So...Next blog. Busting these out left, right and centre now. Days are starting to role quicker and blur into each other, with my thoughts are still trying to keep up. Lets have an update of the past couple of days. Crazy days (standard) OK, so yesterday. The sabbath day, I spent profoundly house hunting. I found out in the morning that my initial plan 'a' house fell through. I had (perhaps rather naively) spent the past three days under the belief that plan 'a' would work. It didn't. So I resorted to the house hunting search plan 'b'. Plan 'B', although a good musician, is a rather strenuous activity. For those who have yet to experience such an episode, house hunting is very much aided by the tow prerequisites of a car and a mobile phone. I had neither. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of newly acquired friends who offered both their time, car and land line to help. I had been scrolling through roughly 4 house renting websites and set to work calling and viewing in a rather ad hoc fashion (believe me, it was ad hoc). I saw 5 houses in the morning and a further 3 more in the afternoon. Given my (very wishful) budget the majority of houses were either too longer contract, poor locations, unfurnished or just plain simply..ugly dives.
My shortlist consisted of two houses:
House (A): only 4 years old, 5 mins from the U of A, basement apartment, shared with 2 medical (female) students, next to a coffee shop. Which all sounds great but came with a price tag of $750 per month. Tres expensive
House (B): I guesstimate 400 years old :P, about 10 minutes on the south side of campus, cute Chinese landlady, five other international students, run down house, but $400 per month and an 8 month lease.
Choice was live rough and on budget but possibly freeze, or splash out and be safe, but feel the bite of the financial burden the rest of the year. After much venting and deliberation with my mother over Skye (thank you mom, you're awesome:standard). I decided to take option A. So that evening I trekked (again) across town. I swear I had walked over 20 miles all over university area of Edmonton. I was knackered. I signed the lease and I gave my landlord my last remaining $500. He dropped me back at the youth hostel. As I stepped out of the car and he drove off, a sudden and overwhelming serge of financial fear and worry. So overwhelming in fact I went and put my back back in my locker headed out to the nearest local Tim Horton's (this is about 10.45pm) and ordered an extra-large hot chocolate and just sat starring into the abyss thinking of the huge decision I had just made and the implications of it. House hunting is a stressful ordeal and I dont wish it upon anyone, tenfold for those who take it on by themselves. At least in previous years, I had done it with a number of other people and psychologically the burden is spread across everyone. This was me, my money and my place, quite possibly for a significant period of time.Here I was in a foreign country, making huge financial commitments to someone I had met that very day. Nonetheless, I am pleased and comforted by the fact that,. although i spent far more than I had hoped. I will sleep in the comfort I shall be safe and warm and given my present situation I felt that really is paramount. The winter looms and I know its going to be COOOOLLLLDDD. Everyone harks on about it and its just going to happen, so I just want to know I will be warm. I dont think I could handle my first winter, in a house that I dint feel comfortable in, with strangers, in a country hundreds of miles away from home, freezing and feeling miserable. So I guess in that respect, its money well spent. The picture on the top is it! Its there for all you viewing pleasure, I hope some of you might grace its presence in the near (or distant) future
Well I move into my first Canadian dwelling on midday Wednesday (1st sept). There I shall finally have somewhere to stretch my legs. I shall meet my housemates for the whole year (like them or lump them...sure they will be amazing). As of then I shall officially be living in Canada. I will have finally moved to Canada. Then I can really start to sink my teeth into all the academic demands I have (courses, admin, publications, conference preparation, proposal development etc) Of which I haven't even written one word. A scary thought. Cant wait though. They say that a PhD is a roller coaster with more downs than ups, but in the end its worth it. I fully respect I am in that naive, motivated and raw setting all those who set forth to begin the extremely lengthy and challenging pursuit that is a PhD. For now I should use that energy and positivism to my advantage, get things sorted and start to spread my wings.
Today I had yet more orientations. This one was the international orientation. Smaller is size, but it did no harm to go over what was said in the graduate orientation, so that I fully understood it and finally understand stuff that I was not clear about. We then had a mini tour around campus, we hit the international centre. I still find it an abstract reality that I am in fact now an 'international student'. I know I am, buts it's weird to consider yourself in such a way. I shall learn. We grabbed a rather overly large Chinese lunch (On the house with the cheque picked up by the phys ed & rec department- thank you indeed). After filling our stomachs, I certainly wobbled to the LRT (local rapid transit). Edmonton's metro service and headed downtown to 'Canada Place' (the government centre) to get our Social Insurance Number (SIN). I am now officially entitled to work in Canada. I am now apart of the system... taxes and all. pppfffftttt. Since then I have 'hung out' with some friends, we went on a tour/coffee crawl in and around Edmonton (was fun and good company), got massive ice cream at the 'marble slab' (of which I could write an entire blog on in its own right), a little sushi and a little billiards.
Tomorrow I conquer the bank account and try organise my life a little more. It currently feels like a freight train heading in every direction away from me. I shall pull in the reins a little. Wednesday is the big move, coffee with my newly acquired'buddy' (as apart of the buddy system) and I want to attend a workshop on cellphones (yes a workshop on cellphones) so that I will be more informed of the Canadian mobile phone market before Thursday where I shall grace and explore the great West Edmonton Mall (WEM), the single largest indoor mall in the world (apparently). I shall inform you in subsequent blogs no doubt. Well I bid you a Good evening. If you'd like my new address just contact me and I shall provide.
Roll on another day of action! x9
No comments:
Post a Comment