Winding down and racing through- my story’s end here, for now

It’s been a while since I last wrote, my apologies, but the past few months have simply flown by in the blink of an eye for me. Term time was a blur of hilarities with friends, and exciting new experiences (like going to a Canucks game [and seeing Koivu play on the opposing team]) in the midst of course work and exams. Then before we knew it finals were upon us, then done with, and it was time to move out of the little pods of comfort we had made for ourselves into the concrete blocks we had come to call home during the last two terms.

Perhaps then, for a nostalgic like myself anyway, it was fortunate move out day was so chaotic and stress-filled that it didn’t allow for too much grieving of the “end of an era”. As we all stumbled over our belongings, frantically squeezing with them into the seemingly shrunken elevators now filled to the brim with people (most of whom, by the way, I swear didn’t live there all year) and luggage to try meet the ludicrous deadline of being moved out by noon, the last thing on my mind was “aw, isn't it sad that we’re all moving out”. The hassle didn’t end there, of course, because now we all had our stupendously overfilled bags on us, having to find places to allocate them for the remainder of our stay here which for some would be longer than for others. I, however, was extremely lucky that one of my friends allowed me to seek refuge with all my belongings at her house leading up to my departure from Canada- it has been so helpful and I am incredibly grateful for this! 

At this stage though, we were only in town a couple nights before I left with a group of friends to Tofino on Vancouver Island for a surf vacation. I’d never surfed before (or driven a mini van; I felt like a soccer mom with a bunch of rowdy kids in the back driving that thing), not unlike many of my pals with me, but discovered that I loved it, exhausting though it was! We saw some beautiful sunsets, shooting stars, more gorgeous BC nature on walks through forests, and had some truly wonderful meals sharing lots of laughs together on that trip. When it was time to leave, I wished we could have stayed another week. 

Seal friend

Thankfully, shortly after I headed inland to visit some friends’ hometowns, one of which was mainly lost to me due to a mysterious food poisoning both myself and the only other driver on our road trip managed to catch from some dodgy donuts. Luckily both of us recovered quite quickly and we were able to continue our trip to the Rockies from there. So as not to drone on, I'll only say this about the Rockies; I saw some of the most stunning views of my life during that roadtrip and everywhere we visited along the way was absolutely breath-takingly beautiful- well worth the dodgy night in a hostel with no running water and minimal electricity.

Since all this travelling, I’ve been back in Vancouver for a week and a half. I've biked around Stanley park, attended a graduation ceremony, been on some hikes, and caught up with and said good bye to amazing people and friends over dinners and teas. The last of those has most certainly been the hardest, and this slow trickle of farewells has been the thing that has made the end of this experience most real to me.

But as Frank Herbert says, “There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” I like that. My story with all the things I’ve learned here in Canada, with all the incredible people I’ve met and friends I’ve made does not end today when I board that plane heading back to Europe. It just changes its format, setting and continues on anew. And all those memories I’ve accumulated throughout this unbelievable experience, all the late night movies, adventures in and around Vancouver, cards against humanity games, hikes, pot-lucks, ski-times, tea-times, laughter and tears with all the various people I was lucky enough to cross paths with this year, I will cherish them all close to my heart as I move along to new adventures seeing where this crazy life will take me next. 

And so as I find myself coming back full circle, sitting in the midst of my haphazardly (un)packed suitcases and things strewn about in neat (or not so neat) piles all around me, I feel sad to be closing this chapter in my life, but also hopeful that all that this year has given me (the friends, lessons learned, memories) will stay with me far into the future. Moreover I look back on my first post and recall the anxious girl writing that and trying to envision the months ahead, worrying that it would not live up to the hype it had been built up to and it makes me smirk.

Thank you Canada. It truly was one of The. Best. Times. Ever. 

Goodbyes and new beginnings

I’m baaaack! So it’s already the second week of term two (when did that happen??) which means that I’ve surpassed the midway point of my time here (but I don’t want to  think about that). Since the past month or so was such a whirlwind of emotions and activities it’s hard (maybe even impossible) to fully articulate all that went on in these weeks, but I’ll give it a try to catch you up.

Exams came and went; everyone was busy at different times, but ultimately trying to dig deep for those final strands of motivation for the last push. Slowly but surely with each exam one more course was brought to a close and we were that much closer to freedom. Finally, when it was all over, there was about a week of tea meet-ups, lunches, Christmas dinners and ice skating sessions with friends before parting our ways for the holidays – and though these were all incredibly lovely, they did also mark the saying of good byes to some dear friends who either went on to continue their adventures back to their home universities, or graduated and moved on to new exciting places and stages in their lives. So it was a bittersweet time balancing the joy and excitement of the holidays with the knowledge that I would really miss this eclectic bunch of people that had come to make the first part of my exchange as crazy, wonderful, and exciting of a journey as it was. To all you guys- my most humble and heart-felt thank you.

A very orange Christmas dinner <3

Once all the tearful good byes had been said and done, campus became virtually deserted in a matter of days. It was such a stark contrast to exam season, when every available study space (read as: anywhere with something to sit on and with wifi) was crammed with people who frankly looked like they hadn’t paid too much attention to personal hygiene in a few days and were living off of cheap ice tea, Chinese take out and any number of snacks they could scavenge from somewhere nearby (it’s ok, I too, was one of them). Suddenly there was no one in sight, and as people flocked to go enjoy their holidays, I joined my parents who had come to visit for a couple of weeks. It was great having a break from campus; feeling like a local (well, almost anyway) when being able to show others around Vancouver, eating lots of great food, visiting Victoria for a couple days over New Years, and going skiing in Whistler (it never gets old). Time flew past, and after two weeks of basically running around from morning til night with my family, I could’ve used another vacation before the start of second term. Nevertheless, I rallied myself as well as I could (i.e. checked where my- no, WHAT my classes for this term were) during that one Sunday, and then started it all over again.

And now here we are. It’s week two of term two and I just know that this second term will be jam-packed with new adventures, new friends, (unfortunately) school work, and all around insanity from trying to fit in everything I’ve yet to have done/seen/experienced into the coming 4 months… BC, you better watch out- cause this term I’m gonna be all over you! 

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!

Just a quickie update with regards to Halloween, Bowen Island and “the party thingie on the boat”

So the past month or so has been FULL of all sorts of fun non-scholastic activities, I don’t even know where to begin! Halloween was super fun, and super spontaneous in many ways. During the week leading up to it, I carved pumpkins with friends, was spoiled with chocolates and donuts given by our professors, and discovered that people here show up to class in full costume (special mention to the teenage mutant ninja turtles in marketing), which is considered totally normal… (I don’t care what you say I still think that, Halloween or not, that guy sitting in class with a motorcycle helmet on is kinda creepy…). Halloween evening I had no plans, but unexpectedly ended up with tickets to a party thrown in the “fancy” bit of downtown -Yaletown - and with no costume in mind, ended up literally sewing on leaves I gathered from outside and pinning twigs onto my clothes and hair, claiming I was some sort of a troll, before heading out with friends and dancing the night away.

The result of some expert pumpkin carving

 The hippie and the troll

Besides Halloween, one of the bigger events of the past few weeks was an impromptu day trip I took to Bowen Island. This turned out to be one of the best trips I’ve done so far on my exchange, because the people I met (only one of whom I’d met before) turned out to be such a great group that kept me laughing all throughout the day! We took the ferry out from Horseshoe Bay and explored the island; found the “waterfall”, ambled in the seemingly magical forests, and toured around the island’s lake taking in (and photographing) the scenery. It was the perfect way to procrastinate on that extra day off, whilst making great new friends.

Finally, I’d also like to add a few thoughts on this “party thingie on the boat” (as a friend put it) I went to last week. This was essentially, the end of term boat party/dinner/cruise organized by the Exchange Club here at UBC. We filed into a boat which cruised just between Granville Island and downtown, allowing us to admire the Vancouver skyline from the water whilst dancing to some (albeit very questionable) music with other exchange friends made during the past term. The evening also contained some drama involving Santa getting thrown overboard (don't worry, turns out it was just a decorative figurine, not the real guy!) and the party almost being called off, but luckily someone took the fall for it allowing the night to continue on, relatively smoothly afterwards. Overall then, the night was a fun experience which I'm sure most of us won't forget anytime soon, and a great excuse to break out the more fancy attire we'd all hauled over halfway across the world for the first time this year. 

The upside of midterms

Midterms. That is easily the most discussed topic around campus right now, and has been for a bit over a week. My midterm hell week is only beginning I’m afraid, and so buckling down and studying is what I’ll be doing the next 6 or so days straight, no matter how much I would LOVE to be joining in on all the thanksgiving fun being had by some lucky souls.

That’s right, it is also currently thanksgiving weekend, so virtually everyone is off somewhere; visiting family or friends, or off on trips in the Rockies, Victoria Island, or Banff, just to name a few. However, having stayed back is not all bad either. Today I took a study break stroll around campus and was amazed by the usually busy Main mall street being virtually deserted, the bustling Buchanan building’s surroundings being so tranquil, and even walking through the Irving library, only managing to see a handful of people working away. This, all together with the fact that fall has properly set in here now with the leaves of trees being magnificently coloured, there being a slight nip in the air, but the sunshine still pouring down through the foliage, truly made for one relaxing amble.

Playing in the leaves

I also managed to visit the Richmond night market this weekend before it closes for the winter only to reopen late in the spring. It’s an Asian market with lots of stalls scattered around selling you every thing you could possibly think of that you are sure to never need, such as teddy bear bouquets, and (naturally) Hello-Kitty versions of EVERYTHING. However, the stalls at the back of the market boasted a variety of Asian (and not so Asian) delicacies, which is where (to my joy) we spent the majority of our time. We sampled everything from rotatoes (essentially potatoes wrapped around a stick) to bbq squid, from freezing cold noodles to curry fish balls, and to top it all off had some deep-fried milk (I didn’t get it either..) and deep-fried mars bars for dessert. (FYI, they managed to make them even more unhealthy dousing it in chocolate sauce and, seeing as we are in Canada, maple syrup).

Heart-attack-on-a-stick; aka deep-fried mars bars

So all in all, it’s been a good weekend and I’ve found the thanksgiving-feel in the most unexpected places (e.g. when a class mate in our Swedish class had baked the most delicious little pumpkin tarts for everyone from his HOME GROWN PUMPKINS!!). And at least I finally understand the midterm angst that sets among uni students here; it’s like I’m getting the true Canadian experience. 

So before I get back to studying, I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a happy Canadian thanksgiving, wherever you might be! 

P.s. You will be happy to know (or maybe you won't, but I sure am!) that I have been sleeping like a baby in my new SHEETS for a good few weeks now J

My journey begins in the True North Strong and Free

Finally here!

Compared to the extremely lost and exhausted girl who hauled 2 heavy suitcases and a ridiculous amount of hand luggage out of Vancouver airport a couple weeks back, I now have a much, MUCH better grasp of things. Is everything in order? Not exactly, but I do have faith that is getting there. I promise. I have sorted out my classes, got my bearings around campus, bought some books, food and even a piece of cutlery or two. Time has flown by these past two weeks and I have a feeling it won’t be slowing down anytime soon. It’s been a busy time and a steep learning curve with so much going on everyday. Nevertheless, I thought I’d try and catch you up on my life over here by sharing things that I have learned thus far.

1) First, it is (unfortunately) true what they say; Vancouver is VERY expensive- let that be said upfront.

2) Sushi (however) is relatively cheap and sold everywhere! (win!)

3) There are two beaches near campus- and as it turns out the one that ISN’T a nudist beach is extremely difficult to find (note: you don’t have to be nude at Wreck Beach- but you can’t be too squeamish about seeing a bare butt every now and again) (also, on a vaguely related note: another thing surprisingly difficult to find here: basic breakfast tea)

4) Campus at UBC is beautiful. No ifs ands or buts about it.

5) The stereotypic North American house parties with keg stands, beer pong, red cups and nachos really DO exist (as do Frat parties, which seem to be always going on, though I’ve yet to experience one)

6) There is a lot more uni work here than in the UK (but it means you need to keep up throughout the term, which may reduce the likelihood of freaking out come end of term and midterms)

7) It's amazing how far a pot, bowl, spoon and mug can take you.

8) When I’m not mistaken for Canadian, or when I say I study in Scotland, I've been told (on quite many occasions, might I add) that I sound Scottish..? That's new.

9) Toilets are washrooms (this term is used all the time), plasters are bandaids, kettles are waterboilers (??), macaroni and cheese can also be called KD, Tim Hortons is everywhere, and the skytrain is actually underground for a significant part of its route.

10) And finally, and almost most importantly; the people here really are super helpful and nice which makes easing into life here so much easier for us nervous exchange students.

So that’s the most of it. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s a start and every day I learn something new. What I can say is that the bits I have thus far discovered and seen of Vancouver and UBC, truly are fantastic- everything from the beautiful scenery both on and off campus, to the friendliness of the people, have made me very happy with my choice of coming here. And so what I’m still sleeping in my sleeping bag? It won’t be long before I get my sheets and bed sorted, and I'll probably learn a lot of unexpected things along the way. 

                                                     UBC Campus

Sunset from our balcony

Vancouver- city scenery

Final countdown

’It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. Sitting here in the midst of my half packed suitcases and neat little piles of clothing still awaiting their final placement I can’t help but be reminded of those immortal words of Mr. Dickens when thinking back on the past few days and trying to picture the next couple ahead of me. In less than 24 hours I will be leaving my home country (yet again) for a year that I’ve been assured will be full of adventure, in a place far, far away; Vancouver. 

This is both exhilarating and petrifying all at once. Exhilarating because I have only heard good things about Vancouver; the nature is amazing, the campus at UBC is beautiful, there’s tons and tons of things to do, the people are great- I could go on and on. On the other hand, it’s pretty scary having to uproot my entire life (in a sense) and try making a new one for myself thousands of kilometres away from home. You go through seeing all your friends at home for the last time and pack all your dearest belongings and trinkets with you, and you can’t help but feel a bit melancholy (so then you watch some baby animal videos to feel better). 

You’re scared you won’t make any friends, you’ll struggle with your studies, and all around you’ll have a bad time. I think every exchange student can relate to these concerns, and I think it’s completely understandable. However, I have been assured by every person I’ve ever met that has gone on exchange, that it is one of the best things you can do- and as such these fears I mentioned before seem unnecessary. 

Also, I’ve done this before - moving to another country where you didn’t really know anyone or what you were doing; most recently when I moved to Glasgow just two years ago. At first that too was a bit scary before you lay all the ground work; figured out where your classes were, found the food store, made some friends, and joined some clubs. But then I did all those things and it all turned out great. So I know that I am capable of doing it again. It’s just these last few days before leaving, and (no doubt) the first few moments after arriving that are the worst; not knowing what you’re doing, and just waiting and anticipating where this adventure will take you.

In the mean time, you pack and try not to stress too much about it (baby animal videos) - because it will all work out, and (as they say) be The. Best. Time.