Settling In Canadian Style

Two whole weeks done.  My bed with actual bedding (zebra print, if you were interested. So me).  Wearing a Carleton hoodie.  My photos on the walls.  A list of textbooks to buy.  Tickets for Carleton Homecoming sorted (my impression is that it’s pretty much a football game plus alcohol...facepaint could be involved? Who knows.  Probably lots of chanting and we know how much I love that). Overall, I feel like I’m here for the long haul.

The gradual acclimatisation to life out here has occurred.  I feel slightly less like an aimless wanderer with my mind constantly a ball of fluff, which is appreciated.  The classes have been registered and its all go from here as I now vaguely understand how to navigate campus (I even gave directions to someone today! It was to the university bar which says something, but still).

So far so good really. 

Ottawa’s sights are being discovered slowly but surely.  The canal is literally a thirty second walk from my halls (lesson: do not go running, sweatband, red face and all, when there are hundreds of people streaming through campus to get to their 8:30 class. I apologise to them. Not exactly a sight anyone would want to see that early in the morning... or ever).  Excitement is building for when the canal freezes and we can ice-skate from campus to Parliament (displaying all my skills learned from about two lessons when I was nine.  It’s going to be great).  However, having to wear a coat already mid-September makes it just terrifying thinking of what is waiting to descend on this country.  Literally, the phrase ‘winter is coming’ is extremely applicable. I have been told to be afraid, and I am.  

Other tourist events have included city luncheons, seeing the Ottawa light show on the Parliament buildings, visiting the rival university’s nightclub (basically the Canadian version of Exeter’s Lemmy. Fantastic) and copious amounts of Froyos (not exactly Canadian but it is becoming a weekly tradition out here). Oh and to add to the list of foods are the bagels (a cheeky cinnamon and raison with strawberry cream cheese as an evening snack, why thank you very much) and ice caps (frozen coffee to the British) between lectures.  It’s going to be a grand year (Beaver tails and Maple syrup treats are just some greatly anticipated events to occur shortly).

 Ottawa

To top off my two weeks of getting involved in Canadian life was a weekend trip to a cabin, by a lake, in the middle of some woods (in other words, the ideal setting for a horror film).  Nonetheless, this was the kind of stuff that I came to Canada for. Canoeing and campfires.  The small detail that the group was made up of twenty-one British and Australians does defeat the year’s objective of meeting people actually from Canada... Indeed, it was a slight ‘Oh yes we are in Canada’ upon hearing the bus driver’s accent on the return home.  Awkward but what can you do? 

So this weekend shall be filled with sorority parties, a paint concert/ party /thing, homecoming and tailgating (drinking out of people’s car boots. Classy right?), oh and a jello wrestling party. 

Now I’m the excited one.