A Quick May Life Update

Just a quick life update post to make up for the lack of recent blog posts…

First off, sorry for not blogging much this month. With being on holiday, returning to England, and sorting out various admin stuff, I haven’t really had the time or the inspiration to write a blog post recently. Hopefully that is going to change soon.

As always it feels slightly strange to be back in my home town after the end of another academic year. I live in a small seaside town and there’s a definite contrast when I return there from university. Particularly when I’m returning from another country!

Despite the fact that I have left behind Canada and I’m now in England again I haven’t really experienced any major feelings of cultural displacement or culture shock or anything like that. I think that doing a year abroad definitely proved to myself just how adaptable I can actually be.

I recently bought myself a sewing machine! I love sewing and making things so it was about time I finally bought a sewing machine so I can take my craft projects to the next level. As a test I made a couple of basic doll dresses for my Elena and Megara dolls which I think came out well. Future projects with my sewing machine include more doll crafts and starting to make my own cosplays!

The Final Post About My Year On Exchange

It’s all over now. My year on exchange in Canada has reached its conclusion and I am now back in England. This is (probably) my final post about my year on exchange.

Going to Canada for a full academic year was initially fairly daunting but I am really glad that I did it. There were some really good moments both semesters and overall it was a fantastic experience. The experience I had living and learning in Canada was definitely different from what I am used to in the UK. I did have to confront unfamiliar situations but to be honest I never got really homesick and never experienced culture shock. If anyone reading my blog is considering doing a year abroad I would wholeheartedly recommend that you do one.

Whilst I liked the university where I studied in Ontario, I am looking forward to returning to university back in England this September. I think the place that I miss the most is Toronto. I just had a wonderful time every single time that I went to Toronto. In my mind I am going to go back to Toronto at some point.

So what’s next for me? Well I have a long summer break ahead of me. I already have some plans to keep myself busy, I’m sure I will end up writing multiple blog posts about what I do over this summer holiday.

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.

Christmas Eve

Well, once again it’s Christmas Eve and once again December has flown by! I thought I’d just do a brief post to share a few thoughts about it being Christmas Eve.

Advent always passes by so quickly, and I think it goes even faster as a student. It does not feel like it was 24 days ago that I was in Canada in my residence having a Christmas party with my friends who I live with. This advent has been a weird one for me. It started in Canada when I still had classes, then I was into finals, then flying back home and now I am back in England.

I love Christmas, even at 20 I still get very excited by it. There’s some traditions that me and my family always do at that time of year, such as how I’ve watched Muppet Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve every year since I was about 5!

So have a Merry Christmas (or whatever else you celebrate) and thank you for reading my blog!

Being Back

Well I’ve now been back in England for a couple of days. As soon as I knew I had a relatively long Christmas break I knew that I would be spending it at home.

I left my residence around 10:30 AM (Canadian Eastern Time) on Saturday (16th Dec) and I wasn’t back in my home until around 2:30 PM (GMT) on Sunday (17th Dec). It was certainly a very long day! Though somewhat surprisingly I managed to not feel too jet lagged. The lack of jet lag surprised me as it lasted for days when I arrived in Canada but returning to England it just didn’t happen.

I have really enjoyed my first semester in Canada. I made some really good friends out there who I have enjoyed spending time with. I had some really good new experiences. Amongst the highlights are the Pep Rally, Niagara Falls, Toronto and Thanksgiving. All of these were unlike anything I have experienced in England and I made some great memories.

To my surprise I didn’t really experience any culture shock or home sickness. Literally all the pre-departure information I received said that at some point you will experience culture shock or home sickness but for me that just was not the case. Maybe it was because I was having a good time that even though I missed certain things about being home it never became overwhelming. Or maybe I’m just more resilient than I realised.

I really enjoyed my first semester out in Canada. I am so glad that I opted to do a full year as that means I have another semester to look forward to. But for now I am going to enjoy Christmas break. 

The Start Of Studying Abroad!

Well it’s finally here. I am now in Canada beginning the start of my Study Abroad experience. So far I’m beginning to settle in and get used to things over here. Right now it is currently the start of my second full day in Canada and I thought it was time to just share a few initial thoughts about how it’s going so far.

At the moment it sort of feels like I’m out here for a holiday and not here to study. Speaking to my fellow exchange students I’m not the only one who feels like this! I suppose at the moment it is sort of a holiday, classes don’t begin until Thursday next week and right now I’m partaking in the international students welcome events. Obviously academic work is coming up soon but right now it’s more about being relaxed, getting used to things and having fun.

The weather out here is lovely. Since I landed I’ve enjoyed more sun over the past few days than I did the entire summer back in England! Generally you don’t think of Canada as being a particularly sunny country however from my first-hand experience I can tell you that it definitely is sunny! I know that a long, cold, snowy winter is coming but right now I’m enjoying the sun.

There’s many differences between Canada and England, I probably end up writing many posts about cultural differences. However one of the biggest differences that keeps hitting me is just how big everything is over here. The campus is enormous! At least four times as big as my Uni’s campus back in the UK. I’ve walked across quite a lot of it and still barely scratched the surface of just how far it extends. By the end of the year I will have done so much walking!

So far so good and I’m looking forward to finding out what is going to come next!