Final Few Days of February!

Hello Everyone! As we head into the last week of February, I cannot honestly not believe how fast the time has flown by - I almost finished my first year of university! For most of my friends from back home, today was their first day back to school after reading week whereas mine is just 4 short days away! As I mentioned last week, I am really looking forward to going home and I can sense that just about everyone on campus is ready for a break. Everyone is bogged down with midterms and the "Oh my god, the semester's half over and I haven't started my term paper" realizations and I think that we all need some time to recharge. However, many of my profs do not seem to think that we need a break and have decided to make their own contributions to my already planned out week. So, I am determined to work extra hard this week to limit the amount of studying I need to do over the break! 

As I mentioned last week, my friend Hannah is coming home with me over the break and I am super excited about it! While I am a little bit jealous of my friends going to New York City (Elizabeth) and warm vacation spots (Mexico, Aruba), I am excited to see my family and friends back home. So far, we have planned potential trips to Guelph, Laurier, McMaster and Toronto with a maybe stop in Kingston on the way back to BU. So if you are in any of those places, let me know and we will try to come see you! 

Bringing it back to campus, last Wednesday, former Governor General Michaelle Jean visited BU as a part of our Donald Lecture Series. She had just arrived from Haiti the night before so we were honoured that she came all the way here after such a long trip. I thought that her lecture would mostly be on her work as the GG but she actually talked a lot about growing up, fleeing Haiti and coming to Quebec almost 25 years ago to the day she was here - to the Eastern Townships! She spoke of becoming the first African Canadian woman to be an anchor for the French CBC and the obstacles that were constantly thrown her way. She talked about making the decision to become GG and how she really thought hard about how she could make a difference for the country! I think it's safe to say that she certainly has made a difference and continues to do so today while inspiring all of us to do the same. 

Earlier in the day, I went to the first meeting of the BU-Champlain Empty Bowls Project. This is an event done all over Canada in which local potters make bowls that are purchased by event attendees and then filled with soup made by local chefs. We are bringing this event to Bishop's in the fall, hopefully at the beginning of October. A teacher at Champlain will be making and donating the bowls and we will be inviting local chefs to prepare different soups for the event. We have only had one meeting so far but I am super excited to see where this project will go. 

Last week was also the Canadian National Synchronized Skating Championships, so I purchased a season's pass to Skatebuzz to watch the livestream all weekend. On Friday, the leadership community had an event, to which I brought my laptop and had the livestream screening at the side of the room to ensure that I would not miss Nexxice Intermediate. It was slightly bittersweet watching all of my friends compete but they all did such an amazing job and I am super proud of everyone (special congratulations to Amber Scott, a former teammate whose team this year won the Intermediate category)! I feel like the proud mom who has to stay at home but I am more than happy to fill the role of number one fan in Quebec!

Me in my#1 fan gear watching the live stream!

 On Friday, we had our Leadership/Eco Floor "Snack and Speaker" event. Before that, I went to a rez event in Mack, where I made my own lip gloss (so science can be fun after all). For the speakers event, we had an RA named Laura (the one who shaved her head a few weeks back) talk about inspirational leadership and we also had a student talk about the Mae Sot Education Project, a volunteer trip to Thailand. Both were very good and the snacks were delicious too. 

Vicki and our homemade lip glosses!

Gaby at our pajama party on Friday night!

 On Saturday, Vicki and I (and some of our other friends) went to Jay Peaks for the day. The weather was great and the skiing was even better! At the end of the day, we found some trays and went sledding on a mini snow pile at the bottom of the hill, acting like seven year olds, but it was a good time. Then we rushed home and Vicki and I, along with our friends Jason, Kirsten and Sarah, all went to the Education Gala, held at the Oasis Centre here in town. The event was put on by the School of Education and staff from the local schools were all invited to help raise money for the breakfast programs at LES and Alexander Galt, two of the schools we work very closely with. There was live entertainment, an art auction and great food - all in all, a lovely evening, 

Vicki sliding on the tray at Jay!

Vicki, Kirsten, Jason and I at the Gala!

Housemates' photo shoot on Saturday night!

On Sunday, we headed back to Jay Peaks and had another great day of skiing. I was brave enough to try out some of the Glades run, which my brother, sister and father will be happy to hear as they always pressure me to go in them. Evidently, I didn't hit too many trees and I survived and we made it back to campus in time to watch the 85th Academy Awards at the Oscars Event in Dewies. I have to say my favourite speech of the night was Anne Hathway's and my favourite performance was that of the Les Mis cast, but Jennifer Lawrence gave a great post-Oscars speech which I will post below for your viewing pleasure (for those who missed it, she took a bit of a tumble up the stairs to accept her award). Needless to say, I did not get too much work done this weekend but it just means I have a little bit more catch up to do in the next few days. 

Vicki and I at Jay Peaks!

Housemates at the Oscars!

Speaking of catch up, I am off to try and get a bit more work done before bed. Hopefully, I will be as productive as I plan to be this week so that I can enjoy my first reading week to the fullest! Good luck to everyone in Ontario who went back to school today - finish your semesters off strong! I hope that I will be able to see many familiar faces when I am home, so let me know if you're around! Good night everyone!

All my love, Erica xoxoxoxo

PS Congratulations to my fabulous sister and her cheerleading team who took home the National Title for the American Cheerleading National Championships held this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio! Go Bahama Sharks!

So proud of this girl!

A Week Full of Culture

Hello readers (I've always wanted to say that)! I hope that all is well, unlike here where it seems everyone is falling sick with the stomach flu! Jocelyn has been in bed for two days now and more and more people seem to be following her lead. Luckily, it hasn't found me yet (knock on wood) and I am hoping things will stay that way. One thing about residence - when one person is sick, everyone is sick! 

On a more positive note, my countdown to Reading Week has begun! Whereas all of my friends from home are on their reading weeks now, mine is not for another 9 days! Back in January, I convinced myself that I wouldn't need to go back to Ancaster for Reading Week and that I would be fine until the end of April however, I changed my mind about a week ago when I was talking to my aunt. She has 99% confirmed that she will be coming out here to ski next week and she offered to drive me home afterwards, which is super awesome of her! Hopefully, we will be going skiing together next Friday (my bio prof cancelled my lab!) and then driving to Ancaster on the Saturday. I am also going to bring my friend Hannah along, as she lives out east and will not be flying home for the break. I have already starting preparing a detailed itinerary for our break so I hope she is prepared for all that Ancaster has to offer! 

In other news, it was another exciting week and weekend here in Lennoxville. Last Wednesday, I was unfortunately unable to donate blood as the donation centre closed 2 minutes before I got there. It was also Mental Health Awareness Week, so I went to a few of the presentations and on Friday, Jocelyn and I went to a zumba class. For Valentine`s Day, we had a card making party in Abbott basement the night before and made cards for each other and on the actual day, there was a Newside Valentine`s cookie eating party, which I obviously attended. We then spent the rest of the night playing the French version of Mafia, but it is more intense and comes with instruction cards. 

Newside cookie party!

On Friday night, my friend Vicki invited me to my very first Jewish Shabbat, a dinner put on by the Jewish Faith Club. I thought it would be neat, so I brought Hannah and Jocelyn along with me. From what I understand, Friday evening is the start of the Jewish religion`s day of rest and the shabbat is the dinner they would come home to after going to the temple. Lennoxville does not have a temple so they did some of their prayers at the dinner which was followed by a traditional Jewish meal. This was a really neat experience for me because I am currently taking an Ethics and Religion class so I got to actually take part in a religious tradition that I am learning about in school. (Unfortunately, I could not take a picture because electronics are not permitted during the resting period)

On Saturday, Hannah had a friend come all the way from Newfoundland to visit her, which was very exciting. For her first event here, we took her to be a part of the Bishop's Harlem Shake. For those of you who have seen the Harlem Shake videos, you will know what I am talking about when I say that on Saturday, we recorded our own version of the dance. We had originally planned to do it in the Quad but the location was changed to inside the SUB to more effectively fill the space. It was so much fun to dress up in silly costumes and record the dance. Our friend Elizabeth had to go home for the weekend, so I printed out a picture of her and brought it to the Harlem Shake. Unfortunately, someone incredibly rude decided to wave an offensive flag in the video so it had to be edited to get rid of this person`s ignorance. But the crisis was averted and you will find the Bishop`s Harlem Shake video below!

Jenika, Jocelyn, myself, "Elizabeth" and Hannah at the Harlem Shake!

Saturday night, there was a Girl`s Night in Abbott basement complete with chocolate fondue and a chick flick. We watched 10 Things I Hate About You, which I had never seen before and I quite enjoyed. After that, my friends and I had a party for Jocelyn`s birthday which was on Sunday. She was turning 19, so I made her a necklace with a shot glass on it that said "Pour me a birthday shot." I am happy to report that she wore it and used it all night. At around 3am, I realized I had not yet made her a card so my friends and I had a secret card making party in the basement. On Sunday, we had a birthday breakfast for her, complete with waffles, fruit and melted ice cream, and we learned that Jocelyn's freezer is not very effective at keeping ice cream frozen. That night, we celebrated the Chinese New Year, which actually happened last week, by watching Mulan and ordering pizza (as there is no local place that delivers). Happy Year of the Snake everyone!

I didn't want Elizabeth to miss out on the fondue!

Jocelyn's Birthday Party!

Jocelyn opening her presents!

On Monday, it was time to get back to reality as midterms are still in full swing. After a not very productive day for myself, I was up late doing homework when I started talking to my friend from Victoria, BC on Facebook. I met him when I went to a Rotary event in Ottawa in grade 11 and we have been in and out of touch ever since. At around midnight my time, we decided to Skype and ended up chatting for about two hours. Needless to say, the next day I was very tired and ended up falling asleep in the library and in Dewies, where luckily my RA came and woke me up. 

Almost 3 years ago, Lance and I met in Ottawa!

Interestingly enough, this is us at the Governor General's House! (see below))

Finally, tonight, we had a visit from the Right and Honourable Michaelle Jean, former Governor General of Canada. She was giving a lecture as a part of the Donald Lecture Series. She talked a lot about her life growing up, her volunteer work and her passion for making positive change. She is very involved with work in Haiti, which is her country of origin but she has done some amazing things for Canada and for the world. She even gave a part of her speech in French, and (giving myself a pat on the back), I was able to understand it! 

So tonight I am going to head to bed early, as I am still catching up from Monday night and I have a major French presentation tomorrow. This weekend coming up I have lots to look forward to as on Friday, the Leadership Floor is having a "Snack and Speaker event," Saturday night is the School of Education's Annual Gala and Sunday night is the REC's Oscar's Night in Dewies. So with that, I want to wish you all a wonderful week and I will hopefully see some of you very soon when I am back in Ancaster! 

All my love, Erica xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

PS I am also sending the BEST OF LUCK to all the Nexxice teams who are currently in Calgary competing at the synchro nationals! I am super jealous that Nationals has finally moved out of Ontario but I hope that they all bring home the gold at the end of the weekend! Good luck my lovely ladies (and Lee)! I will be watching the live stream 24/7!

Midterms Round 1 and Winter Homecoming!

Happy (almost) Valentine’s Day everyone! Whether or not you have someone to share it with, I hope you treat yourself to some heart shaped candies and chocolate! I myself will definitely need some chocolate at the end of the week to celebrate my midterms coming to an end. Last week, I had two midterms and this week I had two more. As well, as we get closer and closer to the middle of February, I am constantly reminded of the fact that we are almost halfway through the semester and project deadlines are quickly approaching. So life on campus is still as busy as usual, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Last Monday night, I spent a record amount of time in the library, a grand total of 5 hours. I was there until the closing bell went off just before midnight! The next morning I wrote my biology midterm, which went really well. Shortly after that, I found out that one of my best friends from home got accepted into his first-choice university! I was so proud of him that I was telling all of my friends here about his acceptance! So even though he didn’t choose Bishop’s, I am super proud and excited for what is to come his way in the fall! 

In History, we finished our Paris 1919 Simulation and I am happy to report that France achieved almost all of our victory objectives. Our conference ended up producing very similar results to that of 1919, however our reparations and territorial adjustments were a little less extreme. This week, we are moving into the 1920s and our next simulation will be Bandung 1955. 

Outside of the classroom, there was lots going on as well. Last Thursday was the Bishop's Locks for Love event. One of the NoPo Team Coordinators (a type of RA) named Laura and some other students were cutting their hair and/or shaving their heads to donate hair to the Locks of Love Foundation. Laura, who is the head of my REC Committee shaved her entire head! In order to cut all of her hair, she put her hair into tiny braids and let all of her friends cut one off! After the shaving, she looked great and she, along with all the other donators, inspired us all with the gifts they are giving to a really great cause. 

Laura let me cut off one of her braids!

Thursday was also the SRC "Speaker's Night." This week we are having the elections for the SRC Executive for next year (Student Representative's Council).  The Executive is made up of the President and 3 VPs: VP Academic, VP Student Affairs and VP Social. My friend Jason is running for VP Student Affairs. At the Speaker's Night, each candidate was able to make a 2 minute speech and then there was a question period, in which all students were able to question the candidates. Jason is in the most contested category so I wish him all the best in the election and I encourage the BU Community to exercise their right to vote!

Jason giving his speech at Speaker's Night in the Gait!

After my bio lab on Friday, Elizabeth, Jocelyn, Hannah and I had a girl's day at the mall. We each had some errands to run and it was nice to have an afternoon with the just the four of us. While there, we spent way too much time in home decor stores picking out things that we need for our house next year (wishful thinking).

Saturday was an exciting day as it was the long awaited Winter Homecoming. The morning kicked off with a student debate tournament, with teams coming for Mount Allison, Acadia and St. FX to compete. In the afternoon, Bishop's hosted its first independent TEDx event (http://www.ted.com/tedx) which for those of you who don't know what this is, is a series of talks given by individual speakers with the theme of "ideas worth sharing" (don't worry, I didn't know what it was until it came here either). There were 10 different talks, with 2 students, 7 professors and the Chancellor of  BU each talking about something of interest to them. The ideas included: Women in Science, Poetry, Music, the benefits of liberals arts universities, the value of the undergrad degree and programs that different professors teach at their respective schools. My favourite was a professor from Acadia talking about a Motor Development program he runs for his students called KinderSkills. Hopefully, these will be posted online sometime soon so I can share the link with you!

Elizabeth, Gaby and I at the TEDx in Bandeen Hall.

The excitement did not end there as that night, CBC taped 3 episodes of their show "The Debaters" in Centennial Theatre here on campus. This was made possible because our principal, Mr. Goldbloom played on the McGill Hockey team with the current President of CBC! Again, I had never heard of this show before, but I went anyway (and snagged a front row seat, I might add) and it was an absolute blast. Some topics up for "debate" were: should university tuition be free, is debating a waste of time and are hobbits heroes, to name a few. Needless to say, I was laughing for a good three hours straight. Again, as soon as I know the date that any of the episodes will be aired I will let you know! 

My friend Sarah and me at The Debaters!

Following the debaters, I watched Justin Bieber host and perform on SNL with Jocelyn and Elizabeth. Then on Sunday, I went skiing with my friends Mike and Vicki and a new friend, Rob. We crossed the border and went to Jay Peaks, which is a mountain in Vermont. It was an amazing mountain! It was also a beautiful day for skiing and just an all around great time!

Vicki and me on the slopes!

So not much has happened yet this week, but I did have my two French midterms, one being on oral interview that I think went really well. I talked (in French) about my impromptu trip to Montreal last weekend and my prof laughed while I was telling the story, so I'm hoping that's a good sign. Today, there is a blood donation clinic happening on campus so wish me luck as I donate blood for the first time! Also, I got my exam schedule yesterday so Ancaster, I will see you sometime after April 26th! 

Happy Mental Health Awareness Week and Happy Valentine's Day everyone! All my love, Erica xoxoxo

PS To any current BU students living in rez that are reading this, go buy your formal ticket!

La ville du Québec

Bonjour tout le monde! (That`s French for “Hello everyone!). I have just returned from a fabulous weekend in Quebec City! This was one of the most exciting weekends I have ever had and I get tired from simply recalling all the things we did. So for your benefit, I will take a nap before writing this to ensure you get every detail. 

Ok, just kidding I didn’t take a nap but that is only because I am sitting in the SUB right now selling cans of pop for REC’s “Crush for your Crush” event. Essentially, you buy a can of pop for your campus “crush” and it will be put in their mailbox on Valentine’s Day. So cute, isn’t it? I am also advertising for the upcoming campus formal which will be held the Tuesday following Valentine’s Day. So to all my fellow Gaiters reading this, come to the SUB anytime this week and purchase that can of pink crush you’ve been dying to send me.

This past week was pretty uneventful but it definitely had some high points. In my history class, we started our Paris 1919 Simulation which is actually turning out to be a great way to learn about what actually happened. I have been representing France and have been researching and allying like crazy to ensure that France comes out of this conference with its goals achieved. Also last week Theatre Active was on, which was a six night festival of 9 different student plays. I went on the second night to see some of my friends perform. One of the RAs on the Events Committee with me was the director of one, and though I did not fully understand the play, I thought it was really well done. Another play  that night was a student’s Honours thesis which was really special to watch. I am sad that I didn’t get to see all of my friends perform over the course of the festival but I am sure they did not disappoint!

I spent Thursday night packing and studying so that I would be all set to leave on Friday. We left for Quebec around 3:30 and arrived at our hotel around 6:00. After checking in, we went to the mall for dinner and right away I had to put my French skills to the test. I am happy to report that I was successfully able to order at Extreme Pita for both myself and Elizabeth with minimal assistance from Jocelyn. After dinner, we went to the SAQ to get our passes for Carnaval (and some other things...) and then headed back to our hotel to get ready to go out. 

Me and Bonhomme at the SAQ!

The girls all went back to the hotel to get ready and the boys went to Kevin’s to drop off their things. Then we hung out at our hotel for a little while before we caught a bus to downtown Quebec. I was extremely grateful to have Kevin with us, as he grew up in the city, because without him, we would have been so lost! He took us to some of his favourite places on the downtown strip and we had a great night at two of the local clubs. The night had a few downfalls, as it was extremely cold and we missed our bus back to our hotel, but thanks to a very nice cab driver we finally made it home around 4 in the morning!

Hotel Night #1!

Around 10am on Saturday, I was up and ready to go and was successfully able to get Mitchell, Jocelyn and Hannah to get up and come to Carnaval with me. My other friends (there were 8 of us that ended up sleeping in the hotel) were not ready to wake up yet and decided to sleep in. As were trying to plan our day, we realized that both of our cars were parked at the hotel but both sets of keys were at Kevin’s house! As the four of us were leaving the others behind to figure out how they would get the keys, Kevin came driving into the parking lot, dropped off the keys and then took us on a personal tour of Quebec City!

The tourists getting ready to go!

We drove by Laval University, Kevin’s CEGEP and then through the winding streets of Old Quebec. He dropped us off somewhere downtown and we spent the rest of the morning wandering the streets, looking at the shops. We stopped for breakfast (at noon) at a little place where all of the products had maple sugar in them! We then walked to the Chateau Frotenac where I had maple sugar on ice and then the four of us went down this huge sled track. After that, we walked to the Carnaval, where we spent the afternoon. While we were there, we watched some of the snow sculpting competition, went through Bonhomme’s Ice Palace, participated in outdoor winter zumba, watched some dog sledding and went down an ice sledding track. We also spent a lot of time inside trying to warm up! The two high points of my time here were seeing some family friends from home who were at Carnaval and fulfilling my lifelong dream of meeting Bonhomme! 

Breakfast at Les Délices du L'Érable

View from halfway up the snow sled track!

Snow Sculpting at the Carnaval

Hannah, myself and Jocelyn in the Ice Palace!

After we were too frozen to be outside for a second longer, we went back to the hotel to warm up, take power naps and get ready to go out for dinner. We went to Chez Victor, a cute little restaurant at a hotel near ours. Following dinner, we went back to the hotel to watch the hockey game and then we went back downtown for another exciting night out. Some of us ended up at the club, some at the microbrewery and some at Chez Ashton for some late night poutine. Thankfully, we all managed to catch the 3am bus and made it back to the hotel and to bed by 4am!

Jocelyn and I at the club on Saturday night!

 Sunday morning, Jocelyn, Mitch, Elizabeth, Mike and I woke up and left early in order to drive Mitchell back to Sherbrooke so that he could head home to Waterloo. We left right on schedule and it was looking like Mitch would make his bus with time to spare. However, around 12:15, we looked out the window and saw the Olympic Stadium and the Montreal city skyline. After a few minutes of complete shock, we realized that Mike had missed the turn to take us to Sherbrooke and we had ended up in Montreal without noticing! After we recovered from the initial shock of realizing where we were, we decided the make a day of it, as Mitch’s bus from Montreal didn’t leave until 4:30. We drove by McGill University and we met up with my friend Natasha (one of my very best friends from high school) for lunch. Then we walked along Rue St-Catherine, the main shopping street, drove Mitch to his bus stop, got lost downtown and finally headed home. We got home at 7pm and got to dinner with just enough time to see Beyoncé and the Destiny's Child reunion at the Superbowl!

Natasha and me, reunited in Montreal!

This weekend was incredible and I am so glad I got to spend it with my amazing group of Bishop’s friends. It was great to get out of what we call the “Bishop’s Bubble” and it was even greater to see some friends from home. It is sometimes hard being away from all of my old friends but it’s all part of growing up and moving on to bigger and better things (not to say my old friends were not fantastic)! Every day here brings me something new and exciting and I am looking forward to everything still to come!  Speaking of new days, tomorrow is bringing me a midterm so I must now turn my attention to BIO 101. Wish me luck! 

All my love, Erica xoxoxoxo