The End of Summer & A Decade in University

The rest of my vacation was really great - relaxing, fun, and all whilst being surrounded by the beauty of Vancouver. I stayed with two friends - Grace (whose fiance I finally got to meet!) and Sushant, who just moved there himself and shares a great apartment near Stanley Park. We did a lot of fun stuff, including shopping, hiking, and whale watching.

For the whale watching, we left from the harbour in Steveston (in Richmond) and had a great time during four hours on the water; we caught up to a group of 4 orca whales and saw them catch a seal pup right next to the boat, which was quite the adventure! I'd never seen whales in the wild before, despite going whale watching in Newfoundland once before, so it was a really neat experience. The hiking in West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park (my favourite place!) was phenomenal too, and the day we went was beautiful. Fortunately, the tide was out, so we were able to explore the tide pools in the area and found some cool little fish and crabs. I was disappointed not to see any starfish or little jelly fish - maybe next time. We also did some biking and blading around Stanley Park when the sun was low on the horizon two of the days I was there, and it was almost magical; it made me realise how much I miss the everyday beauty that's part of life in BC. At the same time, however, it's not home anymore, so it felt strange to find the city so familiar and yet so changed. I really like Toronto - it has definitely grown on me - but I wish that it had the same lush green that characterises Vancouver and makes it such a gorgeous city.

I got home late Sunday night and then had to go to school on Monday morning to teach my first tutorial of the semester. I teach another tutorial early Tuesday as well, and I was just totally exhausted at the end of the morning! The class is called Environment and Society (ENVS 2100) and it explores the links between culture, the environment and new technology, so it's right up my alley. It's being taught by my supervisor and I have a bunch of my wonderful students from last year, so I have no complaints. It also ends relatively early this semester, so it won't interfere with me moving to England in mid-December. In the meantime I have plenty to keep me busy - in particular, my second comprehensive exam, which has to be completed and defended orally by the time I leave. Scary!

Aside from that bit of stress, however, there is some fun stuff coming up. I'm getting a new tattoo this Saturday (exciting!!!), almost exactly ten years after getting my first one. And this week was also the ten year anniversity of my beginning university! So, this week, Heather and I - who grew up together in small town AB and somehow both ended up working on our PhDs at York University - are throwing ourselves a party to celebrate our decade of advanced education. Honestly, there is no way I would have ever thought that I'd still be in university ten years later... and still have three years to go! But I'm still really enjoying what I do, and I still get excited every time September rolls around. I feel very thankful to be able to keep studying and doing work that I love, and this party is all about celebrating that. The best part is that most of the people who will be there are in the same position (although some of them are decidedly more bitter about it than others... ;)