We have friends...

Hi friends & family!

Sorry for not updating sooner...since mom left Zainah and I have been out and about running errands and making friends. We're actually managing quite well sans-parents, which is reassuring. On Sunday after mom left, we went wandering around the city centre trying to find out where everyone chills in the evenings...oddly enough we ended up at this restaurant/bar called Varsity and met a fellow Canadian working there! His name is Dan and he's from North York and I guess you could say we hit the jackpot because he knows EVERYONE! He told us about a costume party (called Fancy Dress here) that the medical students were holding on Tuesday. So we decided to go (wearing costumes we brought for Halloween!) and met so many of Dan's friends...some Brits and some Canadians, all really friendly and accomodating people.

The social culture here isn't much different than what you'd see in Toronto...except that Zainah and I felt sort of old with all the 'freshers' around (that's slang for first year students). And the thing I can't stand the most is how limp British people's hands are when you shake them! There is nothing worse than shaking a limp hand...remember that people! What's probably going to take some getting used to is the demeanor of Brits in general. It's hard to explain, but they give off this vibe as if they're really unimpressed by you, kind of like a cold shoulder. But the truth is, Brits are just like that. You'll find the occassional exception of course, but for the most part people here just aren't as friendly as North Americans. It's rather ironic that we're in the land of manners yet they lack the most basic of courtesies. The music here is alright. They play a lot of Cheese, which is nostalgic 80's and 90's music (think YMCA, Play that funky music white boy...your favourite song dad ;) ).

This week campus hosted a welcome programme for international students which included lectures on adjusting to British culture and how to find part time work...and they also had tours of the city and social events in the evenings. We checked out a couple of the lectures, but it feels like everything is catered to undergrads moreso than postgraduate students. There's nothing 'new' we learned at the sessions that friends haven't already told us (or that we've figured out on our own). I'm starting to feel more antsy about classes...I feel like I've been out of school too long and my brain is turning to 'mush' - I need to get back into academics or read a textbook or write an essay soon!

Come to think of it...we did learn something new at the seminar today on the British education system. Apparently here the grading only goes upto 80 (but that's considered an extremely high mark - only about 3-5% of students are within that range, also known as graduating with distinction). A good mark is a 70 - that's like an A (graduating with merit)...so mom, dad, if I tell you I got a 70 on my paper, you should be very happy!

Hmmm I don't really have anything else to report on at the moment. I've uploaded a short video to give you a better idea of our neighborhood - hope it works for you all!

Oh and for mom and all the mom-ish people who are wondering: the house is still clean (we clean every saturday), we've been cooking good, healthy meals and dressing warm on chilly days...we don't make eye contact with creepy looking guys and we lock our doors all the time...and Z and I take our vitamins every morning - thanks for getting those mom. :)

Missing you all lots - feel free to post comments - so long as they're kosher I'll approve them...

Love Always,

Div

Back on Track (written today)

YAY! We finally have internet – our lives have been restored! This past week has been a combination of fun and frustration. I think four out of five days we made trips to the city centre either for shopping or to set up bank accounts, internet and cell phones (which we’ve yet to purchase, since you need a debit card first, which is on its way in the mail). We’ve also been to campus three times (it’s more like a 15 minute walk than 10 – so at least I’ll get my 30 minutes of daily cardio in!) and it’s quite beautiful. Old buildings covered in vines and rows of white roses along the pathway – OH – and the craziest thing: the LIFTS!!! Zainah and I have most of our classes in the “Attenborough Tower” (yes, it’s named after Sir Richard Attenborough and yes, it’s an actual tower, but the windows are being replaced so it looks really odd from the outside – sort of like something from Hellraiser)…so to get to the different floors, they have these crazy lifts that don’t stop moving! We had no idea how to get on and off so we asked someone and they told us you just hop on. So with great hesitation, we jumped on the lift…there’s a great video of our experience I’ll do my best to upload later. The first night we walked to campus mom came with us and we went to the library to try and use their computers (without any luck). But a security guard was very helpful and informative – he gave us maps and all kinds of pamphlets. Before we left mom asked him if the park we walk through is safe at night, to which he replied “Well, we do get a lot of boogies around here…” (sidenote: don’t freak out, the pathway we walk along is lined with 24 hour, 360 degree security cameras and there’s a shuttle that comes every hour on campus to take you wherever you need to go at night). But the funniest part was that after he said that I asked “So what do you mean, boogies…like ghosts?” and mom goes “No Div, he’s saying Bullies not Boogies!!!”…we all had a big laugh about that…but even Zainah heard him say ‘boogies’! I think it had something to do with what we were reading earlier that day about how Leicester is the most haunted city in the UK – apparently they run lots of ghost tours at Halloween time (it’s on our to-do list).

What else has been going on? Well we drink lots of tea every day – it was sort of an automatic thing because the weather just makes you feel for tea all the time, it really makes a lot of sense. It doesn’t rain here as often as people make it seem – we’ve had some generally mild days so far with scattered showers in between, but nothing that lasts all day (sigh* I sound like a meteorologist). Everyone in our neighbourhood is extremely friendly (and extremely South Asian – another reason for the quiet vibe, some stores are even shut down for the entire month of Ramadan); mom keeps introducing us to all the store owners and telling them to watch out for us and they’re very glad to do so…so it’s a nice feeling to know people have taken us under their wings J…The shopping is really great too – but all the stores are kind of expensive when you convert the prices. Except for one…PRIMARK!!! It’s better than H&M (believe it). In three floors you can get everything from trendy tops for 8 £ to towels for 1.50 £. It’s our favourite store – but you have to be careful since everyone shops there not to buy very popular, common stuff (thanks David for the advice).

Tomorrow there’s an Open Day on campus…so it’s supposed to have more people touring and gathering information – I think we’re really looking forward to making friends and developing our social life…kind of getting a little boring now that nearly everything is in order. Don’t get me wrong, Z and I are getting along just fine! I think we’ll make great flatmates – she likes to clean and I like to cook...and every day we become a little closer (awww)...but really, I'm looking forward to all the fun we're going to have this year!

Stay tuned for more updates...

Back Tracking (actually written on the 17th)

OK…so we’re here safe and sound! I’m actually writing this without any internet as of yet (which we’re hoping to resolve tomorrow). It’s been a crazy couple of days, starting with a 4 hour delay at Pearson. The plane ride itself wasn’t too bad – we somehow made up an hour in flight so it only took about 6 hours to get here. But a 2 hour bus ride later, we finally arrived in Leicester! Yesterday we struggled a bit mainly because of the long journey and the overwhelming feeling of it all. The city didn’t seem that great either – kind of empty and old. Our ‘flat’ is just perfect for Zainah and I though – small, but clean and cozy. Our landlord was kind enough to refurbish the kitchen and bathroom, as well as put in clean carpet, new mattresses, couches, a small tv and some new kitchenwares (this house was built in 1902). Some of what we packed was really unnecessary. We managed to find space for all of our stuff and feel more settled in today (I’ll post some pictures soon!). It’s actually very quiet on our street so at first we thought we were living in a ghost town! Yesterday I didn’t feel jet-lagged at all…I fell right asleep at 10 and slept in later than mom and Zainah…tonight however…well it’s 1 AM and even though I’m tired I’m not sleepy (if that makes any sense).

Today we took a trip into the city centre (about a 5 minute bus ride from us) and it was so lively! Business people, students, moms with their kids, all bustling from store to store. Mom, Zainah and I breathed a sigh of relief after seeing all the action (not to mention wicked cool shops!). I think my mom loved the food market the most. You can buy virtually any fruit or vegetable you want in bulk and for quite cheap…and all the salespeople shout out their deals amidst the shopping. We didn’t realize they closed at ‘half-four’ (4:30) so we ran from stall to stall with our bags trying to buy whatever last minute items we could!

We also went to Sainsbury’s today. They’re a popular grocery store here. Oh and that’s another thing…the organic selection here is INCREDIBLE!!! Most products are cheaper or the same price as the normal stuff – and we also got a flyer for free delivery of organic fruits & veggies (Carol you’d love it). We’ll definitely be using that on rainy days. After dropping off all our heavy bags we took a cab over to the ASDA’s, sister store to Wal-Mart. The selection of food there was just as good as any grocery store. It’s actually mainly food and lacking in a lot of basics you would find at Wal-Mart. So we’ve still got a number of things to collect on our list which we’re planning on finding at Poundland i.e. Dollarama. We did manage to cook our first meal for dinner – mashed potatoes, baked salmon and a salad – yummy! But there’s not much to do after dinner without cable, phone or internet. So I’m looking forward to resolving all of that tomorrow.

What’s left…well, we’ve also got to check out the campus and see what that’s all about, I’m hoping it’ll be similar to the city centre in terms of liveliness and excitement. To whomever asked me about this: yes, English muffins are just called muffins here…but they also sell normal muffins called muffins too! The accents take some getting used to – especially because it seems like everyone we meet has their own personal take on it…there’s no ‘universal’ Leicester accent to listen for really (which we think has something to do with the large immigrant population). I’ll write up some more later, mom’s fallen asleep right next to me! All in all though, we’re doing just fine, so don’t worry about us too much, alright?

Miss you all a lot (especially you Amm :p)

Pre-Leicester

Hi Everyone!

So, don't freak out yet...I've still got one week left before I'm shipped off to the UK. But I just wanted to establish my blog, and let you all know that I will be trying my best to blog on a weekly basis from now on. That way you can read about all my experiences as they happen!


I can't believe how quickly everything has fallen into place. This time last year, I was filling out my application and now I'm filling up my suitcases! I've been asked some common questions so here's a FAQ section to help you out:

1. When do you leave?
-Saturday, September 15th, 8:00 pm

2. How do you feel?

-Sometimes I'm in a very calm mood, either because a) it hasn't hit me yet or b) I know that this is exactly what I should be doing. Other times I'm so excited and anxious to leave, I can't wait! I am slightly worried about the program, because I'm not sure what to expect of my classmates' experience & knowledge, and the material we'll be studying, but the whole purpose of doing your MA is to expand your understanding of a particular field and learn as much as possible, so I'm hoping for a challenge in the best of ways.

3. How long is your program?

-12 months. From October to April we take classes, and in the summer we work on our dissertation. But I will be coming home at Christmas for a couple weeks.

So there you have it folks, my life in a nutshell. Don't worry, my posts will only get more interesting from here on (once we get an internet connection set up in our house). I'll do my best to post up some pictures as well.


Before I close off, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has given me their love and support this year. Friends, Family, Professors, you've been so helpful in preparing me to take this big step in my life. I sincerely appreciate everything you've done - thank you!


Cheerio!