Dear February...

I cannot believe February is over already. After the eternity that was January February seemed to slip by too quickly. It was a pretty lowkey month for me, and all of us here really. Workload increased and I have just finished 2 weeks full of midterms and deadlines. We didn't leave Montreal this month (we are saving that for March), so it's been fairly boring, if exchange life can ever be called boring! 
The month started with the return of an old housemate of ours from last semester. It was so nice to see her and get a little taste of last semester back. In fact we have had three old faces return to us this month which has been lovely. 

On the first Saturday of the month, the afc (if you know you know) went for hot chocolate at a little cafe in the Plateau called 'Au Festin du Babette,' which claimed to have the best hot chocolate in Montreal. I went for the hazelnut hot chocolate which was one of the best I have ever had. We spent the morning doing what we do best, eating and drinking hot chocolate - I definitely have to go back before I leave the city. 
One Saturday night the British gals went out for dinner and I had the most amazing burger. It was also nice to spend some time with the Brits and talk about how much we are missing grass and digestive biscuits. I can see a food theme forming here and I have absolutely no regrets. 
This month was where I became a proper Canadian and went ice skating twice. The first time was at La Fontaine Park and the second at Beaver Lake, both of which were so much fun, although there is nothing that ruins your confidence like watching Canadians skate. 
We had a couple of birthdays in the house in the last couple of weeks, so spent some time celebrating those and getting together with everyone in the house.
This month I feel like I have been bleeding money because we have booked a couple of trips. A few of us are going to Boston over Easter which I am SO excited for - my inner Business nerd is crying at the idea of seeing Harvard Business School, and I'm excited to see what the city has to offer. It's always been somewhere that I have wanted to go (probably thanks to The Suite Life of Zack and Cody). Yesterday we booked a trip to Cuba for after exams, which is something I never thought I would do and have doubts about since. I'm doing my research and I think that although it will be a very different and sometimes difficult experience, I will definitely be happy that I did and I would definitely have regrets if I didn't. 

That is basically everything we did this month and I've just realised how little that is...two pictures, skating and lots of food. I always knew that February would be a pretty laid back month though, I had a lot of work to do and the weather was pretty terrible (although it's getting warmer now, just as the UK is getting snow). Because it's so short it kind of became a filler month before the excitement that is March. Spring Break is next week so I am heading off to California for a few days to see San Francisco and LA - the excitement is so real. Then a week later my grandparents are coming to Montreal which I am really looking forward to! We are going to a hockey game which will probably be my final Habs game, and I can't wait to show them Canada. Once they leave I have four days until I'm off to Boston and then March is over! It's absolutely mad that it's March, I finish at McGill at the end of April and then I'm back home for good mid May which I know will come around way too quickly. For now I am just ignoring the passing days and taking in everything that I can because I know that this will be over so soon and I'll be back home getting ready for my final year (sos help I'm not ready).

Dear January...

January has been the longest month of my life, no joke. I started the month (and year) in Nottingham with my uni friends, and I am finishing it in Montreal halfway through week four of my second semester at McGill - it's amazing what can happen in such a short space of time. It hasn't been the best month , but I've still done some pretty great things.

As I said, I started January in Nottingham to see the New Year in with my friends from UoN. It was so lovely because the plan was thrown together literally the day before and I had fully expected to spend New Years alone at home. I got to see a friend I didn't think I was going to be seeing until May which was so nice, and I spent the night back where I belong with a lot of the people who made 2017 so great. Despite spending £20 to get into Ink (daylight robbery right there), we had a great night and I even ran into one of my best friends from school in there. It was so surreal to be back but it got me excited for third year! 

The day after New Years was my dad's birthday and we went for a cute family lunch in a really nice pub. I have missed pub lunches since being away (such a Brit, I know) and it was such a lovely meal. 

During my last few days at home I met up with old work friends, saw my family and relaxed after such a busy semester - the break was definitely needed. 

I flew back to Montreal on January 8th and was reunited with the snow, cold weather and McGill, as well as my friends from last semester and 20+ new housemates. I have only been back for a few weeks but it feels like I never left, and it is good to be back.

My first week back was spent getting back into the swing of things and the intensity of McGill, getting to know my new housemates (they're great, if you were wondering), and adjusting back to the time difference. We went to the International Student Festival at the end of the first week and I had a great time. It was our first night out (of many) with our new pals and queueing for a club during a snowstorm in a bomber jacket is something I will never forget and a mistake I will never make again...

Another highlight of January was going to Igloofest, which is essentially an outdoor music festival in the middle of Winter. Only in Canada, eh? We saw Kaytranada, and although my toes basically froze off, we had a pretty sick time. Again, I feel like this is something that I will never get to experience again so I am super happy that I went. I'm so conscious of the fact that I am leaving Canada and North America in May and once I'm home I don't know if/when I'm coming back, so I am making the most of everything which is probably why I'm so tired right now...

A couple of weekends ago we had a such a lovely couple of days. On the Saturday we went up Mont Royal and built a snowman, potentially the most Canadian snow-related thing I have done so far. I hadn't done anything except complain about the snow up until this point, so it was nice to appreciate it a bit more. 
The Sunday of that weekend we went to Ottawa with the intention of getting a Nandos and Denny's (praise Ontario), and ice skating on the Rideau Canal. The only thing we managed to do was get a Nandos but I would say that 1/3 is pretty successful. We skated on Parliament Hill and took a tour of the parliament buildings before going to get Beaver Tails and taking a picture with the Ottawa sign - spot the tourists. Jokes aside, it was such a lovely day and it was nice to see the capital of Canada, although it was probably the quietest city I have ever been to, definitely the quietest capital!

These are the main things that I did in January, but I have also been out to eat way too many times, been to see The Greatest Showman (SUCH A GOOD FILM), been on a few nights out and almost lived the American Dream and joined a sorority (but didn't). We had a fun weekend in Montreal this week which included Australia Day (I am surrounded by Aussies), karaoke and a night out for a friends' birthday. I have also experienced rain that lands on top of snow, freezes and becomes a sheet of ice (needless to say, I have slipped over a couple of times). 

Despite it being a jam packed month and doing so many cool things, I will definitely be glad to see the back of January just because it has been so insanely long. 

My 2018 Goals

omg, it's 2018. 

2017 went so incredibly quickly and was the best year of my life so far. I was going to do a reflection post on it but I've left it way too late now so I thought I would do a 2018 goals one instead. 

The reason I have decided to do this is because a professor I have last semester said that if you wish things into existence and write them down, then you are more likely to make them happen. I want 2018 to be better than 2017 which is going to be such a hard task, so I am going to make some pretty ambitious goals and hopes for the year ahead. I only have five because I actually want to focus on them and make them happen. 

1. To Travel

This was my number one aim of last year and is my number 1 aim of this year. In 2017 I visited Amsterdam, Cyrus, Geneva, France, Montreal, Coaticook, New York, Toronto, Quebec City, Mont Tremblant and so many new places in the UK, making it my most travelled year. I want to make 2018 full of more new places and new countries as I feel like it may be one of my last year to do so without restrictions in terms of work commitments, etc (real work, not uni). This year I want to visit Ottawa, Banff, maybe Vancouver, Chicago, Boston, Florida and some of the Islands off of the Southern US. I also want to visit more places in the UK and Europe. 

2. To do well in University

In 2018 I will finish second year and start my final year, so my grades are very important. I am aiming to do a lot better in my second semester at McGill than I did in my first, and then smash it when I'm back in Notts.

3. To Get Fitter

Something I really want to do this year is to get fitter and eat healthier. I have eaten so much rubbish over Christmas so I definitely need to start eating better and I want to do more exercise as well. I bought a FitBit today (new year new me and all that), and I am determined to use that to help me get a bit healthier. 

4. To be more Positive

I feel like this has been a running theme of the blog as I am such a negative person but I really want to change that. 2018 will be my year of positivity. 

5. To Cook More

I am THE worst chef on the planet. All I eat at uni is pasta and it's actually a bit of a joke. I want to expand my cooking horizons this year and branch out a bit. Watch me keep eating pasta because it's cheap, lol.

I'm going to try and blog more as well, and keep you updated with how these goals are going as well as my usual monthly(ish) reflection posts and some other surprises. 

Happy New Year!!! 

important lessons from amazing people

The beauty of being thrown into a house with 30 other people from all over the world is that you meet and connect with people you never would have crossed paths with otherwise. I now speak to people from places like Australia, Iceland, Mexico, Chile, parts of Asia, and all over Europe on a daily basis, sharing stories, experiences and ambitions. The world is a diverse and interesting place, and having the chance to share part of my life with people who can teach me about places I never would have thought about before is a very special thing. Even those from the UK who I would consider myself similar to in many respects have changed my perspective. 
Some of the most valuable lessons I have learnt here have not come from lecturers, they have come from the people who I am living this experience with, and I am going to share some of these.

Positivity is so important
There are a handful of people in this house who have such a positive outlook on life. They find the good in every situation, and this is something that I find both inspiring and daunting. As a naturally pessimistic person I rarely see the good in bad situations and let them get me down, but somehow these people are able to turn anything into a positive situation and rarely let things get to them too much. I feel like this has rubbed off on me a bit (I want to stress the words a bit, I still like a good old moan), and I hope to be able to channel more of their attitude and gradually work towards a more positive mindset. 

It's ok to rant
On the flip side, I have also learnt that it is ok to have a rant and get things off your chest from time to time. It stops you bottling things up inside and exploding at the poor person who happens to hit a nerve on a bad day. 

What's meant to be is meant to be
This is so cliche but I have learnt from the people I have met here that if something is meant to be then it will happen. We have all ended up in this position because we are meant to be here for this portion of our lives, whether we expected it or not. Everything that has happened here and will happen here over the next few months is supposed to happen and thinking ahead/planning for the future can only get you so far. I've learnt that I need to sit back and relax a bit more and let life follow its path rather than planning every detail of my day and the months ahead. 

Culture is so important
I'm not sure as a through and through Brit I can say I'm particularly cultured. I've travelled parts of Europe and can appreciate the importance of different cultures around the world, but I'd never really realised how you can learn from being surrounded by many different ones 24/7. Even the Canadian culture has taken me by surprise as I ignorantly assumed that it would be very similar to what I'm used to. I have definitely learnt to appreciate the value and importance of culture more, and will definitely try to embrace what's left of the British culture when I get home (even if it's nothing more than sarcasm and complaining about the rain).

The world is so big, but also so small
I didn't know that it takes hours to even fly off Australia if you live in the South. I had no idea how far away I live from most of the world, and how lucky I have been to be within a couple of hours of most of Europe. This planet is huge. If I think about it too much it really messes with my head. The fact that for most of the day my Aussie friends are living in a different day to their families is crazy. Canada is massive too, Quebec is 12 times the size of the UK and driving for two hours doesn't even get you to the next nearest city. Two hours from home and I'm South of London, in Yorkshire, by the East Coast or almost in Wales. At the same time, the world is so small. I have housemates who grew up in the same area and only met here. I've met someone who knows another friend of mine from home. I'm constantly reminded of that 'It's a Small World' ride in Disneyland. 

There's more to life than grades
Echoing my last post, one of the most important things I have learnt is that there is more to life than grades. As I mentioned before, it took me a while to accept that but now I can appreciate that sometimes an experience is worth so much more and I have learnt this from the people I am living with. 

This post is slightly cringe, but as the semester draws to a close and I start having to say goodbye to some of my housemates, I think it's important to reflect on what they have taught me, whether directly or indirectly. I'll definitely be going home with different attitudes and outlooks on things thanks to being surrounded by so many different backgrounds, and I'm pretty lucky to be able to do that. 

A Change in Attitude...

Eight months seemed like forever before I came to Canada, and during the first few weeks I was wishing that it would just hurry up and be December already so I could go home and be back where everything is familiar, even just for two weeks. I still have bursts of that sometimes, when I see all of my home uni friends together or when I get a bad grade, but now, over two months in and halfway through this semester, all I want is for time to slow down.

I've had my fair share of lows since coming to McGill. My academic performance is far from even being considered decent and my workload is insane. Throwing that in with being so far from everything I have ever known and having to adapt to living on the other side of the Atlantic has meant that there I've had some very low moments - I've looked at countless flights back to the UK and even considered not coming back next semester. 

This weekend however, my mentality has completely shifted. 

It's suddenly hit me tonight (I'm writing this at 11:35pm on Sunday) that I am so incredibly lucky to be here and that I spend a lot of time feeling sorry for myself when I have nothing to complain about. Sure, my grades are nowhere near what I expected or wanted, yes I have a lot to do and yes sometimes I do just want to curl up in a ball and sleep for week, but I'm in CANADA - life is pretty damn good. In two short months I have had so many incredible experiences, I've adapted to a whole new way of working (who knew the British and American education systems were SO different?) and I've met some amazing people, all whilst making Montreal my home. 

I think a lot of the reason for this sudden change in attitude is to do with the people I've met and realising that I only have a few weeks left with a lot of them. I'm living in a house with 30 people from completely different and diverse backgrounds who each bring something different to the experience. Some of them work harder than anyone I have ever met, some of them have such interesting life stories and some of them are so incredibly positive that it's hard not to feel inspired. I've always known that I would only have one semester with a lot of them with yet somehow it never really hit me until this week that in 7 weeks, it's goodbye, and with some of them it may be forever. I think it’s the fact that it's now November, and while part of me is ridiculously excited that I’m seeing some of my best friends and my family next month, the most overwhelming feeling is sadness that I will be saying goodbye to the people that have become my family over that last few weeks. The people who will be replacing them next semester have so much to live up to, and I hope to be writing a similar post to this in a few months confirming that they did. 

I am so so lucky that I will be coming back after Christmas for round 2, even if I don't feel it sometimes. I needed this wake up call to remind my pessimistic little brain that although important, grades aren't everything - I can get back on track in my third year and still end up where I want to be. The experiences I am having here are so much more valuable, it's just a shame it's taken me 2 months to realise that. 

Dear October...

Dear October, 

You'll always be my favourite month, although this year I have definitely paid for enjoying you...

Concrete Jungle 

Of the four weekends in October I only spent one in Montreal, and that was my birthday weekend so I have had a pretty busy month!

The first weekend was spent in New York City, and was potentially one of the best weekends of my life. Going to New York has always been on my bucket list, and without wanting to sound too cliché it was literally a dream come true finally going there. The first day started in Times Square and then we went to Grand Central (I had a Gossip Girl fangirl moment), The Empire State Building, The Met (another Gossip Girl moment), Central Park, along the High Line and then 'home' to Brooklyn after dinner. My fave moment of that day was when we were up the Empire State, overlooking the city and I could see the skyline that I had seen so many times in photos. I had one of those heart bursting moments where I felt incredibly lucky to be where I was. 

Top of the Rock 

Day two was just a busy as day one. We visited the 9/11 memorial which was a humbling experience, and is such a beautiful tribute. I had the same feeling there as I did at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, a feeling I can't quite describe. From there we went on the Staten Island ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty, before going for lunch at Shakeshack and almost crying at how good the chips (fries) were. We then walked back to Brooklyn over the Brooklyn Bridge, where I had another heart bursting moment - it was so beautiful! That evening we went to Top of the Rock and saw New York by night from above. This was probably the highlight of the whole trip for me, it was so peaceful up there and we almost had it to ourselves because we went so late, we even got a photoshoot (shoutout to the guard who provided the torch and photography skills).

Bday with my bday twin

It rained on our last day so it was a pretty chill day. We ate at Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn and then studied in a cafe opposite the Library (which was closed) before heading back to the bus station and braving the journey back to Montreal. 

The week after New York I had 3 midterm exams which were a new experience for me. They did not go well at all, whether that be down to the New York trip or just my inability to grasp the Canadian university system, we will never know (hoping it's the former else my degree not going to go as planned). That weekend was my 20th Birthday, and was one of my favourite birthdays ever. If you'd have told me last year I was going to turn 20 in Montreal, surrounded by a group of people from all four corners of the world I would have laughed in your face, but it happened and it was amazing. We spent my actual birthday at a college football game, which I didn't understand at all. I can't thank my 3653 fam enough for making my bday so special and for getting me the cutest card and gifts!

Niagara Falls

Toronto from the CN tower

From the 19th - 30th my family came over from the UK which was so lovely. We spent the first weekend in Toronto where we literally walked the whole city, and went up the CN tower which was another insane view of another insane city. Toronto is one of the most diverse places I have ever been, it's huge and I would love to go back and explore more in the future. We spent the Sunday of that weekend at Niagara Falls which was another bucket list experience. It is hard to describe the beauty of it and the pictures definitely don't do it justice. It was so nice to be able to go there with my family because it is somewhere none of us ever thought we would actually go to! It was probably one of the highlights of my Canadian experience so far, especially the boat trip which took us right up to the Falls.

Quebec City 

That week I met my family for dinner every day, and we did some typical Montreal things like going up Mont Royal and to a hockey game (which they loved). Then for their last few days here we went to Quebec City which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to! It is like being in a small French town which I love. The architecture was stunning and it was just such a gorgeous place, I'm definitely going back when it snows there! 

Yesterday was Halloween and also the eve of one of my housemate's birthdays (shoutout to Mother Moss) so we dressed up and celebrated. It was such a good night and was nice to celebrate Halloween in North America where it is such a massive thing. 

Mean Girls on Halloween  

Overall October was a really good month fully of a lot of travel and a lot of memories were made. My academic life hasn't been going so well and I'm not doing as well as I perhaps hoped but with the amount of travel and experiences I have had I can see why. Hopefully November will be just as good, but perhaps a bit more successful academically (I would like to actually pass this year!)

Dear September

September, where did you go?

If August was the longest month of my life then September was for sure the quickest. I feel like I blinked and it became October. 

The beginning of the month was Frosh, which is the American version of freshers. It involved a lot of activities in groups and we got to know each other and the city a lot better. My fave day has to have been beach day, the weather was perfect and I spent it with my housemates. That night we ordered food and watched High School Musical and it was probably one of my favourite days of the whole experience so far. 

Monday the 4th was Canadian Labour Day, so we had the day off and went to a food festival a the Old Port, which was really lovely. 

Classes started on the 5th and it's been non stop since then. The picture on the right was taken on Campus on the first day. As I mentioned in my last post, lectures here are so much harder than at Notts so it's been pretty intense so far!
At the beginning of the month we discovered a Ben&Jerry's shop and it's pretty safe to say we have been to a few too many times...

One of my favourite memories from the month was definitely when some of our housemates went to see "It" and we pranked them, so when they came back the house was decorated with red balloons and things from the movie. 
We had a potluck night on the 10th which was so cool, I've never done it before and it was nice to get a taste of everyone's cooking (I made a salad, poor effort Hol). 

My Canadian studies class climbed Mont Royal earlier in the month, and although I had been before the view never gets old. 

I've had a number of auditions/interviews for societies with varying levels of success, and I've settled on joining dance and salsa classes, because they are a nice break from work and don't have a huge level of commitment. It would have been nice to do something with a bit more substance but I'm so busy with work and travelling that I'm not sure I would be able to commit to it.


It was a housemates' birthday in the middle of September so we celebrated that which was really lovely. It was our first birthday as a house which made it even more exciting. On the same day we saw Justin Trudeau (Canadian Prime Minister for those of you who don't know) on the McGill campus. It was such a surreal experience!

One weekend we road tripped to Coaticook, a town about 2 hours away that has a gorge and mountains to hike. It was the most stunning thing I have ever seen and it really made me realise the size of this country. In the UK everything is close together and although there is countryside it's nothing like that of Canada, you can literally drive for hours without seeing any sign of habitation, it's so strange. Coaticook was the first (and only) time I have left Montreal so far, and it was really nice to get out of the city for a bit and see another city to Canada.

WE BOOKED A TRIP TO NEW YORK!! I am so excited because it is literally my number one dream to visit NYC and we are going next week! aaaaah

Around the 18th I started getting really homesick, something that I have been feeling for the last couple of weeks. It tailed off towards after a few days but then hit hard last week. I called my mum and two of my best friends in tears. I'm going to write a whole post about it in a few weeks to explain what is going on, but it's not been the best couple of weeks.
We have done some pretty cool things, like going on nights out, out for food and to Picnic Electronik, which is a weekly music festival in the city. I've danced, studied and met so many new people as well, but for the last few days there has always been a feeling of wanting to go home. Some of my housemates went away this weekend but I decided to stay home, catch up on some work and chill a bit which seems to have done me a world of good, I'm feeling a lot better now and I hope it continues because I hate feeling miserable.

Overall September was full of highs and lows (the highs were high but the lows were so low). I've packed so much into such a short amount of time and spent wayyy too much money along the way. I can't believe a whole month has gone already, that's 1/8th of my time here which is crazy. October is looking incredibly busy so I can't wait to reflect on it in a few weeks!!