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.

Halloween is Over

Well it’s the start of November today which means that it is the beginning of Christmas season and the end of Halloween 2017. But before we completely say goodbye to Halloween I wanted to share a few thoughts about my Halloween in Canada.

In the weeks running up to Halloween there was quite a lot of anticipation amongst most people I know. Especially after Thanksgiving there seemed to be a lot of excitement building for Halloween. To be honest in the end more things seemed to be happening over the weekend instead of on Halloween itself, in the UK at uni we tend to do Halloween stuff both on the weekend and on the night itself.

For me Halloween really began on Saturday with my trip to Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland which was undoubtedly the highlight of my Halloween this year. I had a really good time.

Tuesday, Halloween Day went more or less as a normal day for me. This year for Halloween I was Clark Kent/Superman, I was actually going around all day in my costume just with the shirt buttoned up for most of the day. I guess the glasses really do mean that Superman can hide in plain sight.

It was more or less a normal day until I went to my night lecture, then suddenly about 5-10 minutes into the lecture the lights suddenly went out and there was a powercut. I’m 90% sure that the powercut must have been caused by ghosts. Either that or it was karma for scheduling classes on Halloween night. We got let out of the lecture and I walked across a darkened campus to my residence. Everyone was just gathering together and hanging out in the dark. Usually we’re a very social group in my accommodation however something about the dark made us all even more sociable than usually, maybe it was because without power we were all forced away from our screens. This was not how I expected my Halloween night to go but honestly it was actually a lot of fun. There’s something inherently spooky about being in the dark without power but then when you’re enjoying spending time with friend it’s even better.

So maybe I did not have the Halloween I had been anticipating but I have had a good one this year.

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 – 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.

Study Abroad – Two Weeks To Go…

In two weeks’ time I am going to be heading out to Canada where I will be studying abroad for the 2017/18 academic year. It’s very nearly here!

So, here’s a few thoughts and feelings about where I am right now in the process of doing a year abroad...

·         August seems to be flying by. It really doesn’t feel like it can be two weeks since I was writing about it being a month to go.

·         By this point I’m pretty sure I have everything I need to do sorted. I’m sure there might be something else that comes up but right now I am on top of everything.

·         I plan to be using holidays, breaks and weekends to travel about in Canada and America.

·         I’m really looking forward to experiencing a proper Canadian winter. I might not be saying that in January 2018 but right now I’m excited about proper snow!

·         One of the things I’m looking forward to is finding out about various cultural differences. Not just the big obvious stuff but the little everyday things too.

·         I also want to experience holidays and events that I’m familiar with (like Christmas and Halloween) in another country to see how they differ.

·         There’s going to be a lot of differences, even in the stuff I’m studying. I decided to use having a year abroad to take a different selection of modules to what I usually do.

I think overall I still feel excited more than anything else. There’s some nervousness but that’s always the case whenever I try something new. Studying abroad for a full academic year is a really exciting prospect and I’m looking forward to living in a different country!