Apple Picking

The incredible weather here in Halifax continued over the weekend which was lucky for me as I went on a beautifully quaint little apple picking trip with the other international students. We were picked up by a classic yellow school bus and drove for about an hour before arriving at Elderkin's Bakery and Farm Market.

First we decided which size bag we wanted to go for, 10lb or 20lb, before heading out to the many rows of apple trees. I can't remember which varieties we ended up going for, we kind of went for the "that looks like a nice apple" approach and slowly filled up our bags while chomping on a cheeky extra one while we worked. Hey, it was hard work in the heat. That's my excuse anyway.

After we paid for our freshly picked apples, we sat down for a picnic in the sun. We ended up sitting and chatting for the next few hours as there wasn't a whole lot to do once you'd done the actual apple picking. The organisers of the trip had anticipated us being able to go on a wagon ride but it turns out that they were only for primary school children. Yet more reasons why bring old sucks!

Somewhat annoyingly, we were told about a corn maze that was a short walk down the road. Annoying because they told us only 20 minutes before we had to leave so we didn't have time to actually complete the maze. I did get to meet some hay-bail minions though so swings and roundabouts!

Despite waking up the next day with a rather tomato-ed nose, it was a really fun day. I especially enjoyed getting out of Halifax and being able to see some of the surrounding area as well as all the trees that are now slowly turning all autumnal. Unfortunately, the weather seems to have now decided to turn cold but at least I managed to enjoy the sun while it was here! 

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Fun in the Sun

The weather over the past few days has been absolutely amazing here in Halifax, literally not a single could in the sky. My weather app has been saying that it's been about 24 degrees Celcius but I don't believe it. It feels much hotter! I thought I was going to die because of the cold not the heat, turns out I was wrong.

To make the most of the sun, Carolin and I went for a wander to the waterfront where we sat for a while before making our way further down to meet up with Liam and Lisa and eventually, Jack. We concluded our little dander by the sea with some ice-cream from Cow's, supposedly the best ice-cream in Canada. I mean, it's nice but it's not that nice.

As promised I have started to take some more pictures while I'm out and about so here are some from Friday. Enjoy!

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What's With All The Homework?

This is the first of a new style of post I want to incorporate into my blog. I want to look at some specific differences between life in Canada and that back in the UK. Don't worry, I'm still going to keep you up to date with the exciting goings on here, or at least I'll try to but the cultural differences fascinate me and so I wanted to write down my thoughts.

The first major difference I'm going to talk about, as I'm sure you can tell by the title is homework. The fact that I'm even saying that word is weird because homework is not something I have had to worry about since my days in Upper Sixth over 4 years ago (!) I even have a homework diary again! The system here is a weird mix between school and University and feels for me like taking a step back in terms of my academic independence. In Bangor, if I didn't do my required reading or my assignments, it was all on me and it would be my grade that suffered. While you're not about to get detention if you don't hand in homework here, there's still professors checking in and there's someone you have to explain yourself to. It's definitely been an adjustment.

Ooo arty photo of homework sitting at a jaunty angle on my desk with pen "casually" thrown on top ;)

There are, of course, advantages to the system, not that having someone to answer to is inherently a bad thing. Due to homework, class participation, mid-terms, assignments and finals, you're graded a little and often. This means that if you completely screw up your final, you have a load of other work to fall back on where as at home everything was resting on two or three assignments/exams. In fact, one of my modules in second year was entirely waited on a single exam. The system both increases and decreases the pressure. Lucky for me all of this is pretty irrelevant as I don't actually have to pass but I certainly do not envy the students here for having this kind of work load for four years.

I've only had two weeks of classes but already I'm having to organise my time far more carefully than I ever did in Bangor. It's easy with all the little homeworks to forget about the larger assignments and then of course there's the 40 pages of required reading for every class not to mention when you're supposed fit in life stuff like laundry, meals and socialising. How they have any time for extra curricular's I do not know. Granted I probably had a bit too much time to spare in Bangor, as my friends like to frequently remind me about, but surely there's a middle ground somewhere? I mean, is it too much to ask to be able to binge watch Orange is the New Black without permanently feeling guilty that I should be doing some homework or other?

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Freshers Week 2.0

Tomorrow is the day that lectures begin and with that Orientation Week is officially over and what a week it's been. I've already met an amazing group of people and have been able to finally have the Fresher's Week I never had three years ago. From some cheeky cocktails at The Split Crow, to an obligatory round of Ring of Fire to intellectual discussions in Your Father's Moustache. Seriously, the bars here have the weirdest names! It's been a pretty awesome week.

The daytime has been somewhat more tame with me mainly focusing on sorting out bank accounts, registering for classes and of course, catching up on The Great British Bake-off. It's definitely been a little weird being surrounded by all the Freshmen. They are, of course, away from home for the first time, at the very beginning of their University adventure whereas I am three years in and am nearing the end. While I'm excited to be here in Canada, it's a very different excitement to what the Freshmen are experiencing. Besides, even if it was the same, there is no way I would be able to retain the levels of energy, excitement and enthusiasm that the Canadians can without at least a few shots before hand.

I also feel like I've learnt so much already. Most, if not all, of the friends I have made so far are from Europe and for the first time in my entire life I actually feel European. Us Brits have far more in common with the mainland than we think we do. I feel like the shared language with North America helps to disguise what are some fairly significant differences in culture while the language barriers across Europe disguise our similarities. When I found out about all the insanely strict rules about alcohol consumption here, it was my fellow Europeans who empathised. It's also made me want to really try harder at learning German because everyone's English is so impressive even if they themselves try to say it isn't. Hopefully, my Advanced German class should point me in the right direction and maybe not before too long I'll be brave enough to speak German with two of my fellow exchangers, Carolin and Daniel.

As I've already mentioned, tomorrow I start lectures and I shall have to be up bright and early at the crack of 9am. Got to get back into the swing of things for the first time since about May but in actual fact I can't wait to get started. Knowing me, I'll probably end up doing more this year than I did the entire three years in Bangor but either way it doesn't really matter. After a year focussed on my dissertation, the pressure's off. I can just relax and enjoy learning something purely for the sake of learning.

By the way, I will put my hands up and admit that I am really bad for forgetting to take photos but I do promise to try and improve in the future. For my own sake as much as for this blog. For now though, here are a few pictures from my favourite night from the past week.

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Exploring Halifax

My first week in Halifax has come to an end as I have now officially moved into my halls of residence at Dalhousie. It's been a long week that has involved a lot of walking but I'm very glad I had the opportunity to explore the city with some moral support from Hannah before being left to fend for myself. I'm now able to navigate the main areas of the city without a map so I don't have to wander aimlessly down various streets looking like a lost puppy.

So far my main impression of Canada is that it lives up to it's stereotype of bring polite. I am yet to meet a rude Canadian in fact many will go above and beyond to help you out. Brits are also meant to be polite but ours is just reflex, we say sorry before we've even realised where as here it seems so much more genuine.

Halifax itself seems to, so far, be a really lovely city, particularly the boardwalk along which I was able to experience my very first snowcone! It was also the best place to get some obligatory Canadian tat. While it's definitely not the most exciting city in the world, it's a city that I think will suit me well. It's not massively overwhelming in terms of it's size which I'm thankful for having spent the past 3 years in Bangor which let's be honest is more of a town than a city.

One negative we did come across this week? Phone plans. They make no sense! It just seemed alien to us that we would have to pay to receive calls and also that emergency calls are standard but instead must be included in your contract. The one thing that truly boggled my mind is what was classified as long distance here which is basically any calls made to phones outside of Halifax, not even Nova Scotia! I don't think my mind can honestly comprehend the size of this country.

Overall it's been a fun week but I'll be glad once I've started lectures and have some sort of routine. However, before that happens there's Orientation Week. Hopefully I'll meet lots of cool people and will start to feel at home a little more.

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This Just Got Real!

I'm back! Have you missed me? I really am going to try my hardest to get back into the whole blogging thing this time but the primary focus is going to shift. I'm going to be using my blog to document my year abroad which is fast approaching. In fact, I have just booked my flight! That's right, on the 20th August I shall be on my way to Halifax, Nova Scotia!

The thought is absolutely terrifying. Now, the flight itself doesn't really bother me, primarily because I'm lucky enough to not have to go it completely alone. My sister, Hannah, will be flying out with me and then we'll basically go explore Halifax and have a bit of a holiday before I move into my halls of residence just before she goes home. What is terrifying is that this all sort of cements everything. Not that I thought I would, or even could back out but now I feel like it's a done deal. I'm going to Canada. For a year. Am I crazy?

I am, of course, excited as well. I've never been to Canada before and I can't wait to explore Halifax and get to that point where it feels like home. I'm sure I'm going to meet lots of amazing people from all over the world and will get to experience things that I didn't even know where a thing. I never really made the most of opportunities while at University here so I'm determined to learn from my mistakes and get as stuck in as I can.

Although my flight is booked, there's still a huge amount to get sorted before I leave, not to mention the behemoth task that is condensing my wardrobe into one suitcase. I've also got a very busy few weeks ahead especially in August with various birthday shindigs including my own.

I'm not looking forward to saying all my goodbyes, especially my friends. I was bad enough saying bye to them at the end of Uni. Many tears were shed by yours truly. I dread to think what I'll be like knowing that I won't be seeing them until December at the earliest. I can already tell that Skype and social media will be my best friend while I'm out there, especially when the homesickness hits. For now though, I'm not thinking about that. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my Summer and try and spend as much time with everyone as possible and not try to overthink and panic too much. I can't make any promises though!

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I'm Going To CANADA!

It's been a while since I last posted and a lot has happened since then including moving house which I probably shouldn't glaze over quite so nonchalantly but that's not why I'm here. No, instead I want to talk about some recent and very exciting albeit equally terrifying news and if you have yet to work it out from the title of this post, I'm going to CANADA!

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!

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New York Here I Come (Hopefully)!

Ok let's not get too ahead of ourselves, it's not for definite yet but I have handed in my application to study abroad in the States. Are you proud?

After writing my post a few weeks ago I thought about it all a lot and although I'm still nervous about various aspects of studying abroad, I had to admit to myself that I couldn't not apply. How often does an opportunity to spend a year in America come along? So, I did. It was all made somewhat easier when three of my friends decided to apply too which means even if they aren't in the same city as me, they will be going through it with me.

I still have to have an interview in February for them to decide if I'm a suitable candidate for the Study Abroad programme but fingers crossed they think I am. It's also more stringent for 3rd year applicants because of the fact that we've technically already finished our degree and so could easily drop out of the year abroad without any major consequences which would mean the University would have wasted a lot of money.

I've done the hard bit that could have been so easy for me to not do, to just forget about and move on but I didn't. I handed in my application and now it's out of my hands, it's up to someone else to decide whether I go or not.

The main downside if I don't get accepted is that I would have to decide what I want to do with myself once I graduate so let's hope I get to go so I can procrastinate for a whole year from that dreaded decision.

So this time next year I could be living it up in New York City! Scary but exciting!

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A Year Abroad: Yes or No?

Yesterday I found out that, despite being in my final year at University, I still had an opportunity to study abroad for a year. This information got me extremely excited as spending a year in the US is something that has always seemed inviting to me.

I came out of the talk about it all extremely excited but now that I've had time to think about it I've realised just how big of a thing this would be for me to do. So, I've decided to run through some of my thoughts on here so as to try to make an informed decision but also so I don't just sit and worry and talk myself out of it just because I'm scared.

Worlds Away: I mean this less in terms of the literal sense and more in the metaphorical. There's about 6 different Universities that I could choose from but all of them would be so different to where I live now. It was a big enough jump for me to move to a city (and when it comes to Bangor, I mean that in the loosest sense of the word) as I grew up in the middle of nowhere and attended a very small school. So, moving to somewhere like New York for a year could be incredibly overwhelming.

Food: I'm a pretty fussy eater, I'm trying to improve but it's slow progress and when I went to Florida in May, my diet basically consisted of chicken or turkey burgers. This is absolutely fine for two weeks but for a year? I've already looked at the food that's on offer in some of the Uni dining halls and it definitely made me concerned that I'd end up living on various forms of potato.

Confidence: This is one of the positives of going. It may be the scariest thing I will ever do in my life but surely if I can prove to myself that I can do that then anything else will be like child's play. At the moment the thought of even going to an interview and starting a new job seems terrifying but I'm sure that if I can stick it out in the States for a year then an interview will seem like a doddle. But on the other hand, if I can't even cope with an interview how am I going to cope with living in a foreign country on my own?

Experience: If you looked at my CV you'd think I'd literally done nothing with my life which isn't too far away from the truth. I've had a very comfortable life and have never really had to set foot outside of my comfort zone and I am yet to fully experience and appreciate what life is like outside of it. When better to start than when I'm not held back by any commitments or just life in general?

Flying: Flying doesn't bother me in the slightest but what does is transfer flights. I've only ever taken a transfer flight once and I was with my school so it was the teacher's responsibility to get me to my next flight not mine. But I think this would be one of those things that once I've done it once it's fine. Before I came to Uni I avoided having to change trains like the plague, now I've done it that often that I actually sometimes choose trains with changes so I can get there faster.

Learning: Because this doesn't involve any transfer of credits I would be allowed to study whatever I wanted, within reason, which is extremely inviting as that is one of the things that I don't like about UK universities; we have to focus on one particular subject from the beginning. However, if and when I go, I'll have completed my degree here at Bangor so I wonder whether I'll actually want to go back to University having handed in my dissertation and got that sense of relief that it's all over and then bam I'm back in a classroom studying for finals.

Make My Mind Up: Spending a year abroad would allow me to have an extra year to really think about and decide what I want to do with my life but again, am I just putting off the inevitable and wasting more time getting an even bigger debt as opposed to just getting a job and starting to actually earn a living?

Destination: My final issue is with choosing specifically which University to go to. I know it's only for a year as opposed to 3/4 but it's still an important decision and there are pros and cons to all of them, for example, Pace University in New York is in a city that I've been to before, it's the closest to home and doesn't require a transfer but it's New York, one of the most populous cities in the world and therefore absolutely terrifying! 

Like I said before, I don't want to talk myself out of going just because I'm a bit scared but I definitely think I'm going to take my time in deciding whether or not this is what I want to do. No matter how you look at it, it's a huge step. I've just got to decide whether it's the right step and/or one I'm ready for.

Sorry for such a long and wordy post but I really needed to just write all of this down somewhere so that I could see straight so I hope you don't mind. If you have any advice for what you think I should do then feel free to let me know in the comments below :)

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