An almost not so Merry Christmas

Yes it’s hard to believe Christmas is here, not only because time had raced by since September and I’m having trouble believing my time in Canada is half over but also because a few evens have occurred in the past week which made me think that it would never get here.

 

The week running up to Christmas has not only been the craziest but the longest I can remember in a long time. I don’t know if it’s because I have been anticipating Christmas and being home and seeing all my friends and family or if because I had my last two exams and I just wanted to stop studying and for them to be over.

 

My first problem hit in the middle of Christmas shopping on Tuesday why my debit card stopped working. Just without warning- one minuet I had been happily buying my sister a jumper the next Chapters Books wouldn’t accept my card and I couldn’t withdraw cash. So Wednesday I dedicated the morning to calling my bank and trying to work out what was wrong, as usually I was bounced from department to department until I eventually got through to the fraud offices at about midday but of course that’s 5pm in the UK so it was shut. I had to admit defeat and give up for the day but an hour later I was phoned by the mysterious fraud department and they told me that there had been activity on my card in Canada so they blocked it. Of course there is activity on my card in Canada- I’m in Canada! Worse than that I had told my bank that I would be but at least I could eventually finish my shopping even if it was two days later!

 

My second problem was snow. Now I have been blogging quite allot about the snow but this week it has been crazy. On Saturday night a foot of snow fell in 12hrs and then over the last week another foot fell so there is now three feet of snow on the ground! This is of course delaying flights left right and centre but surprisingly I did make it out of Canada only 1 hour late and the problems were in London. I landed in Heathrow airport to find it covered in a blanket of fog so dense I couldn’t see the runway from the plane and I knew instantly that my hellish four hour connection time at the airport was going to be significantly extended. I was right and we finally left 5 hours later than expected which allowed me to bump down into Glasgow late and exhausted from being awake all night but home in time for Christmas.

 

Anyway it has been a long time coming and crazy with almost not getting here in time but aside from that it has been a brilliant Christmas. Yesterday I went to the Glasgow carnival with my sisters and we rode every ride we could and then the waltzers some more! Today has been a wonderful Christmas with good food and all the family having lots of fun. Now I can start looking forward to Hogmanay and my birthday!

Christmas Traditions

This week has been quite and not particularly different to the one before with studying for my last two exams dominating my time along preparing to go home and getting excited about Christmas. Since this last one is by far the most interesting of the three I decided to blog about Christmas and more specifically Christmas traditions this week.

 

While investigating if or how Christmas traditions in Canada are different to those in the UK I disappointingly didn’t find allot of big differences. People decorate there houses in lights, tinsel and Christmas trees. They place with of holly and mistletoe over every doorway and play cheesy Christmas music until their ears bleed. Stockings are hung by the fire waiting for Santa to visit with his reindeer, pulling a sleigh full of presents. Many people attend midnight mass and everyone sings carols and Christmas songs. Children take part in nativity plays and go sledging on snow days. On Christmas day food plays a big part of the celebrations with turkey usually being served accompanied by roast potatoes, stuffing and green beans.

 

However there are a few interesting differences. Masked Mummers are the most intriguing of these traditions which is mostly celebrated on the Eastern coast of Canada. It celebrated throughout the twelve days of Christmas and involves groups of masked people parading the streets and making as much noise as possible, stopping at each house along the way. If the people in the house that they call at can guess who the Masked Mummers are then they have to stop making the noise but if they cannot then the Mummer will be given treats and candy. Another interesting tradition held by many people in Canada is the opening of presents on Christmas Eve, this is probably a tradition brought by Dutch setters to the American continent but there are also many who open their presents on Christmas day inline with the British and French traditions. I do like the idea of getting presents a day early! A good Quebec tradition is the celebration of ‘La Fete du Roi’ on the 6^th of January it seams to consist solely on baking a cake and hiding a bean in the middle. If you find the bean you become king or queen of the festival. Of course the biggest difference in Canadian Christmas traditions is that Canada is guaranteed a white Christmas which is more of a miracle in the UK.

 

There are also many native traditions which are partly influenced by European settlement but also revolve around many winter festivals. There are feasts after the winter solstice and to celebrate that the shortest day is over. These celebrations will now often incorporate gift giving and sometimes event tree decorating because of the strong European influences.

 

Canadian traditions don’t vary very much from those which I’m used to which on the one hand is a little disappointing but on the other is quite nice because as we get nearer to Christmas I’m enjoying all the little things which make it feel like Christmas at home.

One Down and Three to go!

 

Exams finally started this week and today I completed my first final exam and with three more to sit before next Thursday I’m really not doing much but working. At least I’m not alone as most people have at least four exams or more all crammed into too weeks and little time to do much else but study for them. So my flat has transformed into a place of study, with all of us reading and writing and cramming for various subjects with varying degrees of urgency.

 

This increased need for study has also created and increased need for procrastination so we decorated the flat for Christmas. The kitchen is now draped in tinsel and lights and we have plans for getting a tree this weekend. That along with the no stop Christmas music my flatmate is playing and the ever increasing amount of snow is really starting to make me excited about Christmas.

 

This week apart from study and exams has been all about looking towards the future mostly because not studying and exams are boring. I’m looking forwards to exams being over and the party to celebrate that we have planned which is not only ten days away. I’m looking forwards to going home and seeing all my friends and family which is only twelve days away. I’m also looking forwards to Christmas and all its excitement which is fourteen days away!

 

The world back in the UK seems to be coming back into my mind with a bump as I realised only this week that I have to start making preparations for my dissertation work next year. For me this is slightly more complicated that most for a few reasons. Firstly as I study Geology and Physical Geography I have to decide which of these fields my project will fall and then what within these fields I want to study. To be honest I’m pretty clueless but the slightly better geography program here at Carleton has me leaning towards a project in that area. This in a way is a good thing because research into this allows me to procrastinate without feeling like a wasting my time but then again maybe that makes it a bad this because if I can justify procrastination then I might never get back to studying.

 

I have also been turning my incredibly short attention span towards getting one of the elusive on campus jobs as I can only work on-campus on my study permit and do not qualify for a work permit for off campus work. These will probably free-up as exchange students who are only studying at Carleton for the semester leave at Christmas. This has had me spending much of my free time writing e-mails and filling out countless application forms and crossing my fingers that I’ll be lucky.

 

All in all it’s been a week of stress, study, work and thinking about more stress, study and work. The only consolation is that it will all be over by next week!

Three Months

The end of term came screeching to a halt this week and I can’t believe it’s here. Saturday marked the end of my third month in Canada and since it has passed unbelievably quickly I guess that means I’m adapting well to Canadian life. There are a few other indications too, I’ve stopped converting prices into pounds before I know how much something costs, I’ve started to consider a warm day one where the temperature is above -5^oC and I know the bus routs. This last one is a weird on I’ll admit but it was proved recently when I got to experience the excitement of riding a bus that got lost. To be fair to the poor bus driver it was dark, snowing and 1 o’clock in the morning on her first shift. When the driver asked if anyone knew where the bus was meant to go next it was my responsibility as the only passenger not drunk, to direct her. This unfortunately involved a miraculous three point turn that was perfectly executed but still scary while it lasted and driving round the same block three times. However you will all be pleased to know that with only minor confusion I managed to direct the bus back on rout and we made it safely back to campus.

 

The end of term thankfully cuts down on the number of times I have to struggle to wade through the now knee deep snow to get to class but unfortunately it also brings with it the beginning of exams and studying has started to take over everyone lives. With only one week until my first exam and then another three after that I suddenly have allot to learn in a very short period of time! However the excitement of Christmas and a trip back to the home approaching quickly I find motivation is easy.

 

Along with a foot of snow December has also brought an increased intensity of Christmas cheer. The parliament buildings are lit like Santa’s grotto, stores have trees and garlands on every available space and Christmas music is being piped onto the streets of the city. The city buzzes with the excitement of the season and it strikes me how different it seems to the Ottawa that I arrived into. Three months ago the temperatures were still reaching the mid twenties with ease and there was never a cloud in the sky now the temperature isn’t expected to creep above zero until March. In September there were market stalls on the streets instead of snow drifts and boats were on the canal rather than ice skaters. I love this dynamic city, well country really, where seasons really mean differences in temperature. The summers are hot and sunny, in the fall the leaves turn golden and the air is fresh and crisp, in the winter we get blanketed in white and temperatures plummet and well it’s still a few months away but I’m sure it brings melting snow and leaves on trees.