The Last Post

It has arrived! The last blog post in my last week (technically my last three days) here in Chichester!

To kick this blog off, a big thank you to everyone who has read my ramblings every week. I've enjoyed writing this thing so it's nice to know people have enjoyed reading it too.

I'm officially on summer vacation now, as my final exams are all wrapped up. I finished with the last of them on Tuesday, and the rest of the day was spent in bed trying to kick this cold i picked up on Sunday. I need it to go away or be on its way out by Sunday so I'm not ill on the plane. I'm doing better everyday so I think as long as I don't overdo it in the next few days with my packing, house cleaning and my last few errands, I'll be grand on Sunday.

So some of you may be wondering, how did Summer Ball go? It was GREAT! We were super lucky and the weather held out so there was no rain until the last little bit when we were going home. At that point we didn't really care we were so exhausted. If you remember on last week's blog post, I put up a photo of the tents they were setting up. Another tent went up after I took that photo, so there were three LARGE tents, as well as the bar/club section of the Student Union building to be in. One tent was for the Casino. You didn't win any actual money there, but it was fun to see how the games are all played. Two of the tents were stuck together and were made into a huge dance area for the Silent Disco. Basically what happens is you get a pair of headphones that pick up different DJs. Theres about four channels you can listen to and they all play different music so theres something for everyone. You can also control the volume, which I enjoyed. It's hilarious to see people dancing to different songs all at the same time. The Student Union building had the live bands in it, but was so crowded I never got in to see them. It didn't bother me much as I didn't know the bands at all. In the carpark to the left of the whole tent set up were FREE fair rides! You could ride as many times as you wanted for the whole evening. It was HILARIOUS to see everyone dressed up and being whipped around on the bumper cars and such. I've got pictures, don't worry.

With the pictures, I wanted to introduce you all to the faces I see everyday. Prepare to see a LOT of my face as well.

This is Jim. He's my favourite person over here.

He's basically me if I was a guy. He's also my next

door neighbour. I'm going to miss him like crazy 

when I head back home.

This is Gavin. Once again, next door neighbour.

Lovely guy to be around. 

NIKKI! Love her to pieces. She understands

my love of Superhero movies in a a way

no one else does. She ALSO lives next door.

The Roommates. From Left: Hayely, Me, Evie, Harriet.

And of course, just one of my face because I really love

that hair. Hayley did it for me! On the other side of the 

curls is a rather gorgeous french braid that I never did

get a picture of.

One of the rides at Summer Ball. Surprisingly,

no one threw up, even though most people were 

spectacularly drunk. 

At the half way point of Summer Ball, Hayley, Harriet and I all called it quits with the heels and changed into flats. Much easier to dance that way, and we didn't have to worry about Hayley falling down again. Poor thing fell THREE times in a span of about 2 minutes. She's fine though. 

So that was Summer Ball. After that I pretty much just spent my time studying for my exams on Monday and Tuesday. Now that those are done I'm into the packing and all that jazz. I'm very much excited to get back to Canada and see friends and family again. I'll miss Chichester but I'm sure I'll make my way back here some day. It's too pretty an area to not visit again. 

So that's it. My Study Abroad year is completed! Wow that went fast. Or at least this semester went fast. How did that happen?? I hope everyone is just fine and I will see you all SOON! 

Cheers guys,

-Kirsten

Final Countdown

Hello!

I'm in my last two weeks of study abroad! Doesn't seem real quite yet. I'll likely be in denial about it ending until I've touched down in Vancouver. I honestly can't wait to see Canada again though. I really miss the place. I've heard some of you back home (*ahem* Calgary *ahem*) were given an extra dump of snow as a special spring treat. I feel for you all. Apparently Kamloops got a bit of it too, as my parents so graciously showed me via FaceTime. I have missed the snow but snow in May can kindly take a hike. I hope it warms up to skin cooking heat for everyone soon.

I'm writing this entry wedged between two hand in dates and amidst piles of revision notes. Or maybe in the garden, shirking my responsibilities.  The great thing about reading this all on a blog is that you will never know which. Okay yes you will. I'm up my eyeballs in dry translated texts of about 90-150 pages long each, searching for major points to memorize. Oh and its raining out today. Thank goodness this will be over on May 13th at 12pm. (That's 4am Kamloops time I do believe.) My brain hurts. I need chocolate and tea to get though this and retain my sanity.

Anyway! I've been thinking more and more about my whole study abroad year, which of course has led me to examine a lot of my life as a whole. I won't bore you all with the details but right now I seem to be stuck in a sort of identity crisis. I've worked hard to get here and do this year abroad but now it's over. So what next? Graduate? Am I ready to have a degree? Am I ready to be an adult? Is this all just exam stress getting to me? AAAAGH! Excuse me while I curl up in bed with a juice box and cartoons. 

On a lighter note, Summerball prep has begun. "But isn't Summerball Friday night?" Why yes it is. But I've learned that you can't just get ready the day of Summerball. Oh no. DAYS beforehand you must exfoliate off two layers of skin then slap on some tanner. Between note pages you scroll Instagram and Pinterest for makeup ideas and hairstyles. The day before, you buff yourself out again and then slap on MORE tan. God forbid you're not some shade of orangy brown on the day. Finally Summerball arrives and you're curling, primping, cursing eyeliner unevenness, dressing and redressing before changing your mind and going back to your fist outfit choice. It all reminds me a bit of Grad back in high school. Except this time my Grandma isn't here to help me get ready. And there is significantly more alcohol involved. Have I mentioned day Brits have day drinking down to a science? My liver will not thank me on Saturday.

That's all I have this week!  I leave you all with a picture of the first stages of Summer Ball set up! I'll let you all know how the actual evening went on next week's blog post.

So sunny!

Have a great week guys!

-Kirsten

How Is it ALREADY May???

Hello!!

Okay, so it's not May yet. It's the last day of April all day so I can calm down a bit and ignore my impending final exams like any good student. I'd like to say I've been productive over my revision week, and in a lot of ways I have. I got my hotel for May 17th all sorted out and I've got my schedule for Fall and Winter semesters at TRU mostly blocked out. I talked to the English and History departments so they know where to send my final essays and exams over the summer, and Registration knows where to send my transcripts when they're released. My room has been cleaned and my nails are wonderfully clipped and buffed.

Oh wait, am I supposed to be doing class work too? Well I finished the story part of my short story final. Problem is, I HATE IT! Honesty it's awful. But since the thing is due next Tuesday, along with a 700 word commentary piece on the process of writing it, I really don't have time to scrap it and start again. Cue me banging my head repeatedly against my desk in frustration. I had a meeting with my seminar tutor and she helped me fix some parts of the story but I'm still not that happy with it. Oh well. I still have to write the commentary but at least the bulk of the assignment is done. On a more positive note, my exam revision sheets are going fine! The readings are just as boring as I remember them being the first time but I'm mostly skimming for the important bits at this point. I'm hoping by writing out these sheets a few times each I'll retain some of the information I need to pass. Fingers crossed!

In non-class related news, I return to Canada in 18 days! It's both exciting and sad! I love Chichester. The city is beautiful and I like that I can walk wherever I want in no time at all. I love the British train system as well, because day trips are affordable and fast. I love toffee apple cider. I love all the flowers and green trees. I'm not a huge fan of the near constant rain and wet cold. Give me Kamloops cook-your-skin heat any day. But then again, Kamloops doesn't really have this kind of view in the spring/summer.

Greylingwell Park, next to my housing. This 

was taken at about 7pm.

These blossoms are gorgeous, fragrant and

allergy inducing.

Let me tell you, when the trees decide to bloom over here, they BLOOM. In the space of about two weeks the park has gone from spindly trees to full on leafy gorgeousness. I love walking around the Greylingwell Park area when the weather is nice. Speaking of nice weather, this weekend is supposed to be light on rain so on Saturday I'm heading to Portsmouth for a quick shopping trip. I need to get a pair of shoes for Summer Ball (fancy end of year party hosted by the student union) and a few other items to take home with me. 

I hope you're all well! I'm sure next week I'll be in fine stressed form, as I prepare for my final exams!

Cheers,

-Kirsten

Denmark Trip

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday! I'm happy to report I got my English essay 100% completed, with awesome editing help from my Dad (ain't the internet great) so I'm right on track with finishing my year well. I still have a short story final to write, as well as the 700 word commentary that goes along with it but my tutorial isn't until tuesday of next week so the final edits won't be done until that weekend likely. Other than that I've just had my last Fascism history class and now I know what I'm doing with my notes for the final exam. I have one class left tomorrow for my Drama English class but I've finished the final essay for it so I'm not sure whether or not I need to go to the final class. I have a feeling it'll be a small group even if I do turn up, as a lot of students finished their essays over the break too. 

Okay that's enough of the general updating. Lets talk about Denmark! The train to Gatwick airport on Sunday was ridiculous. There was only four cars on the train and more people than could really fit, so I had to stand for the hour trip smushed like sardines with everyone else. It was a cozy trip. I got to Gatwick and through security with no incident, the Gatwick security is really fast, even with the full body scanner machines. I didn't have to go through one of those things because I didn't beep on the initial detectors. I had about two and a half hours to kill before my flight so I just walked around and looked at things for sale. I swear it's a mall back there. Now that I've done it, I'll be much more calm for heading home in May. 

Anyway, my flight out was delayed by an hour because there was someone who was refusing to get off the plane. Not sure what happened with that but they did have to call security to remove the person. Never a dull moment on Easyjet. The delay actually worked out well because I got into the Copenhagen airport the same time as Kenna so there was no waiting. It was really nice to see her. We talk a lot on Facebook messenger but it's not quite the same. 

The hostel we stayed at was called Generator and was about a twenty minute walk from nearly everything we wanted to see. I actually loved the hostel. We were able to get a double room together with our own bathroom so we didn't have to share dorm style. It was a bit more expensive doing that but it was worth it. The check in and check out process they had was really simple and the building was quite quiet. Apparently Generator is a chain style hostel so I'd recommend it to anyone traveling to Europe. 

As far as our days went, Monday was a bit aimless as we were still getting our bearings. We saw the Round Tower and the Little Mermaid and did a LOT of walking, but it was quite cold and rainy so we decided after dinner to just stay in our room and plan out the rest of our week. The biggest struggle we had with Denmark was prices of things, mostly food. We ended up buying really good bagels for breakfast but we overpaid on lunch several times before getting our act together. Dinner we mostly ate at the hostel because they had great prices (I say great, I mean decent) and more vegetarian options for Kenna. How 'bout some pictures before I keep talking?

The Round Tower. I loved the curve of the floor

going up. 

Great views from the top of the tower!

Carlsberg Brewery tour! Worlds largest collection of 

unopened beer bottles behind me. 

Kenna was an awesome travel partner!

FINALLY saw the Little Mermaid.

Lunch when we went to Tivoli. It was delicious.

Tivoli gates!

The Carlsberg Brewery tour was an awesome morning. We got a bit lost on the bus thanks to directions saying which bus to get on but not which stop to get off at, but we worked it out in the end. The tour itself was quite quick to walk though, even with all the boards to read. Sundays are the only days with a directed tour so we were on our own. I kind of liked it that way, gave us more time to look at the things we wanted to. At the end of the tour we got two free drinks, but a bartender cleaning glasses gave us another drink voucher so we each had two and a half drinks. At 11am. How has my life come to this?? Oh well, it was great. That afternoon we took the train out to see Louisiana Modern Art Museum. I don't really get modern art but the set up of the museum was quite beautiful. Even the landscaping that took you to the outdoor sculptures were exhibits called things like "The Narrow Path". Kenna and I killed ourselves laughing after sitting for twenty minutes watching a video of a McDonald's flooding. We had hoped for some explanation as to why it was done but nope. Just a title card that said "McDonalds Flooding". I don't know why it was so funny, but it was. 

On Wednesday it was hot and sunny so we made our way to Tivoli. It was exactly like what I remember from when I was a kid. I even went on the same roller coaster (The Odin Express) that I went on with Graham. The park was packed, which was nice to see. We ended up getting a massive ice-cream for lunch and then headed off to the National Museum for the afternoon. The whole bottom floor was dedicated to Danish history. We ended up looking at the displays backward but it was still very interesting to see. There were at least four bog bodies on display as well, ones that I've read about in History and Archaeology textbooks. They all seemed a lot smaller than the pictures make them out to be. 

Thursday was spent on a hop on hop off bus tour of Copenhagen, a bit of shopping and getting tattoos. Yes, that's right. I have a tattoo now. For some reason blogger won't let me add the picture I have of it. Not sure what that's about. It was a great way of capping off both 17 years of friendship with Kenna, my year abroad and a trip to Denmark. 

Friday was my flight home. Always leave for your flight with plenty of time because when I was taking the metro out to the airport, something went wrong with our train and we all had to get off at some random stop and wait for a new train to take us to the airport. Some people were panicking but I since I had time to kill all was good. 

Well, that's all I've got. I suppose the last thing to say for this week is Skål!

-Kirsten

Easter Break

Hello!

It's Easter Break! Two whole weeks of vacation! I'm not used to having a break of this length this time if year. Back at TRU, it's final exam time then summer break kicks in. It came as no surprised that a number of sudents, especially first years, have gone home to visit family. However I was super surprised to find out just as many have decided to stay on campus. The library has been busy when I've gone in to do research for my essay. By the look of them it's mostly third year students getting work done for their dissertations, which are due in a few weeks time. I'm guessing in addition, some of them are going on the sports trip to Spain that leaves on Saturday. Since there's only a week of class after break, some people thought heading home now was easily skipped. If I had the option I think I would've headed home to visit. But getting a final essay completed and going to Denmark are a pretty good second choice. :)

In other news, have I told you guys I've become quite good at bleaching grout? My roommates and I have started long haul cleaning projects that need to get done before we all leave for the summer. The shower grout is one such project. There are still a few spots that need more scrubbing but overall it's looking pretty good! The accommodation staff have been on an inspecting binge, sometimes visiting twice a week, even when we pass the first general inspection. Since I'm the only one around this week, I'm going to have to make sure to give the place a good scrubbing before I leave, as I suspect they'll be by on Monday when I'm in gone.

The weather over here has been a mixed bag of rainy & cold then sunny & warm for the last two weeks or so. All in all, general spring weather with lots of flowers. The flower gardens in parks are in full bloom, but a lot of the trees are just starting to bud so it looks a bit odd in my opinion. The greenery does make for nice walks when the weather is nice though. Also, the main roads up to the university are being repaved so you can cross them without feeling like you're in a game of Frogger.

That's all I've got for this week. Remember I won't be posting next Wednesday, but I will be back for April 23rd!

Take care everyone!

-Kirsten

Eight Months Gone

Hello!

So it is officially April now which means I have entered my eighth month abroad! Looong time. I think I've been so busy counting down, I haven't really bothered to count the time I've been here up. So what have I learned in eight months?

1.) Your money is ALWAYS SPOKEN FOR. Think you have some "extra" cash? Nope. Because its your turn to buy cleaning supplies or top up your phone or pay for a carpet cleaning service.

2.) I can deal with a LOT more crap than I have myself credit for. Seriously, the amount of hurdles I've made it over is shocking. (Flooding room, breaking computer, grocery stores)

3.) Being an adult means mastering the art of bluffing. If you've convinced people you know what you're doing, don't let them think otherwise. No one knows what they're doing and we're all flying blind while saying we can see perfectly.

4.) The people who make an effort are the ones worth the effort. It's a hard lesson to learn but the last eight months have shown me who I miss, who misses me and what friendships have run their course. No more twisting myself in knots over keeping people around purely because we USED to be friends.  People change and that's not a bad thing.

5.) In the words of Shane Koyczan "Time is passing and you move along with it bit by bit every day." The first moths here dragged and now it's racing by. I swear I was writing my first March blog a few days ago. The point is, bad days and good days all give way to new bad days and good days and I can't wait for the next one.

6.) Parents don't get NEARLY enough thanks. My Ma and Dad have been amazing. They've helped me  just by letting me talk out my anxieties and reminded me of what's important when I need it most. I don't think I'll ever be able to truly express how much I appreciate everything they have done and will do.

And finally

7.) I'm going to be just fine. Seriously. There will always be days I question myself and what I'm doing with my life but on the whole I'm doing just fine.

Wow. That ended up a lot more after school special than I expected. Still, it's all true. I know I've been told a lot of these things before but until you experience it for yourself it never truly connect with any of it.

So what's next for me? Easter break starts next week! As a heads up, I won't be posting a blog update on April 16th because I'll be in Denmark. I will be back to my normal posting schedule on April 23rd with stories of my travels, so expect an extra long post to make up for the missing week. :)

Cheers,
-Kirsten

Is It Bedtime Yet?

Hello!

So if you're a university student, there are three phrases that rule your life. 1.) I'm Hungry. 2.) I'm Tired. 3.) I'm Busy. This past week I have been thoroughly courting number two. I caught myself a lovely cold so my energy levels have been in the negatives. Oh well. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Universities are germ farms. All of my roommates have been sick now. Harriet is much better but Hayley and Evie were both knocked with something or another and so we're a rather sad looking bunch.

My cold has not kept me from exploring more of England however. Last Friday I made my way up to Brighton with Harriet for a day of shopping. I bought myself a new bag that I've been looking at since October, so I'd count the trip as successful. I did see a pair of shoes I wanted as well but the price tag kept them on the shelf and off my feet. If only I could win the lottery right? Harriet and I took in some sights when we finished our shopping, heading up to the Brighton Pier. I didn't know about it but apparently it's famous. It's basically a small carnival out on the pier. It wasn't well populated the day we went due to strong winds and flooding that's been happening in the area but I bet in the summer it's packed.

In class news, things are getting to the end. I think most of my classes only have two more lectures to go before finishing up. Thanks to the Easter holiday we have this weird split that confuses the heck out of me. If they just had a long weekend like we get in Canada, then their school year could end in April rather than May. But I don't make the rules so a two week holiday it is. I'm REALLY looking forward to Copenhagen with Kenna. I need some time to breathe and relax and see someone familiar. It's hard being away from friends and family for so long. Some days I don't notice it much but as I get closer and closer to heading home I realize just how long it's been since I saw someone from home.

On a brighter note, I'm heading off tonight to see the new Captain America movie with Nikki (next door neighbour and friend). In a strange turn of events, the UK got it in theatres before Canada and the USA! Don't worry I won't post spoilers on Facebook or anything. I'll just gloat that I've seen it a bit.

That's all I've got guys! Enjoy a picture of the Havenstoke Fox.

Cheers,

-Kirsten

Spring in Bath

Hello Hello!

As I told you last week, this past Saturday I went off to Bath. The nice weather held and we got some sun and heat so the four and a half hours of walking around the city was actually really nice. I got a bit of a sunburn actually. Apparently mid march is a time for sunscreen. Who knew!

I only ended up going to see the Roman Baths, because dang the museums are expensive and as cool as the Jane Austin Museum is, £15 for a ticket is a bit much. There was all sorts of outdoor market stuff going on so just wandering around the city was great. The Roman Baths were a lot larger than I thought they'd be. The engineering that went into it is amazing. It was really cool to see the feeding systems that brought the warm spring water into the pools. Only one pool is still filled, the others have had water diverted elsewhere but you can still see where a lot of the rooms were. Really old saunas and such were headed by the water under the floor. There was also a cold dipping pool that has somehow turned into a sort of wishing well. Check out the photos below!

Sadly you can't bathe here anymore.

Roman coin found during the excavation of the site.

View into one of the main water feeds.

Cold pool/wishing well. SO SPARKLY!

Ducks just napping in the sun. People left them bread

but didn't bug them. Hurrah for nice tourists!

Obligatory selfie. 

After the viewing of the Roman Baths, Mariah (a fellow TRU Study Abroad student) and I set out on a walk about and ended up checking out the lock system for all the canal boats. It was surprisingly empty as far as boats go so we thought the season hadn't started yet. Maybe it was a summer thing. It was only after heading farther up the channel when we discovered this:

Some poor fool on a holiday wasn't paying attention while they were pulling their boat through and this happened. It smelled really strongly of gas too so it's likely the propane tanks on board were leaking. Behind this were MANY more boats all backed up until the next morning, when a crane would be by to lift this thing out.

Lock doors. REALLY deep!

Boats, boats, boats!!

I wasn't kidding when I said it was nice out.

The bus ride to and from Bath was about two and a half hours each way. Everyone was sleeping on the bus on the way back. I tried, which was a bad idea because my contacts stuck to my eyes. Ow.

The rest of the week has been spent in class, grocery shopping and running. I didn't realize my running loop is now 5km! I'm really enjoying running here in Chichester. There's lots of different loops I can do to keep my runs from being repetitive and the weather has been quite nice for it. Yes, I do get rained on sometimes but for the most part, it's not that bad. Disneyland Half Marathon 2015 here I come!

Hope you're all doing well back home!

Cheers,
-Kirsten

Mid March Already??

Hello!!

Oh my good lord I've been busy this past week. Nothing amazingly interesting, but busy none the less. My readings for class are getting longer and longer as my classes start heading for their end. Most of my classes only have a good five weeks left due to the two week Easter holiday in April. I'm trying my best to keep up but I'm getting a bit swept away in all the information. I know I've mentioned it before but this semester I have two final exams. No dates for the finals have been released yet but I'm hoping when they are released I'll have a day or two separating them. The essay I need to write for my contemporary drama class will be done over the first week of holiday, before I head to Copnhagen. When I get back I'll finish off my short story final and then it'll just be cramming for those two finals. My semester end this time is much more relaxed feeling than December. Maybe that's because my time management is better. Or the lack of multiple massive papers to write.

I don't know if anyone has been checking out the exchange rates in different countries recently, but the Canadian dollar is now $1.90 to every pound. Cue panic. Seriously, expenses are cropping up all over the place and the increasingly crap exchange rate is not helping me. When I came here in September it was $1.60 to the pound. Agh!! Oh well, nothing I can do to change it. I'm trying to scrimp and save where I can (no Cardiff for me) but if the exchange rate hits $2.00 per pound I am going to cry.

On a happier note, I'm headed off to Bath on Saturday! Yes there will be pictures on next Wednesday's post. I'm hoping the nicer weather we've been getting holds out for Saturday. It was 18 here on Sunday! I'm debating on whether or not I should get a pair of shorts. I didn't bring much in the way of warm weather apparel. Maybe a trip to Primark is in order. I can probably find shorts for a fiver AND a new purse, seeing as mine just kicked the bucket.

What else is news? Oh! Chichester wants me to write a few blog-ish entries about why people should study abroad for their website. If anyone is interested in reading what I post there I can stick the links on here when I start posting things. Blog-ception. (If you don't get that pop culture reference, don't worry. Google Inception.) Apparently if we post a certain number of blogs we are rewarded with gift cards. If we can request the kind of cards we get, I'm asking for Starbucks. It's been too long since my last chai tea.

Okay this nonsensical post is getting out of hand. I feel like Seinfeld these days. My blog is about nothing. Maybe I should start posting deep thoughts on the nature of study abroad and how my life has been forever altered...or I can just write whatever pops into my head and keep the family updated with my day to day goings on. Who knows.

Wherever you are I hope you're well! Love you all lots!

Cheers,
-Kirsten

P.S. Grandma, if you're still reading this blog, there are SO MANY FLOWERS that are in full bloom over here! I bet you'd love it!

Pancakes

Hello once more!

So as you may or may not have been aware, Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday, depending on where you are and what you call it. Essentially, Tuesday was a day for stuffing your face with carbs in the form of pancakes. Back in Canada, this day usually passes without much notice. No one really goes on about it so on the years I'm lucky enough to catch it I get pancakes for dinner, but this doesn't happen every year. Here in the UK? Oh you can't miss pancake day if you tried! Boxes of mix at every store, Facebook posts filled with pancakes and "liked" pages posting their pancake creations. I'm not really sure why pancake day is so much bigger over here than back home. Larger Christian faith? More people still participating in traditional Lent? An intense love of the pancake? Who knows! Any way you look at it, pancakes are a good thing and a day dedicated to eating pancakes is just great. Now, pancakes in the UK are not like fluffy Canadian pancakes. They're pretty much crepes served with lemon and sugar, not syrup. Still tasty but will never replace fluffy buttermilk pancakes in my heart, stomach and various other squishy areas. How bout a picture?

It's a crepe!

What else is going on? I'm going to see The Lego Movie tonight with my friend Stacy for her Birthday. Lego is wonderful and movies are great so sticking the two of them together is magic. I assume. The reviews are good. Today is market shopping day. Harriet and I are in the habit of going to the Chichester Market (like a farmers market) every Wednesday and Saturday to pick up our fresh veggies now. Keeps the fridge stocked with healthy stuff! I know I've mentioned it before but Summer Ball is coming up on May 9th and Hayley was able to get us tickets in the first early bird wave so we paid the cheapest amount. It was still £32.00 but it's better than the £40 that some people have to pay. Everyone is talking about dresses, it's like Grad all over again. I have a dress in my closet I think will work just fine. I'll likely have to find a cheap pair of heels (or flats) somewhere. Maybe I'll get luck in Denmark and find something. Or if that doesn't work out, Primark!

On a more academic note, more assignments have been handed in. I just have one more to get through before starting work on final assessment material. I don't know if I mentioned it at all but this semester I only have two hand in assignments and then two final exams. Last semester was all final essays so I'm oddly excited to find out what the final exam scenario is like over here. I'm certainly liking the classes I have, even if my History of Facism prof is a terrible powerpoint maker. Seriously, who layers black text over a busy black and white photo???? It's a nightmare.

I hope everyone back home is doing well! I miss you guys lots!

Cheers,
-Kirsten

Adventures in Illness

Hello again!

So guess what came back. Yup, tonsillitis. I had to miss my History class again, and I HATE missing class. I'm on a different round of antibiotics this time so hopefully these ones knock it out. Being sick SUCKS!

In other news, the trip to Bath scheduled for March 8th has been moved to the 15th, so the next blog of picture spam won't be for a while. I could upload photos of the various flowers that are already blooming here but that might be a bit boring. I must admit, the greenery coming back is rather nice. It makes my runs a lot nicer. Still really muddy though so I have to be carful where I run. I would rather not add a sprained ankle to my list of things to deal with.

As far as classes go, I've handed in my first essay. Next week there's a creative writing assignment I need to get in as well as an essay I'm not sure how to write because I missed the play we were supposed to see. My prof is going to give me the amended assignment information this Thursday after class so hopeful I'll be able to get that done quickly.

Finally, it's warming up here!! We still have a lot of rainy days but there are some gorgeous warm ones too! Today I went into town with Harriet and Evie to get things from the market and I only sore my hoodie. No jacket needed! I love the sun, makes everything seem a lot better.

Hope you're all well and I'll see you next Wednesday!

-Kirsten

P.S. A massive HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Kenna who is doing Study Abroad in Poland!! Have a great 21st and I'll see you in April!!

Reading Week

Hello!

So this week is a break for me. Shocking I know. It seems too early actually but there you go. We have no break in March but then we have two weeks off again for Easter in April. At TRU I'm used to one break for reading week mid semester and then a long weekend for Easter. None of this two week break stuff. Mind you, back home mid to end of April is the final exam period and then it's summer holidays until September. Over here we started later and go later into the year so I guess it all balances out. I will be using the second week of Easter vacation to go to Copenhagen though so I guess it all works out well in the end. More on that later!

What's new around here? I'm getting better now. Still on the penicillin but overall I'm good. I'm back out running so I'm happy. There's a lot of people getting sick here at the university so it's not surprising that I got sick in the first place. I'm hoping that's the end of illness for me though. I'll likely get a cold or two but those I can deal with. I hate missing class and last week I missed all of my classes. Not good.

As far as England goes, I know some of you are wondering about the flooding across the UK. It hasn't affected me much here in Chichester though I know it has been an issue for some people. It's wreaked havoc on the trains and transport systems so travelling around can be very difficult, with lots of delays, cancellations and detours. One of my roommates got stuck due to train delays just this past weekend. In Bognor Regis, one of the popular night clubs Sheiks was closed temporarily due to the storms. It's on the pier so I'm not surprised. It does put a damper on the partying that happens around here though. Sheiks is one of the favourite spots for Uni students on Wednesday nights. That's off topic though, sorry. Weather! It's been heating up during the days so we're almost on an even number of sunny days to rainy days now. I'm sure that will change though, as we're not even into the "rainy" season yet apparently. I'm not sure I want to know what that looks like. I've been wearing my wellie boots and my rain jacket as standard apparel so I've been at least a little bit dry when I go out. I forgot how great a pair of rubber boots are.

Other than that, it's quiet as always. I've been trying to keep up with the Olympics but haven't actually seen any events. No TV for me. Probably a good thing, no one ever NEEDS TV. Still I miss the background noise!

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and having a good February!

Cheers,

-Kirsten

Day Late!

Hello!

Sorry for the late update guys! As you might be aware, Universities are germ farms and I caught the flu as well as a case of tonsillitis. I went to the Doctor's yesterday and I'm on antibiotics now but it's been a rough week. I've missed all my classes, including today's class which included a trip to a play we need to see to write an assignment worth 30% of our final grade. I've already emailed the prof about what to do and we're going to meet up after reading week (next week) and discuss how to modify the assignment or dole out a separate assignment altogether. Illness is never convenient is it?

Other than that I've been doing well. The weather here has been a mixed bag of sunny, rainy, windy, cold, warm and humid. And all of that is just before noon! I really shouldn't complain, I know weather has been much MUCH worse for everyone back home. Still, it gets boring and a bit dreary living in a perpetual grey mush.

Well enough of that. Last Saturday I was lucky enough to get up to Windsor with the International students. The city itself looks like pretty much every other British city out there except there's a massive castle sitting on top of a hill. The tours were not cheap, even with the student discount but the did give free walking tours of the outside walls as well as free audio guides for inside the castle so I guess it evened out in the end. The castle itself is almost boomerang shaped, not so much a square monster one might expect from a castle. Pictures were only allowed outside the building, so if you want to see the inside head over to google or get on a plane to England! Heathrow airport is the closest. And by closest I mean planes were flying rather low right by at the castle and had to make a rather sharp turn to avoid flying directly over it. Okay, on to the photos!

First look at the castle

Pub! Didn't eat there but I liked the name. 

Gates. That was actually the exit.

Inside the inner walls...kinda.

To be honest there were so many towers I forget which

one this one was for.

Round Tower. It's a library now I do believe. 

So much castle!

Symbol for Knights of the Garter (or something like that)

More gates! (Seriously, you're never 

sure when you're INSIDE the gates.)

Court yard!

The castle was well thought out. This was where an

archer would stand to fire on attackers. Well protected

but good sight too. 

This did not lead to a moat. It is actually a long classroom

for school groups to use when learning about medieval history. 

Props to the gardeners and landscapers who look after this stuff. 

Seriously. This stuff goes all the way around. 

Amazing line of sight for the castle. 

So serious.

Queen Victoria directing traffic.

The inside of the castle was stunning, and very ornate. The Queen was no there when we were, which is kind of lucky for us actually. When she is there a few of the rooms of the tour are cut off because she is using them. So we were able to see everything. The restoration work the did after the fire of 1992 was extensive and very well done. The cool thing was they decided to re-make what the rooms used to look like rather than just modernize them. Of course, I'm sure over the years they've added some modern touches like internet and all that. I'm sure the Queen needs her daily dose of Flappy Bird and Candy Crush on her iPad. (Does the Queen have an iPad? I'm sure she has a gold one if she ever did get one.)

Okay that's enough blogging for today. It's also time for me to take the damn antibiotics again. They're weird over here. It comes in blister packs instead of orange pill bottles. Somehow that doesn't seem right. 

Hope you're all well and not at all ill!

-Kirsten

February stuff

Hello!

So I'm writing this entry at the University's Costa coffee shop. The Internet went down at Havenstoke last night and when I called this morning they said that techs were working on it but they had no timeline for it coming back. Frustrating as heck because I've got things to do (like this blog) that require Internet! On the bright side, at least the Uni wifi here works so its something. I had wanted to call home today but that won't be happening. Sorry Ma and Dad!!

In other news, I'm back running regularly. Like an idiot I didn't stretch properly after my last run so I've been a bit sore. That'll teach me! I've had to mix up my running spots because the ones Ive used last semester are pure mud and muck. Too slippery to run on. The wind has been really bad too so Ive been avoiding areas with tree branches that could take your head off. Sadly, that describes most of Chichester where I live so I've ended up some strange places. It's a great way to get to know more of Chichester though!

Speaking of getting to know things, I'm off to see more England! Saturday is the trip to Winsor with the International students. Looking forward to that even if we have to be up freakishly early. I can sleep on the bus up there I guess. Not sure what we're doing quite yet. It'll be and adventure when we get there I guess. It'll certainly make up for the pictureless blogs I've been posting of late!

Class's are going just fine! I've been busy with all my reading. My first assignments will be due at the end of Februaury, just after reading break. Looking at my calendar, there's only three and a half months left to my year, then I'm heading home! I've been battling homesickness for the last little bit but it's odd thinking the year really is getting close to the end. Of course I have a lot to do before then and a lot to see so I'm going to have a great time before the end.

Hope you're all well!

21!

Hello all!

So as you may or may not know, I turned 21 this past Sunday! I didn't have a big party or anything, just hung out with my roommates and friends from next door, but it was great! I made myself a vanilla funfetti cake, which is basically a white cake with sprinkles mixed through it. Generally you see Betty Crocker boxed mixes for it but I did mine from scratch. It was nice to bake again, it's been a while since I last did anything.

Mmm Cake!

I did add candles in the shape of a 21 when we all got down to the eating part. Jim and Nikki from next door came over to help Evie, Hayley and I eat it. Harriet is still away on holiday so she didn't get a piece! I wasn't nice enough to save some for her. SORRY HARRIET!! 

Like every year I ordered Chinese for dinner. The Lotus, while delicious was not Lucky Yeung's and I  miss my spicy pork and bean dish. I'll have to get some when I get back home. 

As far as gifts went, I had saved a few Christmas presents to be bday presents. So my skittles from Sherry and the tea from my parents weren't opened until now. On Monday I received a lovely package from my cousin Mary containing a jar of Cheese Wiz. I've been craving the stuff like MAD! 

After all the eating of cake, Nikki, Hayley, Evie and I all went to see American Hustle at the theatre. That movie is LONG! I can see why its up for oscars to be honest. They like their long and plot heavy flicks. All in all it was a pretty good movie though. 

What else? Oh! I was able to FaceTime home on my birthday. It was really nice to talk to my Ma and Dad. They sang Happy Birthday too which was really sweet. Too bad there isn't a hugging app that comes with FaceTime. Oh well. 

Other than my birthday it's been quiet. I've been doing reading for my classes and trying not to let the crappy weather get me down. It's cold and rainy. At least my Hunter boots and welly socks are getting good use! 

My plan for today is to do a bit more baking. I've got a bunch of baking ingredients than need to be used in the next day or so before they expire. 

OH! I purchased my plane ticket home! May 18th! I'm looking forward to being back on Canadian soil. 

I hope everyone is doing well! 

-Kirsten

Insert Clever Title Here

Hello once again!

So what's been happening this past week? Well Evie and Hayley moved back in for the new semester. Harriet isn't back until the 4th of February because of her program. I've had 3 of 4 classes and so far they don't look too bad. My history classes are going to flow together quite nicely because they are both focused heavily on the world wars, one being about contemporary Europe and the other about Facism up to 1945. My english courses shouldn't be too bad this year. There's a creating writing class (short stories) and then a contemporary drama course. I haven't had the intro class yet, that's tomorrow. But judging by the Moodle (online class resource) it's not too different from the english drama courses I did back at TRU. I actually really enjoyed those classes so this one should be good. According to the Moodle we are going to see a play for that class as well so I'm very much looking forward to that.

In other news I've redyed my hair, with help from Hayley so I'm back in the shocking red territory. Why can't my hair just grow this colour? Scientists should get on that. I'm also back focusing on the whole dieting thing. I've been eating way too much comfort food so that needs to stop. The good thing about doing it now is that almost every girl on my housing block also seems to be into the eating healthy thing so there's less outside temptation. That being said my birthday is coming up and I'm eating what I like that day. Diets resume on Mondays, as does running.

Speaking of running, the mornings here are ridiculous! There's heavy fog and frost so the sidewalks are slippery and it's hard to see five feet down the road. I've actually been too nervous to cross a road because I can't see oncoming cars. By midday it all clears up and it's quite sunny and warm. Then by about dinner time it gets cold and rainy. I can't seem to dress appropriately so I'm always either too hot or too cold. Ugh.

That's all I've got for now, sorry there's no pictures this week! I'll try to get a picture of the fog over here one of these mornings.

All my love to everyone!
-Kirsten

Food Words, Rude Words and I Love Yous.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So my parents have headed off home and I'm once again on my own in England. It's funny walking around Chichester on my own now. It feels a bit like there's something missing, because I got used to showing my parents around my corner of England. Admittedly I'm homesick but it's okay. My courses start up soon and my roommates move back in on Saturday, so I'll be longing for peace and quiet soon enough.

So let's talk about Christmas!

As I said on my blog last time, my parents and I headed off to Paris for New Years! We took the Eurostar train under the English Channel. Surprisingly you're only under there for 20 minutes. The train goes something like 300 miles an hour but you don't really feel it. The ride is super smooth, much nicer than the regular commuter trains I take to get to London or Portsmouth. The train dropped us off at the Gare de Nord station and we took a taxi over to our vacation rental apartment. The stairs up to our floor were both twisty and very narrow. The walls were funny because they weren't quite straight. Some of them bowed inward so hallways would narrow a bit and then let out again. The place we had was great! Small but it worked for us just fine. Plus free wi-fi! We did have a bit of an issue with the keys to the building though. On our first day out the security gate at the bottom of the stairs clamped down on the key and wouldn't let go. We were stuck for about 20 minutes before Dad was able to get the key out! The door key to the apartment was much the same, you have to barely turn them and jiggle it in just the right way to get in. Dad had the magic touch with the keys after our initial lock in, so I just left it to him.

Our first day out was spent at the Louvre! Ma was super smart before we all left and bought this thing called a Paris Pass. It had passes to a bunch of museums, attractions and tickets for the metro. Using the museum pass we were able to skip the massive lines and use a sort of side entrance to get in right away! I didn't take that many pictures in the Louvre, I mostly wanted to walk around and see the place. We did it in two days, the bulk of it on the first day. Even with the two days we didn't see everything. The place is MASSIVE! Here are the pictures I DID take in there!

Louvre! The glass pyramid is where the general public 

enters the museum! 

Ma and Dad! 

Venus de Milo

Code of Hammurabi

Close up of the writing on the Code. 

Mona Lisa

That last photo of the Mona Lisa was actually taken on Louvre day 2. We got there just as it opened and pretty much ran over to see it. It's really hard to get close to the Mona Lisa at other time of day, as the crowd is at least 16 people deep. There's signs at all the major picture stops warning people about pick pockets. I had a death grip on my bag the whole time, not going to lie. 

We went to see the Eiffel Tower on New Years Eve. The lines were massive but they're always long at the major attractions. We decided to walk up, rather than taking the elevators. 700 stairs to the second level. You have to take an elevator if you want to get to the very top. Dad was awesome and got pictures off the side as I was a  bit too nervous to get near it. It's very well enclosed but the heights were bothering me a bit too much. Weirdly enough I felt safer at the VERY TOP of the tower. That might've been because you were in a room with windows rather than a metal grating at the ledges. 

Eiffel Tower

Views from deck one! Very green grass. 

View from deck two! 

Ma and Dad at the very top!

We also saw the Arc du Triomphe, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. The day of the Arc du Triomphe was a looooot of walking. It was also the day of the worlds most overly posh bathroom. (Posh: elegant or stylishly luxurious). The bathroom was 2 euro each. You'd wait in line then an attendant would show you to your stall. When you were done, the attendant would go clean the bathroom and then show the next person in. At least you knew it was clean? 

After we saw the Arc du Triomphe, we got on a hop on hop off bus tour around the city. From there we saw the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. A little backstory, I've had a computer background of this bookstore for about six years. It's been on my bucket list to go there AND WE WENT IN! It's amazing in there. It's crooked and busy and filled with squishy chairs, nooks to read in and people who try to hard to look like their famous writers. I was in heaven. 

Like the TARDIS, it's bigger on the inside. 

My bag! The photo on the bag is the upstairs of the

store. I bought a notebook and a book in there too. 

Next photos: Notre Dame! The line to get in was around the block but moved very quickly, so that was awesome! We weren't standing in the cold for too long. The inside was absolutely amazing. You're not supposed to take photos inside but a lot of people do. 

Notre Dame!

Guess who! (Yes I was happy to have them with me.)

As far as language in Paris, we got by. The longer we were there the better we got! By the end we were all able to order food and drinks without too much trouble. We actually found the people in Paris really friendly and helpful when you opened with french. Sometimes our conversations were a mix of french and english but we got there in the end and it was a good time! I actually find the people in Paris are nicer than the people in London. 

Okay this post has gone on long enough. I will be adding more pictures and more info from the trip as I remember it in the coming weeks. 

Love you all, 

-Kirsten

(Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONCE AGAIN GRANDPA!)