Well my first week of the new semester is almost over and I have been thrown full force back into the crazy mayhem that is university life. Classes have started up and I have been almost immediately drowned in all the assignments and reports that are due only a worrying few weeks away. However all the classes look interesting and enjoyable, well at least as much as can be expected from these things. All except from my Structural Geology labs where my non-Carleton background is screamingly obvious in the huge chunk of background knowledge which is missing. So I have spent most of my free time this week perfecting the art of Steronets. Allot of this has been by myself, just staring confused at my textbook but also with the helpful and ever patient Teaching Assistants. Who have explained and re-explained as I failed to grasp the concept again and again. However the light has finally dawned and things can only get easier from that, at least I certainly hope so.
Aside from reeling from the shock of being thrown back into classes I am also reeling with the fact that this marks the halfway point of my stay in Canada. This is an unbelievably thought as it seems like only yesterday coming to Canada was just dream and now here I am already halfway through.
Yoga classes have also, of course started up again as well and this semester I plan on going to classes twice a week. These along with a static bike class and the free swim times at the pool will hopefully allow me to keep to my new year’s resolution to get fit.
Despite returning to Canada in the depths of winter at the start of the winter term the weather has been incredibly mild with temperatures reaching as high as 9oC and not falling bellow 0oC most days. This surprisingly warm weather is both a blessing and a curse. It is fantastic because my still missing baggage contains my big, red and most importantly warm winter jackets as well as my gloves. While I am still clinging to the vague hope that the bag will eventually turn up the warm weather means I don’t have to buy another one. The downside however is that the three feet of snow that was lying on the ground before I left Canada is melting so the ground is now covered in a layer of brown, slushy and slippery snow which makes getting anywhere much harder than usual. The melting snow banks at the side of the road are also becoming less magical as the fresh layers on the tops of these banks melt to reveal all the black mud and grit thrown up by the passing cars. My magical winter wonderland has been transformed into a damp, muddy and wet place. I have been reliably informed that it will snow again soon, the eight year old in me jumps for joy but the adult in the thin coat shivers.
