Good evening everyone and hello from dark and snowy Lennoxville, Quebec! I have been back at school for just over a week now and quite honestly, I am starting to feel as though I never left. All of my housemates are back now as well and we spent our first full day together today - the girls of William Page are back in action, folks. It has definitely been a bit of an adjustment settling back in here, with everything from starting new classes to being re-introduced to Canadian winters but I could not be happier to be back in my bubble with my amazing Bishop's family.
To backtrack a little bit, before coming back to school I had two lovely weeks in Ancaster with the family. My grandparents flew in from Winnipeg for the holiday and we had a great time reminiscing about our time in France together. We saw my mom's side of the family on Christmas Eve and my dad's side of the family on Christmas Day and the following weekend, when we all went to Toronto to go see Cinderella and have a big holiday dinner. I was also fortunate to see many of my friends while I was home, from a quick trip to Starbucks on Christmas Eve to catch up with my friend Erin from camp to a typical Cora's brunch with my friends from skating. I spent a day skiing at Blue Mountain, saw one of my elementary school best friends perform with her band and spent New Year's Eve with Tyler in Niagara Falls, watching Nick Jonas and Keith Urban. At the end of my stay, my dad drove me back to school and we spent a day skiing at Jay Peaks before I was left to begin my new semester.
I had the house to myself Sunday evening as bad weather deterred Hannah and Jocelyn from being able to come back until the Monday. It was nice to have the time to unpack and settle in and get readjusted to my home. It also gave me some time to bond with my new roommates aka the mice that are living in our attic. Update: We have currently caught 1 in the traps set around the house. Monday I had the chance to go to the new school gym, which is absolutely beautiful. It is still under construction but it is going to be great when it is all finished. There is a new basketball gym, a new arena, a 600 person outdoor terrace, a new rink and a space for a small food court. It is set to have a grand opening on February 6th, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony and everything.
Jocelyn and Hannah were both back on Monday night so it was nice to have some human company in the house. Tuesday was the first day of classes, however with my schedule I only had one class that day. This semester I have a music class, a French writing class, a course on the psychology of women and two education classes, one called Linguistic Diversity and the other Teaching Young Language Learners. My schedule is very bizarre, with early morning and late night classes and not much in between. Unfortunately, this is not very good for my night owl lifestyle. I now have to set an alarm to go to bed. However, all of my courses seem interesting and I am sure it will be a good semester on the academic front.
Jocelyn and I went on a gym date Tuesday afternoon and it was nice to have my gym buddy back. Our day got even better when we went home to watch the premier of the new season of the Bachelor together, joined by two special guests, Mike and Phil. We watched the entire three hour premier of "Prince Farming," spending a great deal of time laughing at the bachelorettes and imitating Chris Harrison. Nevertheless, we are excited for all the entertainment that this season on the Bachelor is sure to bring us.
Wednesday, I went to Tim Horton's with my friend Sarah, a fellow education student. Unfortunately, we are not in any classes together anymore as she is a Quebec student so is doing her third year practicum, whereas because I am an out of province student I do not have my practicum until next year. She is doing her practicum in Montreal, starting after reading week. I am so excited for her! It was great to catch up with her and share stories from the past 8 months, while enjoying a very Canadian cup of coffee.
Elizabeth came back to Lennoxville Wednesday night, straight off the plane from Cuba. We were all very. very jealous of her gorgeous tan. She did not forget about us while she was down there though, as the first thing she pulled out of her suitcase was her Cuban rum! Housemates that party together, stay together. It was great to see her again and to hear her stories from her vacation. New Year's on a beach in Cuba might not be a bad idea...
Thursday was the first Happy Hour of the semester, and while I had every intention of staying in my pyjamas and watching a movie that night, Hannah and Elizabeth talked me out of it and into going to the Gait. I was not the biggest fan of Happy Hour last year, but I am happy to report that I had a really good time on Thursday. I ran into a bunch of people I had not seen yet, all who welcomed me back with open arms (well, as open as they can be while holding a pitcher of beer). While I do not think I will be joining the Happy Hour Club anytime soon, I think it is safe to say I will make some reappearances in the future.
Friday and Saturday I participated in the Bishop's Business Bootcamp put on by the university advancement office. Bootcamp was two full days of workshops and seminars focused on preparing us for finding jobs post graduation. It cost $50 to sign up, and though majority of the participants were business majors, I was still able to take a lot from the weekend. The workshops included: Building a better CV, creating a LinkedIn Profile, Professional Networking, Cocktail Etiquette Skills, Dressing for Success, Job Searching Techniques, and Behavioural Interviewing. On Saturday afternoon, 25 BU Alumni came in to do mock professional interviews with us and give us feedback on our interviewing performance. We also had our CVs corrected, which was one of the most beneficial components of the weekend for me. The event finished with an Alumni Cocktail reception sponsored by RBC, at which we were supposed to practice our networking skills and cocktail etiquette. It was really great to talk with some of the alumni as well as my fellow Bootcamp participants. However, during one of my conversations, an alumni tried to get me to buy his book of poems right then and there so I had to (professionally) decline the offer. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, and gave me some great techniques, skills, ideas and resources that I will take with me as I transition into professional life.
New LinkedIn Professional Photo Coming Soon
Saturday night, my housemates threw me and my friend Gaby a surprise welcome back party. After Bootcamp, I was shipped off to Gaby's house while my housemates got ready and then Gaby and I were brought here for the surprise. While I was a little suspicious that something was up, I was still surprised to see all of the people in my living room when Gaby and I walked in.ar my friends who were at the Bootcamp with me all weekend. MI was most surprised to see my housemate Sarah, who had just come home from the airport, as she had flown in from BC earlier that evening. I like to think that she flew in Saturday night especially to see me.y housemates did a great job putting together the surprise party and made sure all of my friends from around campus were here to welcome me back. Elizabeth made a great playlist tailored specifically for Gaby and me, and Jocelyn and Elizabeth made some great decorations. And of course, no party at 27 WP would be complete without Hannah's baked goods! The night was fantastic and just reaffirmed what I already knew - that I have the best housemates (and friends) a girl could ask for.
Today was an easy day, relaxing after last night and then going on a housemate skating date at the indoor rink. By coincidence, our friends were playing hockey right after public skating so we stayed to watch and cheer them on. I was told to cheer silently and not embarrass our friends. It was a very Canadian afternoon, skating, hockey, snow and Tim Horton's drinks to keep us warm, followed by the first housemate dinner of the semester. I am so happy to have all of my housemates back and cannot wait to see what we get up to together this semester.
I am settling back in well here, while doing my best to keep warm. In addition to classes this week, my extracurriculars are starting back up so I'm sure my schedule will slowly start to fill up as the weeks go on. For anyone in the area, come see me at the Golden Key table at Club Day this Tuesday! With that, my alarm is telling me that it is time for me to go to bed, so I will end things here! Have a wonderful week!
All my love,
Erica xoxoxoxo
