Aug 2006

So here I am... I'm actually, finally, really here.

Yay! *cue little excited jumping around the room* (Hey, there's no one here to notice! :P)

Already I've noticed the HUGE difference between UBC and NUS (and USyd for that matter too):

• It's at a completely different scale. I know Universities always feel huge when you first arrive, but with 12,000 students living here, and 40,000+ studying, it has to be huge. And it definitely is - especially with no nifty shuttle bus doing the rounds.

• Everyone is really friendly - in lifts, they wait for you; everyone says 'hi'; bus drivers give directions and are patient; sop assistants start sporadic conversations with you. What began as something that was kinda creepy has rapidly turned into something I'm convinced would make Sydney a better place if we adopted it. How can a city be dangerous or dull if everyone has such a positive attitude!

• The food on campus is not only cheap, but of fairly good quality. And there are loads of 'chain' restaurants here too - and three pubs which can only be a good thing Each of them are hugely popular for their own special 'nights': Koerner's for its live music on Mondays, The Gallery for its $8 pitchers and karaoke on Tues, and the Pit for its Wednesday night parties.

• Varsity sport is huge here. It's such a North American thing and the rumours/stereotypes are true. There are jocks and cheerleaders and quarterbacks and frats and sororities. It's just so bizarre to actually be here in amongst it all!

• Student politics are alive and well, but not in the way we know it. There are no big rallies/political debates or anything ... yet. Apparently student elections are just as debaucherous and narrow-minded as at home! Yay! And there's no VSU!

But back to what I did today - I got my UBCCard (Student ID) and U-Pass (unlimited transport pass) from the bookstore, shopped around a little for random supplies (and noticed how many things have 'UBC' written on 'em!), before taking a tour of campus. This only re-affirmed my belief that the campus is HUGE, but it was a great way to meet people - so far I've met Nicole (UQ), Ella (Melbourne), Clare (USyd), Fi (Nottingham), Cat (Brighton) and Hunter (USA). Not a hugely varied group there I know, but it's early days!

A group of us had dinner at the on-campus Irish Pub Mahoney's (every University should have one of these!), which was great, and an awesome way to meet the other Sydneysiders who are here. After that we thought we'd try out the 'Pit' - the infamous UBC version of Manning. Only more 'pit-like' and seedy. At least pre-semester it's quite quiet and we even danced a little!

After waking late (I'm saying that a lot now aren't I?!), I had a quick shower, breakfast and some final packing before leaving for Frankfurt Airport.

Up until this point I'd only seen a small part of Frankfurt airport and it really didn't impress me. Now I got to go exploring a little and it's really quite expansive - all glass and open space! Very German though in its layout - everyone in it's place and a place for everything.

I also managed to weasel my way out of paying extra for the 43kg of luggage I had. So far, so good

The actual plane itself was really really new. It was an Airbus A340-600 and had all these strange amendments that actually made it far more comfortable for long-haul flights than Economy should be. Aside from the wanker flight attendent who wanted to ID me! What's up with that - it's a German plane, therefore the legal age is 16, and I don't look 16 do I?!?

But yeah, this plane had really 'natural' lighting, a 2-4-2 seat layout, cup holders in the back of the seat in front (which saves having the table down all the time), curved tray tables (so you can shimmy into your seat without lifting them completely), and all the toilets placed together downstairs, with its own little waiting area. There wasn't an in-seat entertainment system (which I think Lufthansa will have to change rather soon!), but the central screens were huge and really clear. The only downside was they spent the entire time screening crap like the gymnastic 'comedy' Stick It (with such gems as "It's not called gym-nice-tics!") and Take the Lead.

And before I knew it I was in Vancouver waiting for my luggage to come off the plane!

First impressions: everything is bilingual, there are loads of different nationalities speaking in Canadian accents (such a good thing!), really nice airport and really friendly people!

I met Mike (from Nottingham, UK) at the airport waiting for the UBC shuttle (complimentary!) and on the shuttle I met a Dutch girl, a Singaporean guy and a Chinese girl. So international already - although we all live in different rez'.

And onto Gage (the residence ('rez') where I live: my room is quite large, with a much much more comfortable bed than in Singapore. Gage itself is made up of 3 17-storey tours, with each floor holding 24 students (in 4 'quads' with 6 rooms in each). This means it's HUGE, but still quiet at the moment, as most local students don't move in to Sept 2 (this coming Sat). My linen failed to arrive on time (no bother, the 24-hr front desk gave me spares), but we have a TV, which more than makes up for it!

After a quick dinner (at McDonalds I ashamedly admit) with Mike, I went to bed. Considering that I had actually been up for 20 or so hours, I think I was running completely on adrenaline and endorphins!

So today was it - officially my last day in the UK and the beginning of a 2-day expedition to Vancouver to begin my semester abroad - the real reason I left Sydney in the first place!

I spent the morning with Evelyn, doing some shopping in M&S (and ogling over all the food - I love their selection!), and watching TV.

The trip to Edinburgh airport took about 2hrs total, including a taxi trip to Glasgow Queen St station (with a driver who was a student of Evelyn 37 years ago!), a train to Edinburgh and a bus to the airport. With all my luggage I was SO glad to arrive at the airport and just relax! I even got to use the internet on my laptop and (just!) download all my emails (all 860 that I'd accumulated over the 2 months!).

I had deliberately arrived at the airport early, given that it was only a few weeks after the huge security scare. In hindsight, this was not so necessary, but it nearly was! There was a MASSIVE queue right next to the Lufthansa check-in booth and I though 'ooh bugger', but instead that was all for BMI (being end of Bank Holiday everyone wanted to get to England, and almost all flights were delayed to some degree). So I proceeded really quickly to a massive queue for security, but it went through SO fast - everyone just obeyed and started preparing far before they got to the x-ray machines - i.e. by taking off shoes/jackets/laptops etc. There were something like 15 machines too, which helped!

The flight was fairly uneventful and before I knew it I was at the first real hotel of the trip so far! It's very plain, but oh so comfy! And as a huge bonus, Ange called! Yay!

And now it's time for bed ... tomorrow I've got a 13hr flight so I need my beauty sleep!

I'm reaching that stage of the trip now when I'm actually truly sad to leave ... it's been such an eventful two months and I really don't want it to end! I know it's not truly ending, as I have another 6 months to go at UBC and elsewhere in North America. But that's not the same! That will require studying and work and settling in! This has just been one long vacation and it's been brilliant!!

[End rant]

I spent most of today in some form of transport heading back from Warrington to Renfrew. I had the misfortune of being on the one carriage of the Warrington-Glasgow train that was without air conditioning, which made for an interesting trip. It didn't help that I had a rather overweight woman sitting next to me, leaving me little room to move.

After coming back to Glasgow I spent most of the rest of the day packing and re-packing, trying to cram it all in, saying goodbye to Fiona for one last time, and calling home.

The aim was to make it as relaxing as possible, and I think I succeeded

PS: For photos of Warrington, click here.