"Oh Canada"

Wait, I’m writing about week two…how did that happen!? Time is flying by, but I suppose time really does fly when you’re having fun!

I’m just about getting used to the 7am starts and 9-5 days (after being a student for three years that has been one of the biggest challenges. Seriously.) And I’m learning to say goodbye to afternoon naps. But it’s ok. There is definitely more than enough to keep me busy! On my first day Victoria handed me my plan for the 10 weeks and warned me that she is ambitious and that although there are several pages of things I need to do, she only expects me to complete 20% of the tasks! I’m glad she said that as I am still, in week two, working on the first task, which is to develop the interview questions for the 17 Startup Community leaders and an online questionnaire. By the end of this I doubt there will be anything I don’t know about th

e communities! The communities are based all over Canada so it’s really helping my geography skills too. Vancouver is a long, long, long way away. I don’t think I will be exploring quite as much of Canada as I had initially thought! Wednesday marked Canada Day, the day Canada became a separate country from the British Empire and so the day is one big party of course! This was a day off work and a chance to take in the atmosphere for me. I now own two Canadian flags, but not a Union Jack… There are several stages in Ottawa with performances on and lots of activities going on. However, a lot of rain and a thunder storm did stop the party for a few hours but it was the perfect chance to watch England score an own goal and get knocked out of the Women’s FIFA world cup… To cheer me up my flatmate then took me to see the fireworks on Parliament Hill, which were fantastic! I also learnt the Canadian national anthem which is basically “oh Canada” a few times and some French in there too. They also sung "God save the Queen" which I still find weird the whole we have the same Queen in the 21st century thing. Hmm.

The week ended with more sightseeing, a trip to the Canadian Museum of Nature and a cycle around The Glebe neighbourhood. A girl from work took me along with her to see Cirque du Soleil at the Canadian Tire Centre, which was fantastic! Where better to see Cirque du Soleil than in it’s home country!

#ssimexchange #sarahkeith