Seven Months... Sweet Deal!

Today I had my LAST CLASS EVER! This is very weird for me seeing as I only started my master's program in September, and I still have a full year left until I have completed my degree requirements... but for that next year I am, pretty much, working completely independently and never have to attend another class again.

So weird!

Refried Beans!

I had Mexican food this weekend! lol.... this may not seem noteworthy to most of my friends and family back home, but Mexican food isn't a staple of Canadian life like it is in the U.S. There is not a Taco Bell/Time on every street corner, and you can NOT find refried beans in the supermarket! So, when a group of friends/classmates decided that we were all going to go to UBC to hear Robert Hare give a lecture on psycholpathy Saturday night (yeah, we're hip like that!) and I saw there was a Mexican place in the trendy, Kitsilano vicinity of Vancouver (on the way to the lecture), I suggested a little "south of the (two) border" cuisine. We went to Las Magaritas... and it was GOOD. I didn't get my refried beans (I'm not obsessed with these, I swear, you just don't realize how much you actually enjoy something until you can't find it anywhere!), but I did get a good quesadilla, sangria, chips and salsa and guacamole! Woo hoo! I feel so much better now! =)

Molson's Canadian "Code"

One thing I have noticed about Canadian television and commercials is how patriotic they are. Everything is "Canadian this" or "Canadian that"... I don't know if they are just VERY proud of their heritage or trying to prove to that they are NOT American. Either way, the following commercials for Molson's Beer are good examples.

I am not a fan of beer, but these commercials and their "Code" for being a Canadian are pretty funny!

Code #1


Code #2


Code #3

Is It Really Not Getting Any Better?

I just had the most depressing experience at the grocery store this afternoon. I had just turned into an aisle when I heard a man talking to this woman about his elementary aged son and some upcoming sports season. He said that his son was going to be "nasty" this year, and the woman made some comment about how you always have to look out for the quiet ones. And then the father said that they would definitely be looking out for his son has long as he didn't run like a "fairy" and the woman turned to the kid and said, "You're not going to run like a fairy are you?" They were having this conversation like it was completely normal and not the least bit offensive and disgusting... I really thought civilized society was getting better then than this... but what I just experienced today is discrimination being passed on to the next generation...

A Trip to Hope

I want to see Hope...

British Columbia that is.

When we first moved up here I'd see the signs on the freeway all the time "Hope 130 km"... maybe that's part of the reason that Vancouver appealed to me so much... it's proximity to Hope.

** Which, in all actuality, has a lot of truth to it.



Since my time in Canada is coming so close to an end (I should be back in Oregon this September) I've decided that I really want to take the 2 hour drive to see what Hope is all about. I've checked their website and looked at pictures of the area... beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I think i want to wait until the summer though (or, at least until I can be sure it won't snow on me) and go camping... I'm having a craving for camping recently...

Beautiful BC Day

Today was GORGEOUS! Still cold as F***, but just beautiful to enjoy in a nice warm jacket, gloves, hat and scarf! I had to take a trip up the "mountain" to my school this afternoon... here's some photos I took along the way (I took them with my phone, most AS I was driving, so please forgive some of the crappy angles!)

This is the view from my campus

Coming off the mountain... I just like the rearview shot of the forest behind me

The mountains looking over "my river".... (Fraser River)

My School is Famous!

Apparently SFU is a favorite for filming locations... Cool. =)