It’s Been a Quiet Week

 

This week has been a quieter and less exciting one than the last. Classes are all up and running properly as the last of the problems caused by the strike seem to have been cleared up. Labs are running smoothly, the library opens late again and the computer system is working well.

 

Access to labs and equipment meant that I could take part in my first outdoor lab for a class called Watershed Hydrology. We had to gauge the Rideau River. This basically involved us getting dressed up in some very attractive rubber waders and jumping in a river with a tape measure, a meter stick and a flow meter to find out how fast it flows. The answer is that it’s deep enough to reach above my waist and not fast enough to sweep me off my feet! It was much more fun and exciting than you would expect a three hour class to be and the weather was warm and sunny and I even managed to not fall in!

 

I went to the third of my yoga classes with my flatmate on Monday. It’s getting harder each week as we do more postures when I have to stand on one foot, but I’m really enjoying it and I think my balance is improving a little even if I do fall over comically several times a class.

 

On Thursday I went shopping in the city centre. First I looked around the Bytown Market which is a fantastic market with the nicest fruit and vegetables all grown organically and locally. I also found a brilliant little bakery which has really tasty fresh bread. The market is all crammed on wooden stalls into the older end of town and gives the impression that it is a longstanding tradition in the city. I also had a look around the Rideau Mall which has an amazing array of shops in crazy mazes of corridors which took me forever to navigate. They have clothes and shoos at a considerably lower price than you would pay in high street stores in Edinburgh.

 

Friday night we went to a local gig at Mavrick’s bar on the request of my flatmate whose little cousin was playing guitar in one of the bands. The band was called Riot Melody and they call themselves a fusion of rap, jazz and funk. It sounds strange but they were amazing. Not only were they fantastically talented musicians who played well together but they were only seventeen! The other band was from Montréal and had a more indie-rock sound, they were also really talented and had the crowd jumping.

 

The rest of the weekend I spent catching up on work and reading which I didn’t have a chance to do in the week as well as the more boring part of jumping in a river- making sense of all those measurements and writing a report. Luckily because next Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving the university had a long-weekend holiday so I only have three days of classes.

 

Shopping, Strikes and Homesickness

This week has been a week fraught with problems and challenges as classes begin and the Carleton University support staff are all on strike. However is has also been an incredibly exciting time as I explore my new home and get stuck into university work again.

The strike has created numerous problems for students and staff alike and as each day goes buy I find a new problem cause by the dispute. Support staff members are so important in the running of the university and their absence has made it impossible to register for new classes, fix problems with computers, run many practical labs, and process loan applications. As well as this the library and health centre have had to reduce their open hours. There are also the broader problems as many services will now not cross the picket line. Campus is not receiving mail, food, books for the bookstore, or administrative supplies such as ink for printers. All these things have made my first week at my university interesting and hectic but all I can do is hope that the matter is resolved soon.

Despite this classes did go ahead this week even with our lack of supplies, textbooks and computers. I have even had to attend classes that I am not yet registered for which cause many teachers endless confusion. My classes at Carleton are all interesting and exciting as well as challenging and hopefully not too different to what I would be studying in Edinburgh. The do tend to be much smaller which I am finding a little odd but I think this will be beneficial as you can get more attention from the lecturers and teaching assistants.

 

Outside of my studies it has also been a busy week with lots of different activities. I celebrated my flatmates birthday with a night out on the town and got to sample some of the best of Ottawa’s nightlife. I started the yoga class which my flatmate convinced me to try and had me so worried last week and I found that I wasn’t quite as bad as I had feared. Even though I did fall over a few times I enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to this week’s class. I went shopping and checked out all that the local mall has to offer and spent a bit more money than I would have liked. I have also started planning a trip to visit the city of Montreal fairly soon with a few other international students which should be an exciting adventure.

 

Towards the end of the week with as m time got busier and more stressful I found myself starting to miss home a little. As all my friends prepare to start back university in Edinburgh I was feeling a little disconnected from all that is familiar. However I received some e-mails and made a few phone calls to the people I miss the most and this helped me push back the feeling of homesickness and concentrate on all the great new friends I’m making and the wonderful experiences I’m having.

The first week is over!

So my first busy week in Canada is over and I figure now is a good time to post my second entry. It has been hectic to say the least with all I needed to organise before classes start on Monday, which is making me both nervous and excited!

 

My first two days in Canada were spent tired, jetlagged, very confused and a little lost. I left Glasgow last Saturday at 2pm and arrived a long boring 7 hours later in Toronto at 4pm.  After standing in a never-ending queue to get through customs I then had to join an impossibly longer one to get through immigration. Finally after having a mild panic that my bag was lost, because it was the very last bag to come off the plane, I got to the arrivals lounge 2 hours after my plane landed. Then the biggest challenge of all, trying to locate my cousin that I have only met once about 10 years ago in the sea of people, of course I walked past her… twice.

 

After what felt like an all too brief sleep that night as I had stayed up quite late meeting more Canadian relatives than I knew existed my alarm clock was screaming and I had to go catch my train to Ottawa. It was an uneventful trip and I arrived at Carleton University late that afternoon, picked up my keys, found my room and fell onto the bed.

 

Since then I spent the rest of the week exploring campus and the local area. I went shopping to buy a few essentials such as bed sheets, towels, plates, pans, cutlery, food and a million other things which you really need in self catered residence. The only problem I encountered with this is that I bought everything I needed but forgot I still have to carry it home! I then directed my attention to other things such as fixing my timetable, job hunting, opening a Canadian bank account and filling our even more paperwork.

 

On Tuesday night I went with a few other students living on my floor too my first ever basketball game. It was enjoyable if not a little confusing. I have no idea what rules of basketball are but they all looked like they were good at it and the atmosphere in the stadium was amazing. There were drums, whistles, people chanting and singing songs as well as three mascots dressed in bird costumes to show there support of our team, The Carleton Ravens.

 

I have also joined the Outdoors Club because it will let me try out lots of different sports which I can do in the local area. Such as caving, white-water rafting and skiing! As well as that I joined the exchange club and my flatmate is trying to convince me to go to yoga with her!

 Well that is the end of my first brilliant week in Ottawa and I hope next week will be just as good!