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Showing posts from January, 2025

My Study Abroad "Girl Math(s)"

For the unitiated, "Girl Math" is when you justify spending money as saving money by jumping through a few mental hoops - such as by spending an extra $15 on Amazon to get free shipping. So as a lighthearted and slightly helpful financial overview of my exchange experience from UCalgary to Oxford Brookes University, here are some Girl Math examples I thought about during my study abroad experience. If you exchange to a university with tuition more expensive than your home university, you're getting a great deal Living in student accommodation is $30/night versus a minimum $100/night hotel, and you get a free transit pass, so it's a super discounted vacation! Visiting a free museum in the UK is worth $30 equivalent in Canada. So visit many! Every $400 trip to another country basically saves $1000+ in flights that you'd have to pay to take that trip from Canada If you get a study abroad scholarship, that's free money that you wouldn't get otherwise  Eating l...


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IKEA Yearly Midsummer Buffet 2024 Review

Every year around June, IKEA hosts a Midsummer Buffet full of fish, meatballs, salad, and more. You have to be an IKEA Family member (which is free) and buy a $25 ticket in person on a previous day. I attended the Calgary buffet, and here is my full review!

5 Things to do Before the UCalgary Semester Starts

I know, I know... summer is almost over already and it feels like it's barely started. Regardless, it's only a bit more than a week before classes start again (less if you're doing Block Week, which I tried last year ), so here are some reminders before the school year begins. Set up your calendar For UCalgary students, download your class times through the D2L portal and  import your them to your preferred service (mine is Outlook) : Personally, I like to colour code and label lectures/tutorials/labs separately on my calendar like so: Of course, many people also just take a screenshot of their timetable and set it as a wallpaper or save it somewhere easy to access; that can work too :). Put in your Course Overload Request(s) This is a pretty urgent and important one: make sure you check your degree requirements. If you're still waitlisted or not enrolled for a course that you need  to take this year, then you should submit a course overload request ASAP. At UCalgary fo...

9 Not-So-Obvious Dorm Essentials

These aren’t necessarily things you need to pack in advance (you could buy them after moving in), but they are things that I personally found useful which aren’t usually listed in traditional packing lists. Earplugs or Sleep Sound Machine Dorms unfortunately often have the issues of noisy neighbours and loud garbage trucks or snow plows at strange hours. If you find this bothering you, invest in some earplugs (much cheaper at Shoppers or Amazon than in the on-campus pharmacy) or a sound machine. If regular earplugs are uncomfortable for you, you can try “women’s” earplugs (they might fit better for you regardless of gender). Humidifier