My Haul – Shopping In Toronto

If you read my last blog post then you will know that I went to Toronto yesterday. Of course I did some shopping, it’s me! But what did I buy there? I’m going to share that in this haul post. As I said in my main blog post I didn’t really buy too much but I still feel like I want to do a separate haul post about my day out in Toronto.

The Eaton Centre Mall

This mall is a really cool mall, as I mentioned in my main post about Toronto I started my day once I’d arrived at the Eaton Centre Mall. This is the first time since I’ve been in Canada that I’ve been to a proper big North American mall. It was great for browsing as well as shopping.

Disney Store

Did anyone expect me to stay away from the Disney Store?

I bought the brand new Mulan doll in the Disney Store. What’s special about the new Mulan doll is that this is pretty much the first time since the movie was released that Disney have brought out a Mulan doll who is not wearing that pink dress. It’s good to finally see a Mulan doll that more closely reflects who the character is.

Also, can we just appreciate the Disney Store plastic bags in Canada? There’s Tiana, Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Rapunzel and Captain America on it!

Hallmark

To me, when I see a Hallmark it means only one thing. Itty Bitty’s! I managed to restrain myself a little and only bought two.

Green Lantern has very quickly become a favourite of mine. Funnily enough I was actually wearing my Green Lantern tee yesterday! His Itty Bitty has started to become increasingly rare so I was glad I could find him, especially as he was the last one in the store.

In a previous haul I mentioned how the Disney Itty Bitty’s have not really been released back in the UK. I found Anna yesterday so of course I had to get the Frozen princess!

And that is what I bought in Toronto, I said I didn’t buy that much! But I just wanted to share what I did buy.

I Went To Toronto!

I’ve been saying for a while that I am going to go to Toronto as it’s pretty close to the university where I’m studying. Yesterday was Homecoming Day, this involves sports and lots of drinking two things that I am not keen on. So therefore I decided that I wanted to just get off campus, and what better way to get off campus than to head out for a big city day!

I travelled via Greyhound which is new to me and a really good way to travel. We don’t really have anything like the Greyhound service in England. Not only was it a relatively quick journey but it was also a very comfortable journey, the Greyhound buses have a lot of leg room.

When I arrived I started in the Eaton Centre Mall, this is a really big mall with some great shops. It was good to wander around. I tried to restrain myself as I need to keep remembering that anything I buy over here is ultimately going to have to come back with me to England somehow but still I bought some stuff. (Of course I did!) I decided to have lunch in the Eaton Centre, I went to a Greek place in the food court which was really good value.

After I had lunch I walked over to the AGO (Art Gallery of Toronto). Over the years I have been to a lot of art galleries but I honestly think that the AGO is the best one that I have ever been to. It had such a good range of stuff on display. From paintings to sculptures to installations. The AGO has lots of ‘name’ artists like Picasso, Monet, Turner, Van Gogh, Brancusi, Matisse, Miró and Modigliani. Then alongside the classical artists there’s modern works that are both thought provoking and celebrating Canada’s First Nations Communities and the black community. I spent quite a while wandering around the AGO.

Afterwards I decided to walk down to the waterfront. It turned out it was a longer walk than I had anticipated. Although I found navigating Toronto on foot to be fairly easy, beforehand someone had hold me that everyone walks around Downtown Toronto and I can definitely see why. The waterfront is a really nice area. Had I not been conscious of the walk and the fact that I was going to have to do it again in order to get back to the bus station I could have spent a long time there.

Toronto is a great city, it is a busy city but it didn’t feel intimidating for someone on their own going there for the first time. I’d say that Toronto is fairly similar to New York in a lot of ways. However when I went to New York I found it to be dirty, bustling and a bit unwelcoming on the other hand I found Toronto to have more of a chilled vibe in comparison, once more Canadians prove the stereotype that they are generally genuinely nice people!

I really enjoyed my day in Toronto and I want to go again sometime. (Although even if I hadn’t enjoyed it I would definitely be going to Toronto again given DC are going to be filming there!) I kind of think of yesterday as a getting to know Toronto trip, it’s a big city and I only really begun to scratch the surface of it. I definitely want to go again so that I can get to know the city even better. 

Differences in Accommodation

I’ve talked before about new things in Canada. I even briefly talked about residence in my post on ‘The Pep Rally and Other New Experiences in Canada’ but this time I want to talk in a bit more detail about my experience so far with student accommodation in Canada.

I’m unsure if most of this stuff is specifically Canadian or if it’s just stuff I missed out on back in the UK. My first year accommodation was a very small group and it was university accommodation but it was off campus. There was just four of us for the first semester and five for the second semester. This was great when we were getting along with each other however if we had arguments and when we fell out it quickly became difficult and awkward. In second year I lived in a house with two other students, I did try to get along with them but sometimes people just don’t get along with each other.

And that brings us to this year. If you know me you probably know that I was hoping it would be third time lucky with my accommodation.  Well I think it has been third time lucky.

I live with a group of eight (including me) that’s more people than I’ve ever lived with before but so far I think it is working out well. There’s a fun dynamic starting to develop between us. Even simple stuff like this morning I sat at the table with one of my suitemates whilst having breakfast and we chatted whilst we ate. It feels like we actually interact more than the people I’ve lived with previously. And it’s just good to spend time with my flatmates instead of it feeling like a chore.

Just generally living in student accommodation over here is a lot more of a sociable experience than it ever was for me in England. As I mentioned previously it’s fairly common to just wander into other people’s suites and hang out with each other. I can’t quite decide if that’s because of where I lived, because it’s just the Canadian way or because I have become more confident and now actively seek out opportunities for socialisation.

It’s not just socialising, even the things within the accommodation itself are different…

·         There’s a laundrette to do your washing in. I’ve just lived in places that either have washing machines or we could rent a washing machine for.

·         There’s a store on the ground floor. We have our own little corner shop! It’s kind of expensive but it’s useful to have if you just want to pop out and get something.

·         There’s themed residences. I live in International House which is a mix of international students and Canadian students.

·         Our residence attendant actually interacts with us! In first year I think I saw our residence attendant about twice throughout the whole year, over here we have weekly floor meetings.

·         Weekly floor meetings. That’s another new one, maybe not the most exciting thing but it’s nice to get to see everyone.

So in conclusion, the residence experience in Canada so far is different but I’m enjoying it.

My Haul – Of Course I Bought More Superhero Stuff

I think it’s time for another haul of stuff that I’ve bought since being in Canada. As you probably guessed from the title I’ve bought even more superhero stuff since last time. I also have decided to continue the new formatting that I introduced in my last haul post.

Value Village Thrift Shop

I’ve been to a proper North American thrift shop! It’s a lot like what you’d expect them to be like. They’re absolutely enormous. From my experience I’d say that the biggest difference between a Canadian thrift shop and a UK charity shop is just the sheer volume of stuff. If you know me you will know I often have good luck in charity shops (like my 1997 Hercules doll for £1 or my Princess Jasmine plushie for 50p!) and my luck at finding stuff has followed me across the Atlantic.

I found a Supergirl mini doll. The DC Superhero Girls mini dolls were originally Happy Meal toys but we never got them in the UK and the postage made them too expensive on eBay so I was glad to find Supergirl over here.

Dollar Tree

This is a different dollar store to Dollarama which I went to in my last haul post. Dollar Tree is a lot more like the UK’s Poundland.

In Dollar Tree they had a whole selection of Disney mini figures. There were so many, however I wasn’t too impressed with how some of them were painted but of course I had to get my favourite villain Maleficent.

The Comic Store

I really love the comic store here. I know I mentioned this last time but it’s so true. It’s just such a cool comic store and they have a great selection of stuff.

They had a special offer on this time, back issues were only $1 each! That is really good value. I managed to stay (relatively) restrained and only buy 6 comics. Knowing me it’s no surprise that the Flash and Wonder Woman are both there! I also picked up my newer favourite Green Lantern. As they had quite a few issues of Grayson I decided to buy some, that’s Dick Grayson (the original Robin) once he leaves Batman I’ve wanted to try some of his comics but I’ve been unsure where to start but a dollar per issue seems like a good way to get started!

I have very little control with soft toys, though it took me about a week to cave in and buy Wonder Woman bunny! She’s very cuddly and as you can see from the pictures she’s the same size as the Flash bear I bought last time.

And that’s my haul for this time, of course I bought more superhero stuff. I’m interested to find out what I will buy next time I go shopping…

Turns Out Night Classes Are Not So Bad

Studying Abroad in Canada has changed slightly in the past week because I’ve started my classes now. I mentioned this briefly in my last post but now classes have really started so I thought I’d write a brief post about it.

I have no 9 AMs this semester! Even though some classes even begin at 8:30 AM over here. I am probably the only student in the world who doesn’t mind getting up for a 9 AM, in fact it’s unusual for me to wake up after 7:00 AM!  But that’s part of the problem with 9 AMs for me because generally I tend to find that with independent studying I am more productive after lunch time.

On the other end of the day over here in Canada I now have classes that begin at 7 PM and run until 9:50 PM! When I initially saw those times I was shocked however both of my 7 PM classes are on subjects which I really wanted to take which might end up influencing my dissertation, so I gritted my teeth and chose them anyway. Now that I’ve actually had my two evening classes I’ve found that it’s nowhere near as bad as I initially thought that they might be. Probably the only downside is that at the moment it’s still light when I go in but it is dark and beginning to get cold when I leave the class room.

One thing that I know that my family and friends back in the UK are probably wondering is what are classes like in Canada? Are they easier or harder than they are back in the UK? Well I’ve mainly had introductory classes so far but I will say that rather than being easier or harder Canadian classes are different. For example there’s more assignments throughout the semester however they’re generally not as long as assignments in the UK and having multiple ones contributing to the overall grade throughout the semester means that the pressure is taken off the final exam.

So overall even though classes have begun I am still really enjoying being in Canada and studying abroad. And it turns out that night classes are not so bad.

The Pep Rally and Other New Experiences in Canada

I’m writing this on Friday afternoon as my first full week in Canada draws to a close, I thought this would be a good time to reflect on some of the new experiences I’ve already had since I’ve been here.

First up, the Pep Rally! As you probably guessed from the title I went to (and participated in) a Pep Rally this week. For my non-North American readers a Pep Rally is this a big event that happens towards the start of a semester, groups go out onto the football pitch perform a routine that is set to a medley of songs and cheer for their group and the other groups. At my uni we were divided based on our residences, I’m in East Residence. One of our cheers was ‘WE HAVE KITCHENS’ because our flats have kitchens but not all of them do. Part of our routine was set to We’re All In This Together from High School Musical which was a fun song choice, of course I am happy that I live in one of the residences that got a song from a Disney movie! Another part of the Pep Rally was that we had to wear t-shirts in the colour of our residence as well as getting face paint put on. Most of us also wore bandanas, again in our residences colour. The Pep Rally was awesome, it was a lot of fun to participate in. I just can’t imagine anything like that ever happening back in the UK, there’s something uniquely North American about the Pep Rally and how everyone puts aside their cynicism and gets involved. There’s just so much enthusiasm and spirit for the university and our residence. I honestly don’t think I ever seen or done anything like it ever before.

I’ve been complimented on my accent multiple times! I have an East Yorkshire accent, normally in England I am never complimented on it. I’d even go as far as to say that I don’t really like my accent that much. However here in Canada I have received quite a lot of compliments on my accent. I’d even say that having an accent from Northern England gets more compliments than other regional accents from England.

Another new experience happened in my residence. I don’t know if this is something that is uniquely Canadian or if it’s just something that I never got to experience when I lived in university accommodation because where I lived in first year was a bit different. But it’s common over here that when you’re in on an evening to leave the door to your suite open so that people can just pop in and have a chat. I really like this and it’s a good chilled out way to spend an evening.

Then, on Thursday, classes began. After over a week of fun, international arrival stuff and orientation events it suddenly felt strange to be reminded that I’ve come out to Canada to do work. Going to class is obviously something I do back in the UK, if you know me then you’ve no doubt heard me boasting about my near perfect attendance and how one of the only times I’ve missed a seminar was to meet Mary Berry. So the act of going to a seminar is nothing new to me. However the way that they’re taught here feels different. It’s true that classes are larger over here. Also (and I think it does partially depend on the module) a seminar over here is more like a cross between a lecture and a seminar. The professor will talk and lead the class like in a lecture style however it will then pause to have smaller discussions as individual groups within the class.

I am definitely settling in well and I have really enjoyed my time over here so far. I hope that the new and interesting experiences are going to keep coming throughout the academic year. Also, if you’re wondering, yes it is true that Canadians are friendly people!

My Haul – The First Canadian Haul

So I think it’s probably time for a haul post with what I have bought so far in Canada. This time I’m introducing a slightly new format for the My Haul posts. For this post I’ve broken it up into which store I bought things from as I thought that might be interesting for my UK readers to see where I’ve been going.

Walmart

The local Walmart is approximately 10 minutes away from campus. As it’s the nearest big shop I have been there quite a few times to stock up on groceries and essentials. But I’ve not just been buying essentials.

The first time I went I bought a DC Superhero Girls fleece throw blanket. You probably know I love DC Superhero Girls and I couldn’t resist a blanket with Supergirl, Wonder Woman and Batgirl on. Plus I’ll need a big blanket when the Canadian winter hits.

On Thursday evening one of my friends and I went out for a wander. We didn’t have anywhere specifically in mind to go and we ended up in Walmart. This time I noticed this Mulan plushie. I couldn’t resist getting her, especially as she’s not wearing the pink dress!

The Comic Store

The comic store here is fantastic! It had a great selection of comics and merchandise, I think it is the best comic store that I have ever been too. I honestly could have spent so much money in there! I really had to restrain myself.

I got a DC Superhero Girls colouring in book. I didn’t bring a colouring in book with me to Canada so I’m glad I was able to buy one.

I also bought this Flash bear! He’s cute and very cuddly. I doubt anyone who knows me is particularly surprised that when I saw him I instantly knew that I needed to get him! I guess his secret identity must be called Bear-y Allen (I couldn’t resist making that pun!)

Dollarama

Dollarama is a bit like Poundstretcher back when Poundstretcher used to be good. It’s got a lot of stuff and it’s very cheap but not everything costs a dollar.

So Halloween is still quite a while off but Halloween stuff is showing up in a lot of stores. This includes Disney Princess Halloween tote bags. Yes, of course I had to buy one!

Old Navy

My favourite cardigans ever are from Old Navy so when I noticed that there was one in the mall I had to go. They have a great selection of stuff and I think I will probably get quite a bit of my winter wardrobe from them.

Today I bought this Green Lantern tee. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen a Green Lantern tee in a high street retailer before! I like the design on this one because it feels kind of subtle.

Piecing Together The City

So I’ve recently arrived in Canada for my year abroad and for me one of the most important things to get sorted (after all the admin stuff) is to start to piece the city where I’m going to be living together in my head.

By piecing together the city what I mean is the way that as you start to get more used to a new city it becomes pieced together in your mind. For example how the university is situated in location to the nearest grocery store and then how that’s located in relation to the main shopping area and the mall.

I’m not sure if I’m just misremembering but it seems as if it’s harder to piece together the layout of a Canadian city than the city I go to uni in back in the UK. It could partially be because I haven’t fully explored all of the city yet. I think there’s also a part of it that’s harder for me to piece the city together because it’s just different from the UK! Definitely the roads are wider than they are in the UK. Canadian cities – a lot like American cities – are laid out in a grid system, this makes it quite easy to navigate.

On Friday a couple of friends and me had decided we want to go to Wendy’s for dinner (we don’t have Wendy’s in the UK so this is exciting to us!). However we’d assumed that Wendy’s was quite far away and given we’d had a long day we weren’t sure about walking that far. But it turned out that the nearest Wendy’s was only a couple of minutes further a long from Walmart which we’d been going to a lot since we’d arrived!

I don’t know if this is a general thing with cities in Canada but here it seems as if the Downtown area is mainly full of independent stores. The chain stores are mainly in the mall and on the street surrounding the mall. This is an interesting change from UK cities where chain stores are increasingly pushing the independent stores out of business and away from the Downtown/City Centre areas.

Also, I have now located the comic store which I am obviously very pleased about!