Wednesday 29 October 2014

Why I've never been so excited to come in second place!

You know, sometimes in life, the universe has a way of making things happen for you. In this particular instance, I was in need of a keychain.

This week is "Reading" Week - a concept most students have adopted to mean let's get trashed and forget about reading, school, and whatever responsibilities they'd ordinarily be fulfilling. Some go away, some stay put. Me...I've done little reading. This is, of course, against my traditional "let's write all my term papers now so I can just enjoy the rest of my semester and not be stressed later on" reading week custom. No, I've not been exploring the world around me, nor have I taken up drinking (some might say finally). No, my friends, I have been engaged in tutorials and presentations to Ban Ki Moon.

No, I don't mean this guy:
(www.un.org)
Nope, not this guy in the middle either:
(www.itv.com)
In fact, I'm talking about a presentation to a BKM impersonator. THIS Ban Ki Moon:
Photo Credit: Junefe Gilig Payot
More details to follow.

Now, I'm not complaining here, for the record. The tutorials over the last few days have involved learning from three South Africans representing Slum Dwellers International (SDI) about bottom-up urban poverty initiatives. It was incredible! We even had a sing-a-long during our final hour together! It's actually unfortunate they've returned home, because I'm pretty sure by this time next week, I'll have processed it all and have a million questions for them!

Okay, so let's get back to the point of this post - how I got my sweet new keychain!

Actual keychain in question.
There was a promise of prize, and an opportunity for me to speak in front of a crowd on a topic I have little knowledge of. That's right - I'm talking about the Student SDG Competition! I'm pretty sure I left out the story about how I experienced three fire alarms within the span of a week. Anyway, one of these instances happened during a lecture for my Poverty and Development class. Since we missed a good chunk of time in class, there was suggestion of a possible debate on the MDGs (that's Millennium Development Goals for those of you not in the know!). But see, they tricked us...they didn't say it would be over Reading Week! So this afternoon, the four groups piled into a lecture theatre and presented our case to a pretty well-known university professor who enthusiastically portrayed the role of Ban Ki Moon.

(Part of) The Early Bird Foundation.
Photo Credit: Junefe Gilig Payot

Team Logo
After we all presented, there was a wine reception before the announcement of the winner. First place would have been awesome, except all you got was a lousy pen that was likely to break just by looking at it the wrong way and a matching notebook. Pftt...who wants that? Not this girl. No, I had my eye on the second place prize...a keychain. Now, I know what you're probably thinking - it's just a keychain, why wouldn't you hope for the top prize and then a) trade a second place winner for their prize, or b) just go buy one! Well, I'm cheap...and I didn't want to risk not nabbing someone else's keychain! Oh, and in case you haven't figured it out...my group won second prize.

This girl...is one happy owner of a brand new key chain!


-the Orange Canadian

(Note: If I can get my hands on some pictures from either experience, I will post them. Until then, just imagine my over-tired glory!)


In case any of you are interested, here is the podcast of the Student Competition. Do I actually sound like that? Yikes!

Tuesday 28 October 2014

I've got friends!: A story of solidarity within 1500 words.

Yep, that's right folks, this girl has made some friends AND went out on a Friday night... spontaneously... returning home just before midnight! Perhaps after writing that statement, I will be forced to change the 'has' to 'had' because these new found friends have not endured the delight of an eight o'clock bedtime Emily. Regardless, having social time was way overdue...and all because of a 1500 word critical review!

The first assignment for one of my classes entailed reading one of three articles, picking out the central arguments and finding literature to both validate and argue against it. I figured this would be easy, given the fact that I enjoy writing and usually find myself in the predicament of needing to add words in order to meet the word count. Not this time. No, this time I wrote almost double the word limit and then spent the remaining few days leading up to the deadline carefully cutting chunks of my work to fit the 1500 word count, all while attempting to produce a coherent argument. I thought about just giving up on the 'coherent' part and just focusing on the word part, but figured I should probably just try to do both. It was a good challenge and I felt confident, although nauseous as I pressed 'submit.'

...that is until the next morning when I realized in the first 15 minutes of my early Friday morning tutorial that I had mixed up a couple of terms. And that is why I can't tell you anything about the tutorial.

The night out was welcomed after a long month of nose-in-book. The "plan" was to go for a drink, and quickly transitioned to one of the most entertaining and random nights of my life. I think I have found my kind of people...

The next day, a very sleep-deprived Orange Canadian rolled out of bed, and made her way to RA training at the Students' Union. There were chips (or "crisps") present and promise of coffee, so it wasn't a difficult sell. Throughout the afternoon, I attended sessions on fundraising and environmental  program/event planning... pretty much a summary of my undergrad, less the ESSTers and the Duke children.

Yeah...that's me attempting to build a tower out of marshmallows and spaghetti with the rest of the RA team
(just another Saturday afternoon!) - "stolen" from Facebook
"Stolen" from Facebook...I'm in there somewhere! 
All-in-all a pretty successful and social weekend. Now, if you'll excuse me I must nap for the next three weeks to make up for the sleep I lost on Friday night...

-the Orange Canadian

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Return to Ghana: A visual journey

A number of you have asked to see more pictures of my trip to Ghana. Yes, I realize I have been home (and gone again) for almost three months, but I took a lot of pictures and video, so it's been a process.

Because I have a new found love of procrastination, I have spent the last few days not writing the paper that is due at the end of this week, and working on completing this project. As of late last night, a very condensed version of my trip to Ghana has been uploaded to YouTube! Be warned, it is possible that there are spelling errors or minor details that may need to be fixed, so if you notice something, feel free to let me know. Also, please keep in mind that of the thousands of pictures I took, and the hours of video I attempted to sort through, there are still plenty of adventures and experiences missing from this project. Will I make a sequel? Possibly, but probably not! And finally, there is a brief appearance of a word that looks remarkably like the word 'shirt,' less the 'r'...

Enjoy!


-the Orange Canadian

*Note: due to copywriter issues with the soundtrack, a newer version has been uploaded. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused if you tried to access the video while the changes were being made. 

Sunday 19 October 2014

Umm...none of them...

In an effort to keep myself busy and academically interested, a certain amazing Acadia prof sent along some info about an online course on water issues taught by the Dr. Karen Baker. So, I said why not!

Prior to the start date of this course, it was suggested that students take a tutorial of sorts to learn how the online system works. Each section of the tutorial had a "text" at the end of it. They weren't difficult - including the ones which required you to watch a short video (for which I did not...). But then, this one came up... World Geography.


The sad thing about the answer to this question, is that some would actually argue that none of these fit the description. After all, Africa is a country, right?

Class starts Wednesday!

-the Orange Canadian

Friday 17 October 2014

Meeting Royalty and Returning to my Roots...sort of.

It's been a fairly eventful week for me here in Manchester! The week began with a final few visits with Scott before he returned home, and an unexpected meeting of a certain Ghanaian dignitary.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't actually the historical figure of which I am alluding to, but I will tell you I did indeed meet a fellow resident by the name of Kwame Nkrumah. Sure, I'm probably far too excited about this, BUT, if you check back to my first post from my time in Ghana, you will know that this was the first person of significance that I learned about during my stay! It was a bit of fun, or nostalgia, if you will. Plus, I'm pretty sure I gave some of my Ghanian friends a heart attack, being as the Kwame Nkrumah has been dead since 1972. Anyway, check out his Wikipedia page if you want to learn more about this influential man (the actual Kwame Nkrumah, not the one living in my building)!

You may have gathered by some of my posts and through private conversations with some of you that I'm feeling...a little underwhelmed shall we say. Sure, there's a lot of reading, but I've been here officially for a month as of today, so I've been able to sort out what's 'important' to read and what I can skip. My only means of assessment are through one 3000 word essay per course, so, I have focused my readings on that which pertain to the essay topics I have selected (unless, of course, I find a particular topic interesting or I feel I need more information than the class will provide me with). I'm glad I came here, don't get me wrong, and I am enjoying my classes, it's just that I'm not getting that level of challenge I had anticipated. In other words, I've found myself quite bored at times. But, I am going to make the most of this experience, so I have channelled my inner-ESST, and am happy to report that I am officially the Community and Environment Secretary for the Residence Association  of my hall. I've just returned from my first meeting, and I'm looking forward to the year ahead! Need proof? Here you go:

(http://manchesterstudentsunion.com/gkhra)
Well, that's my update for now. The weekend ahead is filled with assignments and readings for upcoming tutorials. I gotta say, I'm feeling slightly bummed that I won't be in Wolfville this weekend for Homecoming. So, to my fellow alum, and current Acadia peeps - enjoy, have fun, and most importantly, do ALL of the things I wouldn't do!

-the (proudly red and blue) Orange Canadian

Thursday 16 October 2014

That moment you realize you're talking...

I'm not sure how many of you know me well enough to understand the pre-class panic I face almost everyday. Yes, my friends, I suffer from the dreaded in-class question answering phobia. Sure, I may come off as confident and outgoing, but deep down I'm painfully shy (probably something to do with the social anxiety I actually suffer from!). So, you will likely be amazed when I tell you that yesterday, while in a writing workshop/tutorial/seminar thingy (I believe that is the technical term!), something unexpected happened...I found myself answering a question, out loud, for the entire theatre to hear. Okay, so maybe it's not a big deal, but for me, it caught be so off guard that in the middle of answering why I felt it was important to look for counter arguments of a particular author's paper, I actually heard myself stop in panic and acknowledge the fact that I was answering a question. This of course was not aloud, thankfully, but it made me laugh slightly afterwards thinking about what that few seconds must have looked like for the professor convening the workshop, and any of the students looking in my direction! Usually, I'm pretty game for participating in classes and groups that are smaller and where I feel comfortable. I don't think I said a word in any of my undergrad classes first year. That being said, I don't think I stopped talking my final two...

Well, there you have it...official documentation of that time I heard myself recognize that I was talking in class.

-the Orange Canadian.

Monday 13 October 2014

Don't Chase the Dragon: A Snapshot of my Visit with Scott!

Well, I've been slacking on updates, mostly due to the lack of exciting things to post about. Classes are going well, and I'm just short of two weeks away from my first assignment's due date. I'm slowly starting to make friends, and I'm pretty much settled into my new home.

After a fairly hectic week, and one which on a personal level I wish to never repeat (which only furthers the likelihood that I will be an old woman with cats), a familiar face jumped the pond for a visit - my step-dad, Scott!

Our first visit was rather short, as I had a tutorial that I was presenting in, but we spent a few days exploring a few of the areas outside of Manchester, before having our final visit on and around campus. All in all it was a pretty amazing few days. It was great to see a different part of the country, even though we didn't go far. Our first day adventure was to Liverpool, while the next day we ventured to Leeds/Kirkstall. Both were really interesting, although quite different.

Sorry folks, still few pictures of campus, but the few I will include in this post will just have to do!

The entrance to the University of Manchester
Whitworth Hall/Building and the Manchester Museum
...apparently parts of Harry Potter were filmed here!
Part of the view from my kitchen

Liverpool:

Lime St. Station
St. George's Hall

War Memorial


St. John's Gardens...and proof that Scott was there!
Another view from the Gardens 
Memorial for those lost in traffic crashes 
Two of "The Three Graces" 
The third Grace
Grr...none of these turned out, but if you look hard enough you can see the sights of Albert Dock!
The Three Graces are in the background, along with the Museum of Liverpool, and that nifty looking building is the Open Eye Gallery
Things I did not expect to find in Liverpool of all places: The International Slavery Museum!
The International Slavery Museum was part of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, and was one of the highlights of the visit to Liverpool. It brought back so many memories of my time in Ghana visiting Cape Coast and Elmina. It wasn't quite the same without my buddy Fred, nor was there the heaviness that I experienced when visiting those castles. However, it was really well done, despite the heavy European influenced side of the story. Seeing figures like Kwame Nkruma, Steven Biko (super shocked to see his name!), and so many other influential Africans represented throughout this exhibit was really neat! Also, side note, I learned today that Manchester's Students Union Building is actually called the Steven Biko Building! How cool is that?! 

Leeds:












Proof, once again, that Scott was with me!





Hope Blooms: Kirkstall Abbey Edition? 
Man I'm bad at self-photographs... but, now you know I was there too!
From here on out, I'm sorry folks, I just started snapping pictures of really amazing architecture - no idea what I'm taking pictures of unless labelled! At least I know that I am in the city centre of Leeds. 


Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Central Library
Okay, so I still have no idea what this is, but I'm pretty sure I had nightmares about it last night!


Mill Hill Chapel
Nifty little seagull sculpture 
The Old Post Office 

The Majestic...perhaps after a fire?
The Queens Hotel
So, as you can see, we had a few fun adventure...and I've gotten over my fear or public transit...kind of. A quickly approaching field trip will be the true test! You will no doubt have noticed that our trip to Liverpool resulted in a Beatles-less experience. Some might say that this is unfortunate, but fortunately for me, I am not one of those people. Paul McCartney - 0, Emily - 1! 

Scott will be heading home in a few days. Hopefully he enjoyed our time together as much as I did! Safe travels home, Scott! Thanks for all the fun adventures!

Anyway, it's back to the books for me... here's one final photo of the view from my room when I returned home from Leeds.

Check out those colours! Sorry it's a bit grainy...I took it from the window!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian followers! 

Until next post, 
-the Orange Canadian