Residence

The residence I live in is mainly for first year students and exchange students. A major disadvantage is that there aren't kitchens, so there's a mandatory meal plan. And dining hall food is nothing you wanna eat for eight months in a row. Also, many students in my res are only 18 and 19 is the legal drinking age in Canada. As a result, most of the students hang around on the floor drinking instead of going out. Having to deal with noise, drunk people and dirty washrooms isn't much fun.



On the positive side, our dorms are generally spacious with big windows and the surroundings are nice.



In the residence I live in, all houses are named after indigenous people in Canada. The house I live in is called Shu :)



If you take a close look, you'll find some nature around the residences. I love walking by the same tree every day and noticing how fast the leaves' color changes :)



There are thousands of super cute squirrels on campus but they seem to be really shy - hopefully I'll get a good shot of one of them this fall :)



Although our Residential Advisor is super nice and puts up artsy signs all over our floor, I can't help but notice the cold light in our hallway whenever I step out of my bright and colorful room.

Apple Festival

Today I went to the annual Apple Festival at the UBC Botanical Gardens. We had so much fun seeing all the different variations of apples grown in BC, taking pictures at the 'pumpkin patch', eating delicious apple pie, drinking apple cider and wandering around, looking at stalls.



I found this beautiful and soft hand spun and dyed yarn and couldn't resist - it's 100% Alpaca and it's soooo gorgeous! The lady who sold the yarn also sold the cutest hand knitted muffin hats I've ever seen <3

I'm thinking about using the yarn to either knit a hat or a cowl or fingerless mittens? Decisions, decisions... for now it's sitting on my desk and I feel the urge to pick it up and cuddle it every five minutes. Alpaca yarn is addictive...

on life at UBC

I thought it would be fun to share some bits and pieces of my life at UBC.

So, I'm taking four courses this semester: microeconomics, political science, spanish for beginners and cultural anthropology. I'm taking 12 credits this year. I'm really lucky to have a timetable where I don't have any classes on tuesdays and only one discussion group on thursdays.

Living on campus is amazing / really annoying. I love leaving my dorm ten minutes before classes start, being close to all events and always having someone to hang out with. Living in dorm is really nice as you get to meet many people in the first days of school and don't have to worry about housework, cooking, etc. But that's also what I hate about it. Not being able to eat what I want and when I want is a big challenge. Add a really overpriced meal plan and bad dining hall food and you end up with me constantly craving fresh, homecooked food.

The only advise I can give is to look for a cheap supermarket (e.g. No Frills in Canada) and buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Microwaveable foods are also great when you don't wanna go to the dining hall. For drinks I usually only drink water. Buying a filtration system is really worth the money. I bought a Brita Slim Pitcher that I got for $13; it turns tap water into good-tasting drinking water (it eliminates the chlorine taste!!). Add a coffee machine / water boiler and you have fresh tea & coffee at all times :)

I signed up for a weekly yoga class (every thursday morning from 7:30-8:30am) to force myself to get up early :D I really enjoy the yoga class. It's pretty intense, though. My residency also offers a free gym mebership. It's a only one rather small room with a couple of weights, a treadmill and some elliptical machines but it's all you really need. I should go there more often...

Engaging in clubs is also a great way to make friends. I'm in my residency's french language club (movie nights with free popcorn. yay!) and there's a weekly knit night on campus. Other than that, my residential advisor often organizes floor / house events where you get to explore the city or try new restaurants :)

I'll share some more information on my classes when I survived all the midterms (starting tomorrow!). If you have any questions leave a comment or send me an email :)