Edinburgh Exchanges

One month down, seven to go……. As of tomorrow I will have been a Vancouver resident and student for one month exactly which has somewhat taken me by surprise.  I still feel as if I’m settling in and getting to grips with all that this place has to offer.  For example today I went to my first rugby training with the UBC Thunderbirds and on Thursday I’ll be at the new members meeting for the Varsity Outdoors Club.  So I guess in some ways it seems like I’ve got off to a pretty slow start. 

Academically, this is definitely not the case, in the last week I’ve had three exams, one assignment and an assessed tutorial.  The assessment has given me a chance to see how my grades might compare between here and back in Edinburgh, so when I was initially delighted to see 73% on one of my papers (an A grade back in the world of Kings Buildings and George Square) I later learned that this translates to a measly B minus on the UBC campus.  Ultimately this year is all about passing; the grades don’t count towards my degree classification so all the pressure rests on fourth year.  Realistically I really need to get myself in to a working frame of mind or next year will be a disaster!

Anyway, back to more current events!  Highlights of the last week include spotting my first Canadian celebrity.  Dion, (Stéphane not Celine!) the Liberal party leader for Canada interrupted my cocktail drinking in a bar on campus to make a grand entrance after he had made an appearance at one of the university theatres as part of his campaign trail.  There is a general election on October 14^th so in theory I may have seen the future prime minister!  By all accounts Vancouver has its fair share of visiting celebrities as it pretends to be other cities in various films such as X-men and Juno.  Rumour has it that Julie Andrews and ‘The Rock’ are to be seen around at the moment, although what they’re doing in a film together no one knows. 

 

Over the weekend I spent one day working then took advantage of the good weather on Sunday to hike up Grouse Mountain (Vancouver’s equivalent of Arthur’s Seat…. only 900m higher.)  The “Grouse Grind”, as it is affectionately labelled, is a 2.9km trail which climbs 853 metres which basically equates to being a lot hard work and 2,830 stairs.  I made it to the summit at 1,127metres in 90 minutes which by all accounts is about the average time of most mere mortals.  For those who fit into the superhuman category, 24 minutes is apparently the time to beat.  I arrived at the top and appreciated the stunning views of Vancouver before watching the sun set which was a truly memorable experience.  I think it was the first time in my life I’ve ever heard a group of people applaud the sun as it disappeared behind the mountains. 

 

The journey down on the Skyride cable car was equally as impressive as it provided an aerial view of Vancouver and all the city’s lights.  After a day of being a tourist I arrived home immensely tired; needless to say the 7am alarm clock the following morning was not appreciated…. Welcome to week five!

Another exhausting week. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever not be tired during my time at Haverford.

Election fever is becoming infectious, and I was finally able to register to vote (there’s no voter fraud here, folks, I’m an American citizen) after schlepping to get my Social Security Number and filling out far too many forms. I, along with everybody else at Haverford, spent Friday night watching the debate between Obama and McCain on television, and then bashing McCain afterwards – I haven’t yet met a Republican at Haverford.

On the student politics front, Sunday night was spent at Plenary (like Edinburgh’s AGMs) on the gym floor voting on everything from changing grammar in the constitution to demanding letters of apology from the faculty. Haverford students get really into Plenary, and everyone brings blankets, pillows, work, food and drinks, and makes a social occasion of directing the future of the college. I took my English Literature reading (Walter Benjamin and Freud – whoop-de-doo) and played hearts.

Haverford really encourages student involvement in every aspect of college life. From Plenary to deciding what food to include in the week’s menu, students can have their input heard and actually acted upon. Student politics is a lot more fun at Edinburgh, if only for the leaflets, rumours, and scathing newspaper editorials on candidates’ policies, but the very fact that students are so involved in all areas of the college here means that what they promise during elections can generally be achieved.

Food is a case in point. Whilst Edinburgh students were powerless to change the frankly appalling JMC food due to the use of outside catering companies. Haverford students, meanwhile, work in our cafeteria (the DC – short for Dining Centre – très original) and student input has resulted in different foods being served, theme days, and the use of local and organic produce. Consequently, dinner tonight was genuinely delicious – chicken roasted in herbs and spices, sautéed organic green beans, Mexican rice salad, sundried tomato focaccia bread, peach pie and berry cobbler. I would have had thirds, but then I’d have had to spend an extra half hour in the gym, and I’m busy enough as it is.

The title of this blog was uttered today by my friend Peter - Haverford has lots of squirrels (our mascot is the Black Squirrel - and they're real!), and they aren't in the least scared of humans. As the college is an arboretum, they have plenty of trees in which to sit and occasionally scare passing students.

This weekend is the excellently-titled Screw Your Roommate Dance where we have to fix up our friends with people they either like or don’t know. The dates remain a secret until the night of the dance, when pre-arranged phrases are read out uniting the couples.

Obviously, there will be a full report come next week.