October was a great and eventful month. I enjoyed it, especially since I got used to the lifestyle here and made friends in the dorm and school.
The weather started to get cold, and on the 21st of October, we had our first snow – it lasted for 3 days without melting down. Many of us in the dorm enjoyed the first snow fight in the playground and saw what Canada would look like in the snowy, winter, and cold season. It was truly beautiful to see the snow with nature surrounding us and on the public roads, walkways, and shopping areas. It reminded me of winter in Nagano, and I started to miss the old times. However, I am not excited for the coming winter in Strathmore, as it gets as cold as -40 degrees Celsius in January and February, and blizzards constantly come into the area.
Earlier in the month, on the 3rd of October, the “Terry Fox” event was held all around Canada and in schools. This is an event where we all celebrate and remember the amazing achievements of Terry Fox; how he ran across Canada from the East Coast to the West Coast, raised awareness of cancer and cancer treatments, and gathered funds for cancer research. We honored his actions by running a lap around the lake. The school also held a cake auction where all of the profits from the buyers would be used as donations towards the Terry Fox Foundations and used for cancer research. The whole school and students gathered in the school gym and we got to join in the auction. There were many different kinds of cakes, starting from colorful and cute cakes to huge and eye-catching ones. Students and teachers would bid actual money and try to win the bet. Some cakes got bidded at $50, while others ranged to $370. It was an insane and awesome experience and was a great chance to see what bidding was like in real life.
On the next day, Strathmore High School held a major volleyball tournament in the school, where more than 10 high schools from Alberta would gather and compete with one another. The tournament would last for the whole day, and many students, friends, and parents gathered to cheer for their school team. As students of Strathmore High School, interested students got to watch during class time. I got to see how the club trains, plays, and cooperates as a team, and got me excited to practice and train for the volleyball club.
A few days later, another greater, more beautiful, and outstanding aurora appeared in the skies of Canada on the 7th of October. It blew all of our minds away, as it was vast and so colorful, and looked even greater than the previous one. A cool thing that we realized about the aurora is that it moves rapidly. We all took time-lapse videos to enjoy the movement of it.
On the 11th of October, many dorm students went on free dorm-organized trips to Calgary. This time, we went to the Chinook Mall – a shopping mall near downtown Calgary – and got to buy things for the winter. The mall was not as big as the CrossIron Mills that we went to last time, but still had many stores and places to roam about. My friends and I went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. I did taste like real Japanese noodles, and we started to miss Japanese food.
As Halloween was approaching, the dorm organized a Pumpkin carving contest, where students went into pairs of two and carved actual pumpkins. I teamed up with a friend and carved a pumpkin that we thought looked good on the internet; one which had a tongue sticking out of the mouth. In the end, a team that carved out Mike Wazowski won but it was such a fun activity, as it was tiring and artistic.
On the 22nd of October, the international students went on a school-organized trip during class time to Activate – an indoor activity arena with lots of games to play with friends – in Calgary. There were many things to do such as laser games, tiles, shooting, basketball, and lots more. We would form a team and try to collect as many points as we could to win prizes in the end; an “activate” logo water bottle. We were tired and were always trying to figure out how to win the games, as they were all so different.
Another dorm trip was organized to the “Scream Fes” in Calgary; a horror, Halloween festival with haunted houses and scary rides. I went into all of the haunted houses and on all of the rides; they were thrilling, spooky, and scary. I liked and enjoyed the experience as it scared me multiple times, and as the rides – especially the coaster that goes up and down – because the view of Calgary was incredible from the high altitude.
On Halloween, we all dressed up and put on makeup to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. We would go up to houses that had their porch light on, – as it is the sign that the house is still giving out treats – say “Trick or treat”, or “Happy Halloween”. The house owner would give us many treats and we would thank them and move on to the next house. I went trick or treating for an hour and a half, and as a result got so cold but ended up with bags full of snacks.
Starting this month, I have joined two extra-curricular activities in the high school; the job in the cafeteria and the student council. Working in the cafeteria was easier than I expected it to be, as I was a bit nervous and worried about the tasks I would be responsible for, and interfering with the customers. I serve the food onto the plates, prepare and organize dishes and orders, take orders, and proceed with payments. This is a great experience for me, as it gives me a chance to know and understand what it feels like to work in the service industry, and also because I get paid. The student council is the place where people join and are responsible for organizing, thinking of ideas, and holding events during the school year. I joined during the Halloween season; we prepared for the Halloween events that were to be held at school on the day including face painting booths, pumpkin carving booths, and other fun activities. I joined the face painting booth and we prepared paints, brushes, and many other things to be well prepared for the day and for the many students. I get to write both of these on my student profile, which would be beneficial for when I apply for universities in the future.
