Jan: Training for the Winter Olympics

January's come and gone and with a blink of the eye we're flying through 2019. I think the familiarity of Canada and coming back post Christmas break has helped the clock tick along at a much quicker pace this term. I've only got about 10 weeks left in Kingston, which is frightening to think given how fast the last 5 weeks feel.

Anyway, aside from doing the minimal amount of work to get through my degree, here's an update on cool stuff January had in store: 

Cross-Country Skiing! 

I've never done any sort of skiing in my life, but given the winter weather here it was a perfect chance to try. Also, the idea of  having 2m rulers stuck to my feet and travelling at a speedy pace seemed fun so I gave it a crack. Turns out, it's a lot harder than it looks. Although I think it was just me who seemed to be another level of bad compared to other people in the same beginner boat. So far I've given this a go twice, with varying levels of success (or, a better word would be progress). The first time was simply across a fairly flat ice lake, which was a good practice experience. The large group trip, based just west of Ottawa, also meant we could do some other cool winter activities like winter hiking and ice hockey! The second time proved much more difficult as we ventured off path through the trees and branches in Frontenac Park. Despite the numerous falls and bruises that seemed to appear absolutely everywhere, it was a fun experience. I don't think I'll be mounting a place in the British Cross Country Ski team anytime soon though. 

Rideau Canal

Worlds largest ice rink? Completed it mate. This proved to be a super cool day trip to the Capital of Canada, Ottawa! I hadn't had chance to visit yet and, after a number of exchange students opinions, I wasn't expecting much. Visiting in winter however was absolutely stunning. Parliament hill and, even the city in general, had a brilliant atmosphere with the winter festival. The biggest attraction of all was skating on the Rideau canal, which thanks to the -10 and below temperatures, had frozen the lake deep enough to make the entire 7.8km stretch into a huge ice rink! We managed to do the first 2km stretch as we were short on time, yet I really did enjoy it despite my sub-par ice skating skills. Slowly but surely though, there's progress there and from struggling to stand up this time last year - I'm definitely on my way to a solid level of adequacy.

CUBA...!

In true North American style, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy the 'Spring Break' we have from the 15th of February till the 24th! So, I'm off to Cuba - Havana, Trinidad and potentially a day trip to Vinales. It's going to be a nice change having some 26 degree weather compared to the Canadian winter! 

Other stuff? 

While enjoying the fun winter stuff Canada's got to offer, this has also been a month of planning forward and getting a summer itinerary in place before it's too late. I'm super excited to have been offered a place on the Warwick Laksh Programme from late August till late September! I'll be heading off to India working with a local NGO to help deliver lessons to nearby student teachers, helping to build their English skills, confidence and overall to make them better teachers so that they can go out to the rural education centres and deliver lessons for students who can't make regular school due to family commitments. I'll be no doubt talking about this more in my blog as the months go by. I've also got a cool 'Coast to Coast' trip planned for Canada in May, a quick trip to Madrid and also a summer internship with Lloyds Bank, so fingers crossed this summer is going to be one to remember!