Just touched down in LondonTown

Last weekend I had the privilege to take a trip to one of my favourite places in the world, London. After a 3 hour bus ride from Leicester we arrived at Victoria station and was greeted by a friend of a friend who is from London and lives there still. He took us around to all of the usual sights, Big Ben, Parliament Buildings, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, the London Eye and Southwark church where Shakespeare visited frequently. But we also got the pleasure of doing some things I've never done before like a walk along the Thames in South London that led to a huge food market with fresh fruit, homemade pies and sausage, pastries and fresh squeezed juice. After some lunch we went to the Tate Modern, call me old fashioned but I like my art to be appealing. I just don't get a canvas painted entirely grey or a white rectangle with asymmetrical sides that fades into the wall. That night we went to a club called Piccadilly Institute that was right in the middle of Piccadilly Circus. Our new friend and tour guide also works as a paramedic and apparently that means free entry into clubs, which was a good thing because if we had to pay it would've been 10 pounds -____- The club itself was pretty amazing, 7 floors each with a different them and genre of music. It was surreal leaving from a good night out right into the streets of Piccadilly Circus.

The next morning (after some much needed Tylenol) we headed to Abbey Road. Of all the things I saw that weekend, I could not comprehend how Abbey Road was still open for public use. Tourists would jet out in hopes of a look-a-like Beatles picture and cars would come to a sudden dead hault inches from them then angrily throw their hands up as they drove away. Still, it was a great thing to see and the area around it is very quiet and calm with a church nearby and large knotted trees on either side of the streets. After that we headed back into central London to pay a visit to the British museum, which I could easily spend hours in every week and still be amazed by the artefacts it holds. Then it was onto Coventry market where along the way stopped off at the Rock & Sole, opened in 1870, to pick up some fish and chips. Or I should probably say, a whole fish and 2 potatoes because that was about the portion size we got. We ate lunch on the side steps of Coventry market while watching street performers from between the legs of the large crowd that formed and milled about. Finally, it was onto the National Gallery for some good old fashioned art and then to the  pub at the coach station to rest our feet before the bus ride home.

I've had some bad travel experiences; stalled planes stuck on tar mats, unseemly weather, getting sick on flights, layovers that lasted for hours upon hours, and losing valuables just to name a few. But this bus ride back to Leicester easily makes the top 3. At first everything was fine, we found four open seats at the back all together and sat down with our stuff piled in front, but about 20 minutes into the journey I can feel the heat at my feet on full blast. I'm sure that will go off soon,  I think. At an hour into the journey I have pant legs rolled up and my feet perched precariously on the back pack to the right of me to try and not melt. At an hour and a half into the journey the heat is still on but now the air conditioning at my head has been turned on full blast and I feel like half of my body is in Mexico while the other half is in Antarctica. At two hours into the journey I go to rearrange my feet and burn the back of my leg on the heater, yes, it was THAT hot. So finally I go up to the driver and ask him to do something about it, he says to me "Ya, to be honest, this bus is shit. They are going into retirement in 2 weeks so everything is broken and they won't fix it. Sorry." Defeated and with a singed calf I walked back to my seat to cover the heater with my coat and pray that it didn't ignite into flames on the last hour of our ride. Regardless of how it ended though, the trip was a success and I've got the scar to prove it.

(mis)perceptions about Canada

Here are some of the misperceptions about Canada that I have heard from other study abroad students and Brits.

MYTHS

• Canada is in fact pronounced Canadia
• No matter where you are from in Canada it is very very cold and there is a lot of snow
• Canadians sell milk in bags
• Canadians say eh after every phrase and enunciate O's like there is no tomorrow
• All of the stereotypes personified in How I Met Your Mother are true
• The Canadian national anthem resembles the Genovia national anthem from Princess Diaries
• Canadians are very polite

FACTS

• C-A-N-A-D-A
• Although the majority of the country gets quite cold and there is a lot of snow, my hometown of Vancouver does not! It is way colder here and there is definitely no snow in February back home
• We sell milk in jugs and cartons, bags are a thing of the past
• I do say eh, NOT every time I talk though. I think I have been called out on an 'eh' slip three or four times since I've been here and a hard 'O' once or twice. These are moments of pride, not shame
• Of all the stereotypes on HIMYM the one that is exemplified the best is that we have a sense of humour and are able to laugh at ourselves. Also that we love Tim Hortons, I really do love Tim Ho's and miss Iced Capps
• My friend Kendall is the source of this Genovia myth, I refuse to believe there is a similarity but you can see for yourself on the link below
• Why yes, we are polite, thank you so much for saying that, I really appreciate it and I hope you have a good day!

Patriotisms

It's odd how when you travel away from home you immediately feel more attached to it. Despite the separation of thousand of my miles and exploring new places with new people you intrinsically identify with your home more than ever. I call this phenomenon, and its subsequent outbursts of nationalistic pride, Patriotisms.

This phenomenon was most prominently displayed during Superbowl Sunday last weekend. The game, which began at 10pm my time and ran until 4am (at which time I was fast asleep) had the uncanny ability to draw together a collection of cultures. About half the spectators that crowded around the satellite streamed game from New Orleans had no knowledge of American football, yet nonetheless cheered as each pass was completed and each touchdown scored. The amalgamation of foreign nationalities resulted in a comparison of each person's native country. The results of which were threefold:

1) The Australian national anthem is by far the happiest and funnest to sing. With lyrics such as "let us rejoice", it was an immediate crowd pleaser. The Canadian national anthem was best known by the Aussies but mostly unrecognizable to the Brits and the majority of our neighbourly Americans...for shame. Finally, the American national anthem was well known by all but also lovingly teased by all for the patriotic emotions and tears it conjured in full grown 300 pound men on the sidelines.

2) Lemonade is a heated debate topic. To North Americans, lemonade is a tart juice drink that one has on a hot summer's day or one sells for 25 cents on the corner of their street in the prospect of entrepreneurial success. However, in Britain, lemonade is a commercially made and carbonated beverage, similar to 7up or Sprite but sweeter. Sacrilege if you ask me. In our dining hall there is usually pitchers full of this "Lemonade" on the tables that have been referred to during dinner as "squash" or "cordial". Needless to say, amidst this quandary of nouns one question decidedly stands out, what's the difference? Essentially, the words squash and cordial are interchangeable and are used to describe a drink made from water, sugar and juice. The closest equivalent in North America would be Kool-Aid (OHHH YEAH) and its closest taste would be to sweet diluted juice. Aren't you glad I cleared that up? You can now sleep at night knowing that the great juice debate of 2013 has been solved.

3) Patriotisms exist regardless of what country you call home. You may recite the Canadian anthem or debate the "rightness" of juices, but when it comes down to it these patriotisms are more pro than con. They tell us where we're from and where we are and ironically have the ability to connect us in our differences.

Refresher's Flu

I'm suffering from a cold right now, aptly nicknamed the Refreshers Flu. It's tyrannical rampage has seemed to have hit almost every study abroad student here. I guess it just goes to show you can only go out and party 5 nights in a row without any repercussions. The video below sums up how I feel.

Getting There

Well, the moment came. I boarded my flight to London Heathrow on January 21st and arrived in Leicester on the 23rd. I would like to say that the journey overseas was easy, that my flight was uneventful and that I was greeted with open arms upon stepping foot into my new home, but what would be the fun in that?

The night before my departure I was feeling anxious and nervous to be leaving everything behind and departing on this adventure solely by myself. All these feelings are natural to experience before you move somewhere, or before you have a big game to play, or before a first date. But for me, someone who experiences anxiety in certain situations, a fact that I don't often disclose to people (until now I guess) these feelings often overwhelm. In this particular case they resulted in me having stomach pains and throwing up the whole night before my flight left...and then again in the car, and again in the airport. I gathered myself together long enough to approach the check in desk, only to discover that the luggage I had intended on bringing aboard my flight was too big and had to be checked as well. Thankfully, the man behind the counter took pity on my disheveled appearance, complete with kleenex box and plastic bag and checked it for free. After a brief anxiety attack between check in and departures in which what can only be described as a mild asthma attacked ensued I was in the clear; until hunger struck.

The small rectangle box of food landed on my folded down airplane tray wafting the smell of microwaved chicken and mashed potatoes seductively into my nose. Normally, airplane food is the equivalent of hospital food and both conjure images of overcooked vegetables and gross pudding cups, but to someone who hadn't eaten anything substantial in the last 12 hours, it was heavenly. Big mistake.   If you haven't ever gotten sick in an airplane bathroom before don't start know. On the third trip there I felt faint and dizzy and was about to put my hands on my knees when they gave out and I passed out on the floor. The most notable thing about the experience, besides the odd smell of the airplane carpet flooring, was probably that no one noticed. Less than three feet ahead of me on my left sat two boys watching a movie and to the right a row of four people still eating their meals, and not one of them turned around. I simply picked myself back up and walked back to my seat with none the wiser.


When I landed in Heathrow I took the bus to the hotel where I was staying that night and after dragging my luggage back and forth two times between reception and my room I finally had to switch rooms 5 floors down because the lock on the original one didn't work. The next day I took a chartered bus along with other study abroad students to the University of Leicester. I arrived in my new home and woke up the next day to discover the one shower across the hall from me didn't work and the other didn't lock, and furthermore somewhere along the way my name had been crossed of the registration list for classes and I had to re-enroll in my courses.

There's a thing called Murphy's Law that says if anything can go wrong it will. I don't tend to believe in superstition, I don't mind walking under ladders or opening an umbrella inside, but if I ever meet this Murphy I will surely kick him in the face. Luckily, there is also a saying that goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. After my first week here where I met really nice people from all over the world, went to parties on campus, moved into my room and attended classes I enjoyed, I choose to believe in the second saying.