Today we met with our advisor at school to discuss what courses to take. Unlike IU, the only thing we have to do to register for classes is tell the department secretary what we want to take and she "takes care of it." It's already really different to be at a smaller institution.
John, inside the library.
While we were on campus, John got his student ID and I had a coffee in the Tim Horton's at the Univerity Community Center (the student union). They had a sign with the sandwich combos and I noticed that with a combo you got a sandwich, large pop (that's their word, too), and a donut on the side. No fries or chips, just a donut.
Our cable is still waiting to be hooked up so we've been taking advantage of promotions from our cell phone company. They also rent DVDs, and as a customer service gift they gave us several free rentals. I've also been watching the Paula Dean DVD that Sarah Gibson gave me last year. I miss her accent. Some Canadians have no accent, some have a pronounced Canadian accent, some sound like they're from French Canada, and others have a mysterious combination that's like a hybrid from all the British Isles. My dad told me that a lot of French Canadians are of Irish ancestory, and it occured to me that the Canadian accent for English speakers also sounds sort of Irish. Some people are so hard to understand that it literally sounds like they are speaking another language. Others are sort of Sarah Palin-esque, though what they are actually saying is not.
Out of the blue, one of my professors told me today that midwesterners from the U.S. often have trouble adjusting to London. I figured that any trouble adjusting was just my usual problem with transition and the loneliness of being in a new town. I've heard new grad students at IU describe the same thing. But apparently London is considered quite conservative by Canadians. That hadn't occurred to me. It seems pretty liberal, what with their extensive parks, abundant health care, and convenient public transportation. Our grad student association has more power than a lot of unions in the states - they can pressure the University to negotiate by threatening to sue, and the administration actually listens to their concerns.
I leave you with one last oddity for today: there's a store in the mall called Campus Crew that sells shirts and things with the names of American universities on them...but they aren't really affiliated with that school.
Wednesday and Thursday, I'll be state-side, in Kansas City. Tomorrow I'll actually be able to get my student ID, bus pass, and insurance card! We may also go to a museum, since we are running out of things to do. Thanks for reading!
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