About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Sunday, June 05, 2011

U is for UNIVERSITY

Our destination this week is the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Click on the photos to enlarge - you'll probably be tempted to do so for the last few!

I entered the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia in the fall of 1965. At the time, I didn't think about the university's history; I was only concerned that this campus would be an important factor in my future. I had wanted to be a teacher from the time I began school and had never hesitated in my life plan.

The university is the oldest in British Columbia with the first lectures being held in September, 1915. Currently, there is an enrolment of 41,000 students on the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. You can look up the facts and figures about UBC by clicking on the green name above, but I'd like to tell you about some of the lovely places you can visit on the campus. First of all, it's only about 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver and is near many beaches and has gorgeous views of the North Shore mountains. The Pacific Spirit Regional Park serves as a green-belt between the campus and the city.
The campus is the home of the Nitobe Memorial Gardens, built to honour Japanese scholar Inazo Nitobe. This garden has been the subject of more than fifteen years' study by a UBC professor, who believes that its construction hides a number of impressive features, including references to Japanese philosophy and mythology, shadow bridges visible only at certain times of year, and positioning of a lantern that is filled with light at the exact date and time of Nitobe's death each year. (from Wikipedia)

When you visit the UBC campus, you must take a look at the Chan Center for the Performing Arts. Surrounded by evergreens and rhododendrons, this state of the art venue has 1200 seats in the concert hall, the flexible seating Telus Studio Theatre, the 160-seat Royal Bank Cinema, The Great Performers Lounge, and a glass lobby. I've had the pleasure of attending several concerts and plays here!

The university campus is almost like a small town unto itself as it offers not only lecture halls and seminar rooms, but also dormitories, apartments, non-student housing, clubs, restaurants, pubs, art galleries, an aquatic center, a hospital, and various churches. It was great for me because I lived on campus and seldom had to leave its environs. This is Dene House at Totem Park residences where I lived.









Although I didn't join a sorority during my years at UBC, I was secretary of the student council at Totem Park and I was "involved" with one particular fraternity. Yes, my first long-term boyfriend was a member of Sigma Chi and we went to many many parties and outings. I particularly remember dressing to the hilt for the "Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" dance in a long green chiffon dress complete with elbow-length gloves, Mardi Gras, and one other dance where we dressed up as pioneers. Good memories. I wish I could find my old photo album that has the pictures from some of these events...but it's probably packed away in the crawl space under the stairs.

Here's an old scanned photo from Totem Park Residence's "The Wall" from 1967-68 - I was secretary of the council that year, here with the president leading a meeting.

And here I am acting in an all-too-familiar type of collegiate behaviour - swigging a beer! And one last one where I had the role of a "Playboy Bunny" in a skit. (can you spot my ears?)













I just KNEW you were curious as to what my life at UBC was like! And yes, I did get a well rounded education, including a teaching degree, believe it or not!




ABC Wednesday is the brainchild of Denise Nesbitt who now has an ultra-terrific host of assistants, including MOI. Click here to see the contributions this week.

17 comments:

Kay L. Davies said...

UBC really does have one of the loveliest locations in Canada, doesn't it? (Okay, so SFU students might beg to differ, up there on their mountaintop, but you can't beat being on the water!
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Roger Owen Green said...

Love the coed look on your avatar.
Very informative.

ROG, ABC wednesday team

Trubes said...

I enjoyed reading about your Uni Leslie, you've had such a blessed education and it shows!
Have you had time to read the newspapers?

Di..xxx

Karen said...

What a beautiful setting to learn in.

Sylvia K said...

Great post on UBC and what a fantastic center for the performing arts! Would love to attend an event there! Yes, definitely a wonderful school to attend! Love all your photos, Leslie! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy!

Sylvia
ABC Team

Richard Lawry said...

Looks like an awesome university

An Arkies Musings

Hildred said...

A great University with lots of interesting history, - now that it has expanded into the Okanagan it has brought wonderful advantages to the interior of B.C.

photowannabe said...

Beautiful campus Leslie. I can see how you loved it. You seem perfect for the teaching profession and many kids were fortunate to have you.
Love your "old" pictures and the chance to see another side of Leslie.

EG CameraGirl said...

Your memories are fantastic, Leslie. It does sound like you got a well-rounded education. :))

Tumblewords: said...

Beautiful! The Nitobe Memorial Garden sounds fascinating.

Joy said...

It looks the perfect place to learn, socialise and swig beer. The Nitobe garden sounds very mystical.

Reader Wil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Reader Wil said...

Your time at this college must have been fabulous! So it was a boarding school or what do you call it? Did you have your own rooms there? In my country there are only day schools. The distances between home and the nearest university are never too long, and if they are, you rent a room somewhere in town.

LivingSoAbundantly said...

What beautiful pictures!

Carver said...

That looks like a beautiful university. I enjoyed your memories and learning about UBC.

Meryl said...

Neat post. I also talk about univeristy but in a VERY different way. Hope you visit.

ChrisJ said...

Vancouver is a beautiful city. Sadly, I have been so spoiled that I judge their livability by their winter weather. That's what getting old does for you! I think my husband attended some classes at Regent's College but I don't know if this is a part of UBC. He's gone to bed so I can't ask him. It's just me, the computer and the cat after 10:30 P.M.