Velkommen til København

These last few days have been absolutely wonderful! Here is a picture of Helgaard picking me up from the airport.


He has looked after me so well. I arrived in the afternoon and we went from the airport to Malene’s apartment, where I am staying. Helgaard had groceries in her fridge and pantry for me, and the bike he had borrowed for me was ready at her apartment for us to go into town for a walking tour. In the evening we went out with a few of his friends. There are many many bicycles here! Here are a few pictures from our walk.





The itinerary is a secret so the next day I found out we were going on the ‘S train’ out of town to see a castle. The train ride was scenic and the castle was very impressive!




This was inside the main gates – and there was a moat!


Here is a sample of what inside was like, the ceilings were very decorative and there were a lot of portraits.


In the evening we went to a dinner party with Helgaard’s church friends, which was lovely; meet Jessi and Sarah.


On Sunday, before Church, I was taken for another walking tour. There are so many incredible buildings around the city. The Church service was great, and the group we were with was one of the last to leave. In the evening we went with friends to a jazz jam, which was awesome!



This morning I accompanied Helgaard to class and mucked around on my laptop while he learnt . We went for a walk in the park, and I am currently watching him at his Kickboxing class – which is quite interesting. Sometimes it looks like the men are hugging each other, I can’t really work it out.

Quebec City for the Winter Carnival

The view leaving Montreal was incredible! It had a very industrial feel with many bridges across the wide river. The bus windows were very dirty, and my photos are just of dust. On the way to the Carnival we stopped off at the Ice Hotel, which was amazing! Our guide explained the creation process (concrete formwork filled with snow then removed), the reason for the shape, and that the design is different each year.


Here is a picture in the chapel, which was beautiful.


It's difficult to see the slope, but this is a slide. There was another one inside the hotel that we had a go on, it was pretty cool.


Then it was on to the Carvinal.


There were honestly thousands of people. It was packed - this photo must have been of an odd moment of space.

This is a hotel with a few botiques which is the icon of Quebec City.


And here is the river.


Rafting down the hill was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed toasted marshmallows.


There were lots of ice sculptures, this photo doesn't really capture the size because the sculptures were raised from the path, they were all taller than me.

We left Quebec at 1am and I got home at 4:30am exhausted. The cold was a mutual struggle among the group (3 buses went), and I think everyone was relieved to head home. The parade was absolutely wonderful, and most definitely the best part - but all my photos came out blurry.

My professor organises an annual trip for students to an economy expected to experience significant growth. Last year it was India, next year is Mongolia, and this year they are going to South Africa. I turned up to class with my luggage to head off to the bus straight after class, but it turned out we are on the same flight to Munich so I am heading to the airport with them (by way of taxi). I was invited to join their meeting at BMW HQ in Germany, but I must get on my way to Copenhagen.

Kia Ora!

It is the eve of our pilgrimage to Quebec City, I am very much looking forward to tomorrow! I have three mid term exams next week though, so may have to take some reading material for the bus ride.

My culinary skills are slowly developing, I've made zucchini fritters and quiche this week, both turned out well. Next on my list is chilli.

On Wednesday the university group from Church went ice skating up at Beaver Lake. I love skating! It's so peaceful and the scenery is beautiful. It was cool to get to know people better. My camera froze and refused to work in the cold, so the photo below is the only one I managed to take.

This is Luca, she's an Australian on exchange at McGill.


After ice skating we went to Rockaberry for the best pie ever! I had Caramel Fudge Cheesecake and it was like nothing I have ever tasted.



Today was my first time volunteering for Santropol Roulant, which involved walking around the city delivering meals (http://santropolroulant.org/). It was a lot of fun and it was very cool to see another area of Montreal.

Next Thursday, straight after class, I am off to Copenhagen to return Helgaard's Flybuys card to him. I was super impressed with the gear list he sent me, I'm sure he won't mind me sharing it with you. I am very fortunate to have him in my life.


Here is a cat I spotted on my way home in the window of a hairdresser. Doesn't it look just like a mini leopard.

Sport

Am I English, am I Irish, am I Australian, am I South African – no, I’m proud to be a New Zealander! It was a South African who asked if I was South African - fancy that. Since being here I have learnt that it can be very difficult to guess where someone is from; the cultural diversity is like nothing I have ever experienced before. Someone in my class gave four answers when asked where they were from – where they were born, where they went to primary, where they went to high school, and where they lived with their parents before coming here.

It is Super Bowl time, we've just had the half time show which was quite spectacular! I made cupcakes.


Here are a few photos of my route to university and Church.


The McGill Sports Centre is very impressive. It is difficult to see here but hopefully you can make out the south stand of the football stadium. The sports building to the left of the stadium is incredibly large. I haven't really explored but inside I've seen the biggest gym ever, many squash courts, large indoor pool, a mind, body and soul room, a combat room, a spin room, a studio, an activities room etc. You can sign up for pretty much any sports class you can think of. It makes me feel like I am on an American tv show, everyone wears McGill branded clothing, there are large pictures of our talented sports teams (past and present) down the corridors, and everything is in the university colours.


And here is the McGill ice hockey arena


I had my first test this week, which went well, and I've handed in a case summary. Next weekend I am going up to Quebec City for the largest winter carnival in the world, I've heard it is awesome and am quite looking forward to it.