Exam Insanity and Sushi

As some of you may know, I had insomnia in Law School. Now I've always had a hard time sleeping, but back then I would go for days with no sleep at all. But the funny thing is, I haven't had any real bad nights since... until the night before the barrister's exam! I think my body is trying to tell me something, or maybe I just react badly to stress.

Anyway, when I got up yesterday to head out to the exam, I had slept less than two hours. Not a good sign!

The scene at the Direct Energy Centre was insanity. The exam started at 9:30 (but we had to be seated at 9) but by 8 am there were around a thousand prospective lawyers (more than the entire population of Dal Law) milling around getting coffee, catching up with friends, and waiting in lines. The lines to get signed in weren't too bad (they were well organized by last name, a few letters to a line. But more than an hour before the exam, people were already lining up to get into the room. I figured it was like at an airport: as soon as they announce that the flight is boarding, everyone gets up to stand in the line. But the flights not taking off till its scheduled time, and the seats are assigned, so what exactly is the advantage of being the first one on board? I'm inclined to sit in the waiting area and wait till the line dies down. Which is exactly what I did!

The exam itself was long (7 hours!) but made even longer with waiting for everyone to be seated, getting instructions (be sure to fully blacken the bubbles!) and then waiting to be allowed to leave again. I'm sure I wasn't the only one at the end who was ready to make a break for freedom (or a bathroom!) as we waited for all the exams to be picked up, all the exit passes handed out, and everyone to leave row by row.

But I got through it. Thank the goddess for coffee and dark chocolate, I got through it. And I think I did OK: I finished all the questions and even had time to check some of my answers.

To celebrate having it over, I went out with Kara for all-you-can-eat sushi. We went to a place called My Sushi, and the all-you-can-eat menu had teriyaki and tempura as well (and ice cream! All you can eat ice cream is a beautiful thing) so I knew that despite not liking sushi, I wouldn't go hungry. But Kara had convinced me to try some “beginner's sushi” (has anyone else read Sushi for Beginners?) So we had spicy tuna, spicy salmon, and dragon rolls. I liked the spicy salmon rolls the best, though the spicy tuna wasn't bad either. Both had rice on the outside, with some crunchy stuff that was really good. Its the texture of the seaweed that bugs me, always makes me feel like I'm going to gag, but without the seaweed wrapper I quite liked it! (Enough that we got another order of the spicy salmon!) The dragon rolls had avocado, crab, eel, and salmon on the outside. I didn't mind the avocado, but the raw salmon gave me that gaggy feeling again. I declined to try the crab or eel. (Yes, I'm a wimp.) We also had tempura and beef teriyaki, both of which were quite yummy. And green tea ice cream for desert. So, it turns out that I don't hate sushi, I even like some of it! I might just be adapting to big city life.

So, one more exam to go, then just the long wait for results. That's the worst part: worrying about how I did, but not being able to do a damn thing about it! As it happens, the Solicitor's Exam is on the first day of NXNE, so I think my reward for getting through it all will be an armband. Four days, 450 bands! Now, I can't go to all of them, so here is the link: I'm soliciting suggestions from my more musically knowledgeable friends about which are the “must see” ones.

Introducing... Island Girl Away!

I'm no longer “Island Girl Abroad” as I've been back in Canada for almost a year now! But I thought it might be fun to get the blog going again, especially now that I've moved to Toronto, so far from most of my friends/family! And I have to say, Toronto is almost as exciting right now as a foreign country. Here are some fun facts:

Toronto is designated by the UN as the most multi-cultural city in the WORLD.

Toronto is the only city outside Asia where all schools of Chinese cooking are represented.

Pretty exciting, huh?

So, I'm living in Greektown, at Pape and Danforth, very close to lots of fabulous restaurants. In fact, I may write an entry about a few of the places I've eaten soon, but right now its getting late, and I am very tired.

So welcome to “Island Girl Away” the new incarnation of my blog, also available on Facebook!

Update from Heathrow

Well, I'm getting home, slowly but surely. Dad is going to be able to pick me up in Halifax, so I should be home by 10ish tommorrow night. Or is that tonight now? I'm not sure, lets just say friday. All sense of time has left me, you could tell me that its 3 pm on march 6 2007 and I'd have no reason not to believe you.

So if I'm still human and coherant (or even if I'm not) it would be cool to get together with a couple close friends for a quiet drink Friday night. Cause I've been missing ya'll like mad!

An Epic Journey

So, I left Lamu Sunday morning, boat to the mainland then 7 hours on a bus, then took the night train to Nairobi, another 17 hours. Now I'm waiting for another bus, 12 hours this time, to get to Kampala. Then a matatu to nkozi, boda boda to UMU, car to airport, and a couple really long plane rides. And of course I'll take the tube in London. So i've got 6 days of travelling on everything but hotair balloons to get home! But the one part of the journey that is still uncertain is how to get from Halifax to PEI! Isn't it ironic that I can travel six days, through 3 continents, and the hardest bit is the final 3 hours to get home!

So, unless by some miracle I find a ride waiting at the airport (4:40pm, Halifax airport) I guess I'll be overnighting in Halifax and taking the shuttle to PEI on Saturday.

Coming home, joyfully and reluctantly

I am loving Lamu. I could stay here forever (if I could get ya'll to come join me here). Its gorgeous, and next week is Malid, a festival that includes among other things, a donkey race! I have my ticket now, though, so I will not be able to enter the race. Very sad, but also wonderful to know I will be with ya'll again soon.

So here is the plan: I will be arriving at Halifax airport at 4:40pm on April 28th. All previous offers regarding my pants, good karma, and heaven apply. In other words, I am again soliciting for rides from the airport! And please ensure a good band is playing at Baba's that night, that the sun is shining, and that you keep the evening free for some serious catching up (and a couple of drinks!) I miss ya'll, and its only for the people I love that I can tear myself away from paradise!

Lamu is Wonderful

Well, now that I can hold solid food in my stomach again, I am loving Lamu! Spent the day on a dhow trip. We sailed for a bit, went fishing (caught so many fish! about 20! the first line I cast got a bite! Sylvia (Norwegian girl I went with) caught 2 on one hook!) then sailed to Manda Beach and spent a coupple hours swimming and chilling out in hammocks. And had an amazing lunch of rice, vegatable curry, and barbequed fish. All in all an amazing day. I never want to leave. (But don't worry, I will still be home soon.)

Really Quick Update from Lamu

Hi all. I'm now in Lamu, having stopped at watamu and Malindi on route. Internet is ten times the price it is on the mainland, so this is going to be super quick. I hung out at the beach in Watamu and Malindi, saw the Gede Ruins, and got a sunburn lying by the pool at an upmarket hotel in Malindi. I have swum in the Indian Ocean; I also figured out why people go to beach locations but hang out at hotel pools: seaweed and beach boys. thought i had figured out how to get beach boys to leave me alone, by tipping a hotel security guy to keep them away, but then the security guy started bugging me for a date. My fake boyfriend at home didn't help, instead it led him onto a rant about how its not natural to abstain, and i should have a boyfriend in Kenya too, cause my boyfriend probably isn't waiting for me! Such is the attitude here. So now I'm in Lamu, going on a dhow trip tommorrow, and coming home as soon as my travel agent gets back to his office and arranges my flight!