The End of Term
This post will probably be short and sweet, as I am just giving you an update. It is the end of the Fall 2017 term! I am officially half way through the year abroad.
The end of term has been slightly less exciting than the beginning. It has been characterised by final papers, revision, exams and illness. Money is also a little tight, and I have been desperately trying to save up for Christmas, so I haven’t been embarking on as many adventures recently. But I have still managed to squeeze some affordable fun in! I went and explored the Vancouver Mural Festival in Mount Pleasant. The last two weeks have had beautiful weather on the Mountain, so I have enjoyed running amongst the mountain views and watching stunning sunsets – the best I have ever seen, which is saying something considering I watched the sunset over a thousand Pagoda’s in Bagan last Christmas. And last weekend we had a celebratory Christmas meal to mark the end of term and to get into the festive season.
I am hugely relieved that this term is over. The academic semester here is 13 weeks, without a reading week, and at the end you launch straight into exam season. It is exhausting. I am very ready for a break from academic work. However, the end is also bitter sweet. Many exchange students only stay for one semester, and so the end of term also marks the end of their time in Canada. All 3 of my flatmates are leaving – two to fly back to Denmark and one for a study placement in Alberta – and a number of my other close friends are flying home, or jetting off to other countries to continue their travels. It is genuinely heart-breaking! When you move to a new country you only know a handful of people, so to have half of them fly away is a little overwhelming! I am going to miss them all enormously, and it is hard to imagine life in Canada without them. I feel very grateful that I am moving into a shared house with a great group of people, as this makes the thought of our other friends leaving slightly more bearable.
But to move on from sad goodbyes… This weekend I will be heading up to Whistler for 10 days, where I am staying with a group of university friends and also spending Christmas Day. We are going to have a truly white Christmas and I am very excited! And then shortly after we arrive back from skiing, my boyfriend Jamie – who I haven’t seen for 4 months - will be coming to visit from England! So even though the end of term is sad, and filled with goodbyes, I am also extremely excited about the future adventures ahead.
I am going to leave you now because I still, unfortunately, have an exam to revise for, and also have that little matter of packing up and moving out of halls to tackle…
The blog may be a little quiet over Christmas while I am skiing, but I will update you when I get back. Bye for now! x
The end of term has been slightly less exciting than the beginning. It has been characterised by final papers, revision, exams and illness. Money is also a little tight, and I have been desperately trying to save up for Christmas, so I haven’t been embarking on as many adventures recently. But I have still managed to squeeze some affordable fun in! I went and explored the Vancouver Mural Festival in Mount Pleasant. The last two weeks have had beautiful weather on the Mountain, so I have enjoyed running amongst the mountain views and watching stunning sunsets – the best I have ever seen, which is saying something considering I watched the sunset over a thousand Pagoda’s in Bagan last Christmas. And last weekend we had a celebratory Christmas meal to mark the end of term and to get into the festive season.
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| The view when running through Burnaby Mountain Park. |
I am hugely relieved that this term is over. The academic semester here is 13 weeks, without a reading week, and at the end you launch straight into exam season. It is exhausting. I am very ready for a break from academic work. However, the end is also bitter sweet. Many exchange students only stay for one semester, and so the end of term also marks the end of their time in Canada. All 3 of my flatmates are leaving – two to fly back to Denmark and one for a study placement in Alberta – and a number of my other close friends are flying home, or jetting off to other countries to continue their travels. It is genuinely heart-breaking! When you move to a new country you only know a handful of people, so to have half of them fly away is a little overwhelming! I am going to miss them all enormously, and it is hard to imagine life in Canada without them. I feel very grateful that I am moving into a shared house with a great group of people, as this makes the thought of our other friends leaving slightly more bearable.
But to move on from sad goodbyes… This weekend I will be heading up to Whistler for 10 days, where I am staying with a group of university friends and also spending Christmas Day. We are going to have a truly white Christmas and I am very excited! And then shortly after we arrive back from skiing, my boyfriend Jamie – who I haven’t seen for 4 months - will be coming to visit from England! So even though the end of term is sad, and filled with goodbyes, I am also extremely excited about the future adventures ahead.
I am going to leave you now because I still, unfortunately, have an exam to revise for, and also have that little matter of packing up and moving out of halls to tackle…
The blog may be a little quiet over Christmas while I am skiing, but I will update you when I get back. Bye for now! x
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