I’m now in my last week at Dal, and have (finally!) finished all my assignments and exams. I’ve suddenly gone from having an intense amount of work and revision simultaneously to nothing…at least for three more days, then I’m on my way to Cuba for snorkelling, all-inclusive drinks, and pretty much inevitable sunburn in the 30 degrees Celsius average there.

Now that several friends are leaving it’s really kicked in that it’s actually the end of my year abroad. I remember feeling as though it would drag out at first, but now looking back I can’t believe how quickly it seems to have gone. I’ve become so used to loads of little things here, and I’ve even started picking up Canadian phrases :).

Halifax is such a laid back, friendly city, and though there were some hiccups along the way, I’m glad I’ve spent a year studying here. I’m also so grateful for meeting loads of lovely new people here, both fellow exchange students and Canadians, and hope everyone on exchange has a safe journey home/travelling round North America! I’m gonna enjoy the last few days here on Dal campus and round Halifax – probably mainly in Tim Hortons ;).

It’s been a pretty active month here in Nova Scotia (comparatively speaking, anyway :)). Most people reading this will already know that I’m not a particularly sporty person – I dodged PE whenever possible at school and I’ve been to one football match.

I was persuaded into going on a skiing trip last month, and at the last minute bought a pair of sale snow pants and ski goggles with an ominous warning that they contained proven cancer-causing materials (it put me off wearing them in the end). I went thinking I’d be disastrous at it, but that I should at least give it a try. It’s really rare to get a chance to go skiing (affordably) so I decided to just see what it was like for a day. It was brilliant! I fell countless times, and typically I could only get back up using the awkward and very ungraceful method, but I actually managed to get up and down the bunny hill several times :).

I also had my first taste of (ice) hockey here last week. It had more of a relaxed atmosphere than a lot of sports games, especially football, tend to have at home, and I was amazed by how agile they all were on the ice. It felt like one of the most Canadian experiences I’ve had so far here, and it was nice to go as a group of international students.

The latest trip I went on was a visit to a maple syrup farm in Nova Scotia called Sugar Moon Farm at the weekend. We were told at the farm that ‘sugar moon’ was the term used by First Nations communities for the seasonal harvesting of sap for maple syrup. We hiked through their forested trail (the weather was perfect for it -still snowy but blue skies). It was just over an hour and a half away from Halifax and pretty rural. It was lovely to see the more peaceful, natural side to Nova Scotia. I can’t believe I have less than two months left here now, time seems to be flying by!

 

Happy New Year! Hope it’s going well for everyone as the first month of 2016 is already coming to an end. It feels strange to think I’ve already been back in Halifax for nearly a month. I’m (so far!) coping with the weather, and trying to carry on the “coat rule” from home – for anyone outside the North East, this basically involves not wearing a coat/jacket, and if it’s absolutely necessary then not zipping the coat up. When it dips below -10 I think I’m going to have to start breaking the rule 😉 I was pretty unprepared for the layered snow and icy cold when I arrived back at night in early January, but I’m acclimatising….gradually.

 

The weather hasn’t been as extreme as I was worried it might be so far, but it’s definitely colder than home a lot of the time. It’s similar to home (Teesside, not Birmingham) in the sense that the coastal wind can turn a day from pretty cold but manageable to absolutely nithering. Ice storms have been a new experience – basically tiny shard-like pieces of ice, a bit like hailstones – and if it’s windy they can be brutal. Snow is generally casually dealt with, though, as opposed to mass shut down following 2cm of snow at home ;). I’m also so glad coffee places tend to be significantly cheaper here so I can afford to buy warming drinks – I’m gonna miss being able to buy a peppermint hot chocolate, cream cheese bagel and doughnut for under $5 (that’s basically £2.50) when I leave in April!

 

I spent Christmas in Toronto with my friend Monica and her lovely family, who were really welcoming. Toronto was great; we visited the beautifully lit up Christmas market in the city centre, enjoyed a Tim Hortons stop (it’s becoming a necessity!), had a wander round the university campus and several famous sites like the CN Tower. It was apparently one of the mildest winters Toronto has had for a few years, which was pretty lucky for visiting 🙂

 

Monica and I also took a road trip over to Niagara Falls and Niagara-On-The-Lake, which was amazing. Niagara Falls was the definition of awesome, it was just an incredible sight. They’re naturally pretty loud, with the sheer volume of water falling, and huge clouds of steam hovering above the falls when we visited. Niagara Falls as in the city surrounding the falls seemed a bit strange in comparison, largely because it was based around an amazing natural beauty sight, yet it was filled with bright advertisement signs, casinos, Ripley’s and haunted house attractions etc. It was a pretty big contrast, especially as they’re only streets away from each other. I also got my first glimpse of the US, as the border runs parallel and pretty close. Niagara-On-The-Lake was a really pretty town, it was full of canny quirky shops and tearooms, and again especially as it was approaching Christmas the town was gorgeously decorated.

 

It was brilliant, and thanks again so much to Monica and her family for having me, they were so kind and I’m glad I’ve been able to experience a Christmas and my 21^st birthday in Canada!

 

First of all, apologies that this post is so late! I’ve been meaning to publish an update for weeks, and finally got round to it. The major reason I haven’t posted earlier has been work. There is so much university work here! We were warned about this before we left for the other side of the Atlantic, but it seems to have hit everyone throughout the past few weeks.

Several friends on exchange in North America have also mentioned a similar problem I struggled with; the workload clashed with an emotional downturn, again a couple of weeks ago. It feels like the sense of excitement surrounding the exchange, especially in experiencing everything new, wore off a little, especially as so much time was taken up with readings, assignments, essays, short stories etc. However, there have still been some new experiences!

It feels like a long, long time ago now, but I went sea kayaking (when it was luckily warmer than it is now :)). I had a lot of doubts beforehand, but in the end I was so glad I did try it. It’s gonna be too cold for most outdoor activities soon, so at least I gave that a go while in Canada :).

I also went on a trip for international students to Peggy’s Cove, Lunenburg and Mahone Bay around three weeks ago. Peggy’s Cove (above) was beautiful and felt very tranquil; it was almost silent, and not particularly touristy. For some reason, whether it was the blue skies and sea or the peacefulness, it reminded me of rural Cornwall. The tour guide described in his commentary the amount of shipwrecks, and associated ghost tales, along the coast of Nova Scotia, which occasionally gave it a slightly peaceful yet haunted sense.

Mahone Bay in particular for me exuded that feeling of a charming but slightly isolated town. Lunenburg had a similar quality, and it also felt like a step back in time sometimes. At one point, we were largely surrounded by (roughly) 300 year old architecture, with very few others around, and the only sound was that of a horse and cart ambling by. They all had a sense of calm solitude, it just felt more striking in the towns (I’m too used to the sound of loud Teesside accents in Redcar and Middlesbrough as my definition of a town 😉 even Whitby isn’t that quiet!)

I’ve been stocking up on numerous jumpers in preparation for the dreaded (and I really mean dreaded) long winter ahead. Various horror stories of -40 temperatures, walking through heaps of snow taller than people on either side, fear of frostbite etc. have all started to worry me. I have my kettle and huge box (that’s another thing about buying food and drink here – it’s often sold in vast multipacks) of tea bags, but I’m not sure how I’ll cope with that level of cold. Yep, it can get pretty cold in winter at home, but it’s not gonna be coming ‘straight off the North Sea’ anymore, it’s gonna be (literally) straight off the Atlantic Ocean. It’ll be…interesting!

I will definitely have another post out soon, as there’s still a lot I was meaning to mention, but thought I’d break it into two posts and publish this one sooner. Hope my friends and family all had a good Halloween, and enjoy Bonfire Night!

I’ve now been in Canada for over a week, although it feels significantly longer. For some reason, even after just two days here, I felt like I knew the place surprisingly well, and I started picking up on cultural differences (and similarities) pretty quickly.

The first, most evident and noticeable aspect of being on the other side of the Atlantic is that virtually everything is bigger. Much bigger. The cars, the roads, the food, the price tag before you mentally halve it and bring it down to comparative level….the roads especially were possibly the first experience I had of culture shock. People take priority crossing the roads, but at the same time there are some slightly confusing rules regarding crossing the roads without traffic lights which I’ve still yet to grasp, so I’m still somewhat relying on friendly passers-by!

Speaking of friendly, I’m frequently and pleasantly surprised by how openly kind and engaging so many people have been in the week I’ve been here, including in quite official, seemingly no-nonsense situations like the ID card office. The lady there was chatting to me about a range of Britain related topics, from the Queen to her sister in Scotland. I was also told that ‘we’re [Canada] more like Britain than America’. It’s such a warm response that has made it a lot easier to settle in here in this first week. Another increasingly common question asked is ‘are you from Scotland?’ – I’m guessing the standard perception of an English accent is much more Harry Potter-esque than mine :). One moment that did throw me slightly was when we visited the Citadel and I could hear bagpipes, at which I turned and saw a guard wearing a kilt, which added further confusion to culture shock contrasting with some relatively familiar aspects, or at least aspects I don’t tend to associate with Canada.

The city itself is relatively small and cosy feeling in a way, with the docks on one side and the beach on the other. The centre is full of interesting looking cafes and unique shops, including The World Tea House (which I’m looking forward to trying out!), as well as many, many Tim Hortons. I tried my first ever Tim Hortons a couple of nights ago, which was quite exciting, and will write about that in more depth in my next blog post :).

I’ve had a lot of friends and family asking me the seemingly simple question of ‘what’s Canada like?’. To be honest, I could probably write an essay on all the new experiences and moments of culture shock I’ve had since last Tuesday, so I’m going to spread them out a bit in my blog posts, although no doubt I’ll have at least half a dozen new observations by next week :).

I decided to set up this blog after friends and family members asked for details and updates about my experiences in Canada. I’m off to Halifax, Nova Scotia next month for a study abroad year at Dalhousie University (still can’t fully believe it!)

A huge aspect of the year being exciting (and nerve-wracking) is the sense of not knowing what’s going to happen, where I’ll visit, what I’ll find out etc. I’m planning to use this blog as a diary of my experiences over there; based on other friends’ experiences, I’m bound to have at least a few moments of culture shock, which will probably be some of the first experiences I have and post up here. Less than two weeks and counting til I’m there!