly. I'm now at the point where I'm not really sure why I hadn't considered Canada in the first place because, like my Mum says, it may well be the ideal country for me. It's the perfect blend of the States and the UK with a little unique Canadian flare added in. They get all the things that attracted me to America without all the things that didn't. I won't have to worry about health insurance and I'll be able to understand the weather forecasts! Seriously, is 55 degrees Farenheit hot or cold cause to me it sounds toasty!
Going to Canada also means going to somewhere completely new and as terrifying as that is, it's also exciting. I've never really heard anything bad about Canada except the on running joke that they're overly polite but I'm british, Sorry is my middle name so I should get along just fine! My sister got the chance to got to Toronto, Montreal and Quebec about ten years ago and she absolutely loved it and we tend to like the same things so I'm sure it'll be the same with this.
The only thing I'm not overly looking forward to is the snow. I don't do cold very well but I think that also stems from us Brits refusing to really give in to Winter and therefore dress appropriately. A decent coat and some hefty snow boots are definitely at the top of my shopping list. Plus, the whole snow situation was going to be an issue pretty much no matter where I went so either way I'm just going to have to lump. Although at least it's guaranteed that once the snow disappears, summer will come. There is no such guarantee here in the UK.
I've got an exciting 22nd year ahead of me but until then I have a degree to finish so until then I'm going to have to attempt to push Canada to the back of my mind for the time being. Having said that, I have all the thrilling tasks of applying for visas and all that jazz but for now I need to keep my head here in Bangor and not get distracted. No mean feat I tell ya!
