Which Country has the Most Pyramids?

Get your thinking caps on! This Friday night at Isaacs, all the students who are going to Namibia through International Services are hosting a trivia night as a fundraiser. The night is composed of 10 rounds of trivia, a dinner and a silent auction. All the proceeds from the night go to relief work and volunteer projects in Namibia. Money will be spent on supplies needed to repair schools and hospitals. It will also be used for books and school supplies for children. So far we have gained a large amount of support from family, friends and members in the community. There has a been a slight change in plans in the itnerary for the trip since the last time I blogged about this. We are flying out of JFK directly to Johanseburg South Africa and then flying to the capital of Namibia. I’m a little disappointed about not spending time in Amsterdam but spending time in New York will be fun too! Once again I strongly encourage any students who enjoy travelling to check out the options of travelling through International services either for an exchange program or to volunteer!

PS. The answer is Peru! (Volunteer trips are coordinated to go to Peru, so if you’re interested check it out!)

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman”

The politics at Brock are running wild right now! BUSU, Brock University Student Union, elections are coming up. Candidates are putting their best faces and platforms forward in hopes of winning students’ votes.  BUSU is responsible for the health care system and services at Brock, the universal bus pass, events, clubs and jobs on campus. It’s really important for current students to be aware of each candidate’s platform and to participate in voting as the winners have a major influence in one school term.  A lot of first year students (and even upper year students) are unfamiliar with the voting process and it’s hard to make a knowledgeable decision about each candidate without being provided information! The Brock press has a large spread featuring all the important aspects of each candidate’s compaigns and there are three debate forums where candidates can duke it out in front of their prospective supporters. Let the voting begin!!!!!!!!

Help for Haiti

With the recent tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti, people all across the country have been doing their part to raise money to provide relief. Well it’s no surprise that Brock students are also trying to contribute in any way possible. Over the last few weeks there have been various projects run by students to help raise money including bake sales, small musical performances in the central lobby and loonie mile lanes. Unfortunately I don’t have the most up to date statistics but Community Connections has recently reported a running total as of January 22. By the morning of Jan. 21 the Brock/Red Cross portal raised $2631.60! The noon hour busking on January 22 raised over $300 in bills and tons of coins. I am really interested to see how much money was raised this past week. I’m even more proud of Brock students for donating money to a create cause. Just remember that no donation is ever too small to make a difference!

A Man’s Home is His Castle

As I look at my monthly calender placed strategically beside my desk to keep me on track of my duties, I’ve realized I only have 3 more months left of school! 3 more months of readings, 3 more months of being a psychology major and 3 more months of living in my house! I have lived in my current house for the past 3 years and it saddens me at the thought of leaving it. So while I’m getting ready to move out, first year students in residence are thinking about where to move in! When the prospect of living off campus becomes a prominent theme in residence, it’s a bit stressful. I remember freaking out in first year thinking, Who am I going to live with? Where are we going to live? How do I go about looking for a house?

These questions and freakouts are normal. Brock has an Off Campus Living Office (I worked there for two years) and they put a lot of effort into trying to help students look for housing. They offer presentations to help students know what they should be looking for in terms of area, a lease and a landlord. Brock also has a listing service that allows landlords to advertise their properties so students can get a feel for what’s out there. The website even has pictures of the house/apartment so you aren’t completely surprised when you go there. When I was in first year looking for a house the website didn’t have pictures  and we read about this apartment for three people that sounded like a dream. When we went to look at the apartment it was a complete drag. It was a basement apartment (which wasn’t advertised) the carpets were old, the walls were dingy and the windows were so tiny. Thank goodness Brock has improved their listing site since then so hopefully shocking visits don’t happen as frequently!

If you’re interested in checking out the Off Campus Housing Website (for future references) just follow the link below!

www.brocku.ca/och

Be Bea-u-tiful!

One of my duties as a TA is attending lecture. Since the first year psyc class is so large they are usually held in the biggest lecture halls that we have at Brock. The only time I venture into these lecture halls is for this course. Side note–> as you get higher in your education, your classes become smaller and smaller because people’s programs become more specialized. Anyways, so I went to the bathroom and stumbled upon a note on the mirror. On the back of a dentyne ice gum pack stuck to the mirror it said “Don’t worry, you look GREAT! operationbeautiful.com”. Immediately a smile spread to my face by the anonymous kindness for all frequenters of the bathroom to see. This little note of beauty confidence stuck out in my mind all day and when I finally got home from school I did some research. Operation beautiful is a kindness crusade started by an individual blogger in attempt to end “fat talk” amongst girls and start promoting a beautiful body image! What an inspiring and uplifting concept! I really encourage you to check out the website….http://operationbeautiful.comFinally a trend worth following!!!

Words for the wise….

The other day I was riding home on the bus and I over heard this girl telling her friend that this year she spent almost $1000 on text books for both semesters! Now I know that textbooks can add up and can be expensive but there are a few things you should know to help cut down on the costs.

1) The Ontario Textbook and Technology Grant- By filling out a form through OSAP (even if you don’t qualify to receive OSAP) you will still be granted $300 to help with the costs of text books.

2) BUY YOUR TEXTBOOKS USED AND ONLINE! The bookstore DOES offer used textbooks but they are usually in short supply and get nabbed up quickly. So instead, by going to www.brocku.ca/bookstore and clicking on Used Books Classifieds you can buy textbooks at discounted prices set by the students selling them. So this is fabulous for a number of reasons 1) you are still paying less than what the bookstore sells the same book for and 2) you’re helping another student out!

So a few words of wisdom from the wise….there are always ways to help cut down on the expense of University!

Are you Frosted?

What a week! The first week back of any semester is always hectic, (but in the best kind of way). Not only do you have a fresh start to classes; new profs, new lecture rooms, new people in your seminar, but you also need to catch up with your friends and see how their breaks went AND you don’t want to miss out on any Frost Week activities. I feel like an old fogie because back in MY day of first year we didn’t have a Frost week, we only had Frosh week. So Frost week is just like Frosh week except for second semester (Frosh and Frost are just orientation weeks where BUSU (Brock University Students Union) put together a week of really cool things for everyone to do. I didn’t get to participate in as many things as I would have liked this year, however I did score some free hot chocolate that BUSU handed out on a cold day. I think the biggest event that’s partaking this Frost week is a concert by the Stereos. Isaacs (our entertainment center) gets turned into an exclusive concert event. Matthew Good, K-os, Metric, Ill Scarlett, Three Days Grace (just to name a few) have all played there. Frost week also marks the Poster sale event! The poster sale is honestly the coolest thing ever. Looking around my room here I have five posters that I’ve kept since second year that I bought there. So if you can imagine a small art gallery of literally 1000’s of posters of everything in all different sizes. It’s an extremely popular event, you could spend hours just browsing through them all. I would be very very surprised if you walked away empty handed, I just don’t think it’s possible, they have too many cool things.

So moral of the story: get a good night’s rest before you come back to school for Frost week because there are so many things to do and so many people to see that you won’t be getting much sleep!

The best game you can name, is the Good Old Hockey Game!

It’s that time again! Snow is on the ground, the temperature is freezing, it’s time for HOCKEY! I’m not talking your typical puck, this is hockey Brock style- UNDERWATER! I know what you’re thinking (I thought the same thing when someone first told me about this sport), how exactly do you go about playing hockey underwater? Well you need a couple things; you need a team, just like in hockey, you need a goalie, some defense men and some forwards, I would also strongly encourage some subs because it can be really exhausting out there. You also need some equipment; some flippers to help you swim faster, some goggles to improve your vision, and most importantly some gardening gloves or some kind of gloves to cover your hands. The first year that I played this, I was completely unprepared for what exactly happens under the surface. Everyone has a small stick, it kind of looks like a boomerang and a puck is dropped on the floor of the pool and just like in ice hockey you have to out swim your opponents in hopes of scoring. Caution: getting kicked somewhere in the  shin, stomach, and face, is a regular occurrence, this sport is not for the weak of heart.  Bruises and fat lips aside, it’s something you MUST try at least once! Brock offers several intramural leagues that you and your friends can sign up for. We have the typical baseball, soccer, volleyball etc. but if you’re feeling adventurous try intertube waterpolo or broomball! After all, that’s what university is about; trying new things and gaining new experiences, and trust me there’s nothing like underwater hockey!

Back to Reality…

I can’t believe all the SNOW! I drove up to St. Catharines today to get settled in before school starts on Monday and I was instantly shocked by the amount of snow that had collected. There was so much snow that I couldn’t even pull my car into the driveway. (Granted we do have a huge build up because no one was at the house for the past 3 weeks to clear any of it away). So before I could even begin to unpack the monstrous amount of bags that I had, I had to find our buried shovel and start digging a path to the house. A good hour of shoveling and a sore back later, I had finished the quest. Now onto another un-delightful task…unpacking. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE going home, but I hate unpacking once the voyage is over. It just seems like an endless task and I never remember which clothes are clean and which ones need to be washed, which ultimately leads them all into the hamper and thus creates another task of DOING the laundry. As much as I love my independence of living away from home, and the pride in paying my own bills, buying groceries and making my own meals there are some things that I do miss about living at home!!!

A Sunshine State Christmas

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope you all enjoyed your holidays, I sure did! I went to Florida for Christmas. I stayed in a place called Homestead which is about 30 minutes away from Miami. I spent a couple days in the Keys, and on Miami Beach. I visited an alligator sanctuary and took a fan boat tour through the everglades. I got up close and personal with a few alligators and snakes (I’ll post some pictures shortly). One evening I took a twilight hike through a National Park to look for more alligators. Everything was pitch black but when you shone your flashlight into the water you could see alligator red eyes staring back at you. I had a great time getting away from Canada’s cold weather but I am glad to be back. I have one more week of relaxation before school’s mayhem starts again. I would love to get some feedback from all the readers! How have you guys been spending your holidays?!