Week of Feb 8

Bierkeller

On Tuesday night, we went to Bierkeller, a traditional German pub with karaoke nights on Tuesdays. They had 2 for 1 beer steins and wooden tables/benches that everyone stands up/dances on to their favourite karaoke songs. I am quickly learning that Mr. Brightside is a staple song here – I think I have heard it play on every night out, but I’m definitely not complaining! No pictures this week (see the next paragraph about my phone)... but this was my favourite night out, and I will definitely be back, so there will be pictures of Bierkeller another week.

Phone Troubles

Unfortunately, my phone totally stopped working on Tuesday and after speaking to some people at the Apple store on Wednesday, I was told that it was not fixable. Luckily, my mom is sending her old phone over with some friends who are visiting next week, so I’ll have to go 1 week without a phone.

Update: It's Monday, and it has been SO weird not having a phone with me at all times. I make plans to meet someone somewhere, and I just have to go there for the expected time and hope they show up! I also haven't been able to take any photos this week, which is kind of upsetting. On the upside, it is nice to be disconnected for a bit, and it has definitely made me realize how much we miss by staring at our screens all day!

Teddy Bear Hospital 

On Friday, Katherine and I volunteered for a program called Teddy Bear Hospital. We went to a local primary school and met with a class of 3-4 year olds; they were so cute with their accents, I couldn’t handle it! The goal of the program is to get kids comfortable with the idea of going to the doctor to reduce their fear when it happens in real life, as well as to teach them about a healthy lifestyle. I ran the dentistry station, where I taught them about what happens at the dentist and how to brush their teeth properly. I always asked what type of food is bad for your teeth, and I always got the answer, “Too much sweeties!”

The Otley Run

Friday night was the night our residence had organized the legendary Otley Run: a famous pub-crawl in Leeds, and a right of passage for any Leeds student. It is meant to be a 16-pub, all day event starting in the afternoon, where you get a pint of beer at each bar. Our group’s plan was to start at 6pm and make our way to campus, ending at Fruity Friday (Fruity is the club on campus). Everybody who is doing the Otley run dresses in costumes (which they call ‘fancy dress’), and almost every night out you will see large groups of people around the city dressed up in crazy costumes! 

We were meant to dress in a costume that starts with the letter of the block we live in. We are in block H, so my flat mates and I dressed as hippies. We made it in to 8 of the bars between The New Inn and The Terrace (on campus), and had a lot of fun! 

Fruity, the club on campus, was not so great... McMaster friends: picture Thirsty Thursdays at TwelvEighty but with 3 separate rooms, one of which was massive and packed. 

Leeds City Museum

On Sunday, we went to the Leeds city museum – I’m not going to lie and say it was a fantastic museum, it was actually quite underwhelming. But we had fun with it, and I did learn a little bit about the very short history of Leeds, which only became a city in 1893.

GALentine's Day

It was also Valentine's Day – Claudia and I had an adorable FaceTime dinner (lunch for her) date. 

Then our friends Margo & Dilusha had a Galentine's Day party which involved tons of food and some exciting talk about travel plans. Some of our friends brought cake, dutch pancakes, fresh baked pretzels with chocolate on top... my contribution was 2 bags of Doritos and a package of kit-kats, but it’s the thought that counts right?