Day Three - First day!

Okay so first of all, I slept pretty terribly - whoever designed these beds should be shot. Hahaha. It's the equivalent of having a sleeping bag on the floor. I mean I SLEPT, I guess, but it wasn't comfortable at all. I set my alarm for 7:00, cause Jon wanted me to call him at 9:00, and I wanted to be all ready just in case.
I got up and showered (water pressure here is awesome, by the way) and got ready for the day. I called Jon, and we arranged to meet at 2:00 outside my building, to go for coffee.
So, with my hours to kill before I had to leave - I napped. I even had a dream and I wish I could remember it to tell you because boy, it was weird.
A bit before 2:00, I went down to meet Jon, and he showed me around campus a bit (one of his biggest clients is UW, so he knows it well), and we went back to his mother-in-law's for dinner. (She's friends with my aunt Melanie, which is how I got hooked up with Jon).
He showed me his office, and the rest of his gear... HOOOLY. I can only DREAM of the day I will be able to afford all of that. Absolutely incredible. He also showed me some of the things he's been working on - really cool stuff. I really like the style of his work, so I'm hoping I'll be able to pick up a bit of it, at least.
We went through sort of what we'll be doing for the next month - I'm pretty excited. I mean I'm really nervous still, but definitely excited. And plus Jon is really nice, so that makes everything a little easier.
For the rest of the evening we hung out with his family, (he's married and has two little boys - so cute) and had a really nice meal, that he cooked. They kept saying, "Don't you know that if you want to be a photographer you have to cook, too!?" Hahah.
After dinner I went for a walk with Jon's mother-in-law, Nora, and his son Logan. He's in his "why?" stage, so I let Nora take care of the answers.
Jon took me home, and we made plans for our shoot tomorrow. (We're shooting at a restaurant I think). It seems like it's going to be a pretty busy month! It makes me nervous but I know it'll be good, too - keep me occupied so I don't miss Nova Scotia so much. (I know, I never thought it would actually happen).
I actually saw someone in the residence when I went to go brush my teeth! She's older though so something tells me she won't end up being a friend I go out with. Haha.
The geese are kind of driving me nuts. They are EVERYWHERE, and they are ALWAYS talking to each other. Very loudly. At least they look nice though.
I'm trying not to get too nervous for tomorrow... but if you know me, you know I'll have no luck with that.
<3

Day Two - In Waterloo!

FINALLY. After two long days of traveling, I'm finally here - eating a spicy turkey wrap from Sobey's. But of course I'm getting ahead of myself.
The train to Toronto wasn't too bad, as I didn't have to sit with anyone. When I got to Union Station, things got a little confusing. I almost had a panic attack when my bag was one of the last ones on the line, then I couldn't check my bag, because my train didn't have a baggage car. So I left it with the baggage people anyway (only one of my bags, mind you - I still had my carry on with me) while I ventured out to the streets of Toronto to find the RBC. (I needed cash to pay for my room here at the University). Turns out it was just down the street, but it was still pretty intimidating, especially when I had a time limit. Well I made it back to the station with PLENTY of time to spare - over an hour before my train even started boarding - so I called my momma, and sent a few texts...
When I got on the train to Kitchener, my blood sugar went low so I couldn't put my bag in the overhead, so I squished in next to it, in my seat. Some guy asked if the seat next to me was available, and I reluctantly said "yup". Hah. So he sat down, and I thought he was going to talk to me, so I turned away; texted; anything to look occupied. It looked like he was trying to read my texts though. But anyway. He was a foot tapper, too. Drove me NUTS.
The whole way from Toronto, I was seeing things and places that I wanted to shoot. Abandoned buildings, (rusted metal and busted windows EVERYWHERE) graffiti like I've never seen, cute little parks... ugh. Someday I'll go back and shoot there. :( But until then I'll just have to find spots around here.
I got off the train and a very nice taxi driver took me to the University of Waterloo. (By the way there are geese EVERYWHERE here). I went into the building and talked to the guy at the desk, and he got me my keys and everything, then showed me to my room. I have a double room for some reason - I'm assuming because they didn't have enough singles. Weird though.
After I got settled, I went back down to the front desk, and a very nice boy got me all hooked up with wireless, and showed me where to go to get food on campus. (He even printed out a few maps for me). Then I made my way to Sobey's, which is of course way farther down the road than I thought haha. I bought all my shampoo and stuff, and snacks, (including bagels, pop tarts, and goldfish crackers) and headed back "home", which is where I am now.
It's actually really nice around here. Haven't got to explore too much yet cause it's dark now, but there are a few cute ponds and stuff even, around campus. (It feels kind of weird being in a residence here when I don't even go to university at home haha).
I'll probably finish unpacking, maybe watch a movie, and go to bed. Come to think of it I haven't tried the bed yet...
Uhhhhh. Cool. It'll be like sleeping on a floor with nice carpets. Hahaha. Yeah not exactly the comfiest of beds but I'll make due I'm sure. Can't even describe how flat the pillow is. Hahah. Wow.
Plus it's BOILING in here. Had to open both of my windows and it's still not really doing anything. It's nice here though. The snow in Montreal this morning really threw me off, but it was nice and sunny from Toronto on. :)
I'm really excited (and nervous) to get started with my work term, but I'm sure I'll be fine...

Hope everyone's doing well back home! <3 Miss you all already!

Day Two - On the road to Waterloo

I'm seeing a lot of this out my window on the train...

Hey everyone!
I know it's been a while since I've updated... in fact I haven't really updated at all. But since I'm starting work term tomorrow, I thought it would be nice to keep everyone updated on what's going on! I'm currently on my way to Waterloo, ON, to work with Jonathan Bielaski, who is a photographer in the area. (Check out his website! www.lightimaging.ca).
I would have started blogging yesterday on the train but they didn't have wireless until I got to Montreal this morning. I got on the train in Halifax yesterday around 12:30, and it was pretty smooth sailing I guess! I usually get motion sickness in large vehicles but the only time I felt sick at all was when I was looking at something that was really close to my window. (There were lots of rock walls on the way out of Halifax that were hard to look at haha).
There were a few interesting characters on the train with me - a girl that was hairier than most men I've seen, and a couple that brought a LOT of food; including, but not limited to: a carton of juice, a package of cookies, two sandwiches each, a bag of chips, and a tupperware container full of veggies. My two sandwiches and bottle of Diet Coke seemed pretty meager compared to this.
I didn't really do a whole lot while on the train yesterday... mostly listened to music (my sister made me a sweet playlist for my iPod)... read a little bit... watched some Freaks and Geeks (if you've never watched this show - do it), and texted a LOT. (But the reception was pretty bad for a lot of the time - the train seems to take the route as far back in the woods as possible).
OH. And I've never seen so many Home Hardwares in my life. If a city we passed through had a Home Hardware, I'm pretty sure I saw it - they were ALL next to the train tracks...
Anyway...
When I first got on the train I sat down in one of the two-seaters, then decided against it and moved to a single seat... (if you know me at all you know that I don't like to talk to people when I'm traveling anywhere hahah - unless I'm specifically traveling with you). Looking back, it would have probably been a good idea to stick with the two-seater. When I tried to sleep, first of all I was freezing - I'm pretty sure they had the air conditioning on all night - and trying to curl up in a single seat is pretty much impossible. I'm definitely one of those people that need their legs at least level with their body when they sleep. I think I slept a little though.
This morning when we got to Montreal - first of all, it was snowing, so I wasn't very pleased about that - but the train station is a LOT bigger than Halifax. I probably should have expected this... mostly just felt like an idiot though, roaming around, DEFINITELY looking lost. And of course I didn't know if I should attempt to speak French or not, so I sputtered awkwardly before I gave my coffee order. "Uh. Um. Uhhhhhhhh. A - uh - regularrr... mochaccino?" A very nice French man gave me a cheery "Excuse moi madamoiselle!" this morning though. Sad that I'm so pleased about that? Maybe.
I was going to go to McDonalds for breakfast but decided the line wasn't worth it. (I know - not worth it!? - THAT'S how long the line was). But I picked up some Subway for lunch. (Complete with my fave white chip macadamia nut cookies - totally necessary). But the stupid woman gave me Nestle water instead of Dasani. :( Blech.
Anyway, I made my way onto this train just fine - besides the fact that I had to carry my bag down the stairs. HAH.
As soon as I got on the train a man somewhere in front of me asked if it was too early for a beer... "Yes, sir. It's ten o'clock."
But he has one now! Can't say I'm not tempted, myself, but I think I can wait until a bit later hahah.
Well I'm on my way to Toronto at the moment, set to arrive there around 3:00, and then I take the train to Kitchener for around 7:00. (The time change is still messing me up... I'll be there at around 8:00 in NS time).
I'm excited to get things going, but I'm scared, too. And I already miss people back home.
... I hope my life isn't too boring for you all.
:)