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!