I have to admit, the 1-month anniversary of my arrival in Europe came and went on Sep. 26th without me noticing. It feels like I’ve been here so much longer. Maybe because our time frame is shorter, I’ve allowed myself less time to adjust than I did in first year; thankfully, the honeymoon phase has lasted longer too, and I’m still loving everything about Leeds, the university, and the odd semi-transitory life we exchange students have started to build here. It’s always in the back of your mind that no, you can’t stay here permanently- I find myself buying course anthologies instead of individuals books, for instance, so that I can bring them more easily. And when buying clothes and just things, I’m consciously calculating what I have to leave behind here in order to fit it all in.
We envied the UK students on move-in day when their families all came to see them off and they all had cars full of boxes and bags; and then we realized something that you don’t know in first year: that you can bring all kinds of things from home, but it’s the items you collect here that you keep.
I had quite a busy week as well, so I’m sorry to not have updated before now! Stars put on a fantastic concert at the Brudenell Social Club on Tuesday:
That's Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, the two talented frontpeople of the band. My friend from home, Matt, and I went and caught the show, where we ran into my friend Lauren, a fellow Canadian from Vancouver:
It was a lot of fun and a great venue, although sadly, they didn’t play my favourite song of theirs, Calendar Girl. But I’m easily placated, and just listened to it when I got home :).
On Saturday, Johanna and I did our very first Otley Run, a Leeds Uni tradition that involves visiting every one of the 18 pubs (and having one drink at each) on Otley Road, which runs from the University steps right through to Bodington, in one looonnnnng night. Our group, the English Society, started at 6 pm, and we managed to visit 10 bars before midnight; shortly thereafter, we conceded defeat! Here we are at the Library Pub, right close to the end of the night:
A fun thing about the Run- every group that goes (and EVERY society, group, and team at Leeds does it) has a costume theme, and there were some inventive ones (although ours was simply to dress in black & white). Seeing the others, though, felt like Halloween came early (which apparently they do celebrate here, although not to the same extent as back home. Halloween, predictably, is used as an excuse to party).
And with thoughts of Halloween came thoughts of Thanksgiving. Sunday lunch at Bodington was, to our amazement, a full-on turkey dinner! Although we have to chalk it up to coincidence; all Brits know of the holiday and most understand the meaning behind it, but hardly anyone realizes that Canadians celebrate it on a different day. Explaining why our Thanksgiving is early was the most difficult question I’ve had to answer since being asked to explain why Quebec would want to separate. My knowledge of harvest season and Quebec’s provincial politics is apparently not up to par; I should have studied before I left!
So, despite the lack of background knowledge on our beloved holiday, nine or ten of us Canadians (and one Frenchwoman) ended up celebrating it Monday night at Taps, a worthy pub situated in the mostly student-inhabited area of Headingley. With nary a turkey item to be seen on the menu, we contented ourselves with chicken and white wine- all conveniently within a student budget.
And that’s been my week so far- up ahead, I’ve got some more salsa lessons (ooooh, watch out, Bryan and Lisa), the opera on Thursday, and Light Night on Friday, which is an evening full of free events in Leeds to help celebrate its 800th birthday. Also, on Saturday, I’m going to see The Decemberists at Leeds Met, the other uni here in the city. SO EXCITED to see them- they’re one of my favourite bands. However, I hope to write more before then!
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the abnormal temperatures back home... what I wouldn’t give for some sun over here! :)
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