Smells like Freedom!....And sometimes it smells like B.O.

I'd be one of the first people to admit about their fear of public transportation. I don't know why, but I never liked taking the bus, it would be my absolute last resort, one I rarely had to use (thank god! lol) but now I use it everyday except tuesdays! And you know what? Apart from the 11 bus from Main & James to the UoW being jammed pack like a can of sardines, and the occasional 'smelly' person that sits near or NEXT to you, I rather enjoy the liberty I have at been able to take the bus and get anywhere! I figured out my bus schedule and bus stops and transfers all by me self :D I haven't gotten lost once, or took the wrong bus (I have, however, missed one bus thus far). Although with the way my mom's work and school schedule is going, I may be taking the bus less, which is alright with me, because as much as I'm starting to enjoy it, going to Michael's Art store after classes and whatnot, it takes at least 50 minutes to get home, and with my mom it will only take 35 minutes max.

I LOVE UNIVERSITY!!!!

I remember feeling a little scared andd stressed out during my second week because of the heavy amount of questions my Calculus teacher assigned us, but since we've finished with the Review and have gone into Calculus, it has lightened up a lot, and I find I can manage my time quite well, although I probably still get too side-trackted by facebook....I need to work on that :P But another thing that has gotten better, is that I'm starting to make friends, YAY! These two girls in my microeconomics class,  a Jew named Sophie and a Chinese homestay student named Liang (or Jane), I find making friends and connecting with foreigners much easier than with Canadians sometimes, sorry guys :P Sophie is the sweetest and funniest girl you'll meet, and Liang is still uneasy with her english, she's only been in Canada for close to a year, Sophie came three years ago so her english is much more confident. I feel compassionate for Liang because having had 3 Korean homestay students live with my family in the past, I know how hard it is for them to be away from their family for so long. What I love about Liang is how different the culture she comes from is compared to North American culture. She tells me how when she mentions the name of an artist really famous in Asia and no one here knows who she is talking about, she is shocked! That to me is quite amusing, because I'm sure its the same vice versa, but North America does have alot of influence in terms of the media andd music industry across the world, so it would be more likely for people across seas to know someone famous over here, than us knowing someone famous over there. That is something that bugs me, because I LOVE different cultures and have been fortunate enough to live in a different one and experience two others through my parents' homelands. And it is SO rich and the experience just fills you, and I wish North America exposed it more, I think it would help demolish ignorance and give way to an openess and appreciation for people of different cultures. Sometimes I get the feeling that Canadians will look at a foreigner and think "oh look, here's another one," and just walk away, without any interest in the person's background and life story.

I personally have felt more like a foreigner coming back to Canada in 2002 than I ever did while living in Mexico, because the people are so kind, so open and are interested and accepting of people who are different then them. They introduce you into their culture so you feel at home, and I miss that ambiance. But I pity those who have not, and might never, experienced that. It is very different to travel across the globe and experience the food, sights and music, than it is to live a day in the shoes of a person in that country, which is why I exult the Explore Programme so much because you really become immersed in the culture of Quebec, you live with Quebecois, you eat quebecois food, you speak french, you hear french music, you watch TV in french, etc.

Anyways...this turned more into a rant than an update, but watevs, this is my blog, and I can do what ever the bloody hell I want! (as my Ancients Greek teacher would say). Speaking of Ancient Greeks, I did my first quiz. I thought I have 100% but turns out I made a mistake on one of the days...oh bullocks. Just for the record, I shall now NEVER forget that the Peloponnesian League was formed between 510-500 BC. Not 550 BC....okay so I got 97%, yay! Not bad, I just hope I do as well on my essay, and future quizes and tests in other courses. I still don't know how I did on my first Cal quiz...although it was only a review quiz, and we have like 8 quizzes altogether in one term that makes up 10% of my mark, so I won't stress too much about those. And YAY for being able to understand limits!!! I've actually discovered that you can search on YouTube for math help! It's BRILLIANT! For once, YouTube is not JUST to waste your life away on it :P hahaha.

Well I need to finish reading chapter 3 of Intro to Bus, finish the reading for Family, Gender & Sexuality unit in Ancient Greeks (ooh boy...:P) aaaaaaaaand, work on my commission (YAY! Commission! getting paid for doing artwork! Now my dad can't say I WASTE my time drawing!)

~Cheers!

Elizabeth

PS: Did I mention how much I love my Ancient Greeks class?...