"Che"

Last night, Princess of Horse, Willangong, Columbian and I watched 'The Motorcycle Diaries'. I didn't realize beforehand that it was about Ernesto Che Guevara, but then again (don't laugh) I didn't know how Che was. Of course I'd seen the picture of him, but I'd always kinda thought it was Castro way back then.

You're laughing. Okay, look, this is what university is for; to get smart. Deal with my previous ignorance. Whatever.

Anyways, I found the movie quite inspirational, but probably not in the way most other viewers would have. Seeing a movie about self-discovery on the open road is inspiring to me. I'm a traveler. It is what I was born to do, and I only realized that three years ago. Travel is in my blood. It's in my parents blood. Although my Dad may not actually care too much about traveling, he has been a fair few places that I'd love to go. When he was a kid, his family went on camping trips around Europe, so he's seen more than he can remember. He used to work in Moscow, does occasional work in the Arctic, and is currently in Texas (which I could live without) as we speak.

My Mum, she's the real hippie. She's bohemian in spirit. When she was my age, her and a friend backpacked across Europe with very little on their backs. She has incredible photos of the adventure, and the postcards she sent to her parents. She even has a postcard from the Greek boy who proposed to her on this trip! My mum is incredible. I don't think she realizes how cool she is. But anyways, I could go on about my mum and dad for an entire entry....and quite possibly will at one point.

Back to Che. I've always heard the U.S. version of the Cuban Revolution, and it's always negative. But, in the brief research I've done online, it doesn't seem like the people had much of a choice. They were being dictated to, and occupied, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. We have hindsight now, so we can say how good or bad it was, but for them, it seemed the only option. It seemed to be freedom. But in general, I think Che was a decent guy. I'm not opposed to communism in theory, it's just never worked!

Okay, I'm just going off on multiple strands here. There isn't a single cohesive thought, so I'm going to stop now. Good night all!

Assessment

So, today went pretty well I think. We had a half-hour session on how to be good listeners, and then we were put to the test. We went in groups of three where one person had to pretend to be the RA, one person had to be the student, and one person gave feedback. We were role-playing situations that could happen, like a death in the family, financial problems, relationship problems, or even something as simple as not knowing how to do laundry.

All in all, I feel I did a good job. So, next step is the individual interviews. I don't know when exactly they're going to inform us about them, but hopefully I get one.

Three Gifts In Two Days

In the past 36 hours I've gotten three gifts, all of a very different nature.

Gift One:

I held a Robert Burns dinner a week or so back, and it went down pretty well. I even spoke about Scotland at the International week, including a comment on how it's the Scots that spread the rumour about haggis being a real animal. Well, L, who helped me organize the Burns supper, came by with a suprise yesterday afternoon. She was hiding something behind her back, and told me that it was something she'd had her entire life, but never understood what it was. Was it an elephant? She'd wondered if it could even be a stuffed animal mouse or something. Nope, after my description of the ficticious haggis, an animal round in shape with a trumpet like nose, she finally realized what she had all her life was in fact a haggis! Well, it's so cute, with a teeny littly tartan beret, and she gave it to me! she said I'd probably appreciate it more. I was really touched. L is one of those people you can't help but like. She's so down to earth, and approachable. I wish I were more like that. Maybe she'll rub off on me.

Gift Two:

I went with my friends Regina-man and Venezolana to this establishment which is a sort of half-way house. It's for refugees and low-income immigrants to sort of step into Canadian society with a lot of support. We went to offer tutoring services. I was helping with English, Venezolana was helping with maths, and Regina-man was helping with science. I've never tutored before, and was really suprised at how it sort of just comes to you. I was helping this girl from China, who is really just starting out with English. So, at times it was frustrating trying to explain words to her, seeing her nod, but knowing that she still doesn't understand. We took a break, and she tried to ply me with food! What is it with older women wanting to feed younger people? Anyhow, at the end of the whole session, she thanked me and said I explained things really well, and that my examples helped her understand! Yay!

Gift Three:

This morning I received my invitation to go to the Resident Assistant workshop! So, that's me through stage one of the hiring process. Fingers crossed that it goes well, and that they invite me for a private interview, but so far so good.

So three gifts in two days. I really am quite lucky when I think about it. I bet you're also quite lucky, if you give it some thought.

11:38pm

11:38pm. Flashing lights. You think you're having an epileptic fit, they're so bright. Then "FIRE IN INTERNATIONAL HOUSE. EVACUATE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY. FIRE IN INTERNATIONAL HOUSE. EVACUATE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY."

It wasn't too loud, so I thought maybe it was just my alarm malfunctioning again. It's had to be replaced cause it went off for no reason several days in a row. Anyhow, I go down the hall, look in the kitchen window, and the top half of the room is black thick smoke. I couldn't see any flames, but it was pretty damn scary. I ran up to my RA's door to let him know where the fire was, since we don't have an RA living on our floor.

We all bundled up in our coats and grabbed shoes, and then 160 people were huddled on one side of the street. We knew there was no danger, so it kind of became funny. You looked up at the building, and you could see flashing lights going off in every room. Some rooms were dark, some had lights on, some had the blinds down, but one way or another you could see the flashing lights. It was kind of beautiful.

After half an hour of standing in the snow, we had a security guard let us into the Law building so we could stay warm. Everyone was chatting and laughing.

We finally got called back in at 12:28. First floor people clamoured at the kitchen door, not daring to go in as the Fire Investigators looked none to happy. Can't blame them. The whole back of the stove is burnt. Some of the cupboards are pretty charred. I feel really bad for the girl who accidentally left the pan on the burner. I know she's upset about it, but shit happens. It's a good story to tell, and truth be told we all had a bit of fun. Not one single person was hurt, so that's definitely positive.

I don't think I'll ever forget those flashing lights though.

All in one day!

Okay, three blogs in one day is quite and extraordinary feat, but I'm so upset. I was just surfing the net, and I was randomly looking up tour dates for the bands I like. They don't generally come to Calgary or Edmonton, so it's mostly a shot in the dark. I came across Snow Patrol, whom I absolutely love. I heard them in Britain, and fell in love. So, I scroll down, not expecting anything. And there they are. Edmonton AND Calgary. I was on the phone to ticketmaster in seconds. And....?

SOLD OUT! They'd been on sale since November. How did I not know such a thing?!?!?! It is so upsetting. I love them, and would have loved to hear them play, but alas it is not to be. However, this is the first time I've considered going down the night of to see if anyone is scalping tickets! We shall see.

Sushi Sushi

Last night was the first time since September that my floor, almost everyone on my floor, went out for dinner together. We've been talking about it for ages, but we finally did it. We went out for sushi. Now I've had the rolls with teeny tiny itsy bits of raw fish before, BUT last night I tried the full on raw-fish-ness. I tried some tuna and salmon.

AND.....it wasn't that bad. The salmon was awesome, but the tuna was really fatty, so the texture made me a bit squirmish. But raw salmon! Awesome.

We all need to try new things! Here I was thinking I hated raw fish. Now, I know that I only hate SOME of it!

I've been Killed!

Okay, that's not as dramatic as it's meant to sound. My residence has been playing this game called Assassins. Everyone playing gets a card with the name of someone else in the game. That name is the person who you're meant to kill. What you have to do is find them, then tap them on the shoulder and say you're dead. Well, once you 'kill' them, you get their next target, and so on and so on. But, in the meantime you're still trying not to get killed yourself!

Well, I did all this research. I found out who my target was, and had a strategy for finding them. THEN, I go out into the hall yesterday, and saw a couple of girls out there. I'd never seen them before, so didn't think they were in our residence. I assumed they were waiting for someone. I walk past.....AND GET TAGGED! I'm dead! It sucks.

Argh! Bitterness. I am out for revenge on whoever set me up. I've never met that girl before, so someone must have spilled!

Anyhow, things otherwise are good. I love the internet. I spoke to my South African friend on Skype today! We haven't spoken since......hmmmmmm July 2005? We met up in London. We've e-mailed, but haven't spoken, so it was pretty cool. Can't wait to get down to SA now! The trip feels so close...and yet so far away all at the same time. I know I have three more months of studying and stuff, but really, that's not much time. Before I know it, the trip will be over! Not good.

Must go study. Must. study. now. argh.