A wee update on life in Canada

Okay so it's been a while since I last posted but I've just been so insanely busy with midterms and assignments that actually finding a spare minute to do anything is tricky!

So what have I done since last posting? Went horseback riding which was great, it was an absolutely amazing experience especially as it's just so peaceful and serene and there's literally no-one around you. While my horse was very like me in it's stubbornness which meant it quite often decided to go through bushes and trees rather than around them it was still fantastic, and very different riding Western style rather than British style. Also we were very lucky because it seemed we went on the last weekend on nice weather!

Now being British I'm sure you'll all understand I have to talk about the weather...in fact as you may have noticed from facebook statuses the weather is hot topic (or rather cold topic) of conversation amongst us Brits at the minute! While I've heard that some of you guys have had snow I feel like a true Canadian in judging your snow to not even count as snow! While we had a brief day of snow last week, it snowed again on Tuesday and this looks set to stay! It's been snowing on and off since Tuesday and temperatures have been -8 with windchill making it feel like -16...not exactly the gorgeous mid to high 20s we'd been having at the start! But it's okay because been on shopping spree and am now the proud owner of a hat, gloves, and snow boots (which are Uggs so filled with warm sheepskin!) I've never felt so toasty in my life! The paths are pretty okay now but still certain areas of them are icey death traps. I saw a Canadian run up and slide along on of these patches and just looked oh so casual and cool - I however resemble bambi. There have also been multiple observations of Canadians in shorts. This is not a valid life choice and they should rethink it.

Weather dealt with I can talk about all the other things I've been getting up to! It was Fay (one of the British girls)'s birthday so we went out to a lovely little Thai place called Delicious Thai (and it truly was delicious) then to Molly Malones where we squished more people into a booth than you really should! Booked onto the ski trip which'll be great fun, so excited to get out skiing! Went to see Perks of Being a Wallflower and cried excessively (such a good movie though!)

However, what I've spent a lot of my time doing is sewing my tardis dress. This weekend is halloween weekend so went out last night dressed as a tardis. I'm not going to lie it was an eventful night. First of all me, Hannah and Steph managed to get on the snowboard club party bus rather than the ski club party bus which was taking us to Roadhouse rather than Exchange! Awkward! Luckily the snowboard club people were very nice for boarders and gave us a free ticket which got us a free drink in Roadhouse. After that we got in a taxi to get to Exchange, luckily it was only a few blocks. Got there and reunited with the others. It's true that North America really does go all out on costumes for halloween! Got another halloween party on Wednesday (actual halloween) which'll be great!

I've probably done lots of other little things which I can't think of right now, shall try and update more regularly so no-one worries that I've fallen in the snow and become an ice cube!

Horse riding

So much snow!

Squished into a booth!

I wish I could actually travel in time and space!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Now I promise you I still have access to a calendar and am well aware that it is not even the middle of October yet but I've certainly been feeling rather festive recently. What is the reason for all this festive feeling I hear you asking? Well it's pretty simple. Canadians have this thing where they don't want to seem American, however they also like food. So they wanted Thanksgiving but didn't want to seem American, so as opposed to it being the third Thursday in November it's the second Monday in October. (They say it's that date because that's when the harvest is done up here, but really it's the American hating thing.) For those who have been living under a rock and don't know what Thanksgiving is, it's basically an excuse to visit your family and eat large quantities of food. I could tell this was a celebration I was going to get along well with!

Steph's lovely relatives had invited us over for Thanksgiving so I got to experience the full on Canadian version and I have to say it's amazing. Turkey and all the trimmings, plus bread rolls (apparently a tradition). I have to say as a student free food is always good, but free, home cooked food is even more amazing! Then came the moment of truth. Everyone talks about pumpkin pie, coffee shops start doing pumpkin spiced lattes, Dairy Queen does a pumpkin pie blizzard, Canadians are shocked and appalled that not only do we not celebrate Thanksgiving, but in fact we put pumpkin in soups rather than in pies... so it was with a little bit of in-trepidation that I bit into my first even pumpkin pie - would I like it? Would I have to leave Canada if I didn't like it? Why does everyone say it tastes sweet? However all my fears were put to rest. Pumpkin pie is amazing, so tasty! Slightly odd texture but just tastes sweet and cinnamon-y (I love the fact that cinnamon is so prevalent over here, so good!) Aside from the food it was also so lovely just sitting and chatting and feeling like part of the family. We were given multiple vouchers for money off things which they thought as students we might need, we were recommended places to go etc. and just once again Canadian hospitality shone through. Plus who can forget the hilarious moment when Finnegan the dog was discovered to have eaten through the cardboard box and eaten part of the apple pie!

But it's not just Thanksgiving which is making me feel all festive. We've had snow...twice! The first time didn't settle but the second time did! In fact it was kind of equivalent to the amount of snowfall we normally get in the south of England! I might have got ever so slightly over-excited about it! But it really is exciting to wake up and see snow! (Although my Canadian friends inform me that the amount we had does NOT count as snow...)

Aside from all the fun times the workload has really rocketed; lots of assignments and also done three midterms so far which is just crazy! All seem to have gone well but hard to tell before getting results! Still loving my time over here and trying to really make the most of it! Went to church for first time last Sunday and it was amazing, great service and really felt like St Silas (my church in Glasgow) so that was lush. Bible study group still going well, in fact we're all going for dinner on Monday which'll be great and tomorrow I'm off horseback riding in the foothills! EXCITING!

view of snow from my window