Is It Christmas Yet?

Another Wednesday, another blog post!

So, what's been happening in the land of Fish and Chips? Well for those of you who didn't know already I have FINALLY moved back up to my Havenstoke accommodation! I made the move on Friday morning before class started. It took three hours but it's great to be back in my proper room and have access to things like an oven again. It's also really nice to be back with Evie, Hayley and Harriet. Goodness knows I missed the heck out of them.

On Saturday there was a Christmas party for the international students on the Bognor Regis campus. I ended up in a Jenga war with a nice guy from Bulgaria, a girl from Poland and Eriko, my friend from Japan. Food of a vaguely festive nature was eaten, horrible mulled wine was drank and Santa swung by to give us some goodies. I got a package of something called Dolly Mix. I tried a few pieces but it gets stuck in my teeth and is so sweet it hurts my teeth so I think I'll just stop eating it. Oh well!

Saturday was also the day that the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who played. For those unfamiliar with Doctor Who, it's a show about an alien who travels around in a time machine disguised as a 1960s police box. The show has been going since the 1960s, and is a rather big deal. I got hooked on the show in 2011 when my friend Fonda told me about it during German class. I actually ended up seeing the episode twice, once on my computer thanks to the BBC catch up website (I don't have a TV license to watch live) and again on Sunday at the theatre. The anniversary episode was actually filmed in 3D and beamed live across the world. It's not just a British thing anymore! I think the total viewing figures are somewhere around 7.7 million on the Saturday alone.

Chichester is getting more and more dressed up as Christmas gets close. The huge tree is now decorated and they're adding decoration to the buildings now.

Yes, that is a tree stuck to the side of a building. They actually look quite nice! More and more stores are getting window displays up and christmas music is everywhere. There are also a lot of winter related novelties that are popping up in stores. I'll admit I laughed out loud when I saw this one. 

Honestly, how long would it take for you to scrape your car with that thing??? Your car would be iced again by the time you finished!

As far as the imminent end to the semester goes, I'm equal parts excited, homesick and stressed as heck about the whole thing. I need more time to get assignments done but I want time to go faster so I can be on vacation and see my Ma and Dad FINALLY! I know I'll see them soon but still. People are talking about their plans for going home and it makes me a bit sad. I miss friends and family and just Canada in general. 

Well that's all I've got! It'll be a quiet weekend for me as both Harriet and Evie are going on trips. Hayley and I have plans to go on a mate date and see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in theatres. I just hope I get this damned essay done before then!

Hello!

Okay so I'm cheating on this blog entry a bit. It's not wednesday, its late Tuesday night. 11:42pm if you care to know. Why am I up this late? Why am I writing this blog entry now rather than Wednesday when I usually get this thing out? In short, essays. I've got a lot to do when the clock rolls itself over into Wednesday. My goal is to finish the draft part of my big English essay as I have really run out of time to mess about with it any more. I've got another 1,700 words to write so wish me luck!

As far as the past week has been, I haven't really done much. I mentioned at the end of last week's blog that I was going to see David Tennant playing Richard II. I wanted to see the Royal Shakespeare Company production live but tickets sold out so fast it was not to be. Luckily the company broadcasted one nights shows live across the UK and I was able to get a ticket for that one. Was it any good? YOU BET YOUR REAR END IT WAS! It was three hours long (including a 20 minute break) but I didn't feel like I was sitting around waiting for anything to progress. The RSC really knows how to put on a production and David Tennant is just too adorable for words. I highly recommend people see it if they can. The costumes were great, the casting was flawless and the set was gorgeous!

What else has been happening? Not much. Assignments are taking over my life as I said so most of my time is spent trying to keep up. I did have to rattle some chains this past week when it came to registration for next semester's classes. I've been waiting and waiting for some direction about what to do or where to go but nothing happened. There's a rather shocking lack of communication between students and administration here. Some people might say worrying about next semester's classes is a bit premature but it's not. Classes end the first week of December. The two weeks after that are dedicated to handing in final assignments or writing exams. They're all marked during this time and then fed into the system via the administration offices and then everyone leaves for Christmas holiday on December 20th. Want to complicate things even more? Each department (English, History, Theology, Sport etc) has their own administration office. None of these offices communicate with one another so if you're like me and you're straddling two (History and English) you've got to track down answers in two different places. So these offices are about to get swamped and won't have time to give me the information I need in a timely manner if I wait even a week more.

With me so far? Good, moving on.

So last week I tracked down the History admin and asked what I was supposed to do for class registration in semester 2. There was some slight confusion as to why I wasn't registered for classes already but after we stored that out I got a handy dandy time table of all the classes and axed the ones I couldn't take so I was left with a working estimate. Then I did the same with the English department. A bit more complicated there as several classes they were offering were ones I had already completed back at TRU. I made an appointment with my academic advisor for this past Monday and we were able to make a schedule that worked. I then took the courses back to their department of origin and they got me put on the right lists.

To be honest I felt a bit like my Ma, with all that running around and demanding information that should have been provided in the first place. Anyway, it's done and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

On a final note, Chichester is getting ready for the impending holiday season. The giant tree has been put up, though it remains undecorated and the shops have their winter themed window displays. Christmas music I've never heard before is playing in all the shops and the trees ARE FINALLY CHANGING COLOUR AND LOSING THEIR LEAVES! It's beginning to get festive and I can't wait! One month to go until my parents arrive!

This is going to be gorgeous when it's 

decorated!

Cheers guys!!

Oxford: Very Old and Very Expensive

Yes, it's Wednesday once more and that means it's time for another exciting blog entry. Why is this one exciting you ask? Well, this one comes with PICTURES OF OXFORD! 

The International group at Chichester University teamed up with Chichester College and sent us all up to Oxford for the low low price of fifteen pounds a head. Those of us on the University campus had to walk over to the College campus to catch the busses, which wasn't bad. I was the only one who thought to write down directions to the campus though so everyone was at the mercy of my directions. I actually had great directions and got us there in good time but the others apparently had no faith and questioned whether we were going the right way or not about fifty times. Oh well, next time they can figure out where we're going. 

The bus ride up was nice, but some parts of it felt like driving in the lower mainland of B.C. due to the leafy green trees and the big box stores just off a highway. I guess that's a world standard look. I also saw a Best Western hotel, which weirded me out. For some reason I thought that was a North American thing and not a place you'd find worldwide. Anyway, we got to Oxford just the rain started. I was an idiot and forgot to wear my wellies so I resigned myself to a day of wet feet. The busses don't actually drop you IN Oxford. There's a bus zone just on the outside of the city and you get to walk in. Mind you, it's about a five minute walk and you're in the heart of the city so it's not that bad. 

The first place we stopped at was the Christ Church. Confusingly enough this houses both the famous Christ Church Cathedral and the University of Oxford. The Grand Hall where the students eat was also used as a location shot for the first Harry Potter movie. Yes, I went in. 

Going up the stairs! 

The doors are less magnificent than I remember them

in the film. 

I felt underdressed in here. 

It's surprisingly small in here. You'd bump elbows

eating at those tables. 

The Church grounds themselves were huge. Lots of open green space that, had it not been for the rain and the guards telling you where you could walk, you'd want to stretch out on. 

It's November. That's too green for November.

In the Cathedral part of the church there are, of course, lots of tombs and religious artifacts you'd find in any church. I hunted around and found the oldest readable burial notice I could. Yes, that's a bit morbid but I find it's a great way of seeing just how long the structures have been standing. It sort of makes time feel a lot bigger, and the world a lot smaller. 

After leaving the Christ Church, I headed off to discover the rest of Oxford with the french international girls Paola and Valentine. We headed for the Bodleian Library. It was opened in 1602 and has a library of about 2,000 books. Sadly as entering almost anywhere in Oxford has a charge of between 5 and 7 pounds we didn't go on the tour. We DID go into the gift shop where I found several cute (yet expensive) bits and bobs. I didn't buy anything but Paola did, though for the life of me I can't remember what. 

Leaving the library we headed for Radcliffe Square. Theres a gorgeous lookout point at the very top where you can see the majority of Oxford. We shelled out to go up and get some pictures. 

This staircase was so squishy. It got worse when I 

had to stand in a small hole in the wall while 

people were coming down the stairs. 

This is now a reading room for the Bodleian Library.

Seriously, grass should not be that green in November.

Thanks Paola for this picture!

The streets of Oxford are really cute!!

Just look at that cute street!

Right: Paola, Left: Valentine. Belles filles françaises.

This gargoyle kept dripping on my head while I was

taking pictures. Not cool.

After making our way back down the steep staircase of doom we went in search of food. Along the way we passed the Oxford version of the Bridge of Sighs. The real one is in Venice, so named because criminals on death row would walk across it and see their last view of Venice before dying. They're not exactly the same in looks but I feel like I've collected a set because I've been across the one in Italy as well. 

Just past this lovely piece of stonework is a small winding alleyway that leads you to a famous tavern that students of Oxford have gone to for years. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

In case that is hard to read it says,

The Famous Turf Tavern: An Education in Intoxication

They weren't kidding about the intoxication part. 

Sadly this tavern was too crowded for us to eat at, as were the next several we tried. We ended up just getting a panini from Starbucks and continuing on with our walking. 

So that's about all I have as far as the Oxford trip goes! It was loads of fun to just wander through the city. You can take walking tours but I think the best way of seeing a place is just getting lost. 

The rest of my week has been boring by comparison. I'm still at Springfield, and the semester is drawing to a close. Today was my last class for one of my English courses, as the rest of the time will be used for one on one sessions with the seminar tutor if we need it. I'm working my way through essays and final projects, though I'm not going as fast as I would like. I'll be picking up the pace this week.

As a final note, I'm going to see David Tennant in Richard II tonight with my friend Stacy and I'm very excited. 

Take care guys!

Remember Remember

Hello!

So I've officially made it into November! It's funny how time is flying now. I guess that's what happens when you have deadlines rapidly approaching. I didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted to over reading week so my personal deadline schedule has to be re-done. Oh well. I have all the information I was missing last time to get it all done so as long as I don't let stuff get ahead of me it will all turn out fine.

My last week was rather uneventful. I kicked a cold and then caught a new one, hung out with the Springfield roommates, and learned that while the tear has been repaired in the Havenstoke roof, it's unlikely I'll be back in any time soon. They ARE going to deep clean my carpeting so hopefully that will get rid of any water damage/mould that might be lurking in there. Oh and maybe help the smell. I went up to it the other day and it smelled like someone died in there. Awesome right? (Yes, that is sarcasm.)

In other news, I have experienced my first Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Day. November 5th is, of course, the day where people commemorate a man who failed to blow up Parliament. I will admit, while I heard a lot of fire works I did not go out. I looked for info on public gatherings/bonfires but it seems like the public fireworks shows will be this weekend and the stuff that happened ON November 5th was private parties. Understandable as it was a Tuesday. Other events coming up are obviously Remembering Sunday and Remembrance Day. Over here they do Remembering Sunday and Monday is just a day like any other. I have purchased my poppy, and am wearing it daily so that's my contribution. I'd love to go go a ceremony but I haven't seem much information about things happening in Chichester. My google-fu skills have told me that most people will go to the big ceremony in Portsmouth instead. I was waffling for a while on whether or not I should go up to London again and see the ceremony there but I decided that I wanted to go on the International trip to Oxford instead. Can't do both sadly.

That's about all I've got for this week. Please enjoy a photo of my poppy!

They're quite different, and less pokey!