class dimissed!

yesterday marked me handing in two 100% papers for two of my courses, which means those are officially off my mind. i think one of the essays was really good, while the other one - not so awesome. but we'll see.

anyways, after printing them off in the computer lab me and a buddy from Canada (who i never really have hung out with) were like "let's get a drink to celebrate." So we headed to Tesco (grocery store) to pick up some provisions. Upon walking in, we were greeted with a wall of Stella Artois 24's on sale for £10. It really wasn't even an option, so we each put in a fiver and headed to my friends res to chill some in the freezer while eating nachos.

then we headed to a park because it was so warm/sunny out. it was fun to drink outside, since its legal here (although at first i totally felt like a homeless bum).

our discussion was actually pretty interesting and i realized this friend is pretty damn intelligent. he was big into politics in his undergrad and still is, and is from BC so he's about as laid back as they come. i, whom possess negative knowledge of politics, learned quite a bit.

our convo then got onto comparing the UK/Canada, and discussing UK-isms and what not. we got onto the subject of class (as in social class) and how it is still really like a major feature that people here use to define themselves and judge others by. we discussed how here, people really focus a lot on others class and try so hard to express this, usually by clothes and stuff. we noted that while back home clothing can do that, more so it is subtle lifestyle things (like a cottage in the Muskokas or something). in fact, we said that sometimes people back home who dress super-casual are the richest. and those who rake up a wardrobe on their VISA are the poorest. and my friends come from a huge variety of social classes - from regular all the way up to the uber-rich. but to me, i couldn't care less how much is your bank account - if you're a good person, you're a good person. you can be rich and be a dick, but you can also be not-well-off and be a dick as well. here though, i think social class is sadly a selection method many people use for their friends. ALSO, we really miss Canadian humor and people "getting us." We both agreed on how we're funny back home (i'm a hit!) but here it's often like....is this thing on? i've talked to a handful of CDNs who say the same, which made me feel like its not just my sense of humor that's awkward.

anyways, it was again really refreshing to talk to another CDN and have some of my views of life here validated - makes me feel like i'm not just someone who's radically turned all patriotic for my homeland. In fact, my buddy even agreed that he appreciates Canada so much more now and can't wait to go back -- the sense of humor, the politeness, the diversity; they are all something so engrained in most of us that we don't see it as special. But it is!

after that, we met a bunch of friends for Indian food. i was slightly tipsy but all the na'an and rice stopped that which was good.

All in all, a good day! Now though, its time to get serious about studying. My first exam is Monday and i think it's gonna be a killer. our prof is evil and its also worth double the credits of other courses, so it weighs on my average heavily. Wish me luck!