Finally!!! An update!!!

Well, here I am, finally typing an update to my blog. Sitting on a Greyhound bus, on my way to Toronto. Updating this regularly has already failed as a plan, but hopefully now that I’ve half settled down into a schedule at uni, I will be able to update you more frequently. Note that after having typed this, I realise it is very long. Please take the time to read it; I promise it wont be as long in the future, but 3 weeks have passed since I've been here, so I didn't want to leave out all the good stuff!

So, where do I start? Well my flight to LA was great - took 12 hours, and really enjoyed the services of V Australia. At LAX (arrived at 6am local time) we got through customs within 15-20 mins, which was a real nice surprise. The 12.30pm Air Canada flight to Montreal was just as trouble-free, except for Montreal’s customs, where I had to wait in three separate lines that took over 2 hours all up (see photo). By this time it was now 11pm local time, so I finally picked up my abandoned luggage that went around the carousel god-knows-how-many-times, and caught a cab to the HI Hostel, where I fell asleep in exhaustion. I might note that during the cab ride, i’m surprised to say that it didn’t feel very weird that we were driving on the wrong side of the road. Sitting on the bus now, I’m completely used to it. Except at intersections.

So at the hostel I met all the other international students, and the next day we all got the bus to our new home, Bishops University (about 2hrs from Montreal). What can I say? Its awesome!!! The campus is even more stunning than I expected it to be, with classic buildings, heaps of green grass and massive trees, and plenty of squirrels too!

I was quite worried about how good my room was actually going to be, but was pleasantly surprised by its size (about the same as my one back at home). And the shower is AWESOME - The pressure can actually hurt!!

Then there is the campus dining hall, a mere 1 minute walk from my residence. I must say, it is one of my favourite parts of Bishops. Unlimited food, from 7am till 11pm. Their specific breakfast/lunch/dinner menu however is offered at designated times only, but it has a 4 week rotation, meaning we’re always getting new varieties of hot food (that is of very decent quality). Always on offer there is a breakfast bar, toast, a salad bar including fruit, a dessert bar (ice-cream, cakes, biscuits), hot chips, pasta, soup, and my favourite, FRESHLY MADE PIZZA!!! They literally make the dough and everything - they always taste great, especially after my Monday night lecture which finishes at 10pm.

Speaking of classes, I have mostly enjoyed them so far. The professors (not lecturers thank you very much) all have a deep knowledge of what they are talking about, whether it be for marketing, or for business law, where the professor is actually a practicing lawyer. French 1 is quite hard, with the prof already teaching 3/4 of it in French - I get exited when he says a number or tells the time, coz thats about all I understand of him. But generally I think I have a harder job to learn it then most of my peers, who seem to have already taken French at high school. Business law is the tough subject, and is much more serious than what i’d get in Law & Ethics back at QUT. For the first time ever I have been forced to actually read my textbook, which we have to write weekly assessment on. My favourite two classes however are the Marketing ones. I mean, how awesome is it that my level 3 Marketing Communication subject is exactly the same as IMC, which I did last semester?!? And even better, the 1st year Consumer Behaviour subject (which I somehow got approval for), is exactly the same as the MARKETING CORE UNIT I did when I started at QUT. So its super easy stuff :D

All of the actual classrooms are on the same floor for me, so I can only speak for my building, but they have cushioned swivel chairs, fit about 30-35 students, and have full multimedia facilities. However, they use chalkboards!!!! And all of my professors use them - it reminds me so much of primary school...

Ummm, what else is there to talk about? Oh yeah, if I arrived to Bishops on the Friday (2nd), and didn’t start classes till Wednesday, what on earth was I doing??? FROSH WEEK!!! Now, watch any of the American Pie movies. There you go, you’ve just seen what I was up to. In short, it was where everyone gets to know each other break the awkwardness barrier, through lots of cheering, rallies, field days, campus tours, and parties. The theme for Frosh Week was the Olympics, with 2nd year Canadians as Frosh Leaders for their desired countries, leaving us Froshies to decide which we wanted to join.

Being the patriotic man that I am, I joined Australia, along with a few Aussies, a Pommie, some other international students, as well as Canadians. What a great bunch. We didn’t win any competitions, but we definitely had heaps of fun. It must be said though, that by the 4th or 5th day, Frosh Week seemed to be getting a little too long, and there was less participation by some towards the end. But on Saturday, the last night, everyone went for one last final celebration, and it was a fantastic end to the week!

So, since that finished and classes began, I went to Montreal last weekend with a large group of international students, and we all ticked off the last tourist sights we hadn’t been to. And, as I continue to type this (almost done!) on the bus, I am (as said before), on my way to Toronto, where myself and five other friends are spending three nights to visit Niagara falls and explore the city. If all goes to plan, I’ll be able to update the blog on my way back, or shortly afterwards, and it shouldn’t be anywhere near as long.

Oh, and here are some other random things that you may wish to know:
- Bishops is beyond comparison with anything in Australia when it comes to school spirit. Whether it be at pep rallies, Frosh Week or the Gaiters football games, almost everyone will turn up, and chant their hearts out. It is quite unlike anything I have experienced before, and you’re uncool if you don’t join in.
- Speaking of football (the American one that is), I still don’t understand it; They have four quarters of 15 minutes, yeah there are so many gaps between them actually doing something that they play music, and the game ends up being 4 hrs long. But i’m keen to understand why they prefer it to the NRL :P
- We ride in old-school (literally) American buses! (see photo)
- Whenever I describe something like football or buses, I call it American, because I know that people understand this stereotype, even though it is the same in Canada. Canadians hate it.
- The toilets: Yes, you do want to know about this. Yes, they do indeed flush the other way. And no, they are anything but water efficient: Apparently they use 15L per flush!
- The people here are all super friendly, and even in the local towns or Montreal, French people seem quite able and willing to speak in English, which is fortunate for the moment (until I can hold a basic conversation).
- Canada actually has 4 proper seasons, not like the virtual 2 in Australia. As I look outside the bus window, the trees have shades of green, yellow, orange, red, and everything in-between. It is truly beautiful
- The weather has been absolutely beautiful so far. The first week and a half was nothing but sunshine, and in 3 weeks we’ve only had two half-days of rain, and yesterday we had a full day of it. But today, its brilliant sunshine again! Its quite warm too, I’m currently just in a t-shirt, and I don’t usually wear more then a jumper, even at night.
- It is really annoying buying stuff here; while the initial purchase price may look good, I have to remember to add two separate taxes onto the product, as well as a 10-15% tip for anywhere that has provided a service for you. It ends up not being as cheap as I’d have hoped... But hey, thats what i’ve saved money for!

Well, thats all I can think of for now. Everything else will come in future blog posts, so even though I’ve let you down so far, I promise to do my best to keep you coming back! It makes it so worth it too if you leave comments down below :) If you want more photos or something, just give me a shout.

Till next time, Au Revoir!

P.S. Postcards coming soon! If you want one, let me know! Email me your address to aussie_jono@hotmail.com
P.P.S. More photos coming soon as well. These ones aren't the best, but its all i could find, because most of them are on my external hard drive, which I don't have with me at the moment. I'll probably make a separate post just with more photos!