The light at the end

It’s officially the last week of classes, which basically translates into: HELP!! By this I mean deadlines galore, both currently as well as ones looming in the imminent future. However, it’s not all dread and drudgery. In fact, I outright refuse to make this post about that! 

This time of term also gives students a glimmer of hope with regards to the nearing of the end of term and the beginning of holidays (also known as: the-time-I’m-gonna-spend-in-pjs-all-day-everyday-not-doing-anything-whilst-eating-my-body-weight-in-chocolate). There is a certain buzz that can be felt around campus with regards to exciting holiday plans, finishing up final essays (for those arts majors) and presentations (grouped to this final week for seemingly EVERYONE in business) and getting ready to have some well deserved R&R. I feel it too; when I’m not freaking out and scrambling to meet all my deadlines, I’m grinning away imagining and planning all the holiday activities ahead. I’ve even managed to get a head start by visiting the “European” Christmas market downtown (though I’ve never encountered ‘rotatoes’ in my 20 years of living in Europe…), confusing myself by singing some Christmas carols in Swedish that I've sung in Finnish all my life with our Swedish class, and spending a fantastic few days in Whistler during its opening weekend! Having never been to the Alps or anywhere with really big mountains (Lapland, you're great, but it's really not the same) I was stoked to go skiing in this former Olympic village! Although they only had four runs open during that first weekend, we managed to ski/board down some of the unopened ones too and each one was so much longer than the ones I’m used to which meant that it didn’t feel like I spent the majority of my time waiting in the lifts to be brought back up. The whole weekend was a blast – totally worth hobbling around like a duck for a few days afterwards with my tensed up calves.

              Market times                                  Pow pow and sun in Whistler

Besides all this merriment and excitement for the holidays, it is strangely sad that classes are coming to an end. Classmates with whom you’ve developed friendships and professors you’ve established bonds with over freaking out about essay questions have been instrumental in creating this place a home away from home and provided a sense of normalcy and structure to the otherwise often hectic exchange life- so on behalf of all of us, thank you to all you guys. <3 It’s also sad to think that some of the beautiful people I’ve met this term will be leaving in the next month or so. 

But before this gets too sappy, I would like to point out that fortunately (yes, I said it), we still have exams to take our minds off this for the next few weeks. Also, I believe everyone’s social calendars are slowly filling up with a myriad of end-of-term activities and events, which will allow us to have some more great times together before this term comes to an end!