The Festivities Have Begun

The beginning of Xmas

Not long ago a friend informed us about the 'Calvacade of Lights' event that was to happen in Toronto. Of course being exchange students we did a little research and took the opportunity to go and experience something different. Once i managed to pull myself out of bed, or should i say drop, we made our $9 journey into Toronto. In the early afternoon we looked around for some formal gear ready for the end of term formal next week. Toronto, as I'm sure many other places around the world, have already decorated the "Malls" (yes i said it MALL haha) with trees, lights and the rest of it. 

To be fair i was impressed with the decorations in the Eaton Centre (Ye Rosie it's Eaton not Eden), but no so much in Bay! Before we started to look around the shops, there was the tiny issue of satisfying our stomachs with some good food! The bottom floor of the mall was basically dedicated to food! I'd say there was easily around over 20 different food shops! The size of it can't really be described, but it was huge to say the least and well worth the endless search to find a seat!

As the day progressed we wondered around looking at the Xmas lights around the city and walking into random shops. Then we killed some more time by going to a restaurant to order drinks and Ice-cream. The Ice-cream was that good i had to order a second, plus the waitress added an extra scoop for me. All in all very gooood! We then made a move towards Nathan Phillips Square where Canadian singers were performing, they seemed to be well known. This was then followed by some Xmas songs, and then the Firework display to represent the beginning of Xmas or the Happy Holidays and the lighting of the Xmas lights. The reason for why Happy Holidays is used is due to the other religious event that occur during this time of the year, so it seems to be more appropriate. Also, Merry Xmas was made illegal apparently (as i was told by B) I trust her knowledge! We managed to grab a good spot on some kind of building that overlooked the whole event. Next to the concert was a fountain that has been transformed into a Ice Skating Ring. It looked wicked! We decided we would have a go on our next visit, plus it was fairly busy on there so it made sense to wait. Overall it was a wicked day out, but right now I've brought a one way ticket to back to reality! The reality being the countless amount of deadlines this week!  

Canadians are Pro Ice-Skaters!

P.s it's getting colder and I'm still ignoring the fact that the weather will soon get into negative digits.

Denial springs to mind.

Being Productive Is Key

Mills Library- My Second Home

I feel that it is important to mention that this Study abroad year is not all fun and games. One of the main reasons for coming abroad is to study half of my degree here in Canada. All i can say is the work loads is intense. With constant quizzes, in class test, mid-terms, final exams, presentations, essay outlines and essays, there hardly goes a week where i can take a breather! For instance, next week i have three essays due one day after another. All in all, you could say i live for the weekend, but even then I'm having to fit work in somehow. Since my time here, I definitely feel i am far more productive and have developed a pretty good work ethic. Since being here I've spent so much time in the library! In fact more times within the past 3 months, than the whole of my first year in England. I've also found that i can work in noisy environments, something which i couldn't do in England at all, thats the reason why i wasn't in the library. So for example, if i had an essay to write, I'd lock myself in my room with my desk covered in paper,  books, notes on the wall and with my desk light shining like a spot light. Some may say, "that's pretty over the top", but seriously it was the only way i could get things done. Since coming to Canada, the motto "Deal with it" has definitely occurred many times. HOWEVER, it is all good experience for when i get back. So i suppose if you were here and you weren't enjoying your course, it could be pretty painful. It's a good job i enjoy what I'm studying :D

Ice Hockey Is The Solution To Stress Relief

Hamilton Bulldogs Vs Grande Rapids

This week has been stressful, to be fair every week at University here in Canada is stressful! I may as well bring my mattress and simply position it in a nice corner on the 6th floor of Mills Library! (I'd probably be warmer there than in my own room too). So after handing in a lot of work, doing test and presentations, I couldn't wait for the first event of the weekend, my first Ice Hockey 'Game'. The excitement for this game had been building up slowly throughout the week, so i was expecting good things! And i was not disappointed!

                    Face Off                                  Me and Nic Prepared for the cold

 All i can say is, Ice Hockey beats both american football and baseball hands down and i can see why it is Canada's official national sport. The game itself is fast, so you are constantly left on the look out. The best part is when players face plant the plastic boards around the ice ring. We didn't get to see a fight between the hockey players this time, as fights are very regular in Hockey games. Just have a search on Youtube, you'll see what i mean. Although our city, the H Bulldogs, lost against America's Grande Rapids, it was such a cool game that the score didn't even matter. Half time involved bed racing on ice, as well as racing remote control cars on the ice, which i admit was a bit random. Ultimately, the game itself was so good! All i can say is I will definitely be going to more Ice Hockey games while I'm here in Canada. Maybe the next will be a NHL game.

Weekend in Toronto with Deadmau5

Us with the Toronto Skyline


Last weekend a couple of us step foot in Toronto once again! This place never gets old! So much to do and see! This time round, it was planned, about a month ago a bunch of us book tickets to see DeadMau5. For those who are probably thinking WHO? His a worldwide Canadian DJ, mainly electro music! So we booked ourselves into a Hostel, we keep getting lucky with these hostel as they are all turning out to be really clean! Also this one provides a free waffle breakfast in the morning. Cannot say no to that!!!! Before the concert, we arrived in Toronto pretty early so we grabbed ourselves a nice breakfast in this cool corner breakfast bar kind of thing! Let's just say the plate did not need a clean, as i did a pretty good job myself. 

Breakfast

Now that our hunger was satisfied, we went on discovering Kensington, you could say it is Toronto's equivalent to Camden market. Full of vintage shops, quirky food stores, one of which was this bakery! The smell alone would satisfy you! A lot of random things going on, one of which was a women dancing to Jazz music holding a can of beer and asking us if we enjoyed her little routine! Then she got a bit too friendly and started to follow Me and Mairi haha! All the shops were pretty cool. There were so many shops with hints of Buddhism and Hinduism, with idols such as Siva and Gautama Buddha donning the entrances. Time had flown by and the Deadmau5 concert was approaching, but first i had to get my intake of food, and that meant one thing Lahmacun!!

DeadMau5 at the Rogers Centre

We arrived at Rogers and the place was already buzzing with people high on life. I think they said there were around 14,000 people in the standing area.  We managed to scuffle our way through the crowd and get ourselves opposite the stage, directly in front of Deadmau5! People were crowd surfing, masking themselves with Deadmau5 headgear and generally having a wicked time! The following morning we made our way on boat to Toronto Island, where we was able to view the skyline of Toronto as well as being able to chill on the beach. Lake Ontario was suprisingly very clean and luckily we had some nice weather too! Well it was cold but the sun was out! Overall we chilled on the sand, had a wonder around the island whilst appreciating the view around us! Then on Sunday afternoon, i caught the coach from Toronto to Waterloo to visit cousins! It was a trip well worth the hassle the coaches caused me, as i had great time relaxing! The day ended with a late 1hr 15 mins coach ride back to University at night in time to hand in my essays the following morning! The rest of the week was full of presentations, test, quizzes and essays! But the Weekend made up for that!!

On Toronto Island facing Lake Ontario's clear waters

Overall, good times all around!