Haunt!

Last night I had another new experience, I went to a Halloween event at a theme park.

Canada’s Wonderland hosts an annual event around this time of year called Haunt. The theme park is open late into the night so this means rides in the dark! There’s scare zones with actors roaming parts of the parks as zombies and other spooky things. Everywhere has been decorated for Halloween. And there’s themed haunted houses/scare mazes to walk though. As it was quite busy last night me and the friends I went with decided to prioritise going on rides over scares, generally the rides had shorter queues.

Out of the rides we went on my favourites were Leviathan and Minebuster. Leviathan is a rollercoaster that is really tall and drops and twists and turns if you like that sort of ride you’ll love it, it was a really exhilarating ride. Minebuster is a wooden rollercoaster, its drops are not as intense as some others but it is nonetheless a very enjoyable ride which really shakes you around, we went on it three times in a row!

Out of the scare mazes we only managed to do two, Sci-Fi House and Spirit Manor. Of course I wanted to do Sci-Fi House, it has aliens attacking a suburban house, why wouldn’t I want to do that! However out of the two of them I think I preferred Spirit Manor, it felt more immersive and it was a longer experience going through it.

We had a really good night, I really enjoyed myself. There’s no doubt that Haunt is definitely the highlight of Halloween 2017 for me.

My Haul – Heroes and My Favourite Villain in Toronto

At the weekend I went to Toronto. If you know me than you know that I cannot go to a big city without buying something so here’s a haul post detailing what I bought.

Last time I went to Toronto I bought Itty Bitty’s from the Hallmark in the Eaton Centre. I did the same this time. Maleficent is my favourite Disney villain, I just had to get her Itty Bitty given how fabulous she looks.

I didn’t like the Rey Itty Bitty that was released for The Force Awakens, however now the collection for this years The Last Jedi has been released and I think that the new Rey looks a lot better than the previous one. There wasn’t much question about adding the second best Star Wars character to my collection (we all know Leia is the best).

In my last haul post I mentioned that Tsum Tsum lip balms are now a thing. In Toronto I was able to track down Maleficent’s!

In my post about my day in Toronto I mentioned that I visited a comic café. From there I bought Volume 3 of the ongoing DC Rebirth Flash series. So far this series has been really good so I’m glad to add the latest instalment to my collection, especially as it was from somewhere so cool!

Every year Disney Store releases a collection of Disney Princess Christmas Ornaments and every year I buy one princess. I limit myself to only one of the princess decorations because otherwise I’d end up with hundreds of Disney Christmas decorations. I was really torn about who I wanted to buy this year but when I noticed that Belle and Tiana had already sold out I decided to take the plunge and buy Rapunzel. I really like how detailed she is and I love how they made her usual dress look a little more winter ready. Now in years to come when I get out my Disney Princess Christmas Ornament Collection I will look at Rapunzel and think of how I bought her in Toronto during my year abroad.

That’s what I bought this time during my visit to Toronto.

Toronto is Awesome

About a month back I went to Toronto. This weekend, to celebrate coming to the end of mid-terms I decided to go to Toronto again.

As with last time I traveled via Greyhound (which is a good way to travel). When I arrived I got a coffee at the Starbucks on the corner of the street where the bus station is and walked to the Eaton Centre Mall. The Eaton Centre is a really cool mall, honestly probably the best mall that I have ever been to. I had a browse around, bought a couple of things and had lunch there. There’s going to be another blog post coming up where I detail what I bought.

This time I decided to go to the Royal Ontario Museum (R.O.M). This is a fantastic museum that has an amazingly wide ranging selection of stuff. I like that it combines natural history (there’s dinosaurs) and classical civilisations (Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt for example). There’s a lot of eras that I have studied in history classes over the years but it is always interesting to see and learn new things. Also – as with the A.G.O which I went to last time – there’s a substantial selection of exhibits about the First Nations communities of Canada, it’s nice to see that the major museums and galleries of Canada are celebrating the people who were here pre-colonialization.

After that I decided that I wanted to get away from some of the more touristy areas of Toronto. I had a wander around Bloor Street and Yonge Street with the eventual aim of gradually making my way back towards the Eaton Centre. This ended being a longer walk than I had anticipated but I think it was worth it because I did get to see a different side to the city.

During this walk I came across what is probably one of the coolest places I have ever visited – a comic coffee shop! Of course somewhere I can get coffee and comics (two of my favourite things) is going to be a big hit with me! I bought a comic there and sat to drink a Poison Ivy coffee. This was a completely unexpected find but I am really glad that I came across it, definitely somewhere I will be going again.

I ended the day back in the Eaton Centre and the surrounding Dundas Square area. I just relaxed around there before I had to catch my bus back.

I had quite a busy day with a substantial amount of walking but it was undoubtedly a lot of fun. One of my aims this visit was to get to know the city of Toronto a little bit better than I had last time and I feel like that was something I managed to do. I definitely want to go again because Toronto is a really exciting and interesting city, even after two visits I feel like there’s still a lot more for me to do.

Surviving Coursework Season – In Canada!

Back in May I wrote a post called “Student Life - Surviving Coursework Season”, as I have just finished my first coursework season during my time studying abroad I thought I’d write a blog post about surviving coursework season in Canada.

First off, more accurately than it being coursework season this is mid-term season. Generally mid-terms are sit down exams. However I have been fortunate enough to only have had one out of the five classes I am taking set a mid-term exam. I prefer writing coursework essays to taking an exam as I do quite well with the whole process of researching, formulating an argument, writing and then editing.

As I just mentioned I am taking five classes this semester, back in the UK I only take three classes a semester. This does mean that I have more coursework to do over here but generally they have not been as long. All the essays I’ve had to write over here have been under 2000 words whereas back in the UK my essays have usually between 2000 – 2500 words long.

I am naturally quite an organised person and this is a very helpful trait to have when dealing with writing coursework. I keep an eye on when deadlines are on their way. I will always begin writing an essay with enough time to have a couple of days before the deadline to repeatedly go over it and edit it. The downside of being organised like this is that I then tend to become stressed out if I deviate from my plan, even if it’s just running a day behind schedule.

One real struggle has been that classes are still running completely as normal whilst all these coursework/mid-term deadlines have been occurring. This means that there’s still been the regular amounts of reading to do alongside writing essays. Usually in the UK a lighter load of reading is set for weeks when there’s coursework due.

However overall I have managed to adapt to the differences and once again have survived coursework season!

My Haul – Star Wars, Superheroes and Tsum Tsums

I’ve bought various things since I last wrote a My Haul post and I thought it was about time that I did a roundup of some of the stuff that I’ve bought recently.

Star Wars dolls are a thing now, this is awesome. However, despite the fact that they launched over summer I have only just bought my first one. This is Sabine Wren (she’s from the TV series Star Wars Rebels), she’s a cool character and she was really hard to find, however I managed to get her for a reasonable price online. She’s currently displayed with my Mulan doll (who I bought in Toronto), Sabine looks like she’s recruiting Mulan for the Rebellion.

I picked up the latest DC Superhero Girls comic from my local comic store. I’ve loved DC Superhero Girls since it started but I think this is possibly my favourite volume of the comic series so far.

Tsum Tsum lip balms are another thing that’s available. I have quite dry lips and so I use lip balm regularly therefore these are collectibles that are actually useful! I’ve got two so far, Olaf and Dory, however I know there’s more available.

It’s not winter just quite yet but fall is starting to set in and the need for warmer clothing is becoming increasingly apparent. Therefore when I saw that Walmart were selling Flash hoodies I obviously had to get one!

Today I went out to the Thrift Store. Last time I went I found the Supergirl DC Superhero Girls mini doll. This time I found Batgirl! Hopefully when I next go I can find the other three girls released in this collection.

So what I’ve bought over the past fortnight or so. I’m pleased with this lot.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I celebrated my first ever Thanksgiving!

Here in Canada we just had a long weekend (7^th – 10^th of October) to celebrate Thanksgiving. In Canada Thanksgiving takes place in early October instead of in November like it does over in America. The reason why is apparently because Thanksgiving is more about celebrating the Harvest over here in Canada. Going into the long weekend I didn’t really know what to expect because I have never experienced Thanksgiving before. But it turned out that I had a really great time and I really enjoyed myself.

Most people on my floor in my accommodation either went home for the long weekend or went off exploring places. As I’ve mentioned before usually my accommodation is very sociable so it was weird to find it so quiet, though it was kind of a refreshing change! I spent nearly the entire weekend with a couple of friends who live on the same floor as me and were staying for the long weekend. The three of us had a really good time together.

On Saturday we didn’t do too much, though I did go to a local farmers market which was really nice. I spent a lot of Saturday chatting, hanging out and just generally enjoying spending time with my friends.

On Sunday evening we had been invited to go to one of our other friends (she’s also one of my suitemates) home to join her family for Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a really good meal with lots of good food. We just had a really nice evening. Beforehand I know we’d been worried that it might be a little awkward but there wasn’t really any awkwardness. Once more the stereotype about Canadians being friendly welcoming people was proven to be true!

On Monday a lot of places were closed - as it was a public holiday - but we wanted to get out and do something. We found a local farm with a Corn Maze and a Pumpkin Patch was open and so we went there for a little outing. We managed to get lost in the Corn Maze but that’s part of the fun! It was a good harvest themed attraction which was nice to visit over Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday we had pancakes, we hung out some more and we went for a walk. There was also a second Thanksgiving dinner on a smaller scale than the big meal but on by the university. In the evening more or less everyone who had gone home returned, even though we’d all seen each other on Friday it was still good to have a reunion with all the friends I’ve made on this floor!

So that was my first ever Thanksgiving, as you can probably guess, I really enjoyed myself. I kind of want to bring celebrating Thanksgiving with me next year when I am back in the UK.

Niagara Falls and Other New Experiences in Canada

Can it really be over a month already since I arrived in Canada for my Study Abroad adventure? Apparently it is and so following on from ‘The Pep Rally and Other New Experiences in Canada’ I’m going to be sharing some of my more recent new experiences.

At the weekend (the one just gone) I went to Niagara Falls which was incredible. Going to Niagara Falls is one of those things that you just have to do whilst you’re in Ontario and I’m glad I did. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I went but it was just stunning. Seriously, Niagara Falls is amazing. I saw it from the Canadian side of the border which is apparently the better side to view it from (and not just because the Canadian side is in the better country!) Me and the group of friends I went with went on a boat trip where you go right up to the Falls (and get wet) and then we walked along the top to look down at the Falls. It was a great day out.

I’m trying new foods! Specifically Poutine. I had never heard of Poutine until I got here but apparently it’s a Canadian speciality dish. For my readers who don’t know what Poutine is basically it’s fries with cheese on top and gravy. At first I wasn’t sure about it but once I gave it a try I found that I actually liked it. I particularly liked the one I had with pulled pork on top.

Another recent new experience was going to Toronto. I talked about that in more detail in my post ‘I Went To Toronto!’ but it’s worth repeating because it was amazing.

Living in accommodation has been a positive experience. I’m actually making friends which is something I have struggled with in the past. I talked about this more in my post ‘Differences in Accommodation’.

A way from fun days out and new cultural experience I have also been having new experiences in class. I have night classes now which it turns out are not so bad. Work is more intensive other here, I usually have several smaller tasks each week as opposed to one big one at the end of the semester. This definitely has its advantages as it means there’s not the pressure to do one big essay which is worth 100% of the grade.

Also there’s midterm exams. I had my first one on Tuesday. It was kind of weird for me to be taking an exam again given I didn’t have any exams during Second Year. It turned out that it was nowhere near as awful as I’d been anticipating and I’m cautiously optimistic that it went well for me.

Coming up is a very new experience for me, my first ever Thanksgiving! In Canada Thanksgiving takes place in October, apparently this is because October is the time of the Harvest. This year Thanksgiving falls on Monday the 9^th. I’m lucky enough to have been invited to go round to a friend’s house to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family. I’m looking forward to experiencing first-hand what Thanksgiving is all about.

Overall I am definitely having a wonderful time out here in Canada. I actually think it’s better than I had allowed myself to anticipate it would be and I’m certainly trying my best to make the most of all the new experiences that come with being in a new country.

“You do know I’m gay?”

One of the strangest things I’ve found about being a gay student is the question of when should I come out to a new group of people. I have no problems anymore being open and honest about my sexuality, it’s just a bit weird to figure out when is the right moment to tell people.

In first year I remember that for the first few days I was panicking a little about how was the right way to come out to my flatmates. In the end I decided that the best option was to just leave a note on the fridge announcing that “Oh and by the way I’m gay.” I think that is probably still my favourite way that I have ever come out so far!

In classes I will often end up coming out if the module has an LGBT week, looks at themes of representation or talks about prejudice. Usually I end up sharing part of my own story and then in the process of sharing inadvertently end up coming out to the group.

Some people guess before I say anything that I might be gay, usually they won’t say anything about it until I actually say that I am gay. I wouldn’t say it’s the most obvious thing to guess about me but I think there probably are signs and things which indicate that I’m gay. Plus if someone has heard me speaking about Grant Gustin then it’s probably pretty obvious that I have an enormous crush on him!

One of the most recent occasions when I’ve come out was just saying “You do know I’m gay?” the other week whilst having a wide ranging conversation with a group of friends from my floor. It doesn’t always come up casually in conversation but when it does I often find it kinda funny.

Overall I don’t really mind having to come out. Being gay is just as much a part of me as having brown hair. I just find it interesting the way that coming out changes for me each time based on who I’m talking to and what the situation is.

One Year of My Blog!

Well today it is exactly one year since I wrote ‘Finally Starting A Blog’ and begun Doing It On My Terms.

I’m honestly slightly surprised that I’ve managed to make a full year of blog posts. Certainly if you look at the amount I posted in November and December of 2016 it does look somewhat doubtful if I was going to continue. However one of my New Year Resolutions for 2017 was to work more on my blog and develop it.

One thing that helped me to keep going was when I began the My Haul posts, I love collecting stuff and those posts have given me both the opportunity to share that love of collecting and the chance to show off my latest purchases. I enjoy writing reviews, the Doctor Who reviews where good to write each week and I’m also proud of my Wonder Woman Review.

Probably the post that I have linked to the most is ‘Why Tiana is the Best Disney Princess’ which I seem to have linked to every single time I’ve mentioned anything about Tiana.

Coming to Canada to Study Abroad has also given my blog a new lease of life, I have really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and opinions as I start to learn about this great country. Since I arrived in Canada my views have risen and I know my blog is being read by many people throughout the floor I live on.

I thought for the one year anniversary I would share what the five most popular posts on this blog have been (at the time of writing) and give you my opinion on them in retrospect.

5 – So That’s What Having Friends Is Like!

Honestly it has always slightly surprised me that this has always been one of the most popular posts I have ever written. It was only the second post on the blog and looking back at it I know I could have done better. However I think the honesty I wrote with was good and that sort of honesty is something I’ve always attempted to maintain.

4 – The Start Of Studying Abroad!

This was written pretty quickly because I’d had a goal in mind to write something in the first few days after I arrived in Canada. But I think it does a good job of concisely summing up what I was feeling in those first few days.

3 – Piecing Together The City

Before I began writing this post I worried that it might come across as being a bit too abstract however I think it did a good job of translating how I felt about getting to know a new city in a new country.

2 – Differences in Accommodation

I’m pretty proud of this post, and I am still happy in my accommodation over here. It’s quite appropriate that this post is in the same list as So That’s What Having Friends Is Like because the experience I’m having right now living in accommodation is what I wanted back in first year and what I was reflecting on in that post.

1 – Turns Out Night Classes Are Not So Bad

This is my most viewed post since I began the blog! If I was to guess why this post has been so popular I would say that it’s because the friends I’ve made in Canada are interested to see if they agree with my opinion on night classes and my friends back in the UK are probably curious about what night classes are like because we don’t really have them in the UK.

So, here’s to another year of this blog! I would be interested to know what my reader’s favourite blog posts have been. I hope you will all keep reading as I share my life, hobbies, and interests and just keep doing it on my terms.