Busy As A Bee

Overall, university life is treating me very well. I've never made this many friends in such a short period of time, and I'm thoroughly enjoying hanging out whenever, wherever. Last week and the week before, we watched the Lord of the Rings (extended edition, of course) over a series of evenings. Watching them with people other than my parents was great; we all understand what's going on, we love the series, so we all laugh and joke about different parts in the movies. I think, if someone listened in on our running commentary, they'd be laughing their pants off. Now, I have a group of people who like to watch movies, so we will be watching many more in the future!

Today I came upon my first big snag. My first university test. In calculus 3, no less! I thought I was prepared... but about halfway through the test, I realized I wasn't. I did my best to start working on all of the problems, but I left many unfinished. After a brief freak-out in my room, I talked with some people, got my mind on other things, and managed to de-stress. That's the other great thing about so many good friends around; you can talk to almost anyone and feel better.

Photo: Who hangs out in a bare, white-walled lounge? The Queen Bees certainly don't!

Depths

This past weekend, I went on a photography spree around campus with a couple friends, and our first stop was Wreck Beach, a clothing-optional beach just a short walk from my dorm. While we didn't experience it "fully," when I neared the bottom of the 500-stair trail, I was struck by the smell of the sea. I was nearly moved to tears. I'd realized I hadn't been to the ocean in quite a while, and I was overcome with a strange powerful emotion.

It brought me back to a day at a beach/park in Washington, when I was there with my parents. I was sitting against a log of driftwood, sand in my toes, staring at the grey sea meeting the grey sky in the distance. I took deep breaths of the delicious salty air. I never wanted to leave. I can't explain it. I can't ever explain it to people, it feels like they'd never understand the depth of this emotion. I feel like I have a deep connection with the sea, with the salty water. Maybe a past life, I don't know. And a grey day at the beach is even more alluring than a sunny one, to me. Is it just from growing up in Washington, or is it something more?

Photo: One of the shots I took at Wreck Beach. It was such a gorgeous day!

First Impressions

I arrived in Vancouver two nights ago. It's been incredibly busy, so much so that I haven't had much time to just sit and gather my thoughts. Finally, I have a fairly free evening when I don't feel dead tired.

The first night, we had an amazing thunderstorm. I woke up at about 3AM to loud rumbles and bright flashes and heavy rain. At first, when I was still half asleep, the thunder was an annoyance. Then, I woke up enough that I could rest my head on my pillow and look out the window, appreciating the storm with quiet excitement. I'm not sure how long the storm went on, since I was too sleepy to stay up and watch much.

Tonight, I had dinner with my parents, and had to let my mom go. We went out to a great restaurant on Granville Island, I had salmon and amazing white cheddar mashed potatoes. Afterward, we saw a heron try to steal his dinner from a man preparing his fish down at the marina, from a view outside the restaurant. It was sad to see my mom go. It probably hasn't hit me fully yet; there is too much excitement to feel as sad as I thought I would. Dad will stay a couple more days to help me settle in and tie up loose ends.

Between the first night and tonight, I've been busy doing GALA International Student orientation workshops and other events. I was put in a group with about 7 other Computer Science students, and it's been good to meet people that way. I hope to get a little more spare time to myself, because I haven't really unpacked yet!

Not many people have moved into my dorm yet, but tomorrow is the official move-in day. I hope to meet lots of cool people! Tonight I stepped into my hallway, hearing laughter and talking. I went to the room where it was coming from; the door was open, so I mustered up my courage and went to say hello. It was a group of four second-year students, who had apparently all been friends last year. They asked me a couple questions, for example where I was from, what faculty I was in, etc. Nice people, I hope I will see more of them!

Photo: View of downtown Vancouver tonight, from the parking lot on Granville Island. My cell phone camera isn't amazing in difficult lighting, but it captures enough of the beauty that you'll get the idea.