My First "Hurricane"

So I'm sure you're all dying to know how the hurricane was that some of you might have heard about. Well I just want to clear a few things up that the media seemed to blow out of proportion on the weather network. First off....they had reason to blow it out of proportion after hurricane Igor tore through NL last year, killing 2 people (as I was told). So dreading waking up on Friday morning and trekking out to the bus during my first hurricane I prepared my rain coat and debated on wearing rubber boots and whether or not to take an umbrella. Now I must pause here and mention how late my bus seems to always be and that's around 15-20 mins. But being hopeful I decided my rain coat would suffice and I'd leave the others behind because A. who wants to wear rubber boots all day (not that I haven't...and I'll have you know I actually wore them on the plane here), but they get hot in non-humid places...I can't imagine what they'd be like here all day. And B. an umbrella wasn't going to stand up in hurricane force winds if it can't even stand normal winds in Alberta. So I slung my (thankfully) heavy backpack onto my back and headed out the door, expecting to be greeted by pelting rain and whipping winds. However to my joy I found this not the case and headed for the bus stop, hoping that with my luck so far, the bus would arrive on time. I was getting ahead of myself. It was raining and though it wasn't as windy as I imagined a hurricane would be the rain was falling at an angle and the wind chilled you to the bone once you became wet. 20 mins later and I climbed onto a humid hot bus that was stuffy and filled with other wet people. As the day proceeded it seemed to look worse outside and I found my jeans sticking to my legs and taking forever to dry because of the excessive humidity. By lunch I was in the cafeteria staring out the panoramic view of a....street and part of the campus, watching the rain and wind bend branches. I was frequently checking my university email to see if there were any cancellations, having no idea what was going on or what to expect. And then a woman called out something in her heavy Newfie accent of which I didn't catch a single word. So I sat confused and glancing around at the other confused students who I'm sure didn't understand a word either even if they were Newfoundlanders. Asking a girl next to me, however, revealed the truth. The campus was closing down in a half hour and everyone had to go home. Panic began to set in as I climbed from my chair and headed for the bus, climbing back onto it, this time more crammed then ever and headed for home. Once again I didn't find the winds, that horrible as I walked back home from the bus stop. Arriving at home I found no one else around and thus moved to my room and bunkered down, glancing out my window once and a while. The day proceeded however without much happening besides some rain and a bit of wind, but nothing as I'd imagined. I did however notice the eye of the storm when it became oddly calm and the sun poked through the clouds for a moment or two and I completely understand why people would get stuck in the eye of a storm. It was so tempting to go outside and just take a look at why it had become so calm so fast. And then it started up again. By nightfall the hurricane had passed and the clouds were clearing, but the wind was relentless. The next morning was more windy then I'd ever experienced it here yet. So there you have it....a detailed experience of my first "hurricane". It's a joke really now, people making witty comments about "surviving" last Friday. Classes are beginning to pick up and I'm just realizing how much reading I have to do this semester and won't have much of a life besides reading. I'm very excited if the books are all as intriguing as the novel, Eugene Onegin, of which I am almost finished. Church is wonderful and I enjoy going every week and think about it all through the week. Thankfully they're starting a bible study on Thursday nights that I am gladly going to attend and enjoy (hopefully ;) )). Well that's pretty much the summary of my life the past week. The roommates are lovely, the house is working out great and I'm really getting into my studies. Making friends is slowly coming along as well, most of them being at church and with my roommates. It'll come though. :) God Bless.

Spinning causes sickness even if you have a fixed point

So I've made it through a week of being here in St. John's on my own. My food supply has run low and my health is slowly returning to me after battling with a cold this past week. It was a nice "Welcome back to school gift" from the new germs of the province my body has never been exposed to. Fortunately I made it through and am pushing on through this week, excited about my studies. My Russian prof has climbed his way up the ladder to best prof this semester as I have fallen once again in love with the Russian language. Who thought they could love grammar?! Not me...but I certainly do when it comes to Russian. I believe that passion will only grow more with better health and focus. It also helped that he cancelled today's (Monday) classes so I was able to sleep in this morning and catch up on rest. My body seems to have finally adjusted to the time change and I am finding insomnia becoming my friend once again as well as homesickness. I've traveled enough to know that the first week, two weeks and even month are brutally hard on one's mental health in the fact one will yearn for what they are used to. "What am I doing on the most Easter point of Canada where I don't know a soul?" has been running through my head the past week and as much as I've been able to push it away and ignore it, it crept up on me once again. Confronting the issue and talking it out with a friend has helped me see that I'd be in the same situation no matter where I was at this point. Friends of the past have moved on as well to find other friends and I'm just starting late. I trust that God has put me in the right place after many prayers and I will find a place here. Classes don't seem to be too rough yet, but I imagine once we delve into our studies a bit further I will be slogged down with quite a bit of homework, the worst being the endless essays I seem to have. The thought of adding a fifth class to my schedule has ran through my mind many times this past week, but I've finally decided I'll take this first semester to just settle down and get used to things and find a routine. Still considered a full time student with four courses is enough for me. The weather is still something I'm not used to as it is constantly windy here and freezing one day then hot and humid the next. Clouds seem to pass by much too quickly and low for comfort, but never seem to bring that much rain. The sun's been shining and I thank God for that as I fear I'd be depressed without it at this point in my journey as I attempt to sort through the confusion and foreign world around me. But do not fear! I'm no where near giving up yet and I'm enjoying my time in St. John's so far. Peace.

Swirling clouds and plugged nasal cavities

The pounding of rain against the window screen came much too quickly for my clouded head last night as I sat on my bed writing. Technically I sat on the mattress and box spring (? That is what it's called...?) on the floor of the spare bedroom, but it was still half of "my" bed. My room, next to the spare, was being taped and prepped for painting by Angie and her dear mother. A tickle in the left side of my nose made me cringe with fear at the thought of getting sick and I passed it off as bad allergies that wouldn't go away despite how many Reactin I'd taken. So, afraid I wouldn't sleep the night before classes began, I popped 3 melatonin into my mouth and lay my head down in a hot bed. The humidity and heat of the previous days had worn me out as I fell asleep rather quickly once my head touched the pillow. My eyes had continually flickered to the sky expecting thunderstorms all week with this kind of weather, but being so close to the ocean one needs to remind themselves that such would not be the case. The growing humidity level however only triggered thoughts of rain in everyone and even an older lady sitting on the bus next to me shook her head and stated "looks like rains coming" with her heavy accent that caused me to lean closer so that I might hear clearer. And so the rain came...thankfully after my two days of pointless orientation. Hundreds of bodies packed into a "cool" gym that only grew hotter with the addition of more people. Loud music and voices blared out of speakers trying to get the audience "pumped" for school and filled with school spirit. I suddenly felt like I'd been thrown back into grade nine orientation or a pep rally in high school. Unorganized and the day too jam packed with activities, I soon found myself lost within the crowd and leaving through the nearest exit in an attempt to calm myself down from having a panic attack. Who needed to stay for campus tours anyway? My classes were within two buildings and I'd already visited both. I. Was. Set. Then the rain came. And the howling wind. I thought our house might blow down, but it seems the Newfoundlanders really know how to build a house to stand up against the weather. It didn't shift, it didn't creak, it hardly let out a crack and despite the rain pounding against the windows it wasn't noisy at all. Thoughts of whether I'd actually be able to stand at the bus stop without being blown over rattled me from my sleep and determinedly I told myself "Go back to sleep and take a taxi!". However...this did not calm my nerves and by 7.40 I was up and getting ready with a nervous feeling starting to boil in my stomach. An hour and twenty minutes later I was standing at the bus stop, not a drop of rain to be seen (despite swirling clouds whipping past at rather quick speeds), I waited patiently for my late bus. Now I've been told the bus system isn't very reliable in St. John's...but now I understand why. The traffic within this city is worse then what I counted in Calgary! I've never head so many horns blaring and so many tires screeching. It amazes me anyone can get anywhere in a vehicle. So I hopped onto the bus and had a rather terrifying bus ride as I'm already nervous in small cars and this thing was about three car lengths long. The school seemed like a different place with thousands of students wondering about the halls of the UC. I wove my way in and out of people and despite being confident about knowing where my classes were...ended up in the wrong building. But such mistakes were quickly corrected and I made my way to my firsts class, Intermediate Russian. Sitting down I did not expect a large class to begin with and simply smirked when one of the other five students mentioned how tiny the class was and wondered how they could even offer it. This was what I had hoped for, a small class so that we might all focus on what we need to and work hard on increasing our skills. Our professor...well he was interesting. His humor was as dry as dirt and his tone was rather monotonous. However I think I will enjoy the class as it is clear he knows his stuff and enjoys the topic. Opportunities already seem to be towering over us in this class. The next class, Russian Literature in Translation: Nineteenth Century, was a mystery to me. I knew I had the same professor as my Russian course and that I had a lot of books to buy. Once I came out of the class I'd discovered that we had /many/ books to read and wasn't sure how interesting it would be. But once I'd bought the first book and sat down on my two hour break, I opened Eugene Onegin written by Alexander Pushkin and can't seem to put it down since. I never thought I'd actually be interested in a novel written in poetry. So we shall see how it goes. Oh and did I mention? This professor doesn't like final exams...so I have two final exams in my other two courses. Bonus! Linguistics was...iffy. The material we will be covering is a mix of what I had completed last year, some of it I had enjoyed while others I had detested. However that goes without saying I disliked the class I was in and hope this class will be much more enjoyable. My professor was very clear in everything he said, kindly giving us the definition of every. word. he. said. It was a little slow, but it may move along once we get into it. Plus he's cancelled class on Friday, so he's near the top of favorite professors so far. Lastly English. I haven't written an essay in two years and was a bit worried about this class. But now that I've gone there, listened to the prof who was rather...cheerful, yet clearly laid down some rules, I think I'll manage. My goal for this one? Blow him out of the water with some good writing. We'll see how long that lasts however as my motivation may dwindle off at the end of the semester. Also...we have to write a weekly blog...unfortunately it has to be on topics he picks. So yes, that was my first day of school in a nut shell. My room has been painted and tomorrow I am going to sleep and drag myself around the house setting up my room and doing homework while attempting to get rid of this cold. Expect an update...in a week or so. Toodles.

St. John's, Newfoundland

Well...I made it. After a night of flying and a 3.5 hour time change I found myself walking through a small airport in a climate, not as humid as I'd expected. Climbing into a van with my parents and grandparents, I stared out the back window groggily as I hadn't had much sleep. A few hours later and I was waking up after a short nap in a mansion of a bed and breakfast that we later on thought haunted.
The week was filled with day trips and walking around not only the hills of St. John's, but some of the outports along the coast. Shells and sea-glass filled a grocery bag in the back of the van, each one being looked at slowly. Accents drifted around us in a murmur, all blending together so that none of it made sense. Bush whipped past the van windows as we traveled down winding highways and got lost in the city streets among tall brightly coloured houses.
It was all a bit of a shock for my system, moving into my house and getting oriented with the disorienting streets of St. John's. The university somewhat resembled the rest of the city, a jumble of buildings with confusing paths and roads with unfamiliar roads. Yet in a month all that is anew will be ordinary life. School books will fill my half empty room and the empty halls of the university buildings will be swarming with people.
Do I like St. John's?
So far. The humidity is lovely for the skin, the unusual sunny weather is pleasant and the rocky cliffs and neverending hills are a lovely change from flat Saskatchewan. The ocean gives off a smell of freedom and the people are the most wonderful I've met anywhere I've traveled.
I yearned to return to church all week after last Sunday and finally today arrived. The people are the most friendly I've ever met and as I was about to walk home I found myself confronted by quite a few asking if I wanted a ride or to go for dinner. Despite the fact I despise eating out and have been doing so all week, I went and had a wonderful time.
Orientation begins tomorrow and my nerves are all in a bundle as I've never attended an orientation. I figured it was the best thing though seeing as I can hardly make it to the university without getting turned around and starting off where I began. (Believe me this happened more then I could count this week.)An update may follow tomorrow or Tuesday evening.
To move away to a new province I have never visited and know no one is quite an adventure. It was a large step out of the nest and I'm going to grasp each moment I can to the fullest. My strength wavers at time but with God at my side I feel this will be a good change.