2010-09-16 Canterbury 3

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Trying out something new, more to follow when I figure it out!

What can I say?

These last few days has either been a lot of lying around, sleeping, running around, or getting super lost.

I can say, I for sure know my way to both the North Holmes Campus and Augustine House, both places I will be spending a lot of time in once classes actually start.. and before apparently since I've been at one or the either every day including the weekends. I also know how to get to the city centre, though that's not that difficult considering just about every turn will bring you there!

I also know how to get unbelievably lost in the city centre. Go figure haha.

I did finally explore Castle Wall, a gorgeous roman wall from the third century which has been touched up in places with red brick, and the Dane John Park which has a mound, a cool labyrinth play park, huge and ancient trees, World War Two ammunition shelters, fountains, sculpture, et cetera. At the end of the wall is Canterbury Castle, a beautiful old ruin that you're allowed to enter and explore. Largely all that remains of it are the outer walls, but definitely worth  a visit if the chance ever comes up.

After my first attempt to explore the Castle and surrounding area, I ended up very lost. Sadly, that day I had been carrying my laptop in my bag and after a few hours even something that light feels really heavy.

Before exploring and getting lost, I'd been at an information fair for international students which gave information about the various support groups, student union, local emergency services and so on, they gave out a neat key chain which is in the shape and size of a pound and can be used for carts and trolleys.

Afterwards, I've been going out to the frosher pubs, since it lasts two weeks here and I felt like going out for once and having a good time. I met several new people, Riona, Andrew, Eoghan, my two flatmates Emma and Jess who just moved in in the last couple days, and many, many others.

Starting to cook more, and get things sorted, for example today I attended a programme orientation which was for first year students but they suggested the Exchange Students attend in order to meet the Lecturers and learn more about how the courses were handled. I had to fill out more forms for the school regarding my international status, and went up to the Geography Department and sorted out my classes, just need to find out if I need to switch them around any or not!

Aside from that, I can say I have definitely been a vegetable the last couple days, and eaten plenty of them too, and have enjoyed my bed. My classes don't start until next week, the first week I was here was get the International Students settled in, second week is move in the UK students and start the first year classes, next week.. well, I guess I'll finally be starting!

Looking forward to that, anyways, though I'm sure I'll grumble I bit once it starts. Cheers for now.

And here's the rest

Wednesday, September 15^th 2010,

Had to wake up early again, still was not sleeping very well so not a lot of sleep was to be had that night, and I only got up at 9:30am, though I had set my alarm for 8:30am, and I finally left by 10:00am. I had to walk, again, to the Hepworth building and meet with Ken to once more, discuss classes. This time, I left with a class list and when I asked questions about it he mentioned I should refer back to Algoma for more information about how many I can, and should take and how this is all going to work out. I sent off an email, but I’m still waiting on that reply. I had to choose some classes, just to get me started until things are figured out on everybody’s end, I chose Cities, Western Europe, Regions of Risk and Space, Place and Politics going off the assumption that each class is equal to a six credit course, because it goes on through all three terms. I’m going to need to speak with Nicole back at Algoma to see if I can apply for the extension, since I actually do have a summer semester and I’m able to choose enough classes.

Afterwards, I just walked home, behind the university is some old ruins, I hated myself for not having my camera and I keep forgetting to go back, I will at some point. I have most of the year. After getting back, I cleaned up my room a bit, mostly stuff from unpacking and I just hadn’t found a good home for it yet, and then took some pictures around the kitchen, hall, room and flat. Amazingly enough, not long after this, the repair guys came in to fix my cable outlet for the internet, I was happy with my clean room. Chatted and joked around with them while they were fixing it, and then thanked them for it when they finished and it all worked again. Was wonderful to be able to sit here without worrying about my cable falling out randomly and disconnecting me while I was doing something.

I can’t say the rest of my day was too eventful, I was tired, I grabbed some sealable containers from ASDA and some laundry detergent so I can wash my clothes when I have enough for a load, watched some movies when I got back and finally, since I arrived, had my first hot shower. I have showered since I arrived, however, ice showers are not fun. Hot water is wonderful, awesome and most beloved, I hope it never leaves again. I will be terribly sad.

Thursday, September 16^th 2010

Finally, today! I got an email from Ken about my course selections today before I left, I didn’t sleep well again, but I’m hoping this stops soon, but he told me I was right in my assumption about how classes worked here. I got a bit lost on my way to the Augustine House, but made it only a bit late to the welcoming for the Tier 4 students and the other international students. They talked about what was around Canterbury and Kent, things we should go see before exploring further past the county. After that was done, we were let out to go get something to eat and drink, then we came back to discuss registering with a doctor, and why this was a good idea! So that was done, I have a doctor, I’m going to be registered for a health card number or something, they’ll get back to us about that. Still need travellers insurance, because that actually covers the costs, though it’s free to visit a doctor in the UK.

Afterwards, there was a session about Tier 4 Visa, which explained the rules and what to do for an extension. It was very distinctly something meant for people who were studying for their full degree here, the three of us on exchange weren’t really sure what to make of it since we don’t really fit in either programme they have set up to welcome and help the two different groups of international students. Immigration in the UK, well, the information around it, is heavily regulated by the government and no advice can be given professionally without an OISC certification, though this and the paper I will be writing is okay (I asked) because it’s essentially opinion and experience, and I must say that it was based on my experiences and try not to use advice so much (haha). Laura Spencer, the International Advisor, spoke to us about an Entry Clearance Correction Scheme that she runs in order to fix any mistakes or problems on the visas, and of something called a Schengan Visa which may or may not be needed to travel throughout Europe. More information definitely required there.

We wanted to explore, and really it was getting more difficult to sit around in the Augustine House not doing much when we wanted to explore, so we left and walked around the town centre some more until Jeromi had to get back for an outing with his housemates. Anne decided to go nap, and I decided I was going to go back to the Run of the Mill (pub up the street with wi-fi), and just relaxed. It’s not something I plan to do every day, but it’s nice to do every couple days because it’s relaxing and has a really nice atmosphere, and I can enjoy myself doing the things I normally would be doing. Plus, I’m not exactly missing out on anything considering it shows football (soccer), various other sports that are popular in the UK and plays music both popular around the world and in the UK.

I still don’t have any roommates, so my hallway is feeling a bit lonely but I’m sure I’ll feel differently in a week once the British students have moved in. I’m at least getting my appetite back too, which is just always good. While messing around with my mobile (I swear it hates my room), I went out front and met some more students from the UK, they gave me big hugs saying how they loved Canada (Canadia as one said) and Canadians, and invited me to spend time around. Anyways, things are getting better.  

Fire alarms in the UK are annoying

It’s been a couple days, and it’s probably going to be updates every couple days, I write everything down in a notebook I purchased to the best of my ability, or memory if I don’t have the chance to write it down as I go. It’s a good practice, it’s helping me remember more of what occurs during the day, which really is not a bad thing in the long run, and something I will need later on. The next few entries will be between the 14^th of September, to the 16^th of September since it’s the late evening (11:15pm) and I’m not up to too much for the rest of the night. Soon, I’m going to start writing out that paper about my experiences in getting to where I am now.

Tuesday, September 14^th 2010

Still not used to the time difference, and still having difficulty falling asleep at night and waking up for what I need to do in the morning, this morning I had to walk to the North Holmes Campus and meet with Ken Kennard, since CCCU really isn’t sure what to do with me and one of the Canadians, Jeromi, since we’re both Geography students but we keep getting put alongside the group of Americans who are studying in the History programme, the look of confusion is easily noted when mentioned we three aren’t part of the same group, and even more so when Jeromi and myself speak up. Worst still is, Geography was never told I was coming, I’m in the system, but as Ken Kennard put it, the right people haven’t been talking with the right people.  Since nothing could be done with my case until History talked with Geography, I was told I was free until the next day, while Anne had arrived to talk with Ken and Jeromi was sent to the Geography department.

I went downstairs and finished up my last post, I saw Anne walked out so I had ran to catch up and she mentioned she was going to look at mobiles, so I joined since I needed to anyways and good company. That’s how we got to the town centre, which is just a neat area which is mostly for pedestrian use (it’s actually marked in places as pedestrian zone only), and looked around the shops for mobile carriers, there was Vodophone, Orange and T-Mobile. Orange actually took away its plans for Canada and the USA, so we didn’t stay long, but at least Vodophone and T-Mobile had something in place for the influx of international students Canterbury seems to receive every year. It’s actually cheaper to call a cell phone or landline in Canada, being 5p a minute (100p in 1 pound, p is pennies), and 20p a minute locally. They sold mobiles for 9 pounds at T-Mobile, and the international rates for pay as you go were the same, so we stuck with T-Mobile and purchased our mobiles.

Afterwards, was lunch, at a nice little pub though the name is lost to me right now, something about a buttermarket, anyways, they served food and we thought it was a good idea. I tried fish and chips, though sadly not in a newspaper, but instead on a plate. Was great, very tasty. After eating we decided to explore a bit more, and took pictures (which I will post later), after that we made our way home so we could relax and do whatever we needed. I ended up going eventually back to ASDAs in order to buy some more food, and sat down for a little long before deciding I wanted to check out a pub just up the street that had free Wi-Fi and welcomed students. The dorms don’t allow any gaming at all, claiming it unproductive, though it is a bandwidth issue as well they have said (please don’t do this Algoma, your students will hate you), and have blocked specific ports because of this. After awhile, Anne came and joined me and we sat and watched the football (soccer) game for a bit until it started getting dark and late and the pub filled up.

Home again was uneventful, I just tried to sleep until of course, the fire alarm went off around 12:30am, the people living on the top floor had burned some food. Luckily, I was dressed though it was oddly like being back at Algoma for a few minutes, shivering in the cold. At least I have hot water now, not because of burned food though, one of the people upstairs showed me a hidden switch for the hot water.

Oh, and some pictures!

I went around today with one of the other Canadians, her name is Anne Stokes, to get a mobile for when I'm here. It's just pay as you go, but that is all I will need. It's only 5p for me to call landlines and cells in Canada so it was very appealing for us, not to mention the phones only cost about 10 pounds each, and then another 10 to top up the phone.

So, while we went looking around we ended up in the town centre, around St. Augustine's Cathedral amongst other things. I didn't take any pictures of the Cathedral, I'm sure that I'll take a tour of it sooner rather than later, and there were plenty of other interesting things to do.

Finally I get to it

Canterbury is a lovely city, I have to say and will really keep saying it; however as to be expected it is very different from any type of city I have ever known. The streets are very narrow, which includes the sidewalks, and everything is very packed together. I’m jetlagged, I ended up sleeping for twelve hours and missing the first two inductions, though I made it to the tail end of the second one and found out I need a private meeting with the American International Advisor which will be tomorrow at noon, I need to check again where it is because I’m afraid all I was distracted by being tired, hungry and very late. The private meeting is only because I don’t know which modules I’m supposed to be in, or chosen, in order to do classes here.

My plane ride was fairly uneventful, my mum and my boyfriend Michael took me to the airport and we wandered around for a bit before 8:00pm EST rolled around and they had to leave, and I had to go to the boarding area. I chatted with a lady returning to England, mostly about the process in which we had to get on the plane to leave. Around 9:30pm we boarded the plane, and I sat in my seat beside the window and that was when it started to rain. I made a joke to the person sitting beside me about how we were bringing the rain with us. When we took off, I got to see Toronto from above all lit up, it was very neat, the person I sat beside had studied Geography and Geology so he was one of the few people who has never asked me if I would be doing cartography mostly. Window viewing at night is really only good when the lights are off, but the majority of the flight the lights remained on so people could read or do whatever. The inflight movies were Letters to Juliet, which was an adorable and cute love story and Iron Man 2, which I’ve seen before and it got too late so I fell asleep.

So as to yesterday, my day of arrival now that I’ve had my small rant, we arrived around 9:35am GMT at the London Gatwick Airport and they weren’t too happy with me at customs because they expected students to already have their loans sorted out by the time the students arrive, which I explained it’s sorted, it just hasn’t been deposited as of yet. After that, I went and collected my bags, the same fellow I’d sat beside on the plane helped me load my trolley and then I went searching for the meeting point for the driver who was picking me up. It took awhile to find him, but once I did he helped me get my bags down to the parking lot and into his van. It was very strange to sit on the left side of the car, it was almost like I was getting in to drive. We were almost stuck along the motorway due to an accident between Gatwick and Canterbury, but the drivers wife called to warn him, and moments later his employer called to say the same. He was a nice man, talked about the UK, Canterbury and he told me some funny stories about some American students he has brought to the university before.

Since I’ve landed, I’ve been called an American (and Irish) on many occasions, especially in the information settings though most apologize when I have told them I’m a Canadian, and even remark after a few more sentences of conversation that I don’t have as deep an accent as many Americans do. I’m living in a flat, the layout is two halls on each floor which have four bedrooms, a shower room with toilet and a full kitchen, that is 14 - 20 Hamill Terrace. So far, I am the only one living on my floor, though there is one person a floor below and six people on the floors above.

Getting here, and getting in my room was fine, though I felt a bit cramped at first it’s fine now, I got a bed and kitchen package which helped me get started. I went for a walk to the nearby ASDA (as-da) which is the UK version of Wal-mart. I only picked up some conditioner, bath soap, nutella, bread and peanut butter because my hunger ruled out the smart idea to check out what sort of kitchen I had, despite Jayne telling me I did in fact have a kitchen. Neat store, huge as per the Wal-mart franchises, I haven’t been in too many others though I’ve seen a few I’d like to go visit.

I have met two Canadians so far, Jeromi Chiu and Anne Stokes who are from the universities of Lethbridge and Victoria, we’ve tended to do things together because otherwise it’s to be lost in a wave of Americans who all have their own groups from their home universities. The school is arranging a thanksgiving dinner for the American students in November, we joked about having our own Thanksgiving dinner that we would make ourselves (and to anyone who wished to join us). There are many trips planned within the next two months, though in two months out of the nine I really only want to attend one of those trips and explore more on my own since it’s done through a private tour company aimed at students. I have also met, and socialised with the people living in the flat with me, they are from Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus and are all very interesting people.

I did have a fit, or two rather, of homesickness, which I’ve been told is completely normal, even for the students coming from the nearby communities and towns. They’ve shown us around a bit for the city, how to get to the Campus (though I still get lost) and how to get to St. Augustine’s House (the library/international office/staff offices/etc.) and given us maps and a self tour guide for the city.

It’s taken a bit to write this, because so much has been happening since I landed Sunday and it’s only Tuesday now, I’ve slept in for about twelve hours the first evening and for less than six last night because it feels way too early to wake up or go to bed. I’ll update again in a few days once the mess of my courses are settled.

Arrival

I have arrived, and so much (and so little) has happened today and I am exhausted so I think bed first and then I'll write a new post up for tomorrow evening, with some pictures I hope!

Today is the Day

My flight takes off tonight at the Pearson International Airport, at 9:55pm EST, to say I'm not nervous would be wrong. I'm fairly nervous, but I am also very excited to finally be going, and done.

The visa process itself has been highly frustrating to me, and for my family who has helped me complete all the documents I needed to fill in. It is done however, enough said, I will be writing a paper on it soon enough. As of tomorrow morning, 9:55am GMT I can put that behind me, and focus on my new adventure.

I'll miss home, of course, I can't imagine not missing it. I'm pulling the same funny cycle of moving in the direction of eight hours (Sault Ste. Marie is about eight hours driving from Toronto, the UK is about eight hours flying from Toronto). Going up to the Soo this last week reminded me why I moved up north, it's lovely, wonderful and just feels nice to go up there.

Anyways, everything is packed (I hope!) and I'm just about ready to fly.

Amending before

The very nice delivery guy from DHL called and said he would be heading back to the apartment yesterday in order to deliver my visa package, totally unexpected! Very nice guy him, props to him! I have my visa (well, it's at the apartment since I'm still away), and I can do everything else I need to do no problem. I am for sure going next Saturday. Yay!

At last.. Sorta!

My visa was approved yesterday (September 2nd), and it actually arrived today but alas, I'm visiting my grandparents for the last time and nobody was home. The delivery guy plans to call for 6:30pm to tell me if it's possible to be picked up tomorrow. It's done, it's approved, I just need to get it from the drop off point!

I'm set to leave September 11th, flying around 9pm and arriving around 9-10am in Gatwick.

Also, happy birthday Elizabeth Cooke!