I let my roommate cut my hair ...

It seems like that sentence should end with: and she gave me this horrible mullet! But in my case, thankfully, it ends with: and I love it!

I always, always have to cut my hair on impulse or I'd never do it. I constantly want long, long hair but am faced with the fact that my hair is just too thin to pull it off. So when my hair gets more than six inches below my shoulders and I'm sick of trying to blow dry it into something that doesn't look like a blonde rat's nest, I go get it cut. Today was that day, but my friends yelled at me wanting to do it today because it's "Buy Nothing Day" which is, as far as I can figure out, the Canadian and International response to Black Friday. I knew that if I didn't cut it today I wouldn't make myself cut it for another few months and I'd be heading back home and off to Scotland with too-long hair. So when Hannah offered to cut my hair, with Teal's help and Rachel's guidance, I nervously took them up on the offer. I freaked out, well, a lot. I yelled at Hannah a bit and, according to the pictures, I actually looked like I was going to be sick. But, low and behold, the three of them pulled off one of the best haircuts I've had in years.

The before I quickly snapped when they we were headed to the bathroom for the cut:

Hannah looks a bit too excited to cut my hair:

I do not look happy:

So it isn't anything special, but I really like it:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Sure roast turkey and potato filling both rank in my top ten foods, but I also love it because it always meant large amounts of family. Growing up we often had Christmas brunch with the Snyders and Christmas dinner with the Shotts, or vise versa, but Thanksgiving dinner always meant both sides of the family. My favorite Thanksgivings were always the ones held at our house - the smell of turkey filling the house while we listened to Alice's Restaurant, running up from the Macy's Day parade to tear bread for potato filling our stuffing, setting the table with the best china, and getting to help my parents cook.

This was the first Thanksgiving I've been away for, and to be honest, I've been dreading this day all semester. Maybe it's the days you dread the most that never hurt as much as you expect them to. I missed my family terribly and would have given anything for Alice's restaurant and the whole family at home - but today was actually a lot of fun and I'm sure I'll always remember my American Thanksgiving in Canada.

I was planning to sleep in today, but when I was woken up with "Happy Thanksgivings!" from Teal and Kyra knocking on our door, I went to breakfast with Hannah, Rachel, Teal, and Kyra. Americans are a sizable minority here, and every time one American saw another "Happy Thanksgiving!" was yelled out. I'm sure some Canadians shook their heads at us, but it made me happy. I watched some of the Macy's Day parade before heading to class. I've never been to class on Thanksgiving before, obviously, but I found it highly amusing that when I was I had to sit through Pre-Confederation Canada and Politics in Maritime Canada. Teal and I went to down after my last class to pick up the rest of the supplies for our dinner.

In good American tradition, we started off our celebration watching football. We ate French cheese on triscuts and a baguette, but we drank California wine out of plastic cups. We ordered Festive Specials from Swiss Chalet - chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, and a role. It wasn't turkey, but it was quite tasty. Teal and I ate more cranberry sauce straight of the can, and we had a cake for Emily's 20th birthday which was yesterday. We popped Christmas crackers and wore the hats while playing scrabble and watching Family Guy. I'm sure it wasn't what the Pilgrims had in mind, but as four Americans in Canada we enjoyed our celebration.

A toast!

Part of my festive special:

In Thanksgiving tradition, we ate too much (you can also see me eating cranberry sauce straight out of the can in the bottom left corner):

Kyra and Teal in their cracker hats:

Emily's cake, E = XX:

And, of course, our scrabble board:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?

Last night when we were playing scrabble, which is all that we seem to do anymore, Rachel asked Emily and I if there were any major differences in the ways that Canadians and Americans celebrate Christmas? At first we jokingly asked, "Do Canadians sing carols? Have Christmas trees?" But when we thought about it for a minute, we realized that the Christmas season starts much, much earlier here. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving the second Monday in October, so after Halloween it's a holiday straight-shot to Christmas. Sure, the Christmas advertisements seem to start earlier and earlier every year in the States, but people stick to the notion that the Christmas season shouldn't, and doesn't really, begin until after Thanksgiving. In my mind the Christmas season starts with Santa Claus at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, black Friday, and, of course, advent. Here, though, the Christmas season is already in full swing. The Christmas lights are up in town, the Christmas carols are playing, and everybody is decorating their rooms. Maybe it's just because I love Thanksgiving so much, but I never want the Christmas season to start until after I've had my share of turkey and potato filling.

But, as they say, when in Rome ... so we got started on the Christmas season yesterday. We bought decorations while in New Minas and made gingerbread houses while listening to Christmas carols. I've even begun my yearly paper chain. I'm extremely sad that I'm missing Thanksgiving (and that I'll be in class when they play Alice's Restaurant), but gingerbread houses and the snow! we got yesterday cheered me up quite a bit:

Teal and Rachel's ginger-bread house:

My beautiful ginger-bread house:

Teal watching the snow fall:

Goofing around with Hannah in the snow:

And for the studying party of studying abroad - I've been a bit anxious about my classes this semester. Not because I don't love them, I do, but because I'm so used to all of my classes being somehow political in nature. Every class at American seems to be somehow related to politics, which I love - that's why I chose to go there, but here I'm only taking political science class and only one of my others is at all political in nature (environmental history) - so I've felt a bit out of my element. Not only do I love political science, but out of all the subjects I've studied it comes most naturally to me. I've never studied Ancient Greek texts before and I've always struggled with philosophy. But I was pleasantly surprised to receive As on both my Greek Civ and Aesthetics midterms, especially after I've only managed A-s on all of my Canadian History assignments. I still have four term papers and five finals ahead of me, but it's always good to have some reassurance.

I also cannot believe that I only have one month left here. One month! I can't lie, I have a mental countdown going for the days until I get home. I cannot wait to see my family, have a sleepover party with Alli and Amanda, sleep in my own bed, eat home-cooked food, listen to the Muppet's Christmas CD, decorate the Christmas tree, etc. but I'm really, really going to miss it here. I love the friends I've made, I love this town, I love my classes, I love looking out my window and seeing the Bay of Fundy. I have so much I'm looking forward to (home, Scotland, St. Patrick's Day in Dublin with Rachael and possibly Caroline and Sala), but I have so much I'm going to miss.

Back to School ...

The strike is over. Finally. And classes begin again on Thursday. Finally.

Yet, as stressed as the strike has made me, and how glad I am to get back to class - in some ways I am glad the strike occurred. I know I can only say that because I am no longer worrying about losing my semester and that I will be cursing the strike when I'm trying to finish my papers and write my finals - but the strike did give me travel opportunities that I would have never had otherwise. I spent five amazing days back-packing around Prince Edwards Island, four exciting days exploring Montreal, and I just got back from six relaxing days in Hudson, Quebec. Yes the strike has been a huge burden, but I must acknowledge that has also been a blessing.

Now it's back to the grind-stone - I have five papers to finish in the next three weeks, and five finals to write in the three weeks after that. Plus I still don't know if I have to write the three midterms I missed during the strike. What I do know is that I only have six weeks left in Canada - how quickly this semester has gone! - and that I still have a lot I want to do, while trying to put as much as possible into my coursework.

In brief, my trip to Hudson was great thanks to the hospitality of my roommate's family. I got to eat home-cooked meals, sleep in a real bed, do some shopping downtown, visit museums, tour Hudson, etc.

I need to get back to my Politics in Maritime Canada paper, but I'll leave you with a photo of something that reminded me I am a thousand miles north of home on our drive back to Wolfville yesterday - snow!: