Weeell… I guess I can just go ahead and write a post today! As the clock turns onto the twenty-fifth of November, I’ve nearly been here for three months now, and the adventure shows no signs of slowing down. Learning here is like a tap: once the passage has been opened, it takes a lot for the water to stop, and hey, I have no desire to stop it.

I saw a play today called The Little Creation, for example, that was about a number of different Native Tribes creation stories, and was told through colorful visuals and the mouths of amazing actors. I was really personally connected with the play, and now I want to learn a lot more about Native culture. Tommorow I plan to go to the Museum of Anthropology, which I’ve only seen once before, and really delve into a culture which I (sadly) know next to nothing about. Meanwhile, in arts one, we’re learning about the amazing beliefs of Rousseau in A Discourse on Inequality; about how man is better off in nature, and every step we take away from it (and towards technology) is a step towards unhapiness. While I’m not sure I’m quite ready to go all Hippy and live in a reed-commune (how’s that for West Coast?), it’s certainly an interesting read!

In terms of surviving the November Rain, I’ve gotta ask… what rain? I mean sure, it rains from time to time, and there’s definitely more cloud in the sky than blue these days, there’s none of the incessant, relentless downpour everyone warned me about before and upon arrival. I’m sure things are better this year, which is great, and the mix between slightly colder weather but with more sun is a nice transition from the all sun/all cold weather of Friendly Manitoba. Even when nearly every large tree on campus is now naked of leaves, the beauty still abounds: it floats in the salty air, and it lies on the moss that hives against the bark. When I walk to class, I am home.

My happiness is starting to come full circle here now. September and the parties of first month was great, but it was hollow, and there was always the thought that “UBC is only fun for that first month. You’ll be depressed by November”. Now that fear has been proven false, and I am able to engage my freinds on a level as deep as anything in high school; freindships that took four years to cultivate have now grown within months. And I engage my world, politically and environmentally, more than ever before. I’m learning to be a true citizen of the world, and that could never be possible at U of Manitoba. So first term draws to a close, but the fun and the learning show no signs of end. Will second term be this amazing?