Poor, neglected blog and leaving Canada

I have neglected this blog for far too long. I've barely written anything while I've been in Canada! I will definitely go back through some of my adventures and favourite places in the weeks to come, now that I'm not quite as busy! 

I have one more exam tomorrow night (I would like to meet the person who thought that exams from 7-10pm on a Saturday night were a good idea!), and then I will be officially finished my semester at Dalhousie. I am currently in the process of packing my bags to leave, which is absolutely horrible; I don't want to leave Halifax!

Anyway, I should probably get back to packing and cleaning now - I have 3 days until I leave, and still so much I want to do in Halifax! 

B x

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Neptune Theatre Halifax - Into The Woods, October 5 2014

I had seen posters around for "Into The Woods", one of my favourite musicals. How can you say no to Sondheim? When I realised it would be closing last weekend, I finally decided to go and see it!

Image Source: Neptune Theatre

The Neptune Theatre offers discounted tickets when you purchase them at the box office half an hour before showtime. Unfortunately, I managed to fall victim to the Halifax bus system, and ended up having to power walk from Dal to the theatre (located on Argyle St, near Barrington St). It was a bit of a walk, but thankful, I made it.

I arrived at about ten to two, and lined up to get my tickets; I think I paid about $39.50 for an 'Orchestra' seat (ground level). Of course being late, the show had already started without me. Thankfully, I could basically perform the musical as a one-woman show, so I didn't really miss anything.

I have to say, it was one of the best renditions of "Into The Woods" I have seen - and I've seen quite a few. The cast were all superb in their roles, the humour was effortless and the music gave me goosebumps. The set design was spectacular; they managed to transform a (relatively) small stage into a variety of homes, or a large wooded area depending on the scene. They even had some pyrotechnics, which I think surprised everyone in the audience!

On the walk home, I was absolutely drenched. Trust me to leave my umbrella at home the one day I actually need it! All in all, this was a fantastic day out and if it were still open, I would highly recommend that you go and see it. Since it is closed, I will instead recommend that you go and see a show at the Neptune Theatre - I hope your experience is as fantastic as mine! I know "A Christmas Story" opens on November 25, 2014. I'm definitely intending to get tickets for that one.

If you want to have a look at some of the stage and costume elements, this is promotional video for Into The Woods from Neptune Theatre.

Thanks for reading! 

B x

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Clay Cafe, Quinpool Road, Halifax NS

Okay, okay. I know I haven't actually done a real post about anything in Halifax yet, but I had to share this!

Let me preface this by saying that I am not an artist. In Grade 8, my teacher actually laughed at my scientific diagram; coincidentally, it was around the same time that I accepted the fact that art probably wasn't my calling in life. Nevertheless, when a group of my friends decided to go on an outing to the the Clay Cafe, I figured I would join them.

Clay Cafe is located on Quinpool Road (which is easily walkable from Dalhousie University, however you can take a bus), making it a very convenient location. On a related note, they do give a student discount, so be sure to show your ID when you make any payments.

A huge wall of pottery shapes greet you as you enter, and you simply choose the type you want to paint. I chose a square mug, which I believe cost around $22.50. The prices, however, are all inclusive (the item itself, all paints, glazing and firing in the kiln, et cetera). Once you've chosen an item, you simply choose your paints from the wide variety available and start a design. They also have stencils, stamps and patterns to help you out.

Being artistically-challenged, I decided to do something that would require as little precision painting as possible. I used a photo one of my friends found on Pinterest as my design inspiration - a mug with  the face of Olaf from Frozen on it. I can't remember the exact link, but I'm sure you'll be able to find something similar if you Google 'olaf mug' or something similar. 

I painted the mug on Saturday night, and was able to pick it up the following Thursday. I spent far too long perfecting the design, but I think it turned out better than I expected it to.

Without further ado, here is my creation! It isn't perfect, but I like it.

If you're in Halifax, I would definitely recommend a visit to the Clay Cafe. It

Thanks for reading!

B

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Long Time No Talk

It has been an atrociously long time since I did anything on here - I've been just a tad busy! I'm now in Halifax, have moved into my home for the next four months, attended O Week (both International and for lack of a better word, normal) and survived my first day of classes. I'll have a post on O Week alone coming, and I'm so excited to finally be at Dal!

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Visas: Part II

Everything is starting to feel real now - I finally have my Visa! If you would like to hear (well, read really!) about the process of obtaining a visa, read on.

I happened to be in Perth, so I booked my interview at the US Consulate in Perth. I got a 9am appointment, and you are informed to arrive no more than 15 minutes before your appointment. At 8:45am sharp, I arrived at the Consulate, and navigated to the correct floor. It lead to a small room, containing a metal detector, an x-ray machine and a small waiting room.

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Visas, Visas, Visas

Visas are never fun. Seriously. While I will be studying in Canada for one semester and am lucky enough not to need any sort of Visa to study there for that period, I will be needing a visa so that I may enter and exit the USA during my trip.

Through the process of research and talking to others, I realised that I was going to need a B1/B2 Visa, otherwise known as a 'Combined Visa for Business or Pleasure'. There are plenty of 'quizzes' you can take to figure out whether or not you will be needing a visa, however if you are unsure, get in contact with an Embassy near you.

<disclaimer> Please do not take any of the information below as gospel - I most certainly am not an immigration specialist. This post was just to give you a bit of background on what I personally have to go through to go on Exchange. </disclaimer>

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What Do You Want From This Blog?

Hello again! I apologise in advance for any typos or weird tangents; I'm in the middle of my exam period at the moment, and I think the sleep deprivations is starting to take its toll!

This is just a quick post to attempt to find out what you are looking to get out of this blog. I'd love to be able to tailor the content to what you would prefer to read.

At the moment I'm working on a blog post about the Visa I need (as an Australian) to be able to travel in and out of the USA during my semester in Canada - I hope to have the first part of that up soon, and the second part will be completed after my Visa Interview.

But back to the question at hand, what sort of information would you prefer? Are you considering doing an exchange and want to know what the organisation process is? Would you prefer to hear about my experience when I (finally!) make it to Canada?

Let me know in the comments below or send me an email at asemesterincanada@gmail.com. I'd love to chat about your plans or past experiences.

Hope to hear from you soon! Best of luck if you're currently doing exams at the moment too.

B x

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Why I Chose Dalhousie University

As you probably know by now, I will be studying at Dalhousie University in Canada. It was a decision that I spent hours making, but so far, I'm very happy with it (seems a bit premature, doesn't it?).

Believe it or not, I was originally headed to the UK. I spent a year there on a Gap Year after I finished school, and I was desperate to go back and spend some more time there. If anyone wants any information of doing a Gap Year, I'd be more than happy to do some posts on it - it is a fantastic opportunity that I would highly recommend.

In a series of unfortunate events (if you can forgive the Lemony Snicket reference), it turned out that my plans of returning to the UK would not be possible. At extremely short notice, I had to go back and choose another University that I wanted like to attend. I fell in love with Dalhousie from the first Google Search. Feel free to go and do a quick Google Image Search - I'll wait...

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Choosing My Timetable

Well, I've finally done it! I chose the subjects I'll be studying in Canada.

For me, this was relatively painless, as I am fortunate enough to have "elective" units - basically, I can study anything and it will count towards my IT degree.

I've been studying solely IT for a year and a half now, so it seemed like a good time to branch out. And when I say branch out, I really mean it; I won't be doing any IT subjects. This is not at all because I didn't want to, more that the subjects that I would've chosen to study weren't available in the Fall Semester. Oh well, I'll definitely be getting some variety into my life!

 I have to study 5 subjects in Canada to receive credit points for my degree (four Australian subjects). Without any further ado, the subjects I'll be studying in the Fall Semester:

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Welcome to My Blog!

Hi! My name is Beth, and in case you haven't read the About Me page, I thought I would introduce myself. I'm a 20-something from Australia, studying a Bachelor of Information Technology - the equivalent of Computer Science in most other parts of the world.

Around a year ago, I decided that I wanted to go on exchange - fortunately for me, I can apply to do this through my University. I originally had my heart set on the UK, but that didn't pan out as I had hoped. I then turned my sights to Canada, and settled on Dalhousie University, located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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