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My Trip To Owen Sound!
By Essence Aikman, Queen’s University, Canada Hello all! This will be my final post discussing the amazing trip I took at the end of my studies abroad in Canada. This trip was taken in the hometown of my lovely housemate. I left Kingston and made my way to Owen Sound to explore the woods and chase waterfalls with her.
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Attending my first-ever Hockey Game!
By Essence Aikman, Queen’s University, Canada Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. This time around I’m going down memory lane to share my experience attending my first hockey game in Kingston, Canada.
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Manchester beanie takes on North America
By Ros Harwood (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada) To finish up my blog posts about my year abroad, I have some photos to share giving a snapshot of the five weeks I spent travelling to mark the end of my year abroad. It was a fantastic trip and I ticked off a lot of places I have always wanted to visit! I attempted to mark each place with a Manchester beanie picture. Travel is such a key part of study abroad, make the most of the opportunities! Canada Toronto > Rocky Mountains (Banff and Jasper) > Vancouver USA: Seattle > Portland > Yosemite & Sierra National Parks > Death Valley >…
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The Rocky Mountains
By Ros Harwood (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada) After sad goodbyes with Kingston and Queen’s, my friend and I made a short one day stop in Toronto before taking a Greyhound bus across four provinces for two and half days to Banff, Alberta. A couple of beanie snaps: one on Moraine Lake at Lake Louise (still frozen at end of April) and the other at Johnson Canyon, where walking and wearing the Manchester beanie caused two girls to tell us they had graduated from Manchester the previous year and also studied Geography! A small world.
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Cha Gheill!
By Ros Harwood (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada) I literally can’t believe I am writing this post, where has the time gone?! The year abroad has flown by and I am unbelievably sad to have to leave this place. I am really looking forward to travelling and going home; it’s been a while since I’ve been there, but I have made some amazing memories at this fantastic university. Despite the long, hard Canadian winter, the hardest thing right now is that we are finally rewarded with beautiful sunshine, blue skies and a lot of positive temperatures which makes Kingston an absolutely stunning place to be. Being on one of the Great…
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Second Semester Experiences at Queen’s
By Ros Harwood (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada) Having just finished classes at Queen’s forever, I cannot believe that second semester and the year has finished. I have one week of exams and then I am completely finished and will be off on my travels to the west coast of Canada and the States. This semester has been as busy and fun as the last one. Mont-Tremblant This semester I have made two weekend visits to Mont Tremblant, Quebec – best described as a skiing ‘hill’, but the best skiing in Eastern Canada. It is a kind of place where families have chalets and come up for the weekend from the…
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Academic Differences between Canada and Manchester
By Ros Harwood (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada) Having done a semester and a bit at Queen’s now, academic differences have become clear to me between the Canadian and UK university systems. However, by all means, it is nothing to worry about, especially once you are used to it and the basics are still in place that you would find at any university; readings, tests, assignments, tutorials etc. 1. The first difference that became pretty apparent early on was the differences in the assessments here. The assessment is cumalative throughout the semester and the final mark for a course will be based on the various components, such as online quizzes, small…
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The summit of Lake Louise ski area, Banff
by Rosalind Harwood (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada) I spent 10 days in Banff, Alberta skiing in the Canadian Rockies with my family over the Christmas holidays (featuring the Manchester beanie).Â
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The Halfway Point
By Ros Harwood, (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada) Semester 1 and exams are all finished! Such a relief, but also a scary thought that I am halfway through my exchange year. It is going so fast! Seems a good time to reflect on my academic experiences here at Queen’s. On my first impression, I did not think that the academic side was that different to Manchester’s, but as time went on, I realised that actually the academic life was very different, but not necessarily for the worst. Lectures in general are the same, slightly dependent on the actual course I was taking. I get the impression that lectures are just used…
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There is no fresher’s week, instead its Frosh week
By Ros Harwood (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada). It is 2 weeks since I arrived in Kingston for my exchange and it has been very hectic with a lot going on, a lot to do and sort out but I am already loving it. The first week I spent sorting out a lot of basic needs such as a phone, bank account, supplies for my room and the house, my student card, meeting other international students, buying a bed! Unfortunately Canadian students do not have the luxury of having furnished rooms in student houses without paying ridiculously high rent, so they all provide it for themselves. For an exchange student like…
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1 week to go!
by Ros Harwood (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada) Having got over the emotions of leaving Manchester and my friends there and  another great summer of travelling in Europe behind me, I have seen people going out to Australia, New Zealand, Arizona, Singapore and LA in the past few weeks and the excitement is mounting ahead of my departure to Canada on Monday. Accomodation is all sorted, flights are all booked, the next challenge will be determining how to fit in a year’s worth of stuff (mainly clothes) in a 23kg bag, in particular taking into account the extreme weather conditions that mean the sun will be out when I arrive in…
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It’s nearly time to leave
By Lisa Scott (Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada). After a Jam packed second semester at Queen’s University, I am writing this blog to procrastinate from the horrifying experience known as Packing. My year abroad has not only resulted in me buying more belongings than I can fit in my rucksack but it has also been an invaluable experience which I will never forget. Being a student at Queen’s University is like being part of a wider community which thrives on good will and team spirit. Just earlier this week I was sat in the library doing some last minute revision for an exam, when the Principal of the University delivered fresh…
A study abroad journal by students, for students.
