A Little More Canada Before I Leave

I’ve finished my academic year. But even though I am done studying abroad I’m not heading back to England just yet.

My parents flew out on Friday – the end of the semester – and we are having a family holiday before I leave this country for good. We started with me showing my parents around the town in Ontario where I have been staying. It was a really nice way to say goodbye to the place where I have been living since last September.

Also whilst we were in Southern Ontario we went down to see Niagara Falls. There was evidence of the long winter and repeated freezing spells in the large chunks of ice that had formed around the base of the falls. However Niagara Falls was just as stunning as I remember. If you are ever in the area you really need to see them.

The second leg of our journey took us away from Ontario to the Pacific Coast. We landed in Vancouver, British Colombia.

There’s no denying that Vancouver is a stunning looking city. The entire city is located on a waterfront, and when you look to the North there’s mountains. I don’t think I have ever been anywhere else like this. But whilst the city does look amazing, I honestly I don’t actually think Vancouver is that great. It is a great photo taking city, but in terms of things to do I just wish that there was something more.

However, in Stanley Park I saw four raccoons! Raccoons are my absolute favourite animals. But in my entire time at the university I only saw one briefly. Yesterday I saw four and one of them came really close to me! One of my best experiences in Canada.

New Experiences from Studying Abroad

Part of the reason why I wanted to do a year abroad in the first place was to have new experiences in a different culture. I thought living in a different country for a full academic year was going to be a fantastic chance to get to experience things I had never done before. I have definitely got to have some new experiences whilst I have been studying abroad, now as the academic year comes to a close I am thinking back to some of the experiences that have really stood out to me.

 The Pep Rally          

This was just like nothing I had ever experienced before, I doubt back in the UK I will ever experience anything like this ever again. I used to be a massive Glee fan so getting to perform a dance on an American Football field was pretty cool for me!

Toronto

I’ve been to Toronto a lot of times throughout the academic year and I love it, I’ve had a great time every single time. It really is a fantastic city to visit and I have enjoyed my visits there.

Thanksgiving

Being British I have never experienced Thanksgiving before so I didn’t really know what to expect. I had a really good long weekend and got to spend a lot of quality time with the friends I’ve made over here.

Haunt    

Halloween is increasingly becoming more and more of a thing back in England, but for Halloween 2017 I went to a Halloween event at a theme park which was a new experience for me and a lot of fun.

Christmas Party

Every year at university wherever I have been living, we have organised a Christmas party of some sort. This year was no expectation, although I think 2017’s was one of the very best. Everyone pulled together to organise it and we had a lovely evening.

Snow (at first!)

At first it was actually really exciting to experience proper snow. As the winter wore on I became increasingly less keen on snow. But I have not been short of excuses to make Frozen references!

Toronto ComicCon

One of the best things I have done this year was Toronto ComiCon, I just had such a fantastic time. It was an unforgettable geeky experience.

Finals Are Here (And Then I’m Gone)

It’s Finals season again. Well, actually it’s finished for me. Yesterday I had my last exam, though it’s not quite over yet as I have a take home exam to submit on Wednesday.

Since classes finished, finals and getting ready for finals is pretty much all my life has revolved around. Every day I’ve either been working on a final essay, taking an exam, or revising for my next exam. My coffee addiction has returned in full. About a month back I was only having one or two cups of coffee a day. Now I’m back up to about three or four cups of coffee a day! (Safe to say I love coffee!)

For the first time in quite a while I was actually getting pretty stressed about one of my exams. Usually because of effective revision and stress managing tactics I manage to stay pretty calm about exams. But this time I started to worry, mainly I was worrying because I wasn’t sure if I was targeting my revision at the right parts, and even though I had been to every class I couldn’t relearn the entire course. Despite the stress I think I still managed to do pretty well, I know that I did that my best.

I think at the end of the day that is what is truly important with exams, to do your best. There’s always going to be that part of you thinking ‘I could have done that’ or ‘I should have learnt that’. But as long as you tried to revise and you did the best that you could, I think that is what matters most with exams.

It’s interesting how everyone has their own way of getting ready for an exam. I know some people like to revise hard right up to the last moment, that just makes me more stressed and I think if you have attended the classes and done your revision then there’s nothing that you can learn in the last couple of hours which you shouldn’t already know.

I’ve found that the way for me to get ready before for an exam is to de-stress as much as possible. I like to just completely unplug and put away the books about two hours before my exam so I’m in a calm head space when I go into the exam hall. This academic year I’ve really got into the habit of reading a comic before my exam, particularly DC Bombshells. I also like to try and avoid listening to music with words before an exam so I don’t get random song lyrics stuck in my head for the duration of the exam. Particularly since about 2012 I listen to I Am The Doctor from the Doctor Who Series 5 soundtrack before I go into an exam, it always manages to get me motivated.

Everyone seems to have a different reaction to exams and finals, but for me the most important thing is to just try to stay calm, and do the best that I can.

Thinking About Returning To England

Several of my recent blog posts have talked about how my Year Abroad is approaching its end. But what about once I’m back?

I have a really long summer break this year. I break up from University significantly earlier than I do in England. I then don’t return to Uni until towards the end of September. It’s going to be a long one. I do have some plans to keep myself busy and stop getting bored. I have a few projects in mind that I want to work on other summer. I also want to make a start on researching for my dissertation. There will likely be numerous blog posts over the summer about what I am getting up to.

When I am back in England I am definitely looking forward to the weather. (Never thought I’d type that!) But at this point anything over 5 degrees feels warm to me! Seriously, the Canadian winter just drags on and on and on. It was fun at first but after a while it just becomes tiring.

It’s going to be nice to get to spend some quality time with my parents again. Obviously I miss them when I am away. This semester has been the longest I have ever gone without seeing them, even though we regularly speak on FaceTime that’s not really the same as actually seeing them. I am pretty independent so I can cope on my own, and I always know that my Mum and Dad are happy that I’m off having fun, doing well, and living my best life. An important part of the university experience is about living on your own and having space to grow, I know that I have grown as a person from being independent. However at the same time I am close with my parents, I’d say we have a healthy, happy and positive relationship. I think that’s how it should be with your parents when you’re a student.

I have definitely enjoyed studying in Canada, it’s been interesting taking different courses and learning in new ways. But I have also missed my uni back in England and I have missed my uni city. I am looking forward to going back there in September.

There’s other little things that I’m looking forward to when I go back, such as good quality instant coffee. Canada just doesn’t do good quality instant coffee.

I would say that rather than focusing on the sad parts of leaving Canada I am choosing to see the positive side and think about what I am looking forward to once I am back in England.

Thinking Back to Wanting to Study Abroad

As I have mentioned before, my year abroad is rapidly approaching its end. It’s sort of funny how something I’ve been thinking about since 2014 is going to be completely over and done within a month.

I was thinking about studying abroad pretty much as soon as I started to seriously look through university prospectuses. I just knew that I wanted to take the chance to go out and study in another country. When else in life do you really get the opportunity to experience another country in the way you can as student studying abroad? In fact part of what sealed the deal for my uni and the degree that I am studying was that I could have a full year abroad instead of the more typical single semester.

Throughout last year I wrote quiet often on my blog about the process of getting ready to go on my Year Abroad. From submitting an application to getting a Study Visa, it was a long process. However it was not a continuous process, sometimes months went by with nothing happening and then I had about twenty different things to sign and submit all at once. The process of getting ready to go out made it feel like it would be a long time until my Year Abroad happened, then before I knew it I was sat in my bedroom with my parents figuring out how to cram everything I needed into a suitcase and a hand luggage bag!

I am really glad that I could have a full year. If I had only had a single semester then I would say the first semester is the better one to go abroad. There’s one major benefit to going out for the first semester and that is everyone else is new, as everyone is sort of in the same boat it’s a lot easier to make friends. I’m also glad that I didn’t chose to do a split year at two different universities as the stress that would have involved would probably have been too much for me.

There have been some trials and tribulations along the way, but ultimately I don’t think I would have done it differently. This year has probably not been what I was anticipating back in 2014 (for instance at one point I was convinced I would be in sunny California not snowy Canada!), however I have enjoyed my study abroad experience.

Moana Revisited

When I saw Moana at the cinema back in 2016 I was pretty unimpressed. I know my review did not exactly line up with other people’s opinion of the film. I haven’t watched Moana since I saw it in the cinema, until now. So having revisited the movie I thought I would share my opinion of what I think of it now.

To get straight to the point, I was wrong. My original opinion was wrong. I think when I saw it originally at the cinema I was expecting a movie like Frozen. Moana is not Frozen. I think it actually has a lot more in common with Mulan. Personally I prefer Frozen, however Moana is a good movie. It’s not the best Disney movie ever, it’s not my new favourite Disney Princess movie, but it is a well told ‘chosen one’ narrative. I am glad I finally watched Moana again and without that notion of expecting it to be Frozen.

Moana herself is a great character, very likeable. She is very determined, competent, intelligent, opinionated and passionate, but she is also flawed, and has moments were she struggles which helps make her feel like a well-rounded character. I think Moana can truly stand up with the best of the Disney Princesses – like Merida, Anna, Elsa and Tiana. Next time the princess dolls go on offer I need to add Moana to my collection…

I still think some of the songs are weak. You’re Welcome is far too auto-tuned, I also don’t find it funny and overall it makes me dislike Maui. Shiny disappoints me, it sounds like a poor attempt at the classic Disney Villain song, such as Poor Unfortunate Souls or Friends On The Other Side. However my opinion on How Far I’ll Go has seriously changed, I don’t think it is as good as Let It Go or Almost There, but it is a pretty good song and a great expression of who Moana is as a character.

I am still not entirely sold on Maui. A lot of his humorous moments fall flat for me, the Twitter joke still really makes me cringe. However I can appreciate his character arc more than I did previously. Despite my lukewarm reaction to Maui, the movie is really Moana’s story and so he is ultimately of secondary importance.

In conclusion, I was wrong. Moana is so much better than I had originally written it off as being. I am glad I finally decided to give Moana a second chance.

My Year Abroad is Racing to Its Conclusion

Somehow it’s already the last week of classes, as of Thursday afternoon at 4PM I will have finished classes for third year.

Right now I’m sort of shocked that it can already be at an end. It’s only really within the last week or so that it has actually hit me just how close to the end of the academic year I am. I think part of the reason why I’m disorientated is that in Canada there’s no spring break. Back in England we usually have four week spring break around whenever Easter occurs. This year there’s no spring break which just seems really odd to me. In fact there was only one day off for Easter which was Good Friday, and the way my timetable has worked out this semester meant that Friday is already my free day.

Usually I’m more aware of when the end of the semester is approaching as I am usually working on coursework (or more accurately for me editing and revising coursework) right up to the final few days of the semester. As I mentioned in my last blog post, despite a horrendous amount of deadlines throughout March I was able to stay on top of my coursework load thanks to some forward thinking planning.

Classes conclude at the end of this week, then from Monday onwards Finals Season begins. But once I have done my last exam – which is a take home exam – I am finished for the academic year. I’m somewhere between nervous and confident for finals, I know I still need to do a good amount of revision before the exams start.

Of course as we approach the end of another semester and another academic year I can’t help thinking over what has happened and what I have done this semester. Without a shadow of a doubt the highlight of Second Semester has been Toronto ComiCon.

In the coming weeks there will probably be numerous posts reflecting on how my year abroad is coming to an end, dealing with finals and reflecting on what some of the highlights of the year have been. However I just wanted to do a quick post about how my year abroad is racing to its conclusion.