Farewell First Year!

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad!

Unlike my last post, this quote is not entirely relevant to my mood or to this post but here is the reasoning behind its inclusion: throughout the past year, when I found a quote that I liked, I wrote it on a pink sticky note and hung it somewhere in my room. Today, I had to take all of those sticky notes down – all a part of the packing up process. This was one of the quotes that I found and hung up and it is the last one hanging on my wall right now. Tomorrow, my dad is driving out to Lennoxville to help me move into my house for next year and then on Saturday, I will be heading home for the summer! It`s hard to believe that I will have 4 months of no school but I am excited to start working and to have some time to relax before heading up to Wenonah for the summer. 

So as of approximately 3:00pm Wednesday, I, Erica Zucker, am officially done my first year of university! And what a great year it has been! Admittedly, there were some definite ups and downs but they were all a part of my entire experience and the only reason that I would not do it all over again is that I know each year to come is going be just as great, if not greater! So for the final time, as I sit in the Abbott TV room watching Mean Girls all by my lonesome, here is a look back on my last week as a Bishop`s freshman:

Me on my last day of first year!

The weather this past week was absolutely beautiful, meaning none of us wanted to be cooped up inside studying, so we had to constantly remind ourselves that we still had exams to study for. On Thursday, Elizabeth and I went to the mall to make some exchanges and as Elizabeth put it, to “say goodbye to the Carrefour.” Friday morning, I had a study session for my biology class and wow was the session packed....just kidding, there were maybe ten of us. 

On Saturday, Elizabeth and I walked into town to participate in the Lennoxville Community Clean Day. Originally, we had signed up to help paint over graffiti at Pizzaville but when we arrived, there was nobody with the supplies, so instead we helped literally clean up the town by helping pick up garbage in the streets. Since a lot of the mess is created by students, it felt nice to be able to give back to the community that puts up with all of us! And as an added incentive, we got free coffee and muffins at the end! After that, we had a history study party in Dewies to prepare for our exam on Monday, followed by a late night of studying. 

And now for the memory I wish I could erase from my mind, but I will share it with you anyway. Our friend Gaby finished her exams last Friday and was set to leave the following Sunday so we thought it would be fun to go out for breakfast/brunch on Sunday morning before she left. However, the bus times were not ideal on Sunday and when we called for a taxi, there were no van cabs available so Gaby asked her mom to give us a lift. We had to put four of us on the back bench of the car, which is risky, but we had been doing it all year so we were hoping to get lucky one more time. As we turned on to the street that the restaurant was on, all of a sudden we heard the siren. Approximately half an hour later, Jocelyn, Hannah, Elizabeth and me were the proud owners of $120 tickets for not correctly wearing our seatbelts and Gaby’s mom got one for overcrowding the car. Needless to say, the morning did not go as planned and I am tensing up just writing this and thinking about the ticket. We didn’t even end up going for brunch! So lesson learned - wear your seatbelts and follow the rules because it will cost you!!!

So after our not so fun Sunday morning, I spent most of the day studying trying to forget about what happened earlier in the day and focus on my exams.  For my history exam, we were allowed to bring in one cue card with information on it and on Monday morning, all of my friends in the class were in Dewies together making their cards! To an outside observer, it would have looked like a competition to see who could print the smallest to put the most information on their card. The exam ended up going really well, for me at least; I was sitting at the front of the exam hall and I didn’t notice that I was one of the last people in the exam until I stood up to leave. Following the exam, I found out my friends had gone out in the afternoon to buy water guns and as a result, were wreaking havoc all over campus. They even brought them into Dewies and were spraying our RAs!

Hannah and her super soaker!

 Tuesday, my bio friends and I had a 5 hour long study party together to ensure we would be 100% ready for our exam the next day. On bio study breaks, I would try to cram more French vocabulary into my mind, using my 200+ homemade flashcards. In the early evening, Elizabeth, Jocelyn and I walked up to our house for next year (Hannah got a drive) and we choose bedrooms and took some measurements. The boys who live in the house right now thought that we were making huge renovations plans, but really we were just trying to get an idea of the available space. Dividing up rooms went really smoothly and I think that everyone is happy with their room assignment. I got the room that I wanted, which was really nice. The only bad thing that came from our visit was hearing from the boys that “hydro is going to kill us” as they said that the two cold months cost them $800 this year, which is kind of scary. We will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. 

Wednesday, I wrote my two exams and all of my friends finished up theirs as well! After my French exam, I helped Hannah do a bit of packing and then met her lovely parents, Malcolm and Nancy, who had driven all the way here from Nova Scotia to pick up Hannah. They helped her (and Jocelyn) take some stuff over to the house and then they left for the night while we celebrated being finished! We had originally planned to have a large sleepover in the basement but ended up going our separate ways after an exhausting night. Hannah, however, was stuck in our bog as she had already checked out and given back her keys! We then had to wake up super early to eat breakfast and say goodbye because her parents wanted to hit the road asap. I will admit, that yes, I did try to get into Hannah’s car and go back to the East Coast, but with limited space, it came down to a choice between me and the mini-fridge and somehow the fridge beat me for the spot! So that was the first goodbye of the day. I spent the rest of the day packing up my room, with a brief stop for some hors-d’oeuvres in Dewies with Jocelyn and her mom (that’s right, they were serving hors-d’oeuvres everyone) and then said goodbye to our friends heading to the airport/Ottawa/Gatineau. Jocelyn and Elizabeth left at 4:30 and all of a sudden my life became very lonely. Luckily, I had Vicki, Matt and the cast of Glee to keep me company. 

Vicki and me after our bio exam!

 So now all that is left for me to do is move my stuff to the house, give my room a good cleaning and officially check out of residence! I have to say, I think I truly lucked out when it came to residence rooms – I had a room with a lot of space, nice furniture, hardwood floors, a nice sink and cabinet, and a bathroom, all on the first floor and connected to the room of the best bogmate a girl could ask for! The fact that it is all over is still sinking in and I really can’t say exactly when it will hit me. But right now, I am just super excited to show my dad my room and my campus and to see my friend Natasha in Montreal on Saturday! I have had a truly unforgettable year and I am looking forward to documenting it all in a soon-to-come Bishop’s scrapbook! Who knows – maybe I will have to print some excerpts from this blog to put in it! Thank you to everyone who helped make this school year one of my best yet – whether it was here at Bishop’s, at home or elsewhere. And please stay tuned for a special post coming in the near future with a recap of all the things I learned/experienced this year!

All my love, Erica xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 

Almost There!

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. 

This quote is used wayyyy too much in the camp world but it seems appropriate for my current situation. One week today I will be finished all of my exams and few days after that I will be leaving Lennoxville for four months! Some of my friends are finishing up with the next few days and leaving this weekend and I am jealous that they are done exams but happy that I get to spend another week on campus and in residence. That's one thing that is weird to think about but has been on my mind a lot recently - when I come back in September I won't be living in this building in my little bog with Jocelyn and I will be responsible for my own cooking and cleaning and all that other grown up stuff! Luckily, I'll be living with some of my best friends but I will certainly miss being so close to everyone and everything and losing connections with people is one of my biggest fears for next year. But now is not the time to start worrying because I should be more focused on those things called exams. 

Since classes ended last week, I have been trying really hard to study a lot but let's face it, you can't study for 24 hours everyday. So, last Wednesday, Vicki and I went with our frosh leader to Jay Peaks for the day to get a final day of skiing in. I still can't believe that I was skiing in April but the mountain is actually staying open until the 28th which is crazy and they still have a fair amount of snow. Good thing it was pretty warm though because Vicki forgot her snow pants! When I got back from skiing, I received a hand delivered bouquet of flowers from my dad and everyone else back home and they have made a very nice addition to my room! Speaking of frosh, all of my friends that applied to be frosh leaders were accepted, which is super exciting. The frosh leader teams are made up of 4 people and the three people that Hannah applied with tricked her and told that they didn't get hired! And she didn't find out until the next morning when she was with someone else who was checking to see if his group got hired and she saw her name on the list! She was not impressed with her fellow leaders! 

 

Spring skiing!

Flowers from my daddy!

Thursday, Friday and Saturday I spent a lot of time in Dewies studying for my French Exam, which was on Sunday and my Ethics and Religious Culture Exam, which was last night. I have actually claimed a spot as my own in Dewies, because it is near a wall and an outlet but someone had the nerve to sit there today, so I will have to go and reclaim my territory at some point. I also spent a lot of time with my ERC group working on our Buddhism Unit but we have finally finished which is a weight off the shoulders. Friday night, Elizabeth and I went to the BU edition of Dragon's Den, in which 4 groups from an entrepreneurship class presented their business venture ideas in a competition to win $500. The four ideas were: a restaurant in France, a mobile app to find coupons and deals, cups that were able to detect the presence of date rape drugs and a company that would stream live events online legally. My personal favourite was the date rape cups but the prize went to the mobile app or "Coupon Crook." I thought that the proposals were for actual ideas that were going to be put into place, but I was disappointed to learn that they were just class project ideas. Oh well. Later, we had a bit of a movie marathon in my room, and watched a bit of Gidget, This is 40 and Wild Child - well, my friends lay on my bed and watched the movies while I sat at my desk and studied. 

BU Dragon's Den - the Dragons!

On Saturday, my baby brother celebrated his 12th birthday!! I am sad that I was not there to celebrate it with him but I sent him a card in the mail and left him a present hidden in my room at home! On Sunday, I wrote my exam, which went a lot better than expected and I ended up with an 86% in the class, the first of my final marks that I have gotten back. After my exam, I watched the recap of the World Synchronized Skating Championships that aired on CBC on Saturday and watched Nexxice capture the silver medal! I was also really impressed with the American team, who were from Massachusetts, competing in their home state and came third. Sorry that was a little bit of a skating tangent. 

On Monday, my friend Vicki (who is from close to Boston) and I were tracking the Boston Marathon, as she had a friend running the marathon and my friend Hayley`s dad was also running. It was really neat to watch some live footage and follow the online tracking which told you how fast the runner you were following was going, when they passed certain miles and when they finished. Hayley`s dad ended up doing really well and so did Vicki`s friend but, get this, he crossed the finish line 30 seconds before the explosion! Thank goodness him and his family were out of there before the accident, and Hayley`s family was not around either. What a horrible, horrible thing to happen at such an iconic event. 

Monday, I got a letter from BC from my friend Lance!

Later on Monday, I went to this meeting for a recruitment outreach program for the spring. All the students who were unsuccessful with their Student Ambassador applications were invited to take part in this initiative to spread the word about Bishop`s in their respective homes because despite our increasing enrollment, a lot of people still don`t know about our university. So I got some viewbooks to bring back to Ancaster, and I guess I will be paying a little visit to my high school in the coming months. Ancaster High, prepare yourself for the return of the wonderful Erica Zucker. Speaking of my high school, it caught on fire again on Friday and has been shut down since then. It was the same cause as last year's fire and luckily school had been cancelled that day so students were not in the building! While they try to solve the problem, my sister has been enjoying a nice 6 day weekend and I think she returns to school tomorrow after being off since Friday. I can`t complain however, as I have been off since last Monday and am almost completely done for the year! 

Yesterday, I spent a good chunk of time prepping with Vicki for our ERC exam, well as much prepping as you can do for an open book exam. We ended up having to watch two videos and find teachable ideas within them. It was one of those exams that you don't know how you did until you get it back so here's hoping for the best! Regardless of my mark, ERC ended up being one of my favourite courses and I learned a lot from Dr. Stonebanks, who I hope to have as a prof again in the future.To celebrate finishing the course, Vicki and I watched High School Musical complete with popcorn and French Vanilla Cappuccinos (Thank you Hannah). 

Today, it is absolutely beautiful in terms of the weather and I have been slacking a little bit in terms of studying since my next exam is not until Monday. But now the 20th Century World and French Vocabulary are calling my name and I must answer their call. Jocelyn just came in and suggested we go to the little cafe in town to do some studying in a new location so now I am looking forward to that.  Also, I just got an email asking for photos of rez rooms to potentially be featured online or in future viewbooks so I am for sure going to send in some photos of my room, because if I do say so myself, my room is pretty great. Finally, I have recently been seeing a lot of online posts entitled "What I Learned in First Year" or "Things I Wish I Had Known Before Starting First Year" so I think that sometime in the near future I will make my own - maybe it will be my final entry in this Diary of a Freshman, since I will have to change the name in September. Anywho, I must get back to cherishing every last moment of the little time I have left here so I will talk to you all later! 

All my love, Erica

PS It looks like I am going to reach my goal of hitting 5000 pageviews for the year so thank you to all my loyal readers and occasional viewers!

PPS Here is a link to an article my friend Gaby sent me this morning! It's about Canada's "new upper class" and the increase in the number of public sector workers (police, firefighters and teachers) earning over $100 000. So I invite you all to have a read - http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/04/15/the-new-upper-class/

PPPS Final Post Script - I promise! I would like to send a huugggeee HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my best friends Elena O'Brien who is turning 19 years old today! She has been my friend since we were little figure skaters together back in Ancaster and has been by my side since the day we met! I am honestly so lucky to have this special person as a friend. Elena, have a fantastic day today! You certainly deserve it!

HBD XOXO

End of First Year Classes!

15 days, 16 hours, 48 minutes and 7 seconds. 

According to the countdown on the top of my screen, that is exactly how much time I have left of first year university! (And now, even less!)

Today marked the end of my second semester classes so as of 9:45 this morning, I am officially in study mode (or supposed to be in study mode). I cannot quite believe that I am only 15 short days away from being done my first year of university! It seems like yesterday I was just starting. It also does not feel as though Christmas was already 4 months ago - but maybe that is because I got to go home twice this semester. Regardless, this semester has been great and only 5 final exams stand between me and my summer vacation. 

So since last week, my life has definitely had some major ups and some major downs. For starters, I unfortunately did not get hired to be a Student Ambassador. There were 89 applicants for 8 spots and unfortunately, I just did not fit the bid this year. I got the email when I was in my French class last Thursday, and I will admit that I was very, very disappointed. It's been a rough year - I didn't get accepted as a Big Buddy, a Frosh Judge or a Student Ambassador, but I just have to remind myself to keep trying and keep putting myself out there. So, I want to say two things: 1) Congratulations to my friends who did get hired. I know you will all do a fantastic job representing our school! 2) Thank you to everyone who helped me with my application (especially Vicki, my wonderful camera girl), wished me luck, read my blogs on Recruitment, etc. It really means a lot. Hopefully, after second year, with another year of Bishop's experiences under my belt, my application will be successful.

Last Thursday and Friday, the BU Singers performed in their end of year concert and though I did not get a chance to go, I heard that it was amazing! A lot of my friends are in the choir, so I was happy to hear that it went well. On Friday morning, Vicki and I gave our biology lab demonstration; for our final class project, we had to present a lab that an elementary teacher could use in a classroom so we did this really neat experiment with Blood Type Compatibility that I will definitely use one day. Our presentation went really well and the other labs were pretty neat - my favourite was one that showed the use of fat as insulation for polar bears, seals, etc. Students cover one hand in shortening and leave the other hand bare and then put both hands in a bucket of cold water. The hand with the shortening stays warmer because of the hydrophobic relationship between water and fats. I really liked this science class, and (this will make my dad happy) am thinking of picking up some science electives in the fall.

Friday afternoon, my friends and  I went to the Bishop's Underwear Run, to which you show up fully clothed, strip down to your underwear, donate the clothes you are wearing and then run a designated route. Did I mention that it was RAINING/SNOWING on Friday afternoon? It was so unbelievably cold during the run but it inspired me to run very quickly. And I got some fun prizes for running the race, so it wasn't all bad. After the race, Jocelyn left for Montreal for the weekend so Abbott 215/217 became very lonely. But nonetheless my friends kept me company so I wasn't alone for too long!

My friends and I at the Underwear Run!

Group shot!

On Saturday, I had my first official sleep-in of the semester and then did not do much for the rest of the day (oops). However, I discovered that there is a Joe Fresh in Sherbrooke, so my friends and I made a late afternoon trip there. Then I stayed in that night and ended up watching a little bit of American Pie 3, High School Musical 2 and an episode of Dragon's Den (my new addiction) with Vicki. Sunday was slightly more productive and in the afternoon, I went to see the Chamber Orchestra perform and surprisingly (never thought I'd say this) it made me miss playing the flute and being in band! Afterwards, I checked out the music and it didn't look too challenging, so I might have to look into this further. Science classes and band - I'm clearly reverting back to my high school roots!

I am happy to report that today was very productive! I got my marks back for my ERC Animal Rights Project (18/20) and for my French Video Comprehension Test (24.5/25) so those were a boost to the confidence! Then, I spent the afternoon working on my final project for my French class - a video of me explaining how to make Skor bars. Notre professeur nous a donné les sujets pour les videos et j'ai choisi à parler de ma recette favorite. Vicki m'a aidé aujourd'hui avec mon video lequel vous pouvez regarder sur YouTube! Mes autres amis m'ont aidé manger les barres du Skor et elles sont très delicieuses!

Me baking in Mackinnon!

Following my second video of the year, Elizabeth and I spent three hours in the library (gave myself a pat on the back for that) and now I am back in my room enjoying the fact that I do not have 8:30 class in the morning! However, there is still lots to do as I have my first exam this Sunday (yuck) and I plan on being 100% prepared, meaning lots more time in the library! So with that, good night world! See you in the morning! Wish me luck as I spend the next two and a half weeks studying!

PS Congratulations to Nexxice Senior who became the 2013 Synchro World Silver Medalists in Boston this weekend! 

 

An Egg-citing past few weeks!

Bonjour mes amis! My time in Quebec is quickly coming to an end and I can't believe that I am almost done my first year of university! I am sorry that I haven't been very consistent with my blog these past few weeks - I will try to be better for these last few weeks. So without further adieu, here is what I have been up to since my last post!

So I guess the last time I posted was just after I sent my student ambassador video in and I am still waiting to find out the results! I think my video is up to about 85 views on YouTube now which is kind of exciting. I really, really hope that I get hired by recruitment and I will let you know what happens as soon as I find out! A lot of my friends applied too and their videos were really good so I know that I am up against some fierce competition! If you didn't get the concept, I was trying to simulate a campus tour to display my "skills." It's in my last post if you haven't seen it yet!

Me filming myself in Dewies!

Two Fridays ago, the Residence Events Committee had our final event of the year - a Rez Wide game of Capture the Flag (in the dark)! We were hoping that people from all different buildings would show up, but it ended up being NoPo vs all other buildings. My team kind of cheated as we hid our white flag in the white snow so it wasn't exactly visible but our sneaky hiding spot enabled us to be victorious against the other team! I then spent Saturday making my application video and I owe a lot of thanks to my friend Vicki who filmed my video - she spent 2 or 3 hours following my around campus! As a small token of thanks, that afternoon, I went with her into Sherbrooke to hold her hand while she got a new piercing!

Vicki at Nefty's Tattoo Parlour!

Last week was really busy in terms of school work - I had a lot to do for my History Simulation, in which I am simulating Singapore in 1995. I also had a presentation in Ethics and Religious Culture on Animal Rights and had to work on my biology presentation which I am presenting this Friday. I was also busy with applying for jobs for the summer - I sent out a million resumes and made a lot of phone calls! So by the end of the week, I was extremely ready to trek back to Ancaster for Easter.

Outside the classroom, I discovered that our residence has a laundry thief as I lost a sweater and a tank top in last week's laundry. It was also Passover last week, and so I decided to attempt to follow the Kosher for Passover rules along with my friend Vicki who was actually celebrating Passover. I was not allowed to eat pork or leavened bread - essentially no grain products and I was not allowed to mix meat and dairy. I also tried to learn the reasoning behind these rules. For the pork, it is specifically mentioned in Leviticus 11:7, JPS: "And the swine, because it has a split hoof, and is cloven-footed, but cheweth not the cud, it is unkosher for you." Essentially, the pig is an "unkosher" animal, along with certain other animals so Jewish people do not eat it. For the meat and dairy, it is written in the Torah that "thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk" meaning to cook the meat of one animal in the milk of that animal's own mother is an "abomination to God". And finally, you don't eat unleavened bread, because when Moses helped the Jewish people to escape from Egypt, they had to leave in such a rush that there wasn't time for their bread to rise. So all in all, this was a very educational experience for me, as well as a difficult challenge - I was only able to follow the rules until Thursday!

On Tuesday, my friends and I went to Acoustic Tuesday at the Lion for the first time and two of our friends performed. On Thursday, I made another homemade lip gloss at a Rez Event - this time it was peppermint flavour. Also on Thursday, Red Bull athlete Will Gadd came to our school for a visit and a presentation. He is an extreme athlete who specializes in ice climbing and paragliding. For an added bonus, he decided to climb up the front of Johnson, an academic building here on campus. That night, he gave a presentation in Centennial, complete with lots of video clips and unlimited Red Bull. It was really neat to hear what he had to say - you wouldn't expect him to be such a great speaker but his talk was very motivational and I am glad that I went to hear him speak. One really neat thing that he did to raise money was climb an ice face for 24 hours straight! After that, Jocelyn had a friend from home come visit her for the weekend so we welcomed her into our home in Abbot 215/217.

 Friday morning I got up bright and early (6:45am) and began the long trip back to Ontario. I caught a carpool into Montreal and then took the bus to Toronto where my dad picked me up to go to my Granny's house for Good Friday dinner.  It was really great to see my family again - after spring break, I didn't think that I would want to go home because the end of the year is so close but I am really glad that I decided to go back. We had a really nice dinner with my granny and cousins and then later that night, I got to skype a friend from camp. Saturday, my mom and I had a girls day, complete with a trip to Mapleview mall to get some spring clothing (and a matching bathing suit to my little sister) and then I went to see one of my best friends, Andrea. She is in grade twelve and is looking at going into the same program that I am in. Unfortunately, right now, she is getting a lot of the same disheartening feedback that I got last year after applying to Con Ed - Why do you want to be a teacher, you are wasting your potential, there's no jobs, etc, etc. I really do not understand why people say these things - why do people not want smart teachers??? And if this is what we want to do, just be supportive! Anywho, I told her to keep her chin up and go do whatever she wants because I know that she will make a great teacher one day! After our nice chat, we watched Spy Kids - such a great movie.

On Sunday, my brother, sister and I went on our traditional Easter egg hunt in the backyard. The rabbit was feeling extra generous this year and hid some cash in my Easter eggs! During the day, I caught up on some homework and then we went to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner. One set of our cousins couldn't make it, so some family friends of my aunt and uncle's came as a substitute. One of my cousins is currently on a co-op in Ottawa so we made a potential plan to meet up in Montreal later in April, so we will see if that actually happens. On Easter Monday, I went out for breakfast with my friend Elena and then went for a job interview and (drum roll please) was hired to work for my mom`s landscaper during May and June! I feel like such a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and am super exciting to start working once I come home in May! However, after my interview, I hopped in a car and made the trek back to Bishops! Fun little story, when we stopped at an En Route in Belleville, I ate dinner with one of the guys who currently lives in my future house!

Me hunting for Easter eggs!

I got back to campus really late on Monday night and things picked right back up on Tuesday! I am currently working on a really big project for my ERC class - developing a unit on Buddhism so a lot of my attention right now is focused on that. Also, today was very exciting as a volunteer group on campus hosted Bishop`s first Relaxation Day, complete with puppies and play dough! As well, Abbott Blocks 1 and 2 had an Unbirthday Party (like in Alice in Wonderland) to celebrate the birthdays of summer babies! And now, I am heading off to watch a movie with Jocelyn and Hannah, who were let out of class two hours early and Elizabeth who just finished her first final! Miss you and love you all! See you in 24 days!

All my love, Erica xoxoxox

PS Happy Birthday to my 17 year old cousins Jaye and Claire! I cannot believe you are getting so old! But my invitation stands to come celebrate your next birthday with me in Quebec! <3