I’m almost halfway through the exchange portion of my trip and I’ve been away for two months.
I’ve been so busy trying to keep up with my social life, recovering from my social life (hangover…anyone?) and trying to keep up with studies while I’m at it.
Last weekend I had a fun night, at bit too much fun because I paid for it the next day… With an advanced physiology (of muscular metabolism and cellular physiology…piece of cake, right?!) exam looming in 3 days time, a days worth of study went out the window.
I woke up at 5am on the morning of my exam for a last minute 2 hour cram session… I procrastinated with a couple of pieces of toast followed by a coffee. As I lifted my caffeinated kick-start up to my lips, my computer started up and the wonders of living in a snow-covered town came and saved the day! My first snow day! I went back to bed and was too excited at my exam being postponed for another two days to sleep for the next hour.
The snow is good, but my knees are black and blue. I’ve fallen twice on the ice. The first time was in a secluded car park behind my apartment, the second, trotting across the road in front of traffic to make the pedestrian lights and a bus… we missed the bus, and it was night time so as I fell I had traffic lights to add act as my multi-directional spotlight.
I had my first wings experience the other night. It was worth it at the time, but the 10g of fat per wing; which we had been taught about in nutrition, hit later in a double whammy grease ball combined with chili cheese fries.
Everyone is obsessed with wings and hockey here, they go hand in hand like pies and footy at home.
I was speaking to a room mate of one of my fellow international students. Apparently he, like many others, likes his wings hot.
When I say hot, I mean hot… Its not like the lame peri-peri sauce at Nado’s or Taco Bills at home. This is sign a waiver form in front of the chef while he hands you bright yellow wings with latex gloves to wear while you eat them. Alex told me that by the fifth wing, his eyes were watering and his mouth was completely numb.
I’ve also been educated in school bus songs, uni style. So the main difference between school sing-a-longs and the uni ones is pretty much alcohol and slightly dirtier topics.
This all started on what is called a “kin tour” (the course I’m taking is technically called kinesiology here, not exercise science). Basically, you dress in flannel shirt, drink, jump on a bus together, sing and laugh, go to a random country bar 45mins away called stampede ranch and drink some more until your comfortable enough to dance to random country songs by Keith Urban, Taylor Swift and god knows who else. Drinks for the night $35, coat check $2, getting a photo with the security guard in his cowboy hat and belting out Taylor Swift with your new Canadian friends- priceless.
The Algonquin park trip didn’t go ahead L. To make up for it Pat and I are visiting Em’s cottage about 1hr from Toronto then joining Peter (crazy dutch exchange student) and a couple of the French exchange students at a lake front cottage in Quebec about an hour from Montreal. So the week should be filled with snow shoeing, ice fishing, cross country skiing, dog sledding, ice-skating, snow-mobile rides and maybe even some horse riding.
Other than all this, there have been adventures at the club on campus, a super bowl night, birthdays and much more.
Hope the crazy Australian weather backs off a bit.
Love me. xo
